Katherine Davis, an American composer of over 600 songs, is remembered today for one iconic song: “The Little Drummer Boy“, which she penned in 1941 and was originally titled “Carol of the Drum”.

Claire Fontijn of Wellesley College, commenting on the inspiration for the song, states that Davis, an alumna of the college, “when she was trying to take a nap, she was obsessed with this song that came into her head and it was supposed to have been inspired by a French song, ‘Patapan,’” explained Fontijn. “And then ‘patapan’ translated in her mind to ‘pa-rum-pum-pum,’ and it took on a rhythm” that became the beat of the song.

The Trapp Family Singers, famous from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music“, brought the song to the American public when they recorded it in 1951 for Decca Records.

Jack Halloran, a composer and choral director for singers such as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, recorded the song with a different arrangement for the album “Christmas is A-Comin’” on Dot Records in 1957. The song was not released as a single, though. In 1958, Harry Simeone recorded an almost identical version of Halloran’s arrangement for Decca Records. The song, as recorded by Decca Records, credits Davis, along with arrangers Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone. Jack Halloran is not given credit for the Decca Record.

Source: Wellesley Faculty, Wellesley College, 2017. The Little Drummer Boy by Harry Simeone, 1977. Graphic: The Little Drummer Boy by Joan Jett on the 1981 I Love Rock’n Roll album, Boardwalk label.