henry onorati did not write the song the little drummer boy but received joint composition credits anyway.
henry onorati did not write the song the little drummer boy but received joint composition credits anyway.
who did not write the song the little drummer boy but received joint composition credits anyway?
henry onorati
their version was credited solely to davis and published by belwin-mills. in 1957 it was recorded, with a slightly altered arrangement, by the jack halloran singers for their album "christmas is a-comin"' on dot records. dot's henry onorati introduced the song to his friend harry simeone and the following year, when 20th century fox records contracted him to make a christmas album, simeone, making further small changes to the halloran arrangement and retitling it "the little drummer boy", recorded it with the harry simeone chorale on the album "sing we now of christmas". simeone and onorati claimed joint composition credits with davis.
the little drummer boy
the album and the song were an enormous success, the single scoring on the u.s. music charts from 1958 to 1962. in 1963, the album was reissued under the title "the little drummer boy: a christmas festival", capitalizing on the single's popularity. the following year the album was released in stereo. in 1988, "the little drummer boy: a christmas festival" was released on cd by casablanca records, and subsequently, on island records. harry simeone, who in 1964 had signed with kapp records, recorded a new version of "the little drummer boy" in 1965 for his album "o' bambino: the little drummer boy". simeone recorded the song a third and final time in 1981, for an album (again titled "the little drummer boy") on the budget holiday records label.
the little drummer boy