3 Timeless Christmas Songs From Bing Crosby That Will Make Your Winter a Wonderland

Bing Crosby was the first multimedia star. The first person to record music, perform on stage and the radio, and have a presence in film and television. The Tacoma, Washington-born crooner was one of the most popular artists of the 20th century and his presence in the zeitgeist remains today, largely thanks to his Christmas croons.

Here below, we wanted to explore three holiday songs from Crosby that have stood the test of time. A trio of tracks from the Pacific Northwesterner that remain on the tips of tongues every Christmastime. Indeed, these are three timeless Christmas songs from Bing Crosby that will make your winter a wonderland.

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“White Christmas” (1941)

Crosby, who began recording in 1931 and tallied 71 albums and 409 singles, earned his biggest hit a decade later when he performed the Irving Berlin holiday song “White Christmas” on a radio broadcast on Christmas Day 1941, just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Berlin’s own son died on Christmas Day in 1928.) Crosby’s official studio recording of the song, which took a mere 18 minutes to track and included the Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, hit No. 1 on Halloween 1942, where it remained on the charts for 11 weeks. Today, the song is the world’s best-selling single of all time. On it, he sings,

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow, oh, the snow

“Silent Night” from Christmas Music (1940)

Written in Austria in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr, this classic Christmas song was covered by Crosby in 1940 for his album Christmas Music. It’s a somber tune, like the feeling of fresh snow that’s fallen in the middle of the night and remained untouched. With his signature voice, Crosby brings the song to life in a mellow, hushed manner that remains perfect for the season. And on the tune, he sings,

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

“Silver Bells” (1950)

Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, Crosby produced the first recorded version of the tune in 1950. And on the song, he sings with Carol Richards with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra and the Lee Gordon Singers. It’s a lovely, twinkling song that sounds like your hometown lit up for the season, gifts in the shop windows, and steam coming up from the hot cocoa. On the tune, Crosby sings,

Silver bells, silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling, hear them ring
Soon it’ll be Christmas day

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