In the meantime (assuming I ever finish that project), a repost of the actual/factual/true/I-took-the-time-to-verify-the-details history of The Little Drummer Boy, which was plagiarized from Katherine K. Davis' 1941 Carol of the Drum--though, the last time I checked, Wikipedia was still getting the story incorrect. It's not rocket science. And, currently, Wikipedia gives the correct background for the number, only it has Simeone "popularizing" it in 1958. I prefer to call theft "theft." Or robbery, stealing, snatching, thieving, swiping, appropriating, etc. Anyway, my 2021 essay:
Above is the original manuscript of Katherine K. Davis' 1941 choral piece Carol of the Drum. Davis' song was stolen by Harry Simeone in 1958 and retitled The Little Drummer Boy. As you can see below, Simeone initially attempted to take sole credit for it:
The Trapp Family's 1952 recording is the earliest I (or apparently anyone else) is aware of, and it's clear that, come the late 1950s, the work was turning into a standard holiday choral item, given that it enjoyed at least three 1957 recordings--those of The Jack Halloran Singers, The Testor Chorus, and The Moody Chorale. Compared to the quiet but lively Trapp version, Halloran's arrangement is something closer to a dirge, and I much prefer a faster tempo. Both the Testor Chorus and the identified singers on the lone "fake hit" version I've located (which was released by at least three different budget label groups) speed things up like they should, but Halloran's treatment, which was swiped by Simeone along with Davis' tune, is the standard, draggy one. Maybe that's why so many people pan this Christmas standard--it seems to take forever to get to the "smiled at me" part. I've included two recordings of the lone "fake" version, one in stereo, and the other in mono, and both mastered at different pitches. (Not by me, I should note.)
Anyway, Davis, a profoundly gifted composer whose specialty was choral pieces for children--girls, especially--certainly didn't deserve to be treated like this. I mean, it must be nice to have one of your works become hugely popular, but not so nice to have to share it with two thieves.
A question that always comes up is how to classify Drum/Drummer--as in, what specific Christmas song tradition does it conform to? That's easy. Generally speaking, it belongs to the longtime Christmas carol tradition of treating the Nativity as a current event, in a "You Are There" fashion (e.g., Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella). More specifically, it belongs to the popular "What gift can I give?" tradition--as in, what gift do I have to give the baby Jesus? The all-time great example of same has to be the 1872 masterpiece, In the Bleak Midwinter:
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.
The same sentiment is expressed, in a slightly different way, in Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne, in which the no-room-at-the-inn situation is ingeniously answered:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus
There is room in my heart for Thee
And so the drummer boy, who is poor like the Baby Jesus, wonders what gift he can give. Answer: the drum. So, the drummer boy gives the baby his drum, and the baby smiles at him. A lovely touch, and one that appeals to children. My late foster mother Bev, the English prof, felt that it takes a special genius to speak to children in art. In this case, that genius belonged to Katherine K. Davis, and not to the two guys who shoved their way into the song credit.
A big thanks to Ernie, who ripped his Jack Halloran track for me from the hard to find Christmas Is A-Comin' LP of 1957, on which Davis is listed as the arranger, kind of ironically. (The "Arr." part could be a typo--dunno.) Halloran was the honest guy out of the three. So, naturally, he ends up as a footnote.
DOWNLOAD: Carol of the Little Drummer Boy.zip
Carol of the Drum (Czech Carol, Katherine K. Davis)--The Trapp Family Singers, 1952
Carol of the Drum (Katherine K. Davis)--The Testor Chorus, C. Dr. Harry T. Carlson, 1957
Carol of the Drum (Katherine K. Davis)--The Moody Chorale, Dir. by Don Hustad, 1957
Carol of the Drum (Arr. K.K. Davis)--The Jack Halloran Singers, 1957
The Little Drummer Boy (Same as SPC and other budgets)--The Broadway Pops Orch. With Featured Vocalists and Chorus (Tiara TST 105, Record 2)
Little Drummer Boy (Same as SPC, etc.)--Unknown choir, from Tops in Pops (Ultraphonic 5020L).
Lee