Songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine wrote the classic song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for Judy Garland's 1944 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis, along with dozens of other songs for MGM and Broadway musicals.

In 1989, Martin and Blaine, who has since died, joined Terry Gross for a discussion about their lives and the story of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which has since been recorded by scores of musicians — including Tori Amos, Garth Brooks, Robert Goulet, Lady Antebellum, James Taylor and Bob Dylan, to name just a few — in the past 65 years.

The song "began with the melody," Martin said. "I found a little madrigal-like tune that I liked but couldn't make work, so I played with it for two or three days and then threw it in the wastebasket."

Luckily, Blaine had heard the tune, too — and told Martin it was too good to throw away. "We dug around the wastebasket and found it," Blaine recalled. "Thank the Lord we found it." With the melody saved, the two men started working on the words. But the first draft was too sad, and Judy Garland asked for a revision.