SNL Celebrates The Christmas Candle

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" is celebrating its 50th season this year, and we've been celebrating the show for several years now by posting a classic SNL holiday sketch every Saturday from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. This one comes a little late for this year's holiday shopping season, but it's never too early to start planning for next year . . .

It's Christmas Eve . . .

 

I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Part 15 and Out

With Christmas Day just over the horizon it's time to wrap up my review of the 41 tracks on my 20th and most recent holiday compilation, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today." I've enjoyed providing a bit of background on the contents of this year's package, and hope I may have introduced you to something new to you. There are only three tracks left to consider, so let's get to it!

Track 39

Raindrops on the Rooftop, Gene Marshall

Back in the 1960s and '70s, ads like the one to the right were often seen in the back of low-brow publications urging readers to submit their original poetry so it could be set to music. What the ads didn't mention was that adding music would cost money, but by the time that was disclosed a good number of the would-be lyricists were willing to spend a couple of hundred bucks to set their words to music. The results — often tragic but always unique — are called "song poems," and I've been collecting them for years. More than a few of these little gems have holiday themes, and I've been sticking them on my annual mixes pretty regularly from my very first compilation. I've posted more than a few times about these song poems, and you can review some of those older posts by using the index in the far-right column. 

The lyrics to this tune were written by one Veta Viola Clark and sung by Gene Marshall, one of the more popular vocalists from the song-poem mills. I was introduced to this tune via one of my favorite offbeat music blogs, Bob Purse's "The Wonderful and the Obscure." In fact, Bob's blog is the only place I was able to find any reference to the song, so I appreciate his diligence in unearthing it and generosity in sharing it. Bob has good things to say about Marshall's performance, which, I agree, is as solid as ever. Indeed, the whole performance comes off well, which isn't always the case in the world of song poems. Yet Bob labels the song a "Christmas [d]owner," which is also true, based on the straightforward words Ms. Clark has penned. While listening to this track, Bob found himself thinking 

what was the writer's intention in putting together this lyric? Because the song is all about how Santa can't go to areas where it's raining and there's no snow.

Presumably the song wasn't intended for those who are past the Santa age, or who were never there to begin with. I would think most songs about Santa's visit (aside from winking ones like "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", and a few I can think of with very adult themes), are directed straight at those who are actually (and anxiously) awaiting his arrival with parcels of toys.

So, again, why write a song presenting the very real possibility of rain on Christmas Eve, and which states directly that, in that case, Santa simply won't arrive. To play it for the kiddies? And if you do, what if it's raining that night?

I think it's a pretty little number myself, but parents should exercise caution before playing it for young children in areas without snow. 

Gene Merlino

Sadly, I have some further "downer" news to share from The Wonderful and the Obscure blog — namely, the passing of Gene Marshall this past January 8, at the age of 95. Marshall, whose real name was Gene Merlino, led a full and active life outside of his extensive song-poem work. A native of California, he played saxophone and sang for a number of popular touring bands, did extensive session work with a variety of recording artists and regularly appeared on the country's leading variety shows, including The Judy Garland Show, The Carol Burnett Show and the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. In 1967, he won a Grammy award as a member of the Anita Kerr Singers for the 1967 hit "A Man and a Woman." Merlino was also a member of the group that sang the theme for the TV show "Gilligan's Island." He claimed to have recorded as many as 10,000 song poems under the names Gene Marshall and John Muir. He and his talents will be missed.

Check out Gene Merlino's Website via the Internet Archives Wayback Machine

Hear More of Gene Marshall's Song Poems from The Wonderful and the Obscure Blog 

Track 40

Silent Night, Wing (2009)

This is the eighth time I've included a song by New Zealand vocalist Wing on one of my mixes, so I want to salute and thank Wing for her music and her contributions to date. "Silent Night" appears on Wing's 2009 album "Carols, Rap and Sing," along with four other spirited holiday tunes.

I wrote a lengthy post in 2014 about the singer, whose full name is Wing Han Tsang (曾詠韓), and it doesn't appear that she's released any new records since then. Of course, her catalogue already included 20 releases as of ten years ago, so there's no shortage of music available for fans who want to hear more. Moreover, Wing is known for her wide variety of stylings, so listeners can find everything from show tunes to rap to heavy metal among her previous releases. 

With that said, let me get right to this year's selection, which can undoubtedly speak for itself:

Check Out Some of Wing's Previous Releases

Track 41

Written in the Snow, Bruce Haack and Ted Pandel (1976)

I usually like to end each mix with something thoughtful and pretty — something that harkens back to days gone by or reminds us of friends and loved ones who are no longer with us. When I first heard this song, I immediately thought it would be a good choice to place at the end of a holiday mix, and I think it works pretty well at the end of this one.

The song comes from a rather odd album called "Ebenezer Electric," a retelling of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" by experimental composer Bruce Haack with the participation of his frequent collaborator, Ted Pandel.  Best known for the children's records he produced in the 1960s and '70s, Haack's experimental electronic music has received greater recognition recently than it did during his lifetime. He died in New York in 1988.

An only child, Haack grew up in relative isolation in rural Canada. He taught himself piano without the ability to read music, and developed a lifelong interest in synthesizers and electronic music soon after. Although he was admitted to Julliard on full scholarship, he did not fit in there and dropped out before finishing his first year. While at Julliard he met Pandel, who became his roommate and collaborator. While Pandel pursued a more typical classical music education at Julliard, Haack focused more on building his own electronic instruments and writing songs. His work with electronica led to several TV appearances, but Haack had trouble selling his music at first. However, one of his songs, "I Like Christmas," did wind up on the B Side of a 1958 single by singer Teresa Brewer.

Haack eventually took a job as a page at ABC Studios, where he met Chris Kachulis, who became his manager. With Kachulis' help, he had some success selling commercial jingles and the like and produced several lucrative records of music for dance instruction. He also produced a series of children's records that incorporated a variety of musical styles and addressed children with an unusual level of maturity and respect. Haack also completed a project called "The Electric Lucifer," which married electronic and rock styles to tell a story about the war between good and evil. Kachulis got the legendary executive John Hammond to listen to the project, and Hammond arranged for it to be released on Columbia. The album attracted some favorable notice but minimal commercial success.

"Written in the Snow" is a largely unknown record, and it lacks the futuristic and otherworldly sound for which Haack eventually became known. But it has an ethereal beauty that I find especially appealing, and leads one to call up Christmases past and the indelible memories of long-ago holidays. Kind of a neat way to wind things down:

The version of the song that appears on my mix is followed by a surprise, Hidden Track 42, that starts 10 or 12 seconds after the end of "Written in the Snow." It's a little message originally recorded by Stompin' Tom Connor that sums up my own thoughts better than I could do myself. You can hear it HERE. Thanks to all of you who have listened to any of these mixes, and Happy Holidays to all!

Hear the Entire Ebenezer Electric Soundtrack

Listen to Bruce Haack's The Electric Lucifer Album

Read “How Bruce Haack Went From Composing Children’s Music to Making One of Canada’s Weirdest Electronic Albums,” from Vice

Andy Cirzan Visits the Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular With His Latest Finds

Andy Cirzan

I've been assembling my offbeat holiday music mixes for 20 years now, which I guess is enough to reclassify my little hobby as something of an obsession. In my own defense, I'm not the only person who's doing this. In fact, there are more than a few folks who've been doing longer than I have, and one of them is Andy Cirzan. He's been collecting rare and unusual holiday tunes for years and, like me, he cranks out a unique compilation of favorites each year to share with family and friends. Because Andy's a VP for the concert promotion firm Jam Productions, his mailing list includes the likes of Robert Plant, Bob Dylan and Katy Perry, which gives his mixes a certain extra sparkle. I've been following him for years and marvel at the stuff he comes up with.

Each December, Andy visits the guys at Sound Opinions for their Holiday Spectacular to share some of the standouts on his latest Christmas collection. Hosted by respected music critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, Sound Opinions started as a weekly PBS radio broadcast and is now a popular podcast. This is Andy's 26th appearance on the Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular, and he's got some terrific old songs to share:

Andy's theme for this year's collection is blues, country, bluegrass and trucker music. Most of the tunes on this mix are new to me, though I'm pleased to say that I've used one of them before on my 2009 mix, "I Just Can't Wait 'Til Christmas" — "Santa Came Home Drunk Last Night," by Clyde Lasley and the Cadillac Baby Specials (1965).

Hear Andy Cirzan's Conversation with Fellow Christmas Music Enthusiast Chris Klimek

I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Part 14

It's time to resume our review of the holiday flotsam and jetsam on my 20th and most recent seasonal compilation, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today."  Today's focus is on yet another clip from Johnny Carson's iteration of The Tonight Show, along with a track from the 1960s that got included by accident because I'd forgotten I'd used it once before. Oh, well, let's get started!

Track 37
Christmas Gift for Janet De Cordova, Johnny Carson from The Tonight Show (1985) 

Fred De Cordova

This is the third of three clips on this year's mix from the gold standard of late night television, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. This one is from 1985 and involves Fred De Cordova, the show's legendary producer. 

Fifteen years older than Carson, De Cordova had accomplished a lot before joining The Tonight Show. After graduating Harvard Law School, he joined the Schubert organization in New York — not as a lawyer, but rather as a director, stage manager and performer. He eventually left New York for Hollywood, where he directed a series of low-budget films, including "Bedtime for Bonzo," starring Ronald Reagan, who became a good friend. He later focused on television, directing hundreds of programs ranging from the Jack Benny Show to My Three Sons and Leave It to Beaver. He joined The Tonight Show as producer in 1970 and became executive producer in 1984. According to De Cordova, his role was to serve as "chief traffic cop, talent scout, No. 1 fan and critic all rolled into one," and, for the most part, he did his job well. He won five Emmys for his work, and the show was a great success. Jay Leno installed his own producer after succeeding Carson as host in 1992, but he was smart enough to keep De Cordova around for an additional five years as a consultant. 

De Cordova was a hands-on producer who remained readily accessible to Carson throughout most of each night's broadcast, sitting just outside of camera range. For the most part, he made sure things stayed on time and provided Carson with feedback during commercial breaks. Occasionally, however, Carson would pull De Cordova into the actual on-air conversation as a disembodied voice from beyond the set. This arrangement was parodied by SCTV in a very funny sketch called "The Fred De Cordova Show." In later years, Carson had a light installed over De Cordova's chair so the camera could pick him up when Carson called on him. You can catch a glimpse of him in this clip, when he and Johnny discuss Mrs. De Cordova's Christmas wish list:

Janet De Cordova in Gracie's Mexican home

I've heard many stories about about Fred's wife, Janet, over the years, which is why I found this short clip about her gift request so compelling. From what I know of her, the idea of Mrs. De Cordova asking for Halley's Comet isn't so far-fetched — if not on a ring, then maybe on a broach or a necklace.  And from what I know about her husband, he might very well have tried to procure it for her. (For background, Halley's Comet is visible from earth once every 75 years or so and was scheduled to make an appearance shortly after this clip was filmed. Its most celebrated showing was in 1910, which is when Carson was suggesting De Cordova could have first picked it up. The joke, in other words, was a knock on the producer's age.) 

Fred and Janet De Cordova didn't want for much during their heyday; in fact, they were the quintessential Beverly Hills power couple of their day. While Fred kept the Tonight Show running in Burbank, Janet was typically making extravagant purchases on Rodeo Drive or lunching with wealthy girlfriends like Nancy Reagan, Betsy Bloomingdale or Joanna Carson. “The De Cordovas’ raison d’être,” said Dominick Dunne, “was to live an A-list life.”

The marriage and lifestyle of this rich and famous couple was detailed in the 2011 Vanity Fair profile "Once Upon a Time in Beverly Hills," by Matt Tyrnauer. It's a fascinating read.

Janet Thomas was a Kentucky native ten years Fred's junior. She relocated to Hollywood in the early 1940s with hopes of getting into the movies, and while that didn't pan out, her good looks earned her a place on the social circuit and she had little difficulty meeting suitable escorts. Her first four marriages ended in divorce, but her fifth, to De Cordova, lasted for 38 years, until his death in 2001. It was not, by many accounts, an extraordinarily loving marriage. But the two proved useful to one another, and they enjoyed all of the many privileges that came from Fred's position at Carson's side, including a gorgeous home, lavish gifts, the latest fashions and the constant support of talented domestic help.

For those who knew the De Cordovas or attended their parties, the secret to Janet's reputation as a hostess was her longtime housekeeper, Gracie Covarrubias. It was Gracie who tended to all the details and all of Janet's many needs. Through good times and bad, it was Gracie who absorbed all of the bumps and shocks that threatened Janet's home life, smoothing everything over so she could enjoy her daily pursuits without worry or fear. This wasn't unique among the denizens of Beverly Hills. Many of the rich and famous had hired help upon whom they depended. But Gracie grew to become much more than that to Janet De Cordova.

Following Fred's death in 2001, Janet discovered that her financial resources were far more limited than she'd imagined. Yes, her husband earned a decent wage, but Janet's clothing and jewelry alone ate up a good chunk of that. And while they never had children, their staggering entertainment and household expenses didn't allow for the creation of a financial cushion for the lean times. Janet was forced to sell their home and started to look for a new place to live. 

Things began to look even worse for Janet when Gracie announced she'd decided to return to Mexico to live in the house she'd built with the savings from her tireless service to the De Cordovas. Janet was devastated. How would she ever survive without Gracie? It was then that the two women agreed to an arrangement that stunned Janet's Beverly Hills friends. Gracie agreed to bring Janet with her to live out her final years in her housekeeper's Mexican home. It's an incredibly sweet story, well detailed in the Vanity Fair piece I commend to your attention. I understand HBO has had the rights to Janet's story for a number of years and is working to develop something from it. I know I'd be more interested in seeing that than seeing Halley's comet on a ring.

Here's a clip of Fred as an actual guest on the Tonight Show:

Did You Know:  Fred De Cordova played late-night TV producer Bert Thomas in Martin Scorsese's brilliant film The King of Comedy (1983). In the film, Robert De Niro plays a disturbed aspiring comedian who kidnaps talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) in order to appear on his nightly show. I've set the clip, below, to open on one of De Cordova's scenes, but if you haven't seen it, I encourage you to watch the whole movie, which is terrific. 

Track 38
She's Coming Home, The Wailers (1965)

Several weeks ago, I mentioned the terrific 1965 album "Merry Christmas from The Sonics, The Wailers and the Galaxies," on which you'll find the third track from this year's compilation, "Santa Claus," by The Sonics. You'll also find this track — "She's Coming Home," by The Wailers. This isn't the first time I've featured this tune on one of my mixes. It also appears on my 2020 mix, "All Alone on Christmas," making it one of only a small handful of tunes to appear more than once. Why the second showing? I don't know, I guess I just really like the song. And, to be honest, I'd forgotten I'd used it previously. I haven't listened to or thought much about my 2020 collection since I put it together and when I heard this song again while playing the Sonics, Wailers and Galaxies record this fall I was thinking more about how much I liked it than whether I'd used it previously. I guess I must also really like The Wailers, as I included another of their terrific tunes, "Christmas Spirit," on my 2018 mix, "My Christmastime Philosophy."

The band was originally formed in 1958 as "The Nightcaps" by five high school friends in Tacoma, Washington. They had an early break when a demo of one of their earliest original songs, an instrumental called "Tall Cool One," caught the attention of the New York-based Golden Crest label and they were offered a recording contract. "Tall Cool One" hit Billboard's Top 40 under the group's new name and their first album, "The Fabulous Wailers" was well reviewed. Unfortunately, they were dropped by their label after refusing to relocate to New York and returned to the Seattle area for good. 

Over the next nine years, the band established itself as a local favorite in the Pacific Northwest. They performed frequently and released a number of fine albums on their own record label. They also helped to promote other area bands, including The Sonics and The Galaxies, with whom they collaborated on the 1965 album on which "She's Coming Home" appears.

This really is a great song — one that captures all of the hopefulness, excitement and bittersweet feelings that can arise among young people reuniting over the holidays after time away at school:

 

We've only got three more tracks to examine this year, and I expect to get to them sometime over the next day or two. Hang in there, everybody — Christmas is coming!