They came to sing “White Christmas”
By: Steve Ember
Tags: New York City, Christmas Eve, John Wallowich, White Christmas, Irving Berlin

“They Came to Sing ‘White Christmas’” — An intimate homage to Irving Berlin on Christmas Eve 2019

…a (serendipitous) New York Moment

New York has so many wonderful traditions during the Holiday Season. And they’re not all of the large scale variety that attract thousands of rosy-cheeked happy people in the crisp wintry air, like the lighting of the magnificent Christmas tree overlooking the Prometheus Statue and Fountain that watches over the happy ice skaters in Rockefeller Center…or the magical pageant of music and lights that is the facade of Saks Fifth Avenue on the other side of the Channel Gardens…

Some are of a more “intimate” scale…close to being a well-kept secret. I got to experience one such tradition last year on Christmas Eve, along an East Side cul-de-sac leading to a lovely lighted Christmas tree overlooking the East River at 50th St and Beekman Place. The large townhouse occupying that southeast corner, 17 Beekman Place, is the Consulate General of Luxembourg, but it was, from the 1940's until his death in 1989, the home of Broadway and Hollywood composer and lyricist Irving Berlin.

And therein lies the story of the photo above.

I did mention some of these special traditions are not exactly widely known or attended. But that delicious little “secret” is what made this 15-minute interlude so special to this lover of Broadway and the standards of American Popular Song…and the serendipity that so often attaches to my favorite photo-moments.

Making birthdays bright…

In December 2017, I began a Holiday Season tradition of my own — that of celebrating a “birthday week” in New York. Actually, it was a much-overdue resumption of an earlier tradition, which dated back to my long-ago broadcasting days at WETA in Washington. While working for that station I got to regularly feature music from Broadway shows and related genres, and would head up to New York in Holiday Season to catch up with new shows, as well as to enjoy the city’s ambiance at a festive and friendly time of the year. Sometimes, I was even lucky enough to sit across the microphones from such Broadway legends as Alan Jay Lerner while recording interviews for those radio programs.

Among those related genres I got to play was the delicious body of American Popular Song, much of which, once upon a time, originated in Broadway musicals. I presented such music often in jazz interpretations. This allowed for many delightful recorded conversations, most of them at a much missed restaurant/jazz bistro called Cates, in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, which brought in a galaxy of top artists in Jazz and American Popular Song. It was there that I met and interviewed singer/jazz pianist Daryl Sherman (just in case you were wondering what any of this had to do with the special little Holiday Season tradition pictured above).

You might enjoy this, she said…

One of the nice things about renewing my regular visits to New York has been having the chance to re-connect with Ms. Sherman, who has introduced me at various times to musical treats I’d not likely have discovered on my own, such as, in 2018, the Midday Jazz programs at St Peter’s Church, an inviting modern venue nestled under the stilts of CitiGroup Center on Lexington Avenue.

Last year during my Holiday Season visit, I had the pleasure to enjoy Daryl performing at two separate venues…well, actually three if one counts dinner after one of the aforementioned gigs, at the Knickerbocker Bar and Grill in the Village, which features jazz and where she was invited, by pianist John Colianni and bassist Boots Maleson, to sit in at the piano for some tunes.

I think it must have been during that dinner that she told me about the charming little tradition on Beekman Place on Christmas Eve in which she’d be participating, suggesting it might be something I’d enjoy, and inviting me to join them.

She told me the tradition — that of gathering to sing Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” and others of his classic songs — was begun back in the 1980’s by composer and cabaret star John Wallowich, who was a great admirer of Berlin as well as being his neighbor. He would invite fellow show-folk and fans to congregate on Christmas Eve outside the composer’s home.

I’d have liked to think at least some of these “sings” took place in some gently falling snow, if only for the duration of “White Christmas,” but I’ve since learned that never happened…but one can hope.

Daryl told me that her friend, Jacqueline Parker, a member of the original group, had assumed the mantle, organizing the gathering each Christmas Eve.

Well, certainly not something I’d have discovered on my own! And, yes, I’ll be there Christmas Eve, 6 PM, with camera to document, and best shower-stall voice to participate.

Our little chorale sang not only “White Christmas” but also Berlin’s “Always” (a tune my Mom used to love to sing to me as a sprout) and “God Bless America.” The latter song, I’ve learned, was incorporated after 9/11.

Wallowich’s fondest memory of this annual event, I later read, came in 1983, when Berlin was a very old man and had become somewhat reclusive. To the group’s delight, a maid opened the door and said to the assembled chorale, “Come in! Mr. Berlin would like to thank you!” They were invited into the kitchen, where the composer told Jacqueline “This is the greatest Christmas present I ever got,” before he kissed her on the cheek.

Incidentally, Mr. Berlin once stated that, “with the possible exception of God Bless America, White Christmas is closer to me than any song I’ve ever written.”

It’s so appropriate that the residence is now the Luxembourg Consulate General. Berlin’s musical “Call Me Madam” was set in a fictional country — a thinly disguised Luxembourg.

And, while our little group sing was only about fifteen minutes in duration, it was one of those serendipitous moments that make NYC so special to me. The only thing missing was…some gently falling snow. It was cold enough, as you can see in the photo with everyone so well bundled up. Oh, that’s Daryl on the left, and that’s Jacqueline centered in the doorway. The rest of our “cast” and more of the story can be seen in this Broadway World posting from last January.

Well the “event” may have been brief, but the evening was grand, as Daryl, Jacqueline, and I sought some warming libations at the nearby Ophelia Lounge atop the Beekman Tower with its magical midtown views in all directions. Jacqueline noted they mix a fine Manhattan, which I realized I’d not enjoyed in years. I’m pleased to report the Midtown skyline on a crystal clear winter night is at least as stunning on a Manhattan as it is on a Gibson or Martini.

We then made our way to a lively Greek restaurant nearby to throw some grape leaves and seafood atop the Manhattans. Conversation, as I recall, was something of a vocal challenge, what with a large and lively wedding party at next table. Glad I sang “White Christmas” first!

I’m happy that Jacqueline Parker has picked up on this tradition. With New York’s forecast for heavy rains on Christmas Eve, I wonder as I write this if she will manage to gather a quorum in the expected downpours and with all the social distancing, but as Berlin wrote for Ethel Merman, “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and show folk being the stout troupers they are — combined with Ms. Parker being, in my estimation, a force of nature herself — somehow I think it’s going to happen.

And with any luck, I shall join them, on a better night, in a better year.

Love you, New York. See you next year!

©2020 Steve Ember