Silver Bells
Each holiday season, representatives for charitable organizations stand in commercial districts and ring bells as they seek donations for the needy. Songwriting partners Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote a song in 1950 based on those department store Santas and Salvation Army volunteers and titled it “Tinkle Bells.”
Livingston’s wife, Lynne, humorously suggested a new title so that the bells and song would not be associated with visiting the bathroom to “tinkle.” The writers quickly changed it to “Silver Bells,” which proved a much better fit. Holiday celebrants soon made “Silver Bells” a holiday standard.