Merry Christmas

"White Christmas" was Bing's biggest holiday recording, but it was not his only one. Bing recorded more than 70 songs that fit in with the Christmas holiday season beginning in 1935 when Jack Kapp, the head of Decca, suggested that Bing record "Adeste Fidelis" and "Silent Night," Bing was reluctant, saying he did not want to record sacred tunes for commercial gain. Eventually Bing consented to recording them, after arrangements were made to donate the profits to charities.

Here is a list of Bing's winter holiday recordings. The numbers beside each recording refer to the compact discs at the bottom of the page.

1 9 3 5

  • Silent Night (recorded for private charitable distribution) (4)
  • Adeste Fidelis (4)
  • Silent Night (4, 12)

  • 1 9 4 2
  • Happy Holiday (4,10)
  • I've Got Plenty to be Thankful for (10)
  • White Christmas (4,12)
  • Adeste Fidelis (1,2,4,12)
  • Faith of our Fathers (1,2,5)
  • God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (1,2,4,5)
  • Let's Start the New Year Right (4,10)

  • 1 9 4 3
  • Jingle Bells (w Andrews Sisters) (1,4,5,13)
  • Santa Claus is Coming to Town (w Andrews Sisters) (1,4,5,13)
  • I'll be Home for Christmas (1,2,4,5,12)
  • Going My Way (11)

  • 1 9 4 5
  • The Bells of St. Mary's
  • Ave Maria (4,11)
  • The Happy Prince (narrative)
  • The Sweetest Story Ever Told

  • 1 9 4 7
  • White Christmas (1,2,4,5,10)
  • Silent Night (1,2,4,5,11)
  • The Christmas Song (2,3,4,5)
  • Oh Fir Tree Dark (2,3,4)
  • The Small One (narrative)

  • 1 9 4 9
  • Twelve Days of Christmas (w Andrews Sisters) (3,4,5,13)
  • Here Comes Santa Claus (w Andrews Sisters) (3,4,5,13)
  • The First Noel (2,3,4,5)
  • You're All I Want for Christmas (2,3,4,5)
  • Deck the Halls / Away in a Manger / I Saw Three Ships (2,3,4)
  • Good King Wenceslas / We Three Kings / Angels We Have Heard on High (2,3,4)

  • 1 9 5 0
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (3,4,5)
  • A Crosby Family Christmas -- Parts 1 and 2 (4)
  • That Christmas Feeling (3,4)
  • Poppa Santa Claus (w Andrews Sisters) (4,13)
  • Mele Kalikimaka (w Andrews Sisters) (1,4,13)
  • Silver Bells (w Carole Richards) (1,4,5)
  • Marshmallow World (4)
  • Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter (4)

  • 1 9 5 1
  • Christmas in Killarney (1,2,4)
  • It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (1,2,4,5)

  • 1 9 5 2
  • Sleigh Ride (4,5)
  • Little Jack Frost Get Lost (w Peggy Lee) (4)
  • Sleigh Bell Serenade (4,5)

  • 1 9 5 4
  • White Christmas (w Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, Trudy Stevens) (4,9)
  • Snow (w Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, Trudy Stevens) (4,9)

  • 1 9 5 5
  • Christmas is a Comin' (3,4)
  • Is Christmas Only a Tree? (3,4)
  • The First Snowfall (4)
  • A Christmas Sing with Bing [CBS radio broadcast released on LP]

  • 1 9 5 6
  • I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (3,4,5)

  • 1 9 5 7
  • How Lovely is Christmas (16)

  • 1 9 5 8
  • Say One For Me
  • The Secret of Christmas
  • Just What I Wanted for Christmas

  • Papa Santa Cros 1 9 6 2
  • Winter Wonderland (6)
  • Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (6,7)
  • What Child is This? (6,7)
  • The Holly and the Ivy (6,7)
  • The Little Drummer Boy (6,7)
  • O Holy Night (6,7)
  • The Littlest Angel (6)
  • Let it Snow! (6,7)
  • Hark the Herald Angels Sing (6,7)
  • It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (6,7)
  • Frosty the Snowman (6)
  • I Wish You a Merry Christmas (6,7)
  • Pat-a-Pan (6, 7)
  • While Shepherds Watched their Sheep (6,7)

  • 1 9 6 3
  • Christmas Dinner Country Style (6,7)
  • Do You Hear What I Hear? (6,7)

  • 1 9 6 4
  • It's Christmas Time Again (w Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians) (14)
  • Go Tell It On the Mountain (w Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians) (14, 15)
  • The Secret of Christmas (w Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians) (14)
  • Christmas Candles (w Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians) (14)
  • We Wish You the Merriest (w Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians) (14, 15)

  • 1 9 6 5
  • The White World of Winter

  • 1 9 7 0
  • A Time to Be Jolly (8)
  • I Sing Noel (8)
  • Round and Round the Christmas Tree (8)
  • The First Family of Christmas (8)
  • The Song of Christmas (8)
  • A Christmas Toast (8)
  • And the Bells Rang (8)
  • Christmas Is (8)
  • When You Trim Your Christmas Tree (8)
  • Christmas is Here to Stay (8)

  • 1 9 7 3
  • Christmas Star

  • 1 9 7 7
  • Peace on Earth / The Little Drummer Boy (w David Bowie) (5,6)
  • On the Very First Day of the Year
  • Sleigh Ride
  • Compact Discs:
    (1) Merry Christmas / White Christmas (MCAD-31143)
    (2) Bing Crosby Sings Christmas Songs (MCAD-5765)
    (3) That Christmas Feeling (MCAD-20819)
    (4) The Voice of Christmas (MCAD 11840)
    (5) Christmas with Bing Crosby (Telstar TCD 2468 MCPS)
    (6) Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics (Capitol 72435-21433-2-0)
    (7) Christmas with Bing (Cema S21-56619)
    (8) Bing Crosby Christmas Album (PolyGram 314 520 211-2)
    (9) Irving Berlin's White Christmas (MCA MCLD 19191)
    (10) Holiday Inn (MCAD-25205)
    (11) Swinging on a Star (MCAD-31367)
    (12) Bing, His Legendary Years (MCAD4-10887)
    (13) Merry Christmas with Bing and the Andrews Sisters (MCA)
    (14) Harry Lillis: Take a Longer Look (HLYCD-002)
    (15) The Sinatra Christmas Album (Reprise 9 45743-2)
    (16) How Lovely is Christmas (Christmas 2000)


    Bing's Xmas TV Shows ||| Bing's Home Page ||| Developed by Steven Lewis