Tidbits Grand Forks - December 17

Page 6

CHRISTMAS RE-GIFTING

• Adlai Stevenson was working on an agricultural act when he wrote a marketing agreement for the walnut industry. That year for Christmas a walnut company sent him a huge sack full of individual packages of walnuts. He thought his Christmas shopping worries were over, and mailed them out to friends and relatives. Only later did he discover that inside each package was a card reading, “Merry Christmas to Adlai from the walnut industry.”

QUIZ: A FAMOUS SONG

• Irving Berlin needed to write a song for each of the major holidays for the movie “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby. Berlin didn’t have much trouble with most of the holidays, but when it came to Christmas, he was stuck. • Inspiration struck as he sat by a swimming pool in Arizona. He declared, “I just wrote the best song I've ever written – hell! I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever written!” • Crosby performed the song in the movie, and recorded it for Decca Records in a single 18-minute session. It didn’t do well on the charts at first, until Christmas came and the Armed Forces Network was flooded with requests for it by homesick soldiers.

The song spent 11 weeks at the top, only to return to the top position again during the holiday seasons in 1945 and 1947, becoming the only single in history with three separate runs at the top. • It sold more than 50 million copies. It’s now been recorded by more artists than any other song in the history of the recording industry, and the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the top-selling song of all time, with over 100 million copies sold, including over 500 different versions. What’s the name of the song? (Answer at bottom of page)

Tidbits is Available at:

All Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Crookston locations of: Loca

ted on publicatio the racks nea n r th Exit doors e !

and Grand Forks

Answer:"White Christmas"


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