It’s Monday, and there’s music. There’s also snow on the ground, and songs about snow.
But songs sung by someone named snow are barred from inclusion here.
I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but that song drives me crazy!
Anyway snow (the meteorological element), not Snow (the “rapper”)…
I talked about the Chicago Christmas albums (and various other songs) in the past, and I pretty much beat Christmas to death on Music Monday all through the month of December. Heck, last week’s Music Monday was their version of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”. I’ve beat Chicago stuff to death on a regular basis.
But guess what?
You’re getting one more Chicago song, and I promise they will go away for a little while.
I could easily talk about the Dean Martin version of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” It’s the version we all know, the radio plays it on overdrive during the holidays, and it is (probably on a mandatory basis) included on all the Christmas compilation albums. And yes, I like that version, but…Chicago!
Who doesn’t love the horns of Chicago adding their own flavor to Christmas, or songs that have something to do with the winter months?
And for some reason, I never actually checked to see who was singing their version, but it is in fact Trumpeter/Flugelhorn Pro/Occasional Leader Vocalist Lee Loughnane taking the reins on this one.
But before the song, some history:
“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” was written in 1945 by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne. The wrote the song in July amidst a California heat wave (surprise!). Their inspiration? The wish of cooler temperatures.
I guarantee Cahn and Styne never heard of a Bomb Cyclone or a Polar Vortex in 1945.
Their song was first recorded in 1945 by Vaughn Monroe for RCA Victor, where it hit #1 on the Billboard Best Sellers Chart in late January 1946 and into February of that year. It’s been covered many times by many notable artists of different decades, including the Dean Martin version I’ve become accustomed to hearing on the radio.
Lee Loughnane singing Chicago’s version is not at all surprising – he has written songs for the group (“Call on Me,” anyone?), is the current vocalist for “Colour My World” (the one Chicago song I absolutely do not like), and even wrote and sang the song “Rockin and Rollin’ On Christmas Eve” for Chicago’s third Christmas album, O Christmas Three.
This version of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” appears on the group’s first Christmas album, Chicago 25. And since it is technically not a Christmas song, it is perfect here.
And even moreso because of the ridiculous amount of snow we just had.
For today, enjoy the music (this live performance is from 1998, on Roseanne Barr’s short-lived talk show), and just remember, someone wanted it to snow in July!
Have a great day!
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