Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! - Part 4

Here's some background on several more of the holiday tracks on my latest seasonal compilation, Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof!, which is available to hear or download on my holiday music website:

Track 11
Holiday Greetings, Peri Gilpin

I’m a longtime fan of the NBC sitcom Frasier, which ran for eleven seasons from September 1993 through April 2004. The show consisted of 264 episodes and won a record 37 primetime Emmy awards including five consecutive Emmys as outstanding comedy series. The program featured sharp writing, smart comedy and, best of all, a generous collection of offbeat and likeable characters. I especially liked Roz Doyle, who produced Frasier's call-in radio show. Actress Peri Gilpin played Roz for the show's entire 11-season run all eleven seasons and she did a terrific job of developing her multi-faceted character. Gilpin's short holiday greeting appears as Track 11 of this year’s mix.

Gilpin’s played a host of other roles in at least a dozen films and 50 or more television shows, including a major role as Kim Keeler on the ABC Family series Make It or Break It about the lives of teen gymnasts preparing and competing for the Olympic games. But she’ll always be best known for her work as the wisecracking, fun-loving Roz Doyle.

Frasier is said to be in development for a 10-episode reboot at Paramount+. Unfortunately, David Hyde Pierce has reportedly declined an invitation to return as Frasier’s brother, Niles, and John Mahoney, who played their father, Martin, died in 2018. We certainly hope that Roz will be included in whatever version of Frasier returns in the future.

Watch Clips of Roz Doyle's Funniest Moments on "Frasier"

Track 10
Santa's Got a Brand New Bag, Gary Walker (1965)

This year's mix includes three different novelty takes on James Brown's classic "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," which became the groundbreaking performer's first Top 10 hit in the late summer of 1965. This is hardly the first instance of a mainstream hit spawning one or more holiday knock-offs, but this song may hold the record for the greatest number of contemporaneous holiday novelty versions. Phil Milstein's pop culture website Probe Is Turning on the People cites six different versions that were released within 18 months of Brown's unforgettable original. While each version has its own unique style, all six assert that Santa, like Brown's "Papa," is updating his image. In the parlance of the time, a "brand new bag" referred to a new interest, style or way of doing things — specifically, in this context, an older man brave enough to strut his stuff on the dance floor and otherwise adopt the hip style of the younger generation. 

Of the three versions offered here, it's Gary Walker's that stays closest to Brown's original. Walker, originally known as Gary Leeds, recorded his version shortly after leaving The Standells, a Los Angeles-based band later known for their 1966 hit "Dirty Water." The following year, he moved to London and joined The Walker Brothers, who had a number of hits on both sides of the Atlantic including the Burt Bachrach song "Make It Easy on Yourself," which topped the British charts. The group disbanded in 1967 and while Gary continued to perform as a solo artist he failed to reach the charts again.

Listen to Gary Walker's version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Listen to The Walker Brothers' hit "Make It Easy on Yourself"

Track 9
Santa's Got a Brand New Bag, Joey Reynolds (1966)

Joey Reynolds

This next version is another radio DJ novelty record, not unlike Jerry Worsham's version of the Rolling Stones' "Get Off of My Cloud" (see Track No. 7, above). Joey Reynolds has been on the radio since the late 1950s and has worked at well over 30 different stations over the course of his long and storied career. Reynolds is known particularly for his on-the-air pranks and publicity stunts; in fact, he's sometimes referred to as one of radio's original "shock jocks."

Reynolds first made a name for himself in the 1960s and '70s as a popular but fairly typical Top 40 DJ in Cleveland; Detroit; Hartford, Connecticut, and his hometown of Buffalo, New York. While working in Buffalo, he turned down an opportunity to bring the Beatles to that city immediately after their American TV debut because he thought the quoted fee of $3500 was too high for a Monday night show. He was working in Detroit when he recorded "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag." 

Over the next 30 years, Reynolds worked at stations across the country, including WQV in Pittsburgh; KMPC, KRTH and KMGG in Los Angeles; WFIL in Philadelphia; WSHE, WQAM and WIOD in Miami; WFLY in Albany, New York, and WNEW in New York City. His show gradually transitioned from primarily music to predominately talk until by the time he joined WOR in New York City in 1996 it was pretty much exclusively talk. Reynolds stayed with WOR until 2010 and enjoyed even wider coverage while there through syndication. More recently, he had a Sunday evening show on New York's WABC.

Reynolds released a couple of additional novelty records over the years, but this was his sole holiday tune. Our loss, to be sure.

Listen to Joey Reynolds' version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Check out Joey Reynolds' Personal Website

Listen to the Joey Reynolds Show Theme by The Four Seasons

Check out Joey Reynolds' Demo Tape

I'll be back sometime soon with additional background on more of this year's selections including yet another version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag."