White Christmas (song) White Christmas (song) "White Christmas" is a 1942 Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the world's best-selling single with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. Other versions of the song, along with Crosby's, have sold over 50 million copies. Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims
The Wizard of Oz (1942 musical) storyline than previous versions. It was a critical success and won the Academy Awards for best song and best score. In 1942 the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The Muny) presented a new musical stage version. The script was adapted by Frank Gabrielson from the novel and uses most of the songs from the 1939 film. The 1942 production featured Evelyn Wycoff as Dorothy and Lee Dixon as the scarecrow. A new song was added for Dorothy to sing in the Emerald City, called "Evening Star", with lyrics by Mitchell Parish and music by Peter DeRose, and the music was newly