A List
12/12/05

'I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS' ROYALTIES BENEFIT SLU

CANTON - ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) says that the classic song "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is Number Nine on this year's list of the 25 most-performed holiday songs. That's good news for St. Lawrence University, which receives a share of the royalties each time the beloved song is performed and played.

One of the song's composers, Kim Gannon, graduated from St. Lawrence in 1924; he also wrote the University's alma mater. Gannon passed away in 1974 and his will stipulated that St. Lawrence receive 30 percent of the royalties from all of his compositions after his wife's death. His widow, Norma Allen Gannon, St. Lawrence Class of 1925, passed away in 2000. For the 2005 calendar year, the University has received more than $21,000 from the gift.

A very popular composer during the "swing era," Gannon received three Academy Award nominations for his work. Of all of his songs, however, none is as popular as "I'll Be Home For Christmas." It is estimated that there are nearly 300 recorded versions of the tune. The 2005 crop of new holiday releases includes versions by jazz artists Diana Krall, Steve Tyrell and Anita Baker; British folk-rocker Martin Sexton; roots performer John Prine; gospel artist Sandi Patty; and pop performer/talk-show host Regis Philbin. The first artist to record it was Bing Crosby, in 1943.

-30-
Singing At St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence University Music Department