Harry Simeone Free Sheet Music, Program Notes, Recordings and Biography

The Man Who Made the Drummer Boy March

In 1958, a record executive at 20th Century Fox Records asked the conductor and arranger Harry Simeone to make a Christmas album. It was a common request, but one that would change the course of holiday music forever. Scrambling to find enough material to fill an entire LP, Simeone recalled a little-known piece he had encountered years earlier, a song called "Carol of the Drum" written by the classical composer Katherine K. Davis. Seeing its potential, Simeone rearranged the piece, giving it a powerful new introduction, adding the now-famous "pa-rum-pa-pum-pum" vocalizations to mimic the sound of the drum, and retitled it "The Little Drummer Boy." The recording by his newly formed group, The Harry Simeone Chorale, was a spectacular and unexpected success. It became a top-10 hit that year and has remained an unshakable pillar of the Christmas season ever since, a testament to Simeone's uncanny gift for creating popular, enduring choral sounds.

From Juilliard to Hollywood

Harry Moses Simeone was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1911. His musical talent was evident early on, and he pursued it with dedication, enrolling at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. After graduating, he was hired by CBS Radio as a staff arranger, a position that required him to work quickly and expertly across a variety of musical styles. His big break, however, came when he began working in film.

He moved to Hollywood to work as a conductor, arranger, and composer for 20th Century Fox. During his time in the studio system, he was involved in creating the musical numbers for some of the era's biggest stars. He worked on films starring the iconic Betty Grable and later served as the choral director for a Christmas television special starring Marilyn Monroe. This experience in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of Hollywood filmmaking honed his ability to create music with immediate popular appeal.

Working with the Greats: Waring and Dorsey

Two of the most formative experiences in Simeone's career were his associations with two giants of the Big Band era. He spent several years working as the primary arranger for Fred Waring and his enormously popular orchestra and vocal group, "The Pennsylvanians." Waring was a pioneer in choral pop music, and under his guidance, Simeone became a master of the lush, blended vocal sound that would become his trademark. The Fred Waring organization was a musical powerhouse, and working within it gave Simeone national exposure and an impeccable education in popular arrangement.

He also worked for a time with the legendary bandleader Tommy Dorsey, another towering figure of American popular music. These apprenticeships with two of the most successful musicians in the country provided Simeone with the skills and connections he would need to launch his own successful career as a choral leader.

A Christmas Classic is Born

By the late 1950s, Simeone was an established industry veteran. When 20th Century Fox Records asked him to produce the holiday album "Sing We Now of Christmas," he gathered a group of top New York session singers and dubbed them "The Harry Simeone Chorale." It was for this album that he adapted Katherine K. Davis's "Carol of the Drum." His arrangement added a new level of drama and a memorable vocal hook. The record company, sensing a hit, pushed "The Little Drummer Boy" as a single. It was released just before Thanksgiving in 1958 and became a massive success, reaching the top of the Billboard charts for several weeks and remaining a bestseller through the holiday season for years to come. Simeone was given a co-writing credit on the arrangement, which ensured he would receive royalties from the song's enduring popularity.

The Harry Simeone Chorale

On the back of this success, The Harry Simeone Chorale became a popular recording act in its own right. They recorded dozens of albums, mixing sacred music, traditional hymns, and popular songs. Simeone had a particular genius for holiday music. In 1962, he recorded another Christmas song, "Do You Hear What I Hear?," which had been written the year before by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Harry Simeone Chorale's version became the most popular recording of the song, cementing its place as another perennial Christmas classic. For the next two decades, the Chorale was a holiday fixture, appearing on television specials and releasing a new Christmas album almost every year.

Legacy as an Arranger

Harry Simeone was not a composer in the traditional sense, like the great symphonists or opera writers. He was a master craftsman of the popular arrangement. He had an innate understanding of how to write for voices to create a warm, rich, and immediately appealing sound that was perfect for radio and records. While his name is forever linked to one song, his arrangement of "The Little Drummer Boy" is a masterful piece of production. Its steady, march-like rhythm, layered vocal harmonies, and dramatic build have defined the song for generations of listeners. His work, particularly his two great Christmas hits, has become a cherished part of the American holiday soundscape, a legacy of popular music-making at its most effective and enduring.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

References and Further Reading

• "Harry Simeone, 93, Dies; Popularized 'Little Drummer Boy'." The New York Times, February 25, 2005.

• "The Little Drummer Boy." The Hymns and Carols of Christmas. (hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com)

• "Harry Simeone." ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Biographical Dictionary. 4th ed., 1980.