In the Spotlight section of the Dec. 3 issue of the Bangor Daily News, Nat “King” Cole’s “The Christmas Song” rates as the most popular Christmas song in a survey of women ages 30 to 49.

I agree about the song’s popularity, but Cole didn’t own it. The article goes on to attribute possession of other holiday songs to Burl Ives, Celine Dion, Bobby Helms and John Lennon – who popularized them vocally.

This is most unfair to the men and women who composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the songs mentioned. There is nothing to indicate that any of the above-named performers were also the songwriters.

Webster’s Seventh Collegiate Edition of 1961 defines “songwriter” as: “A person who composes words or music or both, esp. for popular songs.” Even this broad definition does not convey any cultural ownership of songs to the performers who popularize them; notwithstanding that some calls themselves singer-songwriters, another oxymoron.

“The Christmas Song” is so good it probably would have become popular under a different title and lyrics. The words and music were “written” by Mel Torme and Robert Wells in 1946. Torme probably composed the music as he was a fine instrumentalist and arranged the music for his own vocal performances.

A number of composers of popular songs also wrote many of their own lyrics. Cole Porter (exclusively), Antonio Carlos Jobim and Judy Collins could do both and did so.

Collins also is a fine vocalist. Jobim should have sung less often than he did. Porter knew his limitations and did very little vocalizing.

“Shoemaker, stick to your last.”

Carle G. Gray

Sullivan