Al Alberts was a singer, broadcaster, and – later in his career – a television host.
One of the founding members of The Four Aces, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Three Coins in the Fountain” though the band’s biggest hit is the popular “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.”
Later, he became a television personality in Philadelphia, hosting an hour-long Saturday afternoon talent show called Al Alberts Showcase. Guests of all ages appeared on the show during its 32-year run, including future stars Sister Sledge and Teddy Pendergrass.
A Christmas special
In 1986, a little girl named Melissa Lynn appeared on the show for what has become a classic performance that surfaces every few years to the delight of Christmas-lovers everywhere.
Just a little girl at the time, Melissa Lynn sings an adorable rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”
And as you can see, she’s perfect for the role!
Granted, it’s not everyone’s favorite holiday song, but there’s no denying that it’s pretty darn cute once you see this particular video.
A living doll
Likely in the seond grade or thereabouts, Melissa Lynn is missing some teeth, including her two front ones.
That makes getting out the following lyrics quite a challenge:
“It seems so long since I could say
‘Sister, Susie sitting on a thistle!
Gosh, oh gee, how happy I’d be, if I could only whistle”
Of course, that’s precisely why the tongue-twister is part of the song. And her attempt is pretty precious.
Dressed in a big, fluffy Christmas dress with her hair pulled back into half-pigtails with little barrettes, she doesn’t seem even the slightest bit embarrassed that she can’t even attempt a whistle. But she tries!
Once-in-a-lifetime
After her performance is over, Melissa Lynn gives a quick, cute curtsey and heads over to Alberts, who is sitting with a group of equally dressed-up kiddos.
Alberts congratulates her on a lovely performance and then reminds her that this is the only year she’ll really be able to sing that song – so it’s good timing!
After all, by next year those teeth will have grown in and she’ll be whistling her way through all the Christmas carols.
And just to make sure the camera caught a shot of her gap-toothed kiddie smile, he asks the crew to pan in one more time on the kiddo’s missing two front teeth.
Clearly trained for the stage, she gives her biggest, cutest smile.
Discovered over and over
Many commenters recalled being asked to sing this song in school at the same age.
And while some people seemed to recall tooth-chipping accidents later in life, that’s not exactly the point of the song.
While the video has popped up on dozens of different sites, a 2009 upload from the user “videeeo” on YouTube has accumulated a whopping 8.6 million views. So this seems to be a Christmas classic for the ages!
“All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” was written in just 30 minutes by Smithtown, New York music teacher Donald Yetter Gardner in 1944. He had asked his second-grade class what they wanted for the holidays and – while they didn’t ask for their teeth – he noticed that they all spoke with lisps because of at least one missing tooth.
In a 1995 interview, Gardner said, “I was amazed at the way that silly little song was picked up by the whole country.”
Be sure to scroll down below to see the precious video for yourself.
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