Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! Today, I’m going to continue my Christmas history series with one of the most heartbreaking stories behind a Christmas classic, “White Christmas.”

“White Christmas” was written in 1938 by Irving Berlin, who, interestingly enough, did not celebrate Christmas because he was Jewish.

Irving’s three-week-old son died on Christmas Day in 1928, and every year after, he and his wife visited their baby’s grave on Christmas Day. 

He wrote “White Christmas” as a way to respond to the sadness he associated Christmas with and how it never caused him so much pain in the past.

The song was a part of a 1942 musical that eventually became the movie “Holiday Inn.” It also became the title track for Bing Crosby’s Christmas musical.

Even though he was hesitant to record the song because it was nostalgic and tended to make people sad, Bing recorded “White Christmas,” and it quickly became the most recognizable version of the song and has since become the best-selling single of all time out of all genres of music.

“White Christmas” has been recorded by many country stars, such as Dylan Scott, Scotty McCreery, Martina McBride, and others.

Thanks for reading. I will have a CMA Award recap posted in a day or two. I’ll be back soon!