It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas was written in 1951 by Meredith Willson (1902-1984), a highly regarded professional songwriter from Mason City, Iowa. Willson is best known as the author of the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man (which included the popular song Seventy-Six Trombones). He was a also virtuoso flute and piccolo player who began his career as a member of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra before breaking into the movie world and writing the Academy Award-nominated score for The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire of fascism.
In terms of its lyrics, the holiday favourite It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas has all the essential ingredients of the best Christmas songs: its lyrics reference glistening snow, chiming bells, children’s toys, Christmas carols, a holly wreath and an abundance of candy. But we shouldn’t forget the warm, infectious, singalong melody that wraps it all up in a warm Christmassy embrace, the key to any successful Yuletide song. |
