Dreaming of a White Christmas
The Arizona Biltmore: Where Irving Berlin Wrote his Most Famous Song
A white Christmas in Arizona is unusual, but the lyrics to the most famous Christmas song ever written were penned while Irving Berlin sat by a swimming pool in Arizona
Irving Berlin, composer of the song White Christmas, often stayed at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix. He's not the only celebrity guest, as Bob Hope and Ava Gardner were also past visitors, and Marilyn Monroe enjoyed swimming in the Biltmore's pool. On one famous occasion in 1988, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jnr were all staying at the Arizona Biltmore at the same time. Not only that, but they all found themselves together near the piano in the lobby and started singing. Soon hotel guests and staff were gathering round the lobby and lining the atrium above to watch the superstars give their impromptu concert.
White Christmas writer Irving Berlin was a regular Biltmore guest, and was there in the fall of 1937 while he was writing the scores for both Carefree and Alexander's Ragtime Band. He was back there in January 1939 to write a movie score, and gave an interview to Phoenix's daily newspaper, the Arizona Republic. The reporter interviewed Irving Berlin poolside at the Biltmore, showing there's no reason why you can't compose in comfort. It was long before Marilyn Monroe took to splashing around in the Biltmore pool, though. Now that would have been distracting!
Irving Berlin enjoyed the Arizona climate, especially in the winter when he could escape from New York. He told the newspaper reporter that out in Arizona he found it so stimulating that he could do in one week what it would normally take him three or more weeks to write. He said he could work swiftly and seemed to be able to create songs very readily, out in the Arizona sunshine. He would often work till 4am or 5am, and in Phoenix could miss sleep without seeming to suffer for it.
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WRITING WHITE CHRISTMAS
Irving Berlin's work certainly didn't suffer. He was back at the Arizona Biltmore in late 1939/early 1940, and it was on this visit that he wrote at least part of perhaps his most famous song, and certainly the most famous and most recorded Christmas song ever: White Christmas.
Berlin may have finished the song in New York, but it's thought he worked on it out by the Biltmore swimming pool around Christmas time. There was originally another verse to the song, later removed, about someone from Los Angeles who was watching the palm trees sway in California on December 24th, and longing for a traditional White Christmas 'up north.' It's thought that Irving Berlin was sitting in the Arizona sunshine by the Biltmore pool when he got that idea, which he later took out of the song to leave the surprisingly brief lyrics that Bing Crosby made famous in 1942. Some versions of the song have re-instated the missing verse.
So there you have it. Use Irving Berlin as a fine example of why you should go lounge round the Arizona Biltmore swimming pool this winter. You'll come away inspired.
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Christmas at the Arizona Biltmore
They don't guarantee a white Christmas, but here are some of the Arizona Biltmore's special Christmas features:
- Beautiful interior Christmas lights and other decorations
- A Gingerbread House
- A huge Christmas tree on the front lawn, stunningly lit at night
- Strolling carol singers
- That reclusive character Mrs Santa Claus reads stories to children
- The traditional Afternoon Tea becomes a special Holiday Tea
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WHITE CHRISTMAS RECORDS
- It took Bing Crosby 18 minutes to record White Christmas on 29 May, 1942.
- It spent 11 weeks at Number One in 1942, then was Number One again over the Christmas periods of 1945 and 1946.
- Bing Crosby re-recorded the song in 1947, which is the version we hear today though it is virtually identical to the original recording.
- Bing Crosby's version has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, the biggest-selling single in history.
- Other versions of the song have sold another 50 million copies between them, and rising.
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Visit the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa website.
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