Winter Wonderland

The very first recording of “Winter Wonderland” was this version by Richard Himber And His Ritz Carleton Orchestra. The song’s lyrics were written in early 1934 by an obscure song writer named Dick Smith after he observed children playing in the snow from his window in a Scranton, Pennsylvania sanitarium where he was sick with tuberculosis. Smith took the lyrics to his friend, pianist Felix Bernard, who composed a tune to go with them. The song might well have been lost had it not come to the attention of Joey Nash, the vocalist for Richard Himber’s popular New York City society orchestra. “A fan in my neighborhood, Bernie Smith, told me about a song his brother Dick, a patient in a Pennsylvania sanitarium, had co-authored with Felix Bernard. He showed me a penciled manuscript and played a wheezy, home-made recording of “Winter Wonderland.” I liked the unique, sleigh bells-snowman romantic lyrics and its lovely melody. I learned Donaldson-Douglas-Gumble music publishers had accepted the tune and evidently forgot about its existence. Joey Nash’s performances on Richard Himber’s radio broadcasts brought the song to the attention of bandleader Guy Lombardo who recorded his own version for Decca the day following Himber’s recording session. Lombardo’s recording was released in December and it quickly climbed to number 2 on the Billboard charts. Ted Weems recorded the song for Columbia on November 11 and it reached Billboard’s number 13 position. I do not have an exact date for the British recording featured here by the Harry Leader band – but it is from sometime in 1935. The recording is from an eight inch Eclipse record. Eclipse was an in-house bargain label sold through the British branch of the F.W. Woolworth dime store chain from 1931 -1935. Dick Smith lived to see his song become a hit before the tuberculosis took his life on September 28, 1935 – just one day prior to his 34th birthday. Hi there, First, wonderful service you are doing in providing Radio Dismuke. I would love to download the Leader version of Wonderland, but cannot find the CD on iTunes or my library. Any thoughts? I have the same problem occasionally with other pieces I hear on Radio Dismuke but which are not readily available James Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Radio Dismuke 24 hour Internet Radio 1920s & 1930s Popular Music & Jazz www.RadioDismuke.com If you would like to be informed of new postings you can receive updates by following the blog's Twitter feed.