For years, I’ve thought that someone on the level of Nat “King” Cole or Johnny Mathis had released a German-language version of “Silent Night” (or “Stille Nacht” in the original German). Today, as I go digging through Cole’s and Mathis’ respective catalogs, I am apparently mistaken – so far as I can tell, neither artist ever released “Stille Nacht” in German. “Silent Night” in English, yes, both have renowned versions of that one. Just not “Stille Nacht”.
It might be that I am simply conflating memories of Cole’s famous version of “O Tannenbaum” (which he did sing in German) with “Stille Nacht” somehow.
In any case, the question remains: Has there ever been a popular, commercially-successful release of “Stille Nacht”, with German lyrics, by a high-profile American artist?
I don’t think Hoff’s Christmas album was commercially successful in the U.S. and it doesn’t look like there were any single releases. Still, I like an earnest rendition of “Stille Nacht” – I’ll give his a listen just in case it’s not as bad as the scathing reviews collected on Wikipedia.
My memory was of that smooth post-WWII crooner style. Nevertheless, the pretty version you linked could definitely have been part of my false memory.
I like that Denver recites the history of “Stille Nacht” for listeners. His interest in the song reminds one of Denver’s original surname - Deutschendorf. Perhaps it was a hymn held dear in his family.
