Sleigh Ride
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"Sleigh Ride" is a popular light orchestral piece, composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July, 1946; he finished the work in February, 1948. Lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. It was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Orchestra. The song was a hit record on RCA Victor Red Seal 49-0515 (45 rpm) / 10-1484 (78 rpm). The 45 rpm version was originally issued on red vinyl. This original mono version has never been available on CD, although the later 1959 re-recording is available in stereo.
Leroy Anderson recorded his version of "Sleigh Ride" in 1950 on Decca 9-16000 (45 rpm) / 16000 (78 rpm). This monaural version is available on CD as well as his 1959 stereo re-recording.
Although "Sleigh Ride" is often associated with Christmas, and often appears on Christmas compilation albums, the song's lyrics never specifically mention any holiday or religion.
According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers [ASCAP] annual review of Christmas music, "Sleigh Ride" consistently ranks in the top 10 list of most performed songs during the Christmas season worldwide.
According to author Steve Metcalf in the book "Leroy Anderson: A Bio-Bibliography" [Praeger 2004], "Sleigh Ride...has been performed and recorded by a wider array of musical artists than any other piece in the history of Western music."
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[edit] Recording History
- 1949 - The Boston Pops instrumental version was the original, but Leroy Anderson himself recorded a similar instrumental version in 1959. The 1949 version was slightly slower.
- 1950 - Leroy Anderson. The Decca Gold Label Series singles (#16000), both 45 and 78 rpm, referenced above were not issued as individual records. They were part of the four-disc set "Leroy Anderson Conducts His Own Compositions." This is Anderson's first recording of Sleigh Ride.
- 1950 - The Andrews Sisters - notable as the first known vocal recording. [1]
- 1954 - Bing Crosby with vocal backing by Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra (Decca 28463).
- 1954 - George Melachrino. The arrangement is more string-heavy; even the horse's whinny is done by the violins.
- 1956 - Jo Stafford - Ski Trails
- 1956 - Spike Jones - A Xmas Spectactular[2]
- 1958 - Johnny Mathis - Merry Christmas
- 1959 - Ray Conniff - Christmas With Conniff
- 1962 - Andre Kostelanetz. A similar arrangement to the Leroy Anderson/Boston Pops version, but moderately faster in speed and featuring a whistle in portions of the song.
- 1960 - Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
- 1963 - The Ronettes - An altered version with background vocals singing "Ring-a-ling-a-ling Ding-dong-ding" and excluding the lyrics "giddy up giddy up let's go" and "The birthday/Christmas party at the home of farmer Gray."
- 1963 - Bert Kaempfert - Christmas Wonderland
- 1965 - Andy Williams - Merry Christmas
- 1965 - The Ventures. A surf-style instrumental, similar in beat and arrangement to their biggest hit, Walk Don't Run. Omits the "Farmer Gray" portion of the song.
- 1968 - Herb Alpert - Christmas Album
- 1971 - The Carpenters
- 1977 - Burl Ives - Christmas by the Bay
- 1977 - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir (and again in 1982, 1987, 2005, and 2006)[3]
- 1979 - Larry Groce - Disney's Christmas Favorites
- 1987 - Air Supply - The Christmas Album
- 1987 - The Muppets - in the movie A Muppet Family Christmas
- 1989 - The Hampton String Quartet - What if Mozart Wrote "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"?
- 1992 - Debbie Gibson - A Very Special Christmas 2
- 1992 - TLC - Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
- 1992 - Mel Torme - Christmas Songs
- 1993 - Harry Connick, Jr. - When My Heart Finds Christmas
- 1993 - Amy Grant - A Christmas Collection
- 1994 - Lorrie Morgan - Merry Christmas from London
- 1994 - Neil Diamond
- 1996 - Spice Girls - B Side of "2 Become 1"
- 1998 - Squirrel Nut Zippers - Christmas Caravan
- 1999 - Kenny G - Faith
- 2000 - The Three Tenors - The Three Tenors Christmas
- 2000 - Vanessa Williams - from the movie A Diva's Christmas Carol
- 2001 - Garth Brooks - Call Me Claus
- 2001 - TLC - MTV TRL Christmas
- 2002 - Hillary Duff - Santa Claus Lane
- 2002 - Jump5 - All the Joy in the World
- 2002 - S Club 8 - Puppy Love/Sleigh Ride
- 2003 - Art Paul Schlosser - "Words of Cheese and Other Parrot Trees"
- 2004 - Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love
- 2004 - Play - Play Around the Christmas Tree
- 2007 - MC Einar's "Jul, Det' Cool" - a popular Danish Christmas song is based on this track.
- 2007 - KT Tunstall - A target exclusive CD
- 2007 - Relient K - Let it Snow, Baby... Let it Reindeer
[edit] Explanations
- Currier & Ives was a popular printing company in the 19th century. The company was shut down in 1907, 39 years before the song was even composed.
- The horse whinny 5 bars from the end is made by a trumpet half-valve glissando.
- The whip cracks are made by the drummer with a slapstick or a rimshot.
[edit] Classical "Sleigh Ride" pieces
"Die Schlittenfahrt (Sleigh Ride)" is also the popular name given to one of the Three German Dances composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The composition is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Wolfgang's father, Leopold Mozart (whose own Divertimento in F major is popularly known as "Musical Sleigh Ride").
The "Winter Night" segment of Frederick Delius' Three Small Tonepoems is also commonly known as "Sleigh Ride".
The "Troika" from Lieutenant Kije by Sergei Prokofiev is also a musical sleigh ride, referring to a three-horse team drawing a carriage (troika means "group of three").
