Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Instrumental)

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Time: 2:07)

In 1938, Bob May was a copyrighter for the big department store Montgomery-Ward. When his wife died of cancer, he decided to write a storybook for his despondent 5-year-old, and at Christmas 1939, he gave her the gift. It was the story of a misfit reindeer with a red nose which he based upon his own childhood.

Meanwhile his employer Montgomery Ward had been had been giving away coloring books and decided to develop its very own book when May showed executives his daughter’s storybook about Rudolph. The company decided to use the Rudolph storybook. In its first year, the book sold over 2.5 million copies, and by 1946 6 million copies had been sold.

May’s brother-in-law was Johnny Marks who decided to put the story to music. For years, the song version was ignored by labels and artists until Gene Autry recorded it in 1949. It became an instant hit, outselling all but one other Christmas song that year.

My Approach to Recording Rudolph

Sometimes when you use a three-finger roll slow, it can fit a slow tempo song. So I used it here. As in other “happy” and familiar Christmas songs the guitar-banjo combo seemed to be the way to go.

From Album: An Acoustic Country Christmas, 2014

Composition: Johnny Marks

Performance: Instrumental Version by Paul Ryan

Website: https://www.Ryantunes.com

Song Photo: Album Cover, Sheila Ryan

Recorded at Ryantunes Studios Scarborough Ontario, Canada. Mixed at Steve Sherman Productions, Toronto. Mastered at Minus 3 Audio, Toronto.

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Proprietary: Copyright Paul Ryan, 2014. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, copying or use of this recording are prohibited by law, and subject to criminal prosecution.

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