Frosty The Snowman

"Frosty" was written by Steve Edward Nelson and Walter "Jack" Rollins. The duo also wrote the song "Peter Cottontail," which is a combination of two characters, Peter Rabbit and Cottontail from Beatrix Potter's children's story Peter Rabbit.

The original recording of "Frosty The Snowman" by Gene Autry was his seasonal follow-up to his successful recording of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1949. This time he peaked at #7 in December 1950.

This is considered to be a Christmas song despite not mentioning Christmas at all. The song tells of a story of a snowman who comes alive with the help of a magic hat.

Other hit versions of the song have included versions by Perry Como, who reached #74 in 1957, Johnny Mathis, who had a Top 30 Adult Contemporary hit in 2003 and Kimberley Locke, who topped the AC charts in 2007. In the case of Locke, this was her third consecutive Adult Contemporary Christmas chart-topper, having reached the summit in 2005 with "Up on the Housetop," and in 2006 with "Jingle Bells."

In 1969 this song was made into an animated television film, Frosty The Snowman, featuring the voices of Jimmy Durante and Jackie Vernon. Several sequels have subsequently been filmed.

The Ronettes recorded this for the 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. Spector produced the track using his "Wall Of Sound" technique and utilizing the session players who crafted many of the hits coming out of Los Angeles in the '60s. The Ronettes also did versions of "Sleigh Ride" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" on the album. Phil Spector is Jewish, so according to Ronnie Spector, she picked the Christmas songs for The Ronettes, as that was a big holiday for her family.

Many of these songs may have become Christmas classics, but unfortunately the album was released on November 22, 1963 - the same day US president John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The record, which Spector spent much of the summer of 1963 working on, didn't sell well as it was overshadowed by the news.