1949 HITS ARCHIVE: Sleigh Ride - Boston Pops (1st recorded version)

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Sleigh Ride (Anderson) by The Boston Pops Orchestra, conducted by Arthur Fiedler

Before Leroy Anderson was awarded his own recording contract in 1950, Fiedler's Boston Pops had the honor of introducing all of Anderson's orchestral pop instrumentals to the record-buying public. This wintery standard-to-be, issued on RCA Victor’s Red Seal series, first landed in the stores in late 1949, reaching #24 on Billboard’s sales chart. On the B-side was the debut of Anderson’s beautiful “Serenata,” also posted to this collection. Anderson, himself, first recorded “Sleigh Ride” in 1950 (mono) and again in 1959 (stereo).

Note that subsequent Boston Pops LP and CD compilations did not include this first version of "Sleigh Ride" but opted for higher-fidelity re-recordings. So this is your best source for hearing how it began.

THE 1949 HITS ARCHIVE - here in one place, a good-quality library of original-release-version best-sellers and songs that made an impact that were either released or enjoyed a major chunk of their popularity within the calendar year 1949 (some were recorded in 1948). .
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The three* MusicProf channels are home to The HITS ARCHIVES, YouTube’s most comprehensive collection of U.S. ‘popular music’ recordings from 1925 thru 1975. Discover thousands of original hit versions, conveniently arranged in year-by-year playlists and sorted alphabetically in your choice of either song title or artist name. Simply visit this channel’s home page (here: https://www.youtube.com/@the78prof72 ), scroll down the rows of playlist categories, choose a favorite year, click on “view full playlist,” and then pick out the songs that you want to hear. Enjoy the music!

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