Song of the Day: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

On the ninth day of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Sunday, December 22, 2013, the song of the day is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

About This Song

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the 1944 movie Meet Me In St. Louis, where it was introduced by Judy Garland. Hugh Martin is a favorite composer of your opinionated author. Not only is she and Mr. Martin from the same city of Birmingham, Alabama, we also attended the same small liberal arts school of Birmingham-Southern College. When I attended BSC in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr. Martin often visited the Music Department and worked with student singers and composers.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s 2008 album A Swingin’ Christmas. In a Twitter conversation in November 2012, Tony Bennett said that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is his favorite Christmas song to sing. I find this version quite touching and heartfelt. Here, Bennett is accompanied by his quartet of Monty Alexander on piano, Gray Sargent on guitar, Paul Langosch on bass and Harold Jones on drums. Gray does, as usual, some very fine guitar work in this arrangement.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” as well as the entire A Swingin’ Christmas album, is available from iTunes.