The song, which apparently took only 15 minutes to create, earns Walter and Mariah an estimated $600,000 in royalties every year, for a total of $60 million to date. "White Christmas" catches the spirit of the season like no other song. It's joyous, hopeful, and free of cynicism. Walter Scharf was born on November 24th, 1923 in New York City. He got his start as a jazz musician playing with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk before moving on to work with singers including Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, and Natalie Cole. In 1954, he released his first solo album titled simply Walter. This started a decade-long career producing popular songs that would go on to sell millions of copies. He has been married twice and has one son together with his first wife. They split up in 1969 after seven years of marriage. In 1974, Walter Scharf teamed up with singer-songwriter Carole King for what would become her biggest hit. The pair had met while King was working at Columbia Records and Scharf was recording artists such as Barbra Streisand and Dionne Warwick. They wrote "White Christmas" in just fifteen minutes during a lunch break; it was then recorded within a day of being written. The song went on to win two Oscars and launch King's successful holiday album series.