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The Harry Simeone Chorale-The Little Drummer Boy

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Uploaded by on Dec 24, 2010

"The Little Drummer Boy," also known as "Carol of the Drum," is a popular Christmas song written by pianist Katherine K. Davis in 1941.It was popularized with a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale and has been adapted many times since.The lyrics tell of a poor young boy who, unable to afford a gift for the infant Jesus, plays his drum for the newborn with the Virgin Mary's approval. The newborn seems to understand and smiles at the boy in gratitude.The story is somewhat similar to an 12th century legend retold by Anatole France as Le Jongleur de Notre Dame (French: Our Lady's Juggler), which was adapted into an opera in 1902 by Jules Massenet. In the French legend, however, a juggler juggles before the statue of the Virgin Mary, and the statue, according to which version of the legend one reads, either smiles at him or throws him a rose (or both, as in the 1984 television film, The Juggler of Notre Dame.)The song, originally titled "Carol of the Drum," was based on a traditional Czech carol.In 1957, the hitherto obscure song was re-arranged by Henry Onorati for a recording by the Jack Halloran Singers on Dot Records, but this version was not released in time for Christmas. The following year, 20th Century Fox Records contracted Onorati's friend Harry Simeone to make a Christmas album. As Simeone was looking for material, Onorati introduced him to the "Carol of the Drum." Simeone re-arranged the song, retitled it "The Little Drummer Boy," and recorded it with the Harry Simeone Chorale on the album Sing We Now of Christmas. The song was jointly credited to Simeone and Onorati, even though they had only arranged it.The album and the song were an enormous success, with the single scoring on the U.S. music charts from 1958 to 1962. In 1963, the album was reissued under the title The Little Drummer Boy: A Christmas Festival in order to boost sales even higher by capitalizing on the single's popularity. The following year, the album was released in stereo. In the 1980s, The Little Drummer Boy: A Christmas Festival was released on CD by Casablanca Records.Harry Simeone, who in 1964 had signed with Kapp Records, recorded a new version of "The Little Drummer Boy" in 1965 for his album O' Bambino - The Little Drummer Boy

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  • FINALLY the best version! THANK YOU! :D

  • oh my gaaaaaaaaaahhhhh i love this christmas song

  • YES! This is the version I am looking for.

    A Merry Christmas to you!

  • Merry Christmas to you too!

    Thank you for your wishes and for sharing this nice video with me.

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