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Article: A merry little pain Classic '44 song didn't come easy
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- December 24, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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The song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is as much part
of the holidays as chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Santa Claus
coming to town.
But the man who wrote the tune recalls that some not-so-merry
dealings with Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra took place before it
became the classic Christmas tune we know today.
Hugh Martin, a native of Birmingham, Ala., who is now 85 and
retired in Encinitas, Calif., was a pianist working in radio when he
landed a job in Hollywood in 1943 as a songwriter for the MGM film
studio.
Martin was a newcomer to song writing. With only three Broadway
songs behind him, Martin and his partner, Ralph Blane, agreed to
write three songs for a movie ...