Ace Collins - More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas

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Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas

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Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas

Cathedrals: The Story of Americas Best-Loved Gospel Quartet

ZONDERVAN

MORE STORIES BEHIND THE BEST-LOVED SONGS of CHRISTMAS
Copyright 2006 by Andrew Collins

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 0-310-86307-4

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Collins, Ace
More stories behind the best-loved songs of Christmas / Ace Collins.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26314-2
1. Carols, English History and criticism. 2. Popular music History and criticism. 3. Christmas music History and criticism. I. Title.
ML1400.C6 2006
264'.23 dc22

2006007198

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HolyBible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The lyrics to Let There Be Peace on Earth are by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller. Copyright 1955; renewed 1983 by Jan-Lee Music (ASCAP). International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

06 07 08 09 10 11 12 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Matthew Harless,
who during his brief time on earth
taught everyone who knew him
the true joy to be found in every moment of life

CONTENTS

When doing the first book in this series, Stories Behindthe Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, I had as much fun as I have ever had with a writing project. In a sense, each day that I worked on that book, dug through research, and uncovered more facts behind the songs was like having one Christmas on top of another. At the time I finished, I had no idea if readers would come to appreciate the stories behind the songs, but I knew that each of those thirty-one chapters had deeply enriched my appreciation of the holidays.

Well, I soon found out that readers did want to know the stories behind Christmas carols. Because of the success of StoriesBehind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Zondervan asked me to research and write a book on holiday customs. StoriesBehind the Great Traditions of Christmas allowed me again to experience the joy and spirit of Christmas, day after day for months at a time. Rather than being tired of Christmas when I concluded this project, I was so excited by knowing the stories behind both the carols and the customs that I couldnt wait for the next holiday season to begin.

I cant begin to explain how excited I was when Zondervan asked for a third book, this one telling the stories behind even more beloved Christmas songs. As I began to target another batch of seasonal carols and uncover their stories, I came to realize what an incredible gift my publisher had given me.

More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas embraces the songs of classical history, folk music, and even modern country and jazz. In these pages, three of the famed Albert Burt carols are spotlighted, and those stories will not just make your holidays brighter, they might forever change your life. When you know the stories behind the unforgettable moving Christmas tributes of writers as varied as Charles Wesley, Bill Gaither, Willie Nelson, and Skip Ewing, you may never look at the holidays the same way again.

Just as Christmas is like no other time, these stories of the carols allow each of us to go to a particular moment in time and be moved in ways that will bring Christ alive in our December thoughts, as well as in our actions. As you will find, in MoreStories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas not only have we included many old favorites but we have had the chance to spotlight the wonderful stories behind a new generation of Christmas songs. So while you will probably gain a fresh appreciation of traditional fare such as Ave Maria, Carol of the Bells, Handels Hallelujah Chorus, and Little Drummer Boy, you might also fall in love with relatively new offerings like Christmas Shoes, Come and See Whats Happening in the Barn, Merry Christmas, Darling, and Thank God for Kids.

After the release of the first book in this series, I received many letters asking why we did not include the words to all of the songs in that book. Whenever we can, we do print the lyrics, but lyrics to songs written in the past seventy-five years are owned by the publishers of these works. Often there are rules which prevent the publication of those newer lyrics for use in books such as this. Yet even if the lyrics are not printed here, it is very easy to find them through published sheet music, on the websites of the many artists who have recorded these classics, or perhaps even in music books or on CD inserts that you already own. Besides, if you are like me, you probably already know most of the words to almost all of these wonderful holiday offerings.

One of the songs in this book is If Every Day Was Like Christmas. Thanks to these assignments, so many of my days have become just like Christmas. I hope that when you read this book, more of your days will have the magic, the joy, the wonder, and the flavor of the most wonderful day of the year!

The Hallelujah Chorus is arguably the most powerful piece of music ever written. Though its lyrics are sparse, its meaning is monumental. These powerful T words, coupled with one of the most awe-inspiring pieces of music ever penned, put an unmistakably and unabashedly spiritual exclamation point on each Christmas season. This song now reverberates so strongly during the holidays that for many, Christmas does not begin until the Hallelujah Chorus has been performed. It is at that moment, when the first hallelujah is delivered and people rise as one to their feet, that the true meaning of Christs birth is again joyously proclaimed by his people.

Yet there is an irony in the belief that it cant be Christmas without Handels most famed composition. The song itself was never intended for a Christmas audience. It was originally considered to be an Easter offering. And, to make this story even more unbelievable, when he composed his most famous work, the great George Handel was a washed-up has-been, a frail forgotten man living in abject poverty. While penning what is now widely thought of as the worlds most dynamic musical salute to the birth of the Savior, Handel essentially was reborn himself.