An almost racist hit sung by Michael Jackson and the choir of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs

An almost racist hit sung by Michael Jackson and the choir of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs



165 years ago, American James Lord Pierpont obtained the copyright for the song "The One Horse Open Sleigh", now known as "Jingle Bells".

Unexpected Christmas Hit

The song we know today as "Jingle Bells" was written in 1857. James Lord Pierpont created it for Thanksgiving Sunday School. With winter and Christmas, the song became associated a few years later.

James Lord Pierpont was born in 1822. At the age of 14, he ran away from home and spent several years at sea on a whaling ship. Then he served in the US Navy, looking for his fortune in the mines during the gold rush. In 1853 he became an organist in a small church, began to teach music. He is the uncle of JPMorgan founder John Pierpont Morgan.

"Jingle Bells" was not something original for its time. It is similar to numerous songs of those years about sled races. The composition was first presented to the public on September 15, 1857. In 2017, US professor Kaina Hamill published her version of that performance: white artists sang, disguised as blacks.

Now in America this is considered a manifestation of racism. Following its publication, one New York school even removed "Jingle Bells" from its list of acceptable Christmas songs.

The first recording was made on a wax cylinder of Thomas Edison's phonograph in 1889, but this version has not survived. The earliest surviving to this day was recorded in 1898.

The song was originally called "The One Horse Open Sleigh" ("An open sleigh drawn by one horse"). About two years later, "Jingle Bells" was added to the name.

The text and melody have also changed slightly. Just a few words and notes. When and why this happened is not known. In the 1898 recording, the song is already performed in the way it is now.

"Jingle Bells" became a major Christmas hit in the United States in 1902, after it was performed by the then-popular Haydn Quartet. From that moment began her worldwide fame.

From opera to metal

Under 19th-century American law, song copyrights lasted no more than 42 years. That is, "Jingle Bells" lost protection in 1899, six years after the death of the creator. Since the popularity came to the song already in the 20th century, neither the author nor his heirs made much money on it.

There are cover versions of "Jingle Bells" in Italian, German, Russian and over ten other languages. Blues, jazz, gospel, house, ska, funk, rap, rock and metal covers have been recorded over the years. There's even a mambo version and a special "ding dong" version from Crazy Frog.

The composition was performed by opera stars Andrea Bocelli and Placido Domingo, as well as pop music giants Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton. The most famous rock version was played by the American band Skid Row.

On YouTube, you can even find a short sketch of "Jingle Bells Emo", as well as a version of the song performed by the choir of the internal troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In 1940, Dmitri Shostakovich used the melody "Jingle Bells" in the music for the play "King Lear", where it was called "The Jester's Song".

"Jingle Bells" was the first song to be performed live from outer space. On December 16, 1965, the astronauts of the American Gemini 6A mission decided to play a trick on their colleagues in Houston. They reported "a satellite-like object crossing a polar orbit from north to south on a low trajectory", after which they played the melody "Jingle Bells" on the harmonica.

Parodies and borrowings

Some songs partially borrowed the "Jingle Bells" melody or transformed it. One of the most famous examples is "Jingle Bells Rock" which has become a Christmas classic in its own right.

Bruce Springsteen used a slightly modified "Jingle Bells" motif» at the beginning of your composition "Merry Christmas Baby" and also at the end of the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". Mariah Carey borrowed part of the melody for her song "When Christmas Comes" Bob Rivers' rap composition uses the melody "Jingle Bells" in the track "What If Eminem Did Jingle Bells?". One of the heaviest versions of the composition was recorded in 1997 by the Russian band "Matagon".

Since the 1960s, a parody has been known Jingle Bells Batman Smells, it was sung by Bart Simpson on The Simpsons. The Halloween version is called "Pumpkin Bells" (pumpkin bells). In Australia in 1992 they wrote a special "summer" version Aussie Jingle Bells. There is even an absolutely incredible cover "Jingle Bells Farts" made from onomatopoeia of the passage of digestive gases.



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