You know Lennon, McCartney and Clapton and Dylan

Bacharach, Parton & TSwift are killin'

But do you recall

The most holly jolly songwriter of all?

Meet Johnny Marks- the man who soundtracked Christmas.

Born in 1909 in Mount Vernon, NY, Marks studied music at Colgate and Columbia Universities before moving to Paris for several years.  Marks must have had either a keen business sense,   well-thought out career goals or both, because on his return to the states (New York City), he founded a music publishing company called St. Nicholas Music.  Thanks in no small part to Mark's own writing, his company would eventually become the most important publisher of Christmas music in the world.

That same year (1949), Marks was contacted by his brother-in-law, Robert May, who worked for the Montgomery Ward department store, headquartered in Chicago.  May had just written a new promotional item for to hand out during the holiday season- a short story called Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.  It needed a song, and May "knew a guy".

Marks worked his musical magic, and sent the song to The Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry, who didn't want to sing it.  As happens in most marriages, Gene's wife persuaded him out making that bad decision, and Autry went ahead and recorded Mark's song, which went on to become a number 1 hit that Christmas season.

Marks was already a successful songwriter before Rudolph, but the nothing breeds success like success. A decade later, he connected with Rankin & Bass to write songs for their 1964 TV special "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", which became an instant classic.  Marks continued working with Rankin & Bass, penning songs for their other holiday special as well.

At the end of his stellar career, Marks was most known for the holiday songs he wrote, including:

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Holly Jolly Christmas

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

The Night Before Christmas

When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter

Everyone's A Child At Christmas

The Most Wonderful Day of The Year

Jingle Jingle Jingle

Silver & Gold

.....and there are others.

So as you hum happy holiday tunes this season, save a slice of gratitude for Johnny Marks and his legacy of classic Christmas music.