| "Frosty the Snowman" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byGene Autry andThe Cass County Boys | |
| B-side | "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" |
| Published | June 2, 1950 by Hill and Range Songs, Inc.[1] |
| Released | 1950 |
| Genre | Christmas |
| Label | Columbia Records |
| Songwriters | Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson |
| Producer | Hecky Krasnow[2] |
| "Frosty the Snowman" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byJimmy Durante | |
| B-side | "(Isn't It A Shame That) Christmas Comes But Once A Year" |
| Released | 1950 |
| Genre | Christmas |
| Label | MGM Records |
| Songwriters | Walter Rollins & Steve Nelson |
"Frosty the Snowman" is a song written byWalter "Jack" Rollins andSteve Nelson, and first recorded byGene Autry and theCass County Boys in1950 and later recorded byJimmy Durante in that year.[3] It was written after the success of Autry's recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the previous year. Rollins and Nelson shopped the new song to Autry, who recorded "Frosty" in search of another seasonal hit. Like "Rudolph", "Frosty" was subsequently adapted to other media including a 1969television special.
The song's lyrics describe the adventures of Frosty, a snowman who comes to life after a group of children place a magical silk hat on his head. Frosty laughs and plays with the children until the hot sun threatens to melt him. After leading them through the village streets and running afoul of a traffic policeman, Frosty says goodbye to the children, reassuring them he'll be back again someday, while in the Jimmy Durante version, he says he'll be back on Christmas Day.
It is generally regarded as aChristmas song, althoughChristmas itself is never mentioned in the original lyrics. The action supposedly takes place inWhite Plains, New York, orArmonk, New York; Armonk has a parade dedicated to Frosty annually.[4][5]
The song was quickly covered by many artists includingJimmy Durante,Nat King Cole andGuy Lombardo.[6] The versions byNat King Cole andGuy Lombardo also reached the American charts.[6] APhil Spector-produced 1963 cover byThe Ronettes is a popular version, featuring inRolling Stone's list of "The Greatest Rock & Roll Christmas Songs".[7]
The song has been covered as an instrumental by theCanadian Brass, with founderCharles Daellenbach taking on the persona of Frosty, and repeatedly calling "One more time!" ("You know what happens when Frosty gets 'hot'"), and then starting to collapse ("I think he's melting" -- "Youknow what happens when Frosty gets hot"). It was also covered by theHampton String Quartet on their inaugural album,What if Mozart Wrote 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'. It was also recorded byAmerican Brass.
The song has also been covered (with lyrics) by the bandCocteau Twins; the cover was released on their 1993 EPSnow. It was also covered by theJackson 5 and appears on theJackson 5 Christmas Album.
The song was covered and released as the first single ofTarja Turunen's third Christmas album and ninth studio album,Dark Christmas.
| Version | Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Autry version | 1950 | US Pop Singles | 7 |
| US Country Singles | 4 | ||
| Jimmy Durante version | 1950 | US Pop Singles | 7 |
| 2019 | USRolling Stone Top 100[8] | 44 | |
| Nat King Cole version | 1950 | US Pop Singles | 9 |
| Guy Lombardo version | 1950 | US Pop Singles | 28 |
| Perry Como version | 1957 | US Pop Singles | 74 |
| Jan and Dean version | 1963 | US Pop Singles | 11 |
| Johnny Mathis version | 2003 | US Adult Contemporary | 29 |
| Kimberley Locke version | 2007 | US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian Adult Contemporary | 40 | ||
| Billboard Top AC Songs of 2008 | 46 | ||
| Whitney Wolanin version | 2012 | USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[9] | 13 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[11] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[12] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
In 1950,Little Golden Books publishedFrosty the Snow Man as a children's book, adapted byAnnie North Bedford and illustrated byCorinne Malvern.
In 1950, theUPA studio brought "Frosty" to life in a three-minuteanimated short which appears regularly onWGN-TV.[13] This production included a bouncy, jazzya cappella version of the song and alimited animation style reminiscent of UPA'sGerald McBoing-Boing. The short, filmed entirely inblack-and-white, has been a perennial WGN-TV Christmas classic, and was broadcast on December 24 and 25, 1955, and every year since, as part of a WGN-TVchildren's programming retrospective, along with their two other short Christmas classics,Suzy Snowflake andHardrock, Coco and Joe. The short had previously been telecast annually on WGN'sThe Bozo Show,Ray Rayner and His Friends, andGarfield Goose, along with its two other companion cartoons. The three cartoons are also a tradition onWJAC-TV inJohnstown, Pennsylvania, which not only broadcasts the cartoons on their station, but also makes them available on their website.
In 1969,Rankin/Bass Productions produced a 25-minute television special,Frosty the Snowman, featuring the animation of Japanese studioMushi Production, and the voices of comediansJimmy Durante as the narrator (who also sings a version of the song),Billy De Wolfe as Professor Hinkle andJackie Vernon as Frosty.Paul Frees andJune Foray both also voice characters including Karen and Santa Claus in this animated special produced and directed byArthur Rankin Jr. andJules Bass and designed byMad artistPaul Coker.[14] This was a story based on the discovery of Frosty the Snowman.
Threesequels followed:
Frosty Returns (1992) is a sequel to the original song, set in a separatefictional universe from the other specials, withJohn Goodman as the voice of Frosty defending the value of snow against Mr. Twitchell (Brian Doyle-Murray), the maker of a snow-removal spray.
On July 1, 2020, a live-action film adaptation of Frosty the Snowman was announced to be in development atWarner Bros. and Stampede Ventures, withJason Momoa voicing the titular snowman, Jon Berg and Greg Silverman producing alongsideGeoff Johns,Roy Lee and Momoa, andDavid Berenbaum writing the screenplay.[15] FollowingRay Fisher's accusation of mistreatment on the set ofJustice League, Momoa defended Fisher and claimed that theFrosty the Snowman movie announcement was made without his permission and accused Warner Bros. of releasing the story in order to distract from Fisher's comments.[16]
