Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Anatomy of a Christmas Classic

This lecture investigates how and why the song ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ has become so popular, transcending its roots in the MGM musical Meet Me in St Louis to become a presence in the canon of secular popular Christmas songs. Live and recorded examples from artists including Judy Garland and Sam Smith will explain both how this remarkable song works and the process by which it became so popular. What gives this song its prayer-like quality? Professor Broomfield-McHugh will be...