Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” turns 80 with reissues, a book and a film

Nat King Cole’s 1946 recording of “The Christmas Song” turns 80 this year, and the anniversary brings vinyl reissues, a book and a holiday movie, according to uDiscover Music. Three editions of the album “The Christmas Song” arrive on October 30.

The first is a limited Holiday Sparkling Series pressing from Capitol/UMe, made with liquid-filled vinyl and gold glitter for a snow-globe effect. Its tracklist includes “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls” and the title song. Two audiophile editions follow: UMe’s Vinylphyle and Interscope-Capitol’s Definitive Sound Series.

Mel Tormé and Robert Wells wrote the song during a hot Southern California summer in 1945. Cole and his trio first recorded it the next year, and he went back to it several times; the 1961 stereo version became the best-known recording and was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2022.

On October 27 Running Press publishes the illustrated book “Christmas with Nat King Cole: A Legacy of Merry Music and Holiday Memories,” written by Allison McGevna with a foreword by Cole’s daughters. It covers the song’s history along with the family’s holiday memories, traditions and recipes. The Hallmark Channel movie “Hearts All Aglow,” which features “The Christmas Song” and other Cole recordings, premieres on December 18.

Nat King Cole, the American singer and jazz pianist, was born in Montgomery in 1919 and died in 1965. The year also marks 70 years since “The Nat King Cole Show” debuted on November 5, 1956, making Cole the first Black man to host a nationally broadcast network television series.