"Jingle Bells," one of the most popular Christmas songs in the history of Christmas music, was not originally written with that title because it was not intended to be used as a Christmas song.
The song was written by James Lord Pierpont, an organist from New England and he wrote the song to be used as part of a Thanksgiving service for a church in Savannah, Georgia.
Pierpont titled the song "One Horse Open Sleigh." The song was well received and well liked. It was also performed during Christmas that year and its popularity grew.
Unless you grew up on an island in the middle of nowhere, you have no doubt sang or at least hummed "Jingle Bells," or at least been exposed to it.
According to music historians, there are some differences in the lyrics of the original "One Horse Open Sleigh" and "Jingle Bells." Critics recall that lines of "Go it while you're young, Take the girls tonight" as examples of some of the song's lyrics which caused quite a uproar because they were much too progressive back in those days.
Historians have long debated as to just where the song was written Georgia or Massachusetts with each state claiming to be the song's birthplace.
Pierpont wrote the song in 1857 and the title was changed from "One Horse Open Sleigh" to "Jingle Bells" in 1959.
According to the history books, a couple of astronauts, Thomas Stafford and Wally Schirra, who were on board Gemini 6 in 1965 smuggled a harmonica on board and surprised Mission Control by playing "Jingle Bells" while orbiting the earth becoming the first time a song was broadcast from outer space. That harmonica is reportedly on display at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Since that time, "Jingle Bells" has been recorded several hundred times. Even today, when a recording artist records a Christmas album, "Jingle Bells" is one of the first songs on their list.
Through the years versions of the tune have been charted by Ernest Tubb, Ferlin Husky, Alan Jackson, and Kenny Chesney, and others.