This carol was copyright in 1857 (although we don't know the date of composition). In that year, this Miss Fanny Bright would have been eight years old. As Mr. Dhuey noted, we don't know if this young lady was the one mentioned in this song, or, indeed, if this "Miss Fanny Bright" was just a name created by Mr. Pierpont.

My thanks to Mr. Dhuey for writing!

“Jingle Bells” From Gemini 6

Ten days before Christmas, Dec. 15, 1965, NASA celebrated as spaceships Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 successfully completed a non-docking orbital rendezvous, an historic first. The next morning, as Gemini 6 was preparing to re-enter Earth's atmosphere, Mission Control in Houston heard a cryptic message from astronaut Thomas P. Stafford:

"We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit.... Looks like he might be going to re-enter soon.... You just might let me pick up that thing.... I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit."

Stafford later related that "I could hear the voices at Mission Control getting tense when I talked about sighting something else up there with us.”

But moments later, ground controllers heard the strains of “Jingle Bells,” played on a miniature harmonica and accompanied by five miniature sleigh bells.

“Then, after we finished the song,” Stafford continued, “[Mission Control's] Elliot relaxed and just said, 'You're too much.'"

Photo Right: The first musical instruments played in space. Photo by Mark Avino / National Air and Space Museum, S.I.

The plot had been hatched in the weeks before the mission by astronaut Walter M. "Wally" Schirra Jr., according to Stafford. "He could play the harmonica, and we practiced two or three times before we took off, but of course we didn't tell the guys on the ground....We never considered singing, since I couldn't carry a tune in a bushel basket."

Gemini 6 Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (left), Pilot and Walter M. Schirra Jr., Command Pilot, during suiting up exercises at Cape Kennedy on October 22, 1965. Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC). URL: http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/info;jsessionid=o3dgkdjes55r?id=S65-56151&orgid=8

The harmonica was Hohner's tiny four-hole, eight-note “Little Lady.” The accompaniment was five small bells, tied on a blue string. The harmonica and bells were the first musical instruments ever played in space, according to curator Margaret A. Weitekamp. The items were donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by Schirra and Stafford in 1967. Before he donated it to the Smithsonian, Schirra reported that he had "retested the harmonica and it performs quite well."

For more information about the first Christmas carol played from outer space, see Owen Edwards, “Christmas Cards,” Smithsonian Magazine, December 2005; http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Christmas_Cards.html.

Note:

Although the Hohner company still produces the “Little Lady,” I could find no “Wally Schirra Commemorative Model” at their site on March 8^th, 2008. http://www.hohnerusa.com/?sprache=en

Wally Schirra died May 3, 2007, at the age of 84. The was the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. He was survived by only two of the seven original Mercury Astronauts, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. He was the recipient of three Honorary Doctorates.

Sources:

Owen Edwards, “Christmas Cards,” Smithsonian Magazine, December 2005; http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Christmas_Cards.html.

NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC). URL: http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/info;jsessionid=o3dgkdjes55r?id=S65-56151&orgid=8

Harmonica, Gemini 6. The Smithsonian. http://collections.nasm.si.edu/code/emuseum.asp?profile=objects&newstyle=single&quicksearch=A19670148000

Bells, Gemini 6. The Smithsonian. http://collections.nasm.si.edu/code/emuseum.asp?profile=objects&newstyle=single&quicksearch=A19670148001

Wikipedia, “Gemini 6A” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_6A

Espie Estrella, “Jingle Bells - History of Christmas Carols” http://musiced.about.com/od/christmasnewyeararticles/qt/jinglebells.htm

NASA, “Walter Schirra Biography.”
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/schirra-wm.html

NASA, “Walter Schirra, 1923-2007.”
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/walter_schirra.html

NASA, “Thomas Stafford Biography.” http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/stafford-tp.html

All web sites accessed March 5-8, 2008.

Ron Clancy, author of the Christmas Classics series of Christmas carol books, has now created a number of "The Story Behind The Music" YouTube™ videos recounting the histories of numerous Christmas carols, including this carol.

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