THE PUZZLE CORNER: JANUARY 2, 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and welcome to the first Puzzle Corner of 2016!

AKA (Also Known As)
By what name do we know John Joseph Patrick Ryan better as?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
How many new words can you create, using the letters in the term NEW YEAR?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of the December 26, 2015 Puzzle Corner, and our FAMOUS FIRSTS CAROL QUIZ.

Many holiday songs, and multiple renditions of specific tunes, exist. But can you name the FIRST performer for each classic listed below?

01. Frosty the Snowman was first sung by Gene Autry in a 1950 recording.
02. Judy Garland was the first to sing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas during the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In Saint Louis.
03. Here Comes Santa Claus was first sung by its co-writer Gene Autry in 1947, although the classic radio version is actually of a later recording.
04. The Jingle Bell Rock was first performed by Bobby Helms in 1957.
05. Vaughn Monroe first pleaded Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow in 1946.
06. Believe it or not, there are two possible answers for this one!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first shined in 1948 when Harry Brannon sang it live on various New York City radio programs, but Gene Autry was the first to actually record the song the following year.
07. Eartha Kitt first purred Santa Baby in 1953.
08. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is actually the oldest song on our list. Eddie Cantor was the first to sing it in a 1934 recording, although I personally like the rendition by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
09. Silver Bells was first performed in the 1951 Paramount Picture The Lemon Drop Kid by its star Bob Hope, who continued to perform it on every TV Christmas special he did until his passing.
10. You are right to say Bing Crosby was the first to ever perform White Christmas, but he did so during his radio show on Christmas Day 1941. The movie Holiday Inn was in 1942, and the remake movie White Christmas was in 1954.
11. Sleigh Ride, as an instrumental, was first performed by The Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler in 1949, although the popular radio version is actually of one of their later performances.
12. The Andrews Sisters were the first to sing Sleight Ride's lyrics in a 1950 recording.