Leroy Anderson wrote the music for this song during a heatwave in July of 1946, while staying at a cottage in Woodbury, Connecticut, with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. Anderson was an orchestral composer who lived in the Boston area and moved to Woodbury permanently in 1948, where he lived until his 1975 death at age 66. He had a big hit in 1952 with the song "Blue Tango." Arthur Fiedler premiered the song with the Boston Pops, who Leroy was an arranger for earlier in his career. Words for "Sleigh Ride" were added in 1950 by Mitchell Parish, and the song has since become a Christmas classic.
Like "Winter Wonderland," this song does not make any specific reference to Christmas, but the seasonal imagery has made it very much associated with the holiday. It's hard to think of a sleigh in winter without thinking of Santa.
The lyrics, "Like a picture print by Currier and Ives" refer to a printmaking firm that produced some of the most iconic and popular American artwork of the 19th century. The company specialized in publishing hand-colored lithographs that were sold inexpensively to the American middle class. A sample can be seen here.
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