Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! - Part 2

Congratulations on surviving Black Friday! I make it a point to remain close to home and stay far away from any stores on the day after Thanksgiving, but I have a certain respect for the courage of those who brave the shopping centers. I also have a certain amount of concern for their questionable judgment! 

Time, now, for a quick look at the next two tracks on my latest holiday mix, Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof!

Track 5
Holiday Greetings, Lily Tomlin

One feature you'll find on literally every one of my previous mixes is various holiday greetings from one or more celebrities or public figures. They're usually extremely short — typically no longer than 10 or 15 seconds, but they're a good way to transition from one song to another and call attention to folks I respect or, in some cases, oddballs I want to single out. The first greeting of this year's mix is from one of my favorite performers of all time, the inimitable Lily Tomlin.

I first noticed Lily for her work in the late 1960s hit TV sketch comedy series Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, where she played a variety of offbeat characters including precocious child philosopher Edith Ann and a saucy telephone operator named Ernestine. I'm especially fond of Ernestine's conversations with the late Watergate whistleblower Martha Mitchell, one of my longtime heroes. (If you haven't seen the Watergate miniseries Gaslit that appeared on Starz TV this past summer it's well worth the price of a Starz subscription. Julia Roberts' brilliant portrayal of Mrs. Mitchell is just one of the stand-out performances in this top-flight project.)

In subsequent years, Lily was honored for her comedy recordings as well as her work on Broadway, on television and in the movies, including the hit film 9 to 5 and two of my favorite TV shows:  The West Wing and Grace and Frankie. Lily's currently 83 years old and shows no signs of slowing down. She's truly an American original.

NOTE: While I try to list the year in which each of the other tracks on the mix was recorded such information typically isn't available with respect to the various holiday greeting clips. 

Track 4
Santa's Got a Bag of Soul, Soul Saints Orchestra (1994)

The Poets of Rhythm

I first came across this funky number on the wonderful holiday compilation album In the Christmas Groove released in 2010 on the Strut label. This was also the source for the beautiful song "Black Christmas," by the Harlem Children's Chorus, one of my very favorite tracks on my 2012 compilation Here Comes Santa Claus!  However, this track was originally circulated as a limited release holiday giveaway by the Hotpie and Candy label in 1994 — in fact, only 250 copies were pressed in that initial run. The song is performed by the Soul Saints Orchestra, a side project by members of The Poets of Rhythm, a German funk band from Munich that released a couple of albums and a slew of singles and EPs on various labels starting in 1993. They remain active today.

This track helps to set the tone for the first portion of this year's mix as five of the first 16 songs are about Santa and his purported "new bag," which is hippie slang for a new look or state of mind. The remaining four of these gems will be discussed here over the next week or so, all of which were released during 1965-66 and echo the basic vibe of the James Brown classic "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," a big hit from this same period. Groovy threads, Santa! 

Listen to "Santa's Got a Bag of Soul," by the Soul Saints Orchestra