Tunes To Ring In The New Year: Happy New Year by ABBA

Released in 1980 from their Super Trouper album, Happy New Year by the Swedish group ABBA was released as a single in 1999 under the Universal Music Group label. Since 1999, this song consistently made the Top 100 charts worldwide with Number 75 in Germany, Number 34 in Sweden and 15 in the Netherlands. The Spanish language version called Felicidad ranked in the Top 5 in Argentina along with the South American versions of the Super Trouper album. In 2008 Happy New Year was released with charting number 25 in Denmark, 11 in Norway and 4 in Sweden and became number 5 on the Sweden and Norwegian charts the following year. In 2011, the song made the Dutch Top 10 charts. 

look inside

Happy new year Composed by Andersson / Ulvaeus. Arranged by Robert Sund. For SATB choir, piano. En av de kanda ABBA-sangerna i arr av Robert Sund. Language: English. 12 pages. Published by Gehrmans Musikforlag (GH.GE-12065).

Songs of Christmas Past Part 7: Feliz Navidad

One of the most downloaded and aired Christmas song in the United States and Canada, Feliz Navidad is a simple and fun song that wishes you Marry Christmas in both English and Spanish. The tune, written by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano consists of only two lines of the lyrics. One line contains the lyrics Feliz Navidad, próspero año y Felicidad meaning "Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness" in Spanish. The other line contains the words  "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart" in English. Written and recorded in 1970 under the RCA record label, Feliciano recorded his version of the work on acoustic guitar and a Puerto Rican Cuatro with the help of drummer Paulinho Magalhaes and producer Rick Jarrard.

Numerous artists have covered Feliz Navidad since its release in 1970, and the tune is one of the top 25 most played recorded Christmas songs internationally according to ASCAP.

look inside

Feliz Navidad For Piano/Vocal/Guitar. Piano Vocal. 4 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.351885).

look inside

Alfred's Basic Piano Course - Top Hits! Christmas - Complete Levels 2 & 3 (For the Later Beginner). Edited by E. L. Lancaster and Morton Manus. Arranged by Various. For easy solo piano. Method/Instruction; Piano - Alfred's Basic Piano Course. Alfred's Basic Piano Library. Instructional and Christmas. SMP Level 2 (Late Elementary). Instructional songbook. Easy piano notation, fingerings and lyrics (does not include words to the songs). 31 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.17204).

look inside

The Most Requested Christmas Songs Composed by Various. For Piano/Vocal/Guitar. Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook. Softcover. 256 pages. Published by Cherry Lane Music (HL.1563).

look inside

Michael Buble - Christmas By Michael Buble. For Vocal. Vocal Piano. Softcover. 114 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.307364).

look inside

Popular Performer -- A Christmas Just for You (10 Popular Songs of the Season). Arranged by Dennis Alexander. For Piano. Book; Piano Collection; Piano Supplemental. Popular Performer Series. Christmas; Secular; Winter. Advanced. 40 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.39044).

Songs of Christmas Past Part 6: Sleigh Ride

Composed by Leroy Anderson, Sleigh Ride has become a standard Christmas tune with concert bands and orchestras worldwide. This beloved piece conceived by Anderson in July of 1946 was finished in February of 1948 and recorded by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the baton of Arthur Fiedler in 1949. Sleigh Ride became an instant hit and became the orchestra's signature tune.  In 1950, Mitchell Parish wrote the lyrics to the piece about a person who excitedly invites another to ride a sleigh with them on a winter's day. In that same year, Anderson recorded his version of Sleigh Ride, and it hit Cashbox magazine's best sellers chart and re-released in 1952. The first known vocal performance of the tune was recorded by The Andrews Sisters in 1950.

Sleigh Ride consistently ranks in the top 10 most performed songs according to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

look inside

Sleigh Ride Arranged by Michael Story. Concert Band. Concert Band. Belwin Young Band. Christmas; Winter. Grade 2. Conductor Score & Parts. 256 pages. Duration 2:27. Published by Belwin Music (AP.BD9942).

look inside

Sleigh Ride Composed by Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Orchestra. Full Orchestra. Leroy Anderson Classic Full Orchestra (Concert Level). Christmas; Winter. Grade 3.5. Conductor Score & Parts. 144 pages. Duration 3:01. Published by Belwin Music (AP.81261).

look inside

Sleigh Ride Composed by Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Orchestra. Full Orchestra. Leroy Anderson Classic Full Orchestra (Concert Level). Christmas; Winter. Grade 3.5. Conductor Score. 28 pages. Published by Belwin Music (AP.81261C).

look inside

Sleigh Ride Composed by Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Concert Band. Concert Band; SmartMusic. Leroy Anderson Classics. Christmas; Winter. Grade 4. Conductor Score & Parts. 258 pages. Duration 3:09. Published by Belwin Music (AP.84181).

look inside

Sleigh Ride By Mitchell Parish. For piano, voice and guitar (chords). Christmas; Winter. Piano/Vocal/Guitar. 6 pages. Published by Hal Leonard - Digital Sheet Music (HX.244540).

look inside

Accent on Performance Holiday Collection (22 Full Band Arrangements Correlated to Accent on Achievement (Piano)). Arranged by John O'Reilly and Mark Williams. Concert Band. For Piano. Band Supplement; Book. Accent on Performance. Chanukah; Christmas; Winter. 48 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.41323).

Songs of Christmas Past Part 5: The Christmas Song

The Christmas Song, also known as Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, is one of the most popular classic Christmas tunes composed by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells in 1944. Written during a hot summer this song originally named Merry Christmas To You, was an attempt to stay cool by thinking about the cold weather of the holidays.

 The Nat King Cole Trio, with singer and pianist Nat King Cole, bassist Johnny Miller and guitarist Oscar Moore recorded The Christmas Song on June 14, 1946 at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City. On August 19th that same year, a second recording was made along with the first record issue. Cole went on to make two more recordings of The Christmas Song, and Mel Torme made several recordings of the piece as well.

Since its first recording in 1946, The Christmas Song became the most performed Christmas song according to BMI.

look inside

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) (Piano/Vocal/Guitar). For Piano/Vocal/Guitar. Piano Vocal. Christmas and Standards. Difficulty: medium. Single. Vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 2 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.380381).

look inside

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) By Mel Torme and Frank Sinatra. For piano, voice, and guitar (chords only). Christmas; Jazz; Standards. Piano/Vocal/Guitar. 3 pages. Published by Hal Leonard - Digital Sheet Music (HX.38459).

look inside

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) By Mel Torme and Nat "King" Cole. For piano and voice. Christmas; Jazz; Love; Standards. PV. 6 pages. Published by Hal Leonard - Digital Sheet Music (HX.189580).

Songs Of Christmas Past Part 4: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

 It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year is a happy tune about the activities associated with the Christmas season and getting together with relatives and friends. Among the activities is the old Victorian Christmas tradition of telling scary ghost stories. One of the stories that survived since that period was the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.

Composed by Edward Pola and George Wyle in 1963, this song recorded and released by singer Andy Williams later that year and included in Williams first Christmas album. Over the years, it became a Holiday standard with it being one of Billboard's Top 10 Holiday Songs since 2001. Since its first release in 1963, numerous artists covered It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year as well as used in several commercials and movies.

Need some sheet music or recordings for your holiday party or to match your holiday mood? Click on the links below.

look inside

It's Christmas! (for Advanced Piano). Arranged by Dan Coates. For solo piano. Piano - Intermediate / Advanced Collection; Piano Supplemental. Dan Coates Piano Favorites. Christmas. SMP Level 8 (Early Advanced). Collection. Standard notation (does not include words to the songs). 44 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.AFM0211A).

look inside

The Complete Christmas Music Collection For voice, piano and guitar (chords only). This edition: Piano/Vocal/Chords. P/V/C Mixed Folio; Piano/Vocal/Chords. The Complete Collection Series. Sacred. SMP Level 5 (Intermediate). Songbook. Vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 264 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.F3350SMD).

Songs Of Christmas Past Part 3: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

One of the most popular songs and holiday television specials associated with childhood is the perineal classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Over the years, this song about a lovable reindeer, once ostracized for his red nose, has worked its way into the hearts of millions.  However, Rudolph did not get his start in a song or a Christmas special; he debuted in a book.

In 1939 creator Robert May was assigned to Chicago based department store Montgomery Ward. The shop, which previously bought and handed out coloring books, decided to create their book in order  to save money.  The story idea of Rudolph, initially rejected by the management due to the significance of a red nose being associated with alcoholism, needed the help of illustrator Denver Gillen to prove its innocence. Gillen, using zoo deer as models to draw the cute characters to the story. The management supported the idea after seeing his illustrations.  In its first year of publication, Montgomery Ward distributed 2.5 million copies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

In 1949, May's brother in law Johnny Marks composed the well-known song based on the story of Rudolph with the first recording done by Gene Autry. Autry was reluctant to record the piece until his wife talked him into it which resulted in an excellent decision. Autry's performance of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sold 2 million copies in 1949 and became the second biggest-selling Christmas song of all time.

If you would like sheet music or a recording of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, click on any of the links below.

look inside

120 Best Known Christmas Songs (Piano/Vocal/Guitar). For voice, piano and guitar chords. This edition: Piano/Vocal/Guitar. P/V/C Mixed Folio; Piano/Vocal/Chords. Sacred. SMP Level 5 (Intermediate). Songbook. Vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 192 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.VF1854A).

look inside

At the Christmas Ball: Just Tracks (Karaoke CDG) Christmas. Karaoke CDG. Published by Pocket Songs (PS.JTG112).

look inside

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer & Other Carols (For 3 Recorders). Composed by Various. Standard notation. Published by Universal Edition (PR.UE031474).

Songs of Christmas Past Part 2: Home For The Holidays

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays is a beloved Christmas song that tells of those who are heading to their relatives homes to spend the holidays with them. It is a song often associated with the Christmas  season.

Written by Robert Allen and lyricist Al Stillman, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays was published in 1954 and recorded twice by singer Perry Como. The first recording was on  November 16, 1954 at RCA Records as a single for Christmas with the flip side being the tune Silk Stockings. This single reached number 8 the Billboard magazine chart in the United States. Home for the Holidays was released again the following Christmas  along with the flip side being the carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.  The second recording was done on July 15, 1959 in stereo with a different musical arrangement and released as a 33 1/3 single with the flip side being Winter Wonderland.

Many artists have performed a cover of Home for the Holidays including the Carpenters, Barry Manilow, as well as a duet by Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones.

If you would like to have sheet music to Home for the Holidays or recordings of this fine piece, click on any of the links below.

57584bcbfbdd2db865239c538edd7873c3ce043ff7a30cd4f9

look inside

Home for the Holidays (A Medley). Arranged by Teena Chinn. Choir Secular. SATB choir. Choral Octavo. Christmas Pop Choral Series. Christmas; Secular; Winter. Grade 3. Choral Octavo. 16 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.C0272C1X).

look inside

Home for the Holidays Composed by Robert Allen. Arranged by Larry Clark. String ensemble. For String Orchestra. Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series. Classical. Grade 2-2.5. Full Score. Standard notation. 8 pages. Published by Carl Fischer (CF.YAS18F).

look inside

Piano Christmas - Keepsake Edition (The Complete Christmas Collection). Edited by Carol Tornquist. Arranged by Bill Wolaver, Bob Krogstad, Bruce Greer, Carol Tornquist, Mark Hayes, Phil Perkins, Richard Huggins, and Teresa Wilhelmi. For Piano. P/V/C. Christmas. Songbook. Vocal melody, lyrics, piano accompaniment, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 248 pages. Word Music #080689434389. Published by Word Music (HL.311707).

look inside

(There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays By Perry Como. For piano, voice, and guitar (chords only). Christmas; Love; Standards. 5 pages. Published by Hal Leonard - Digital Sheet Music (HX.12609).

Songs of Christmas Past Part 1: White Christmas

One of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time is White Christmas. The tune, written by composer Irving Berlin, tells of a reminiscent tale of the magic of a snowy Christmas Day and the beauty it gives the outdoors. Even though the song talks about a wintery cold day, White Christmas was composed when Berlin when he was staying at the  La Quinta Hotel in warm, sunny La Quinta, California in 1940. However, it took someone who was familiar with white Christmases to hurl it into a big hit that it was. Bing Crosby, who grew up in Spokane, Washington, debuted the song on Christmas day in 1941 on the NBC radio show The Kraft Music Hall. On May 29, 1942, Crosby  recorded the White Christmas with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers for Decca Records. The song, released on July 30th of that year was a part of an album of songs from the film Holiday Inn. By the end of October of 1942, White Christmas  topped the "Your Hit Parade" chart and maintained its position the following year. During the holiday seasons of 1945 and 1946, it was re-released by Decca and was once again at the top of the charts. In 1954, White Christmas was used in the movie, "White Christmas" starring Crosby. The song became the biggest-selling single worldwide of all time and used  as a secret, pre-arranged signal launching the U.S. evacuation from Saigon on April 30, 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War.

Buy the sheet music or recordings by clicking on the ads below!

look inside

White Christmas (Piano/Vocal/Guitar). Composed by Irving Berlin. For Piano/Vocal/Guitar. Piano Vocal. Christmas and Standards. Difficulty: easy-medium. Single. Vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 6 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.5256).

look inside

White Christmas (from the Motion Picture Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn Score and Parts). By The Canadian Brass. By Irving Berlin. Arranged by Luther Henderson. Brass quintet. For Brass, Percussion, Piano, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Horn. Brass Ensemble. Published by Canadian Brass (HL.50483594).

look inside

Christmas Portrait By The Carpenters. For Piano/Vocal/Guitar. Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook. Soft Rock. SMP Level 5 (Intermediate). Songbook. Vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 144 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.306430).

Billie Holiday "Lady Day"

Billie Holiday is one of the most famous female vocalists of all time and was influential in both jazz and pop singing. Although she was among the most prominent jazz musicians, she leads a very troubled life t plagued by poverty, drugs, and abuse.

Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, she took the stage name Billie Holiday after an actress by the name of Billie Dove and her father Clarence Holiday. Clarence was a jazz guitarist who never married Billie's mother and hated to admit that he was her father prior to her fame. Billie's mom, Sadie Fagan, was thrown out of her parent's home and moved to Philadelphia, Billie's birthplace. Billie and her mother later settled in an impoverished neighborhood in Baltimore. Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920 when Billie was three but divorced three years later. As a result, Billie was raised only by her mother and several relatives. At age 10 Billie was molested and, as a consequence, along with a lengthy truancy record, she was sent to a Catholic reform school called The House of the Good Shepherd in 1925. Two years later, she was released with the assistance of a family friend. In 1928, Billie and her mother moved to New York City. A year later Billie's mom discovered a neighbor by the name of Wilbert Rich in the act of raping her daughter. As a result, Rich was sentenced to three months in jail.

In 1930, Billie was recruited by a brothel, worked as a prostitute and was imprisoned for a short time for solicitation. By the early 1930s, she started her singing career in various nightclubs in Harlem for tips. Penniless and facing eviction, she reduced the audience to tears when she sang "Travelin All Alone" in a local club. She continued to sing at various clubs and ended up at a very well known Harlem jazz club called Pod's and Jerry's. In 1933, she was discovered by a talent scout by the name of John Hammond while singing at another club called Monette's. In that same year, Hammond got her to record with Benny Goodman.

Throughout the 1930s, Billie worked with such jazz greats as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Ben Webster, Teddy Wilson, Artie Shaw, Count Basie and Lester Young. Young and Holiday were close friends and created some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time. Young also created the nickname "Lady Day" for Billie while she created the name "Prez" for him.

When Billie was on the Columbia label in 1939, she was introduced to a very powerful and haunting song about lynching called "Strange Fruit." Reminding her of her father's death, she performed the song. However, she was disappointed with many people's misunderstanding of it. Talking about the song, Billie would state that the people will ask her to "sing that sexy song about the people swinging." Although Columbia did not record the song, Commodore Records did, and she continued to sing the song for twenty years.

As Billie's use of hard drugs started in the 1940s, she not only married Jimmy Monroe, a trombonist in 1941, she also hooked up with trumpeter Joe Guy. Joe was her drug dealer and common law husband. In 1947, she divorced Monroe, broke up with Guy and was jailed on drug charges. She served time at the Alderson Federal Correctional Institution for Women in West Virginia. Due to her jail time, her New York City Cabaret Card was subsequently revoked, and she was unable to perform any clubs there for the rest of her life. However, she did sing at the Ebony club in 1948 with the permission of John Levy.

Despite her arrest and jail time, she continued to be addicted to drugs into the 1950s as well as having relationships with abusive men and a drinking problem. These destructive behaviors contributed to her declining health. In 1952, she married a mafia enforcer by the name of Louis McKay. Even though he was abusive, McKay did try to get Billie off of drugs. On November 10, 1956, she performed at Carnegie Hall before a packed audience. Her final performance was on May 25, 1959 when she sang at the Phoenix Theater in New York's Greenwich Village. Due to her failing health, she was only able to perform two songs. Six days later, she was admitted to Metropolitan Hospital in New York suffering from liver and heart disease. She was then placed under house arrest in the hospital due to drug possession on July 12 and later died of cirrhosis of the liver on July 17,1959. The only money she had left was $0.70 in the bank plus a tabloid fee of $750. She was progressively swindled out of her earnings in her final years. She was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.

Despite her tragic life, she influenced many artists in the pop and jazz genres. There are also many references and tributes to her. Among those include the 1972 movie that was loosely based on her life named after her autobiography called Lady Sings the Blues. In 1987, she was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She later graced a postage stamp in 1994 thanks to the United States Postal Service as well as ranking number 6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock n' Roll in 1999. Billie Holiday was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Other memorable tributes also include a 1959 poem by Frank O'Hara called "The Day Lady Died", and a song by the group U2 called "Angel Of Harlem" in 1988.

Buy recordings of Lady Day by clicking on the links below.

Attention!!


The Coeur d’Alene Symphony has added a new ticket price level designed to encourage young musicians to attend our concerts.

Effective immediately, High School students who are actively participating in their school music program, and all members of the Coeur d’Alene Youth Orchestra may purchase tickets to the Symphony’s regular season concerts for just $10.00.

Our upcoming concert is "Christmas at the Kroc" on December 5th at 7:30 pm at the Kroc Center in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho and December 6th at 2pm  the Kroc Center in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho.

Hi All, I am Back!!

Hi all, I am back!!

I know it has been awhile since I worked on this blog. I have been out of commission due to medical reasons for some time as well as a few other distractions. It is great to be back and I am looking forward to doing more posts for you! :)