photo by associated press

Some historians claim Irving Berlin penned his famous ‘White Christmas’ while lounging poolside at the Arizona Biltmore, but others sing a different tune.

Palm trees sway over inflatable Santas. Lights-and-motion reindeer graze on sage. And Christmas lights illuminate needles of cactus, not pine.
 Desert dwellers reconcile these holiday oddities by sipping eggnog on the patio and calling cold-climate friends to gloat. At heart, however, most of us sing a different tune.
 We step longingly into Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” whose brooding lyrics stir our imaginings of a place “where the treetops glisten.” In fact, legend has it that the prolific composer may have penned part of “White Christmas” while lounging near the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa’s swimming pool, the hub of Valley A-list fashion shows and diving competitions in the 1940s with guests such as Clark Gable and Bob Hope.
This has stirred quite a debate around what is known – and not known – about the history of the song.
 Catapulted to fame by Bing Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn, Berlin’s “White Christmas” won the Oscar that year for best song. It links The Three Tenors to U2 and Elvis to Alvin and the Chipmunks, boasting more than 500 recordings in dozens of languages, according to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
 Berlin’s oldest daughter, Mary Ellin Barrett, recalls the song’s overseas appeal during World War II. “It became the theme song of homesick servicemen,” she says. “It’s a lovely, lovely song. It moves me very much.”
 The song is also cemented in Valley lore. “Did you know,” teases the Biltmore’s Website, “that the famed song composer Irving Berlin penned many tunes, including ‘White Christmas’ while sitting poolside at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa?”
 But did he?