White Christmas: The Legendary Christmas Song by Bing Crosby

As the Christmas time nears, the demand for White Christmas backing track and White Christmas vocal guide increases. The demand for the vocal guide and backing track of this particular Christmas carol never drops; during the Christmas time, it only multiplies. Read through the discussion below to know more about the carol.

'White Christmas' is a song by Irving Berlin. The lines of this particular carol reminisce about the traditional Christmas settings. According to the statistics offered by the Guinness Book of World records, the version of ‘White Christmas’ sung by the legendary American carol artist Bing Crosby is best-selling single released to date. The single had estimated sales of over fifty million copies globally.

The song was first performed publicly on the Christmas Day of 1941 by Bing Crosby himself. The performance was for a radio program. The recording of this performance was released soon and is used even today. The song was again recorded by Bing on 29th March, 1942, this time for one of the most famous and esteemed recording companies of that time Decca Records. During this recording, he was backed by John Scott Trotter orchestra. This single was released on 30th July, 1942 as a part of an album containing 6, 78rpm numbers from a film called ‘Holiday Inn’. When the song was first recorded, Crosby was not too excited about it. During the first few weeks, the performance of the song on the Singles chart was not too impressive. It is believed that during this time, it got overshadowed by another hit number from ‘Holiday Inn’, ‘Be Careful’. However, by the last week of October, ‘White Christmas’ reached the top of the chart. The song maintained its position on the chart for more than two months, until time stepped into the New Year.

It has been almost seventy years since the song was first recorded and released, but its popularity is still the same. It is sung during almost every Christmas celebration and loves by both young and old. If you are planning to sing this number during the upcoming Christmas Day gathering, start practicing it today. Purchase high quality vocal guide and backing track for this number for more effective practice. You will not need to work too hard for that as almost every top back track store have them in their collection.

The article is written by a renowned vocalist. He is primarily known for singing Christmas carols. He recommends use of practicing tools like White Christmas vocal guide and White Christmas backing track.

Do You Hear What I Hear Backing Track

Are you planning to sing the widely loved Christmas song ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’ on this Christmas Day? If yes, then you should not miss reading this write-up. Here, we have discussed about the history of this song, the song’s summary and also offered tips that will help you in getting Do You Hear What I Hear backing track and Do You Hear What I Hear vocal guide of highest quality.

The song was written by the widely respected French songwriter Noel Regney in the year 1962; the music of the song was composed by the American composer Gloria Shayne Baker. During the time of this creation, the pair was married. However, unlike this number, the majority of the other creations of this pair had Regney as the composer and Shayne as the lyricist.

Let us now come to the summary of this legendary Christmas carol. The lyrics of “Do You Hear What I Hear’ describes the news of Jesus’ birth spread. The song begins with the actions of “Night Wind’ that roam around whispering the news of birth of Jesus into the ears of a baby lamb. The lamb conveys this message to the shepherd, who then reports the incident to the highest authority i.e. the king. Finally, the king completes the duty of spreading the news to his people and people around the globe. The lyricist has intelligently modified the message in every verse; he has done so because the same news is usually expressed in different words by different people.

The song was released in 1962, the same year in which it was written and composed. The release occurred only a few days after Thanksgiving of 1962. The timing of the release was perfect for those who were looking for a fresh number to sing on the Christmas Day. Although the original recording artist of ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’ was Harry Simeone, the song was declared hit only when it was sang by the celebrated American singer Bing Crosby. Due to this reason, the top vocal guide and backing track stores always offer tracks made for Bing’s version of the song.

You will not need to spend a big amount for purchasing vocal guide and backing track from a top online back track store. The best stores will make you spend a maximum of £2.50 for purchasing backtrack and vocal guide for ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’.

The author of this write-up is a part of a team of professional musicians and vocalists that creates backing tracks and vocal guides. His team’s creations include both Do You Hear What I Hear backing track and Do You Hear What I Hear vocal guide.

How to sound like a Pop Star

Singme.co.uk, which is an amazing backing tracks download site, have asked me to write an article entitled "How to sound like a Pop Star". I have agreed to do so but because of the sensitivity of the many artists I have worked with, I will be calling myself "Jay" in this article.

As a backing singer, I have worked with many famous Artists including: Peter Andre, Gabriella Cilme, Belinda Carlisle, Gloria Gaynor, Paul Young and Madonna.

Whenever I work with an artist, I attempt to blend with them as well as possible and this has required me to study their voice and performance in great detail. I listen to their tone, their phrasing and any special or unusual vocal effect they use. It is these distinctive sounds that set them apart as 'Real Pop Stars'.

Because I have worked with so many different famous artists and studied their distinctive vocal styles, I have become well known in the music industry for my ability to sound like a variety of different singers. I have recorded 'soundalike' tracks covering many styles and genres of music, ranging from Kylie Minogue to Charlotte Church, and Avril Lavigne to Celine Dion. I have also recorded many of the great musical hits, both from the old musicals as well as really up to date songs from High School Musical and Glee etc.

Over the years, I have practiced singing in many different ways but one really effective method, is singing along with really good quality, professional backing tracks. Having tracks without a lead vocal allows you to sing along with all your favourite songs. Ask any famous artist and they will tell you, that you can only sound good if your backing track sounds good. "SingMe Backing Tracks are so good, its like singing with your own band."

Listen to as many backing tracks as you can, in as many different styles as possible. Listen to the musical production of the backing track. Backing tracks using professional session singers to perform the backing vocals are a very useful and important learning tool. On the Singme.co.uk site, they have one other very helpful learning tool. Most tracks have a matching Vocal Guide. This allows you to sing along with the lead vocal, performed by a professional session singer. By singing along with the Vocal Guide, you are able to practice copying the lead vocal to perfect your tuning, phrasing and style.

Many people can sing quite well, nicely in tune with a reasonable tone and sound in their voice but that does not make them special. You need to be 'special' to be a 'pop star'. Listen to what makes each Pop Star sound special and then find your own special sound.

As a potential Pop Star, you should concentrate on a number of things:-

1. Make sure you are singing really well in tune. 
2. Make sure your vocal phrasing and timing sits comfortably within the backing track. 
3. Make sure you choose songs that are in the correct vocal range to suit your voice. (ie not too high or too low in pitch). 
4. Make sure you sing songs in a style that suits your voice and personality.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different musical styles until you find your own unique style. All the famous Pop Stars I have worked with, grew up listening to and copying other singers, who influenced them, before they found their own style.

You would be surprised if you found out just how many famous singers practice on their own, with really good backing tracks, when they are preparing for a major show or tour. Of course they also practise with their own band but will spend a lot of time on their own, perfecting their songs prior to a live band rehearsal. They also use backing tracks to build up their singing stamina before embarking on a tour. Any international artist will only perform with professional quality vocal backing tracks. They often sing in clubs and small venues to promote new material and albums and so the quality of their backing tracks is absolutely paramount.

I have mentioned the importance of practising with top quality backing tracks. The question is, what makes a good quality professional backing track?

Real instruments can make a huge difference to a track, especially when it is a song from a musical show or in a big band style. Listen to Robbie Williams’ album where he sings standards with a big band. Many backing track sites have tried to replicate these tracks, as well as songs from musicals, by using synthesizers and quite frankly they are awful to sing along with. A lot of pop tracks are created using only synthesizers, and that is fine, but where the original track has live instruments, this can never be properly replicated by using synthesizers.

As you can imagine, it is much easier to blend with live instruments on a quality backing track, than with a synthesizer trying to sound like a real instrument. For this reason it is important to be very fussy when choosing a backing track site. Some sites offer special low price deals etc but at the end of the day, like with most things, you pay a little more for quality products.

One last thing, try and record yourself singing along with a variety of backing tracks in different styles and genres of music. Listen back to the results, be honest with yourself and choose a style of music that really suits your voice. That way you are much more likely to be “discovered” by some music industry professional like Simon Cowell or Neyo, who are always looking for the next ‘pop sensation’. Remember, every single famous artist in the world was once an unknown singer, like you, who believed in themselves and their ability!

Fortunately, with a site as good as singme.co.uk, finding great professional backing tracks is as simple as 1, 2, 3!

Good luck, and until my next article…....just keep singing!