"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a Christmas song written in 1945[note 1] by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made in August utilizing a small string section. This version became a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.[7] In 2022, the 1961 Nat King Cole recording was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[8]
