Little Strummer Boy

Here is my take on The Little Drummer Boy / aka The Little Strummer Boy

“The Little Drummer Boy” is a popular Christmas song, with words and music by Katherine K. Davis.^[1] Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone have been credited with writing the song, even though they were only the arrangers for their recordings of it.^[2] The version that made the song popular was the one sung and recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale. It is also known as the “Carol of the Drum“.^[2]

Davis first composed the words and music for “Carol of the Drum” (ostensibly transcribed from a traditional Czech carol) in 1941. ^[3] In 1957 Onorati arranged the song for a recording by the Jack Halloran Singers on Dot Records, but this version was not released in time for Christmas. The following year Simeone re-arranged the song yet again and retitled it for his Chorale’s hit single version, which was issued on 20th Fox Records’ 45-121 with a 45rpm picture sleeve, then on their LP called Sing We Now of Christmas, which became an enormous bestseller. In 1963 the company, now known as 20th Century Fox Records, retitled and reissued their album. It was now called The Little Drummer Boy: A Christmas Festival, in order to boost sales even higher, as the 45-rpm single had continued to be a seasonal hit. The LP record jacket, presumably misleadingly, boasted the credit Original Version in reference to the song. The album was first issued only in mono, then in stereo a year later. In the 1980s, it was released on CD by Casablanca Records with the 1963 re-issue title, but without the “original version” credit. Harry Simeone signed to Kapp Records in 1964 and recorded a new version of “The Little Drummer Boy” in 1965 on Kapp K-711 with a 45rpm picture sleeve. This version came from his new album O’ Bambino-The Little Drummer Boy [

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