Court's In Session - Kris Kringle Presiding Quiz

Answer: one horsepower

The correct answer can be found in the second line of the song:

"Dashing through the snow,
In a one horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way".

A sleigh being pulled by a single horse would have "one horsepower".

The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont.
Pierpont, who served as the organist for a church in Savannah, Georgia, originally wrote the song for the church Thanksgiving program. The song was so popular in the program that it was again sung on Christmas day.

Answer: horse(s) drifted into a snow bank

The correct answer is revealed in the last four lines of the second verse:

"The horse was lean and lank,
Misfortune seemed his lot,
He got into a drifted bank,
And then we got upsot"
(Chorus)

The word mentioned in the song "upsot" is a poetic verb meaning "upset" or "to tip or overturn".

"Jingle Bells" is among the most popular and most recognizable secular holiday songs performed throughout the world.

Answer: Fanny Bright

The correct answer can be found in the first four lines of the second verse:

"A day or two ago,
I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Was seated by my side".

The song was published in 1857 under the original title. "One Horse Open Sleigh".

In 1970, James Lord Pierpont was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for "Jingle Bells". The Hall of Fame, founded in 1969, is a branch of the American National Academy of Popular Music, and is located in the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Answer: fifty

A total of fifty craftspeople and entertainers had their services presented as gifts.

They included eight maids, nine dancers, ten Lords, and 23 musicians.

Specifically, there were eight maids-a-milking, nine ladies dancing, ten Lords-a-leaping, eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming.

Answer: a carrot

The first verse of the song gives the description of Frosty the Snowman:

"Frosty the Snowman, what a jolly happy soul,
With a corn cob pipe, and a button nose, and two
eyes made of coal".

The song was written in in 1950 by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson. They sent the song to singing cowboy Gene Autry, who released the first recording of it in December 14, 1950.
Gene Autry had recorded an extremely popular version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" in 1949, and the composers hoped for similar success with their new song.
An immediate success, the Gene Autry rendition of "Frosty the Snowman" peaked at the number seven position on the "Billboard U.S. Pop Singles Chart".

Answer: one to ninety-two

The correct answer is in the final verse of the song"

"And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although it's been said many times many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you".

According to Torme, he wrote the music and part of the lyric for the song in 40 minutes. Torme further stated that the song was written on an extremely hot summer day. Thinking and writing about cool winter activities helped to tolerate the uncomfortable heat.

Possible the most popular rendition of the song was released in November of 1946, by singer Nat "King" Cole. Cole recorded versions of the song on June, 1946, August, 1946, August of 1953, and in 1961.
Torme released versions of the song in 1954, 1961, 1970, 1990, and 1992.

Answer: pudding

The demands of the carolers are clearly stated in the second verse of the song:

"Oh, bring us a figgy pudding,
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding,
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding, and a cup of good cheer".
"We won't go until we get some,
We won't go until we get some,
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here".

Dating back to the 16th Century, poor carolers would roam the streets on Christmas Eve, entertaining the neighborhood by singing festive Christmas songs. It was tradition for the wealthy of a community to reward the carolers with the gift of "figgy pudding", a sweet treat to show their appreciation.

Answer: Brown

The answer can be found in the second line of the third verse:

"In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that it is Parson Brown,
He'll say: Are you married?
We'll say: No man
But you can do the job
When you're in town"

During the time of the song, a parson was a clergyman who traveled from small town to small town, performing wedding ceremonies for denominational followers who did not have a local church or minister. Parsons such as Parson Brown maintained a regular schedule of visits to towns.

Felix Bernard wrote the music, and Richard B. Smith wrote the lyrics to "Winter Wonderland", publishing their work in 1934.
A very popular and successful holiday song, it has been recorded by over 200 entertainment artist since published.

Answer: a diamond bracelet

Her list included tree trimming decorations bought from Tiffany's (a luxury jewelry retailer) and a ring, but there was no mention of a diamond bracelet.

During the eight verses of this novelty tongue-in-cheek Christmas song, seven extravagant gifts are requested in her soft cloying baby voice.
The gift items included:
A sable to be placed under her tree,
A 1954 light blue convertible automobile,
A yacht,
The deed to a platinum mine,
A duplex and checks (signed with Santa's "X"),
Decorations to trim her tree from Tiffany's,
A ring.
After each verse, she urges Santa to "Hurry down the chimney tonight".

The song was written in 1953 by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, and recorded in July of 1953 by Eartha Kitt. When released later that year, the song was deemed a huge hit success for Kitt.
Eartha Kitt later revealed that "Santa Baby" was one of her favorite songs to record.

Answer: a plane

In the second verse of the song, the answer was revealed. Theodore, Simon, and Alvin harmonized is singing lines one, three, and four, but Alvin alone sang the second line".

"Want a plane that loops the loop,
Me, I want a "hula-hoop",
We can hardly stand the wait,
Please Christmas don't be late".

"The Chipmunk Song" was written in 1958 by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., who was also known as David "Dave" Seville.

The song was a huge hit and holds the distinction of being the only Christmas song to reach the number one position on the "Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart during the 20th Century.

The song spent four consecutive weeks in the number one position, during the weeks of 12/22 and 12/28 in 1958, and 1/05 and 1/12 of 1959.

At the first annual Grammy Awards ceremony held on May 4, 1959 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles , California, "The Chipmunk Song" receive three Grammy Awards, winning in the categories of "Best Comedy Performance", "Best Children's Recording" and "Best Engineered Record (non classic)".

Using a little musical engineering magic (such as adjusting the speeds of recorded portions of the song to create a different sound), Bagdasarian, Sr. was able to personally provide the voices for Dave Seville and all three of the chipmunks.