Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire’s ‘Holiday Inn’ To Be Reissued On Vinyl
The iconic film soundtrack features hits like ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Happy Holiday.’
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire’s celebrated 1942 album, Holiday Inn, is set to be reissued on a stunning blue swirl vinyl. Consisting of a number of Irving Berlin’s most notable compositions, the album is highlighted by essential tracks like “White Christmas,” “Happy Holiday,” and plenty more.
Officially titled Song Hits from the Paramount Picture Holiday Inn, the film and its classic soundtrack were both monumental hits upon release. Though “White Christmas” has since become one of the most celebrated holiday classics in the canon, there was initially another song on the soundtrack that Berlin pegged as the hit. In an interview with the BBC, he explained: “I had a song…called ‘Be Careful, It’s My Heart,’ for Valentine’s Day…And that’s the song I picked as the big hit, and that’s the song as a publisher I plugged. And it was a fair success. But I also had a song in there called ‘White Christmas.’”
That song changed the trajectory of Bing Crosby’s career. According to NPR, the song’s success was attributed in large part to its inclusion on the playlist of Armed Forces Radio. On overseas USO tours, Crosby found an excited audience: “I sang it many times in Europe in the field for soldiers, and they’d holler for it. They’d demand it. When I’d sing it, they’d all cry,” he explained. “It’s nostalgic, and it’s kind of poignant, you know, particularly during the war years; you know, so many young people were away and they’d hear this song. And it would happen to be that time of the year, it would really affect them.” Over a decade later, Crosby recorded a new version of the song for the film sharing its name, 1954’s White Christmas.
In other Crosby news, this Holiday Inn vinyl reissue isn’t the only place to find “White Christmas” this holiday season. UMe is celebrating the holidays with a new snow white-colored 7” of the beloved track, set to be released on October 31.
