Today’s Christmas song is side one, track one from Johnny Mathis’ 1958 album, “Merry Christmas” – “Winter Wonderland.” Growing up, just looking at my mom and dad’s copy of this LP meant it was Christmastime. You can put on the record, listen all the way through, and let those strings and Mathis’ silky vibrato work their magic.

Mathis’ version of “Winter Wonderland” has both the original 1930’s lyrics about Parson Brown and the later version of the lyrics, meant for children, removing the romance and changing the snowman to a “circus clown.” He also moves the intro to the middle.

Just for fun, here’s Johnny Mathis singing the same song almost 40 (!) years later in 1997.