Beloved radio broadcaster Paul Harvey was known for his marvelous news stories on his radio broadcast series, "The Rest of the Story." He impressed his fans with his quirky intonations and dramatic pauses. His extraordinary way of narrating stories made Harvey one of the most well-known radio personalities.
"The Rest of the Story" series presented little-known or new facts about famous celebrities or forgotten facts (which listeners usually came to know in the end.) Recently, one of these videos gained numerous followers as it revealed a secret about the timeless Christmas classic sung by Bing Crosby, "White Christmas."
Harvey narrated the whole story in his unique and unforgettable style. In 1942, Bing Crosby signed in for a new movie (Holiday Inn). The composer (Irving Berlin) had called a meeting to tell the crew how he felt the songs should be performed. He actually sang all the scores for the movie team.
Crosby, being a gentleman, listened to Berlin singing the movie songs. He was a brilliant singer, but he could not read music. Hence he had to memorize them. Berlin continued to sing and finally said he had one last amusing number. So he began singing the "White Christmas" in his high-pitched half-whisper.
Crosby, a staunch Catholic, did not like the song "White Christmas" as it commercialized the festival. He privately announced to the movie producer (Mark Sandrich) that he was not interested in singing it. However, there was a problem. The composer's contract stated that nothing musical was to be altered unless the composer did the altering.
Thus, the song to which Crosby objected had to be sung. After a lot of argument, Crosby reluctantly agreed to sing the number. Soon it was time for the controversial number to be shot for the movie. Berlin knew that Crosby was performing the song under protest. Thus, he waited secretly on the sets to check if the crew would alter his music. Finally, however, Crosby delivered the song as he had been told.
The tune became a huge hit and was considered a sentimental anthem that expressed the soldiers' longing away from home. Crosby's recording sold more than 30 million copies. "White Christmas" became one of the most popular Christmas songs after "Silent Night." The song everyone underestimated became sacred enough for the Christmas season. Harvey concluded the broadcast with his Iconic catchphrase, "And now you know the rest of the story."
Ever wonder where to find more Paul Harvey's broadcast about 'White Christmas'? Amazon has quite a few items, and we earn a bit from each sale. The cats think it's worth it.
