Celebrate 84 Years of 'White Christmas': The Story Behind the Iconic Song
Summer is right around the corner, and temperatures around the country are rising. It's hardly the kind of weather to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Interestingly, one of the most beloved Christmas songs ever produced was first recorded on this day 84 years ago. Five months after he first performed "White Christmas" on The Kraft Music Hall on Christmas Day, 1941, Bing Crosby officially recorded the holiday classic with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers.
Written by Irving Berlin for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn, "White Christmas" was released on July 30, 1942, and has been a Christmas listening staple ever since.
A Christmas song for the ages
After its release, "White Christmas" spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard chart and returned to the top spot in December 1943 and 1944. It has also returned to the charts numerous, most recently in America and the UK in 2025.
"White Christmas" also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1942 and inspired a 1954 film starring Crosby of the same name. While the version most commonly heard on the radio today is Crosby's 1947 re-recording, the original 1942 "White Christmas" set the standard, inspiring not only multiple cover versions but also a slew of future songs for the holiday season.
In December 2024, Billboard staff rated "White Christmas" the fifth-best Christmas song of all time, behind only "Last Christmas" by Wham!, Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)," "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
"It's a song written by a Jewish-Russian immigrant (Irving Berlin) and music performed by America's first true multi-media sensation (Crosby), which provided solace to overseas U.S. troops during World War II," Billboard said. "In other words, it's not just an exemplar of Christmas music, but of America at its best. Countless others have covered it, but in the hands of Crosby - who once sang it to American troops who would never return home - it attained immorality. With 50 million copies sold worldwide, it's still the biggest physical single of all time, period."
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:01 AM.