The Weather in July is Frightful

"Oh! The weather outside is frightful"

That was the first line Sammy Cahn wrote while collaborating with Jules Styne on their winter song "Let it Snow."

Cahn was not reacting to the cold dark days of December, but the oppressive summer heat of Southern California in July of 1945.

Cahn shared the story in his book Sammy Cahn’s Rhyming Dictionary:

"It was one of the hottest days in the history of Long Angeles… I asked Jule, 'Why don’t we drive to the beach to cool off?' He said, typically 'Why don’t we stay here and write a winter song?'"

Styne was a workaholic, while Cahn was more carefree. Both came from Jewish roots and grew up in the cold winter cities of Chicago and New York. Their memories of winter involved an atmospheric frozen water vapor known as snow. So when Cahn was forced to forget the beach and think of winters past a phrase popped in his head "Let it Snow!"

Using their imaginations to escape the heat, the duo placed themselves in the perfect winter scene. A man and a woman cozy by the fire, eating fresh popped popcorn, staring out the window watching the snowflakes fall and thinking "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"

Band leader Vaughn Monroe was the first to record the song in October of 1945