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"Sleigh Ride" is a lightorchestrastandard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July and finished the work in February The original recordings were instrumental versions. The lyrics, about riding in a sleigh and other fun wintertime activities, were written by Mitchell Parish in ^[2]

The orchestral version was first recorded in by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra.^[3] "Sleigh Ride" was a hit record on RCA Victor Red Seal (45 rpm) / (78 rpm), and has become one of the orchestra's signature songs. The 45 rpm version was originally issued on red vinyl. The Pops have also recorded the song with John Williams, their conductor from to , and Keith Lockhart, their current conductor.

American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani recorded a cover of "Sleigh Ride" in October for the reissued deluxe edition of her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (). Her version was produced by Brent Kutzle and Brandon Collins, and was accompanied by an orchestra.

Details[edit]

"American Homestead, Winter", lithograph by Currier and Ives, The song's lyrics refer to a "picture print by Currier and Ives," whose lithographs were popular in the 19th century.

Leroy Anderson's own recording of "Sleigh Ride" on Decca (45 rpm) and (78 rpm) reached Cashbox magazine's bestsellers chart when re-released in

The main melody of "Sleigh Ride" was used (with no credit for Anderson) as the main theme of Victor Young's score for the western Streets of Laredo. Mitchell Parish worked with Young around this time, writing the lyrics for Young's version of Hoagy Carmichael's previously instrumental "Stardust". In , The Andrews Sisters recorded the first vocal version of "Sleigh Ride", using the lyrics written by Parish.

Although "Sleigh Ride" is often associated with Christmas and appears on Christmas compilation albums, its lyrics mention no holiday (apart from certain recordings, such as those by the Carpenters, Walter Schumann and Air Supply, that substitute "Christmas party" for "birthday party" in the song's bridge). The song is noted for the sounds of a horse clip-clopping, and a whip used to get the horse moving. In most performances, a percussionist provides these sounds on temple blocks and a slapstick (or occasionally, drum rim shots), respectively. Toward the end of the piece, a trumpet imitates the sound of a horse whinnying.

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) review of Christmas music, "Sleigh Ride" consistently ranks as one of the top 10 most-performed songs written by ASCAP members.^[4] ASCAP named "Sleigh Ride" the most popular piece of Christmas music in the U.S. in –, based on performance data from over 2, radio stations. Anderson's recording remains the most popular instrumental version, while Johnny Mathis's has become the most popular vocal version.^[5]

In his book Leroy Anderson: A Bio-Bibliography [Praeger ], Steve Metcalf says "'Sleigh Ride' has been performed and recorded by a wider array of musical artists than any other piece in the history of Western music."

"Sleigh Ride" is in seven-part rondo form.^[6] The first rondo episode utilizes an unusual, unprepared modulation to the mediant, then the supertonic. The difficulty of singing this^{[citation needed]} has caused several recordings to alter the harmonies or omit this section altogether, as in the Phil Spector / Ronettes version.

The Ronettes version[edit]

"Sleigh Ride" was covered by the American girl group the Ronettes. The Phil Spector-produced recording has become the most popular version outside the traditional pop standard genre, charting yearly in Billboard's Top Ten U.S. Holiday and was #26 in in the Hot ^[7] After achieving a new peak of #21 in , it became the group's second-highest chart hit in the US after "Be My Baby". It features the well-known "Ring-a-ling-a-ling, ding-dong-ding" background vocals, and the clip-clop and whinny of a horse at its beginning and end.

In media[edit]

The song was also featured in the episode Holidays of Future Passed from the American comedy The Simpsons, during a scene involving a compilation of Christmas cards.^[8][9]

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Gwen Stefani version[edit]

Background and release[edit]

Stefani released her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas through Interscope Records, on October 6, , a collection of six original songs and six cover versions of Christmas standards.^[32] The album was preceded by the release of lead single "You Make It Feel Like Christmas", a duet with her boyfriend, American singer Blake Shelton.^[33] According to Stefani, the album's initial release generated a positive response, allowing her to return to the studio with collaborators busbee and Justin Tranter.^[34][35] The following year, You Make It Feel Like Christmas was reissued with five new bonus tracks and a proper music video for the title track was released.^[36][37]

In , Stefani duetted with Shelton again on "Nobody but You", a new track recorded for his compilation album, Fully Loaded: God's Country.^[38] The song was released as a single and distributed to US country radio outlets on January 21, ^[39] It became a hit, topping Billboard's Country Airplay and Digital Songs charts and becoming Stefani's highest-charting effort on the Billboard Hot since ^[40][41][42] In late , rumors of new solo music from Stefani circulated after it was announced she would be returning as a judge to the American television series The Voice.^[43] Stefani then confirmed plans to release new music during a promotional advertisement made for the show.^[44] Her cover of "Sleigh Ride" was announced as a surprise to her fans on October 12, , the day before its scheduled release. It is expected to appear as the eighteenth track on an upcoming reissue of You Make It Feel Like Christmas, due for release later in ^[45]

"Sleigh Ride" was produced by American musicians Brent Kutzle and Brandon Collins.^[45] It is the first track from You Make It Feel Like Christmas that was not produced by busbee or Eric Valentine; busbee had previously co-written all of the original songs on the parent album with Stefani and Tranter, but passed away in September after a battle with glioblastoma.^[46][47] Stefani's cover of "Sleigh Ride" credits Anderson and Parish as composers.^[48] The song was released to music retailers for digital download and streaming on October 13, through Interscope Records.^[49] A promotional audio video of the song was uploaded to Stefani's YouTube channel the same day of its release.^[50] It serves as first solo release since the rest of You Make It Feel Like Christmas.^[51] Alongside the release of "Sleigh Ride", Stefani teased that there was "more to come" the following week.^[52]

Composition[edit]

Stefani's version of "Sleigh Ride" has been described as a holiday-themed song with a "lushly"-arranged orchestra.^[51] American musician Ryan Tedder, who along with Kutzle are founding members of the band OneRepublic, contributes as a vocal producer of the song, and Stefani is accompanied by American singer Laura Cooksey for background vocals. The song uses various forms of instrumentation in its production, and was supported by orchestral arrangements; Kutzle and Grant Pittman play keyboards, Luke Sullivant performs on both acoustic guitar and electric guitar, Matt Melton plays bass, Paul Nelson plays the cello, Jon Hyrkas plays drums, and Collins is credited as the song's strings contractor. Violinists David Angell, David Davidson, and Betsy Lamb also perform, and Lamb additionally contributes to the track on viola.^[48]

Critical reception[edit]

Sophie Smith from the entertainment website uDiscover Music was positive about Stefani's cover, calling it a "cheery" and "festive" new track.^[51] A contributor to WSRW felt that Stefani got "in the holiday spirit" with her cover, but felt that it was released too early before the holiday season.^[52]

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.^[48]

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Other recordings[edit]

• – Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.^[54] The original hit recording, this version has never been available on CD. Other Boston Pops recordings have been made under conductors Fiedler (^[54], ^[55], ^{[citation needed]}, and ^[54]), John Williams (^[54]), and Keith Lockhart (^[56], ^[54], and ^[54]).
• – Leroy Anderson. The Decca Gold Label Series singles (#, both 45 and 78 rpm) referenced above were not issued as individual records, but were part of the four-disc set Leroy Anderson Conducts His Own Compositions. This version is played mostly during the holiday season, and has appeared in various compilations. Anderson re-recorded "Sleigh Ride" in stereo for the Decca LP Leroy Anderson Conducts Leroy Anderson.
• – The Andrews Sisters (first vocal version)
• – Johnny Mathis – Merry Christmas
• – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas; this version was later featured in the film Elf.
• – The Carpenters – Christmas Portrait
• – Amy Grant – A Christmas Album
• – TLC recorded a version of the song for the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York that was later included on the holiday album, A LaFace Family Christmas, featuring them and other artists signed to the LaFace Records label. Their version features a rap written and performed by Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes.
• – S Club Juniors, the junior spin off of S Club 7, released their version as part of a double-a-side with their version of Paul Anka's "Puppy Love". Reaching #6 in December that year, it is still the only version of the song to have charted in the UK.

Classical "Sleigh Ride" pieces[edit]

"Die Schlittenfahrt" ("Sleigh Ride") is also the popular name of one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Three German Dances. It is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Wolfgang's father, Leopold Mozart, whose own Divertimento in F major is popularly known as "Musical Sleigh Ride".^{[citation needed]}

The "Winter Night" segment of Frederick Delius's Three Small Tonepoems is also commonly known as "Sleigh Ride".^{[citation needed]}

The "Troika" movement of Lieutenant Kijé by Sergei Prokofiev is also a musical sleigh ride, referring to a three-horse team drawing a carriage (troika means "group of three"). Christmas carol expert William Studwell wrote that Prokofiev's work was "even better" than "Sleigh Ride", having a more "exhilarating" style and imagery.^[57]

"Caribbean Sleigh Ride" is a work for symphony orchestra by Robert Wendel in the style of a fast Latin merengue.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]