This 8 line song that paints a picture of holiday nostalgia was written by Irving Berlin. It was originally about about a New Yorker stranded in sunny California during Christmas. Bing recorded it for the movie Holiday Inn with the Kim Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra on May 29,1942 in 18 minutes (Crosby starred in the movie with Fred Astaire). Bing's record producer Jack Kapp thought that original opening verse about the sun, the palm trees in Beverly Hills and it being December the 24th, would be meaningless outside of the film and persuaded Bing not to release it, and he never did. The song went on to win the Best Song Academy Award of 1942.

Bing rerecorded the song on March 19,1947, again with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra because the original masters had been worn out from all the pressings, and this is the version that became a holiday tradition. Bing performed the song again in White Christmas, his 1954 film co-starring Danny Kaye.

Historically this is the biggest selling Christmas song of all time. It was the biggest selling song of all time, going back and forth with Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," until Elton John released his tribute to Princess Diana - "Candle in the Wind."

This has the distinction of marking the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. As the North Vietnamese surrounded Saigon, an evacuation plan was put into effect to bring the remaining Americans to safety. Their cue to evacuate was when a radio announcement stating that the temperature in Saigon was "105 degrees and rising," and followed by the playing of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." That was the signal for the mad dash to the US Embassy where helicopters were waiting.

The original Drifters with Clyde McPhatter as their lead vocalist recorded their Doo-Wop version in November 1953. It hit #2 on the R&B charts in 1954, and made the Pop charts in 1955. The deep bass-tenor voice you hear on this version was Bill Pinkney.

 In both the movie Holiday Inn and the movie White Christmas, the first verse is cut out. As a result, if asked to sing the song most people will start out, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." instead of "The sun is shining, the grass is green..." There are very few copies of Bing Crosby singing the entire song. (thanks, Jenie - Naples, Italy)

This was originally #1 in the US for 14 weeks and it made the Pop charts for 20 Christmas seasons, the most times a record has entered the US chart. It is the 2nd best seller of all time and the most recorded Christmas song of all time. Its been a hit for 8 different acts, the 2nd most after "Unchained Melody." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas 
Just like the ones I used to know 
Where the treetops glisten, 
and children listen 
To hear sleigh bells in the snow 

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas 
With every Christmas card I write 
May your days be merry and bright 
And may all your Christmases be white 

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas 
With every Christmas card I write 
May your days be merry and bright 
And may all your Christmases be white

The song White Christmas is undoubtedly the most famous and popular of all the Christmas songs. The music and lyrics for White Christmas were written by Irving Berlin in 1942 and originally featured in the movie Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby. The lyrics of White Christmas struck a chord with the soldiers fighting in the Second World War and their families who were waiting for them back home. The song and recording of White Christmas by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter's orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers was so popular that it was later reprised in the movie called after its name - White Christmas. The film White Christmas once again starred Bing Crosby together with Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.