He studied double bass with Gaston Dufresne of the Boston ... In 1947 he began writing "Sleigh Ride" during a heat wave. Completed in 1948, Sleigh Ride was not written as a Christmas piece ...

Composed for orchestra, Sleigh Ride was completed on February 10, 1948. It is exactly 3 minutes long. It was first performed on May 4, 1948 as an extra by the Boston Pops, with Arthur Fiedler ...