Album No Christmas Without Mariah Carey
Laughter.Leticia Sabater revolutionizes the networks with the Christmas carol 'El polvorrón'
Like every year, December arrives and Christmas carols begin to become a trend.
Mariah Carey
sweeps Spotify,
Michael Bublé
appears even in the soup and great songs sound on the radios, interpreted by icons such as
Raphael
, who -in the late 60s- popularized the Christmas carol
The Drummer
, a song that talks about a young man with few resources, which, having nothing to offer the baby Jesus, chooses to
serenade him with his drum.
Without a doubt,
The Drummer
has become one of the
most demanded Christmas hits
of our era.
However, few know where it
came from
.
Moreover,
its origin is almost a mystery
and experts have not been able to clarify its roots.
Some claim that it was composed
in 1941,
in a burst of creativity.
However, others claim that the composer of the version we know today was based on a popular song from the
Czech Republic.
Despite this, there is no certainty about both theories.
According to various investigations -including one from the University of Missouri-, the oldest version of
The Drummer
is signed by the
pianist and composer Katherine Kennicott Davis,
under the pseudonym CRW Robertson.
According to the manuscript, Katherine would have
transcribed and re-adapted
a Czech Christmas carol to make
Carol of the Drum
(the original name of
The Drummer
, in English).
Although no one knows for sure what Czech song it would be.
Certain experts suggest that Davis could have been inspired by a theme called
Halej, nynjej.
But, according to Wesley College - the pianist's soul mater - she would have been inspired
by a French song
that she knew quite well.
"One day, when she was trying to take a nap,
a song came
to Katherine in
her head.
It was about
Patapan
, which later in her mind was translated to 'pa-ra-pum-pum' and took a rhythm until become
The Drummer
", they mention from the university.
Even so, some writers say that the
lyrics
of
The Drummer
could have arisen from something quite different from a Christmas carol:
a legend.
According to the religious website
Pathos
, the story told in
The Drummer
has a lot to do with a French tale.
A story about a minstrel
who sings in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary and this, moved, responds with a smile.
And how would this story have reached the ears of Katherine Davis?
The most likely option is that it was
through an opera
-composed in 1902, by Jules Massenet- that this legend tells in his libretto.
Be that as it may, the truth is that
all paths reach Katherine Davis,
who has always been credited with the song's official credit.
Despite this, it is also recognized that
two men helped
make the version that we sing today.
According to
The Independent
, one of
Carol of The Drum's
earliest recordings
was motivated by an arranger named Henry Onorati, who - after making several changes - decided to
add his name to the list of composers.
Later, Onorati taught the song to
Harry Simeone,
a producer, who recorded a new version of the Christmas carol for Fox. That is precisely the version that this 2020 is heard.
In the 60s and 70s, the song became an
international hit,
was renamed
The Little Boy Drummer
(
The little drummer
, in Spanish) and was covered by dozens of important artists.
Among them,
Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, David Bowie, the Von Trapp family
and, of course, Raphael in Spain.
During his career, Raphael has recorded two versions of
The Drummer
and has sung the Christmas carol countless times.
In fact,
Googling The Drummer brings up
more mentions of the singer than of Katherine Davis.
And it is quite difficult to think about his lyrics and not imagine the face of Raphael, who every Christmas Eve gives us a very emotional interpretation of the popular song.
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