William Price King put this series together for Christmas 2015 and I thought that I would share again to the new readers who have joined the blog since then. For those of you who enjoyed the music the first time around.. I hope you will enjoy again..
Today we are featuring probably one of the most recorded songs for the festive season.
The Little Drummer Boy began life in the early 40s as Carol of the Drum and was written by American classical composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis. She had based the version on a traditional Czech carol with unknown origins and originally Katherine composed the piece specifically for girl’s choirs.
Carol of the Drum caught the attention of The Trapp Family Singers (Sound of Music) and they recorded for Decca Records in 1955. That began decades of recordings by some of the top artists of the time. By 1958 it had become The Little Drummer Boy when released by Harry Simeone on 20th Century Fox Records.
Here are just a few of the artists who have kept this beautiful Christmas Song fresh in the minds of us all over the decades and brought it to new generations of music lovers.
Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, The Supremes, Nana Mouskouri, Joan Baez, Stevie Wonder, Henri Mancini, The Jackson Five, Jimi Hendrix, Anne Murray, Kiri te Kanawa, Glen Campbell, Alicia Keys and Ringo Starr.
Here is the amazing group Pentatonix that brings us right up to date in a very beautiful version.
Pentatonix is an American a cappella group made up of five vocalists. They cover existing songs as well as produce their own material and it has a very definitive style. Exquisite vocal harmonies with extremely effective vocal percussion and beat boxing. You will be able to hear how wonderfully they bring this together in their version of The Little Drummer Boy.
Buy all their albums
http://www.amazon.com/Pentatonix/e/B00I4HOPXO
About William Price King.
About William Price King
William Price King is an American jazz singer, musician and composer. Originally he studied classical music and opera but over the years his style has evolved to what many refer to as the ‘sweet point’ where music and voice come together so beautifully.
His vocal mentors are two of the greatest giants in jazz, Nat King Cole and Mel Torme. His jazz album, ‘Home,’ is a collection of contemporary songs and whilst clearly a homage to their wonderful legacy it brings a new and refreshing complexity to the vocals that is entrancing.
His latest album Eric Sempe and William Price King is now available to download. The repertory includes standards such as “Bye Bye Blackbird” (a jazz classic), Sting’s “Englishman in New York,” Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”, Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and other well-known jazz, pop, and rock classics.
William and Eric Sempe have also brought their own magic to the album with original tracks such as Keep on Dreaming and Red Snow with collaboration with Jeanne King
Download the new album. http://cdbaby.com/cd/williampriceking
William is currently in France where he performs in popular Jazz Venues in Nice and surrounding area.
Connect to William
Website – http://www.williampriceking.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WilliamPriceKing
Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – http://cave-wilson.com/
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/william-price-king/id788678484
You can find all of William’s posts on Jazz, Classical and Contemporary artists in this link: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/william-price-king-a-man-and-his-music-jazz-classical-and-contemporary-legends/
My thanks to William for putting this series together, running until the end of December on Friday evenings at 9.00pm. UK Time.. I hope you will tune in.
I didn’t know that about the song. Thanks for sharing this interesting post!
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Glad you enjoyed Cynthia.. they are an amazing vocal group. xx
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Thank you very much, Cynthia. I’m glad that you enjoyed the post. Take care.
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You’re welcome, William. Your posts are always enlightening.
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I love this song. Pentatonix performs it beautifully. They are such a pleasure to watch, as their faces radiate joy. Thank you, Sally and William, for sharing this lovely post once again ❤
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Thanks Tina.. good things are worth repeating.. and they are superb singers.. hugs ♥
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Thanks, Tina. This is one of my all time favorites and it’s done so well by this group. Glad you enjoyed it.
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More than beautiful- moving.
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Thanks Jennie and so pleased you enjoyed.. hugs
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😀
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Thank you, Jennie. Glad that you enjoyed our post. All the best.
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You are very welcome.
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One of my favorite Christmas songs. Thanks for the history of the song William and Sal. 🙂 xx
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Thanks Debby… time to get into the spirit….hugs xx
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Yes it is Sal!!! ❤ xx
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Thank you, Debby. So glad that you enjoyed our post. All the best to you.
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Pleasure William. 🙂
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thanks for sharing…so delighted you enjoyed.. xxx
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Thanks for sharing our post. All the best.
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This is a lovely song, and a shame we only get to hear it at Christmas!
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I know but there are quite a few of their videos on Youtube and well worth listening to all their music.. hugs xxx
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I have to be careful visiting Youtube as I’m usually there for the rest of the day!
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Quite.. and if there are dogs in the videos the weekend..xx
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I usually drift along to the art section, I could watch those for hours! (and usually do!)
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I agree, it’s the kind of song one can listen to at any time. So glad you enjoyed it. Take care.
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Brilliant. Simply brilliant!
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Great.. glad you enjoyed..
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Thank you very much, Sally and I are happy that you enjoyed our post. Take care.
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I did!
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Thank you very much. We are happy that you enjoyed our post. Take care.
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Incredible version of the Little Drummer Boy. Love learning the history of the song too. Thanks.
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Glad you enjoyed Darlene. they are some group.. hugs xx
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Thank you, Darlene. We are happy that you enjoyed our post. All the best.
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This is a great post. I had never given any thought to the song.. thought is was some old traditional Christmas carol and so it was really interesting to read its history and it was recorded by the Von Trapps… now a Christmas institution in themselves! Brilliant!
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Glad you enjoyed Paul.. and I love their voices.. they could sing the phone book and sound great.
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Thank you, Paul. I love their creativity and they bring a lot of life into this beautiful song. Glad you enjoyed it. Take care.
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I have to be honest. The Little Drummer Boy is one of my least favorite Christmas songs. I have sung it in choirs several times and grew to dislike it through those experiences. However, Pentatonix has done an arrangement that I do enjoy and they salvaged my remaining ability to listen to it. I love Pentatonix!
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That is wonderful Molly .. so pleased that your enjoyed and it changed your feelings about the song. hugs xx
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Thank you, Molly. I, too, have sung this piece many times and Pentatonix gives this it a new and quite interesting energy. So glad that you enjoyed it.
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Lovely choice. I love that song but had never heard that version before. Thanks, Sally and William. A true joy.
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Glad you enjoyed Olga.. xxx
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Thank you, Olga. I am very happy that you enjoyed this modern version of this classic piece. Take care.
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I love this cover of ‘The Little Drummer Boy’.
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Thank you very much, Robert. We are happy that you enjoyed it. All the best.
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Thanks Robert..
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This is one of my favourite Christmas songs, Sally. Most enjoyable post.
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Thank you Robbie.. more tomorrow night..hugs x
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Thank you very much, Robbie. I am very happy that you enjoyed the post. All the best.
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