"The Small One", one of the most touching of all Christmas stories, was first produced in 1939 on the Kate Smith radio show by Robert Welch, who later became a Paramount producer.[1] It was featured in Bing Crosby's Philco Radio Time broadcast of December 25, 1946 and Decca Records soon arranged to make a new recording of it. This took place on March 20, 1947. The album was released on September 2, 1947[2] and in due course it was ordered by more than 1,500 private schools in the USA.[3]