The story depicted in the song is somewhat similar to a 12th-century legend retold by Anatole France as Le Jongleur de Notre Dame ( Template:Lang-fr), which was adapted into an opera in 1902 by Jules Massenet. Simeone recorded the song a third and final time in 1981, for an album (again titled The Little Drummer Boy) on the budget Holiday Records label. Harry Simeone, who in 1964 had signed with Kapp Records, recorded a new version of "The Little Drummer Boy" in 1965 for his album O' Bambino: The Little Drummer Boy. In 1988, The Little Drummer Boy: A Christmas Festival was released on CD by Casablanca Records, and subsequently, on Island Records. The following year the album was released in stereo. In 1963, the album was reissued under the title The Little Drummer Boy: A Christmas Festival, capitalizing on the single's popularity. The album and the song were an enormous success, the single scoring on the U.S. Simeone and Onorati claimed joint composition credits with Davis. Dot's Henry Onorati introduced the song to his friend Harry Simeone and the following year, when 20th Century Fox Records contracted him to make a Christmas album, Simeone, making further small changes to the Halloran arrangement and retitling it "The Little Drummer Boy", recorded it with the Harry Simeone Chorale on the album Sing We Now of Christmas. In 1957 it was recorded, with a slightly altered arrangement, by the Jack Halloran Singers for their album Christmas Is A-Comin' on Dot Records. "Carol of the Drum" appealed to the Austrian Trapp Family Singers, who first brought the song to wider prominence when they recorded it for Decca Records in 1955, shortly before they retired: their version was credited solely to Davis and published by Belwin-Mills. The Czech original of the carol has never been identified. Robinson", a name under which Davis sometimes published. It is headed "Czech Carol freely transcribed by K.K.D", these initials then deleted and replaced with "C.R.W. Davis's interest was in producing material for amateur and girls' choirs: Her manuscript is set as a chorale, in which the tune is in the soprano melody with alto harmony, tenor and bass parts producing the "drum rhythm" and a keyboard accompaniment "for rehearsal only". The song was originally titled "Carol of the Drum" and was published by Davis as based upon a traditional Czech carol. In the lyrics the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the nativity where, without a gift for the infant Jesus, he played his drum with the Virgin Mary's approval, remembering "I played my best for Him" and "He smiled at me." This version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since. These were the first recordings released on their new record label Decca Records and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale. It was recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family Singers and realised on the choir's first LP Christmas with the Trapp Family Singers and released as a single (45rpm). " The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as " Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941.
Modern-day "Little Drummer Boy" reenactment actor, from the show "Data-Driven Drumming." Davis' "The Little Drummer Boy" was first recorded in 1951 as "Carol of the Drum" File:Modern day "Little Drummer Boy" reenactment actor.jpg