James Lord Pierpont was an American songwriter, arranger, organist, Confederate States soldier, and composer. Pierpont wrote and composed "Jingle Bells" in 1857, originally titled "The One Horse Open Sleigh".
James Lord Pierpont
The commemorative plaque for James Lord Pierpont and his "Jingle Bells" in Savannah, Georgia, USA
"Jingle Bells" is one of the most commonly sung songs in the world. It was written in 1850 by James Lord Pierpont at Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts. It was published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed that it was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir for Thanksgiving, or as a drinking song. Although it has no original connection to Christmas, it became associated with winter and Christmas music in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was featured in a variety of parlor song and college anthologies in the 1880s. It was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder; this recording, believed to be the first Christmas record, is lost, but an 1898 recording - also from Edison Records - survives.
Title page of "The One Horse Open Sleigh"
Plaque at 19 High Street, Medford, Massachusetts
Historical marker in Savannah, Georgia
First half of the chorus
