In 1988 the American composer Leroy Anderson was inducted in to the prestigious
Songwriters Hall of Fame as a tribute to the popular composer who had first
topped the charts in 1951 when his piece 'Blue Tango' became the first
instrumental to sell over a million copies. His most famous composition is
'Sleigh Ride' which was first recorded in instrumental form in 1949 by the
Boston Pops Orchestra. A year later Mitchell Parish wrote some accompanying
lyrics and the song went on to become one of the most widely-recorded Christmas
songs ever and has been performed by many different a...