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!

Steve Martin and Martin Short Team Up As Santa and Sprinkles (Pringles?) the Elf

Steve Martin and Martin Short make a heck of a good team, and for further evidence of that one need only watch this clip from Season 48 of Saturday Night Live (SNL), which aired on December 10, 2022. It features Martin as Santa and Short as Sprinkles the Elf, who's in a foul mood and a little confused, as at one point he mistakenly refers to himself as "Pringles." ("Why," he asks? "I don't know, I like Pringles!")

We post a classic SNL holiday sketch every Saturday from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, and this one's certainly worth seeing again. Don't miss Bowen Yang's appearance as Santa's helper, who comes through with a most unusual gift idea at Sprinkles' suggestion.

Check back next week for the final SNL Holiday Flashback of 2024,

Darlene Love Returns to Late Night with Paul Shaffer and Steve Van Zandt for "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

What a thrill it was last night to see the inimitable Darlene Love reprise one of my favorite holiday traditions by playing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," her classic tune from the 1963 album "A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector," on late night TV just before Christmas. She appeared last night with Paul Shaffer, Steve Van Zandt and Van Zandt's band, The Disciples of Soul, on NBC's Tonight Show. Darlene was in top form, as you can see for yourself, below:

This was an especially fine moment, as it resumes a longstanding tradition that began when Love first performed the song on Late Night with David Letterman in 1986. She joined Letterman on his final show before Christmas nearly every year thereafter on both NBC and, after Letterman switched networks in 1993, CBS. Although Love doesn't seem to have lost a step since her last Letterman appearance, it's been exactly ten years. Letterman retired in 2015, and Love last performed this holiday classic for him (and us) on December 19, 2014.

Love's version of the song is currently #31 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. It previously ranked as high as #15.

I've set the video above to start after Jimmy Fallon's introduction and only wish I could edit out Fallon's appearance altogether. I'm certainly glad he had her on the show, but I simply can't stomach his manic, obsequious fawning over every guest. He comes off like an awkward adolescent who's just done a few lines of blow for the first time. (Not that I'd know.) I really miss David Letterman. Why couldn't this have been on Jimmy Kimmel Live instead?

Watch a Supercut Mix of Darlene Love on Letterman Singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Darlene Love Reveals Her Favorite Covers of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

Review some of David Letterman's Favorite Holiday Traditions

Holiday Hits Riding High on the Billboard Music Charts

The latest edition of Billboard magazine is out, featuring charts for the week ending December 21. I used to enjoy reading Billboard when I was in high school and I regularly followed the pop singles and albums charts (the Hot 100 and Hot 200, respectively). In college I continued to follow the charts, and working on the college radio station made it easier to keep up since we had a subscription to Billboard and were visited regularly by a bunch of cool record company A&R folks. After college, I kept up with the music scene pretty consistently until I got into my mid 30s, when the number of artists I didn't know began to outnumber the ones I did. 

The methods by which Billboard determines its charts have changed radically over the years. They used to be based almost entirely on record sales and airplay, but today's chart makers have to account for such things as streaming on Spotify, YouTube and other services, digital sales and other factors.

During the holiday season, millions of listeners play their favorite holiday tunes many millions of times, driving a holiday-themed takeover of the Billboard charts. The latest Hot 100 for the week ending December 21, 2024, features 29 holiday tunes, including 11 of the Top 20 and five of the Top 10: 

  

I realize I gripe about this phenomenon every year, and I really don't mean to be trashing the classics that return to the charts each December. I only wish programmers would try out some material that's less than 30 years old. And I wouldn't shed any tears if I never had to hear Mariah Carey or Wham! ever again. Happily, my favorite Christmas song of all time, Darlene Love's 1963 release "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is at #31 on the Hot 100, up from #38 last week. It's also #16 on Billboard's "Holiday 100" chart. The Top 10 Holiday songs for the week ending December 21 appear below:

I hope your favorite holiday song turns out to be a big hit again this year!

I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Part 13

Today we've got some background on three more tracks from my 2024 holiday compilation, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today." I've been posting information on a handful of selections every few days since just after Thanksgiving, and you can find stuff about many of my previous mixes elsewhere on this blog. I've been making these holiday mixes for the past 20 years, and you can learn more about all of them on my holiday music website. Here are today's listings:

Track 34
Getting In The Mood for Christmas, Brian Setzer Orchestra (2000) 

Brian Setzer's musical interests cover a fair stretch of territory, and there's no doubt that holiday tunes have a place near the top of his list of favorite styles. I think of him mostly as the front man for the Stray Cats, the rockabilly group that made a splash in the early '80s with the songs "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town" from their eponymous debut album. But Setzer's career has included forays into a wide array of styles, and he seems to enjoy each twist and turn of the road.

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Setzer started out playing jazz in high school before developing an interest in rock and punk. By his early 20s, he'd started to get more into rockabilly and started a band with his brother that ultimately became the Stray Cats. After moving to London, they hooked up with Dave Edmunds, who produced their hit debut album. After the Stray Cats disbanded in 1984, Setzer joined Robert Plant's short-lived group the Honeydrippers, followed by work on a couple of blues/rock-style solo records and a tour with George Thorogood. 

By the 1990s, Setzer turned his attention to big-band swing music and formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra (BSO). The group has recorded nine studio albums since 1994 including three Christmas records:  "Boogie Woogie Christmas" (2002), "Dig That Crazy Christmas" (2005), and "Rockin' Rudolph" (2015). In 1999, the BSO won a Grammy award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for its version of the Louis Prima classic "Jump, Jive an' Wail." In recent years, the BSO has launched several holiday-themed tours during the Christmas season, and they've become well known for their performance of big band holiday sounds. 

Setzer was forced to cancel the BSO's planned "Christmas Rocks!" holiday tour on doctor's orders due to a severe case of tinnitus in 2019, and the band has not toured subsequently. Setzer toured with a reunited version of the Stray Cats this past year. At least BSO fans have that group's holiday records and videos to see them through the 2024 holiday season. 

See the Brian Setzer Orchestra Guest Star on the CBS Sitcom "The Nanny" (1997)

Watch the VH1 Music Documentary on Brian Setzer:  Part 1   Part 2   Part 3

Kenmore Square, Boston

Track 35
Christmas in Kenmore Square, Billy West and Tom Sandman for WBCN Boston (1985) 

This track is the third of three WBCN-FM 1980s holiday promos I've included in this year's mix, and it's another of the awesome clips created for the station by Billy West and Tom Sandman. It brings back some great memories for me, not only of WBCN's golden era but also of the Christmas I spent in Kenmore Square myself. 

Although I attended and graduated college in Baltimore, I spent my junior year in a special program on urban government at Boston University. I had a dorm room in a complex known as The Towers on Bay State Road, and as I recall I spent nearly the entire holiday vacation on or around campus. I loved being in Boston that year, and I was starting to get into live music in a big way and enjoyed being able to hang out at clubs like The Rat, Spit and The Paradise without the crowds of students from outside of Boston that typically filled the Square when school was in session. It was a crazy time. Ronald Reagan had just been elected president, John Lennon had just been killed, and there was all sorts of amazing music in the air. Bruce Springsteen released his double-album masterpiece "The River" in November, and I played that album, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy," and "Remain in Light" by the Talking Heads almost non-stop — also "Catholic Boy," the debut album by The Jim Carroll Band, and a bunch of great local bands including Third Rail, The Neighborhoods, Ron Scarlett and more.

Billy West

As this is the last of this year's WBCN promos, I should add at least a couple of words about the two guys responsible for them. Billy West was hired by the station primarily as a voice actor, and he worked there from roughly 1980 until 1988. He voiced various characters for the "Mattress Mishigas" feature that wound down Charles Laquidara's "Big Mattress" show each morning, and he created promos and other comedy bits for the station. A native of Boston's Roslindale neighborhood, West also played in a band called The Shutdowns during this period. After leaving WBCN, West became a regular on the Howard Stern program on K-Rock Radio 92.3 FM in New York, voicing a wide array of characters from Johnny Carson and Rudy Giuliani to Lucille Ball and Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1995, he moved to Los Angeles and became a successful voice actor and performer for film and television. He's probably best known for his work on The Ren and Stimpy Show, Futurama and Doug.

Tom Sandman

Tom Sandman  started his radio career in 1973 working at his college radio station at the University of Cincinnati. From there he took a job doing an overnight show on the local public radio station, followed by work as a production specialist at Cincinnati's leading album-oriented rock station, WEBN. Wanting to expand his horizons, he applied for jobs at a variety of larger stations and received an offer from WBCN in September 1982. As he later explained,

What's interesting is that both [WEBN and WBCN] also had, from day one, a commitment to offbeat, creative, eccentric, weird, humorous production — produced elements in between the records, some of them commercials, but some of them not commercials — just production for the sake of entertainment, image production. That also attracted me to 'BCN, and I had a very happy and productive eight years there.

Here's another great holiday promo Sandman and West created for WBCN, "Christmas in Kenmore Square":

Track 36
Merry Christmas Santa Claus, Max Headroom (1986) 

I remember first hearing about Max Headroom in early 1987, by way of a single off-hand comment by one of the reporters at a small monthly newspaper I edited in Boston. It's funny the things we remember about people. This reporter was a bright, interesting and all-around terrific guy and the one thing I remember most clearly about him was his telling me that he'd seen the first episode of the Max Headroom show on TV the night before and thought it was really funny. No reflection on him, but I have yet to see a single episode.

Max Headroom

The U.S. version of Max Headroom was a mid-season replacement that aired on ABC beginning March 31, 1987. Based on a British TV movie, the show takes place in the future, when the world is controlled by a powerful web of television networks. Investigative reporter Edison Carter is the last remaining check on the hegemony of the networks. Despite his network employment, Carter files a series of inside reports on their many abuses of power. Fearful of his safety, Carter attempts to flee but is seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Carter's brain is downloaded onto a computer, from which he can  communicate, albeit with occasional glitches of stuttering. The computerized version of Carter adopts the name Max Headroom, as the last thing the real Carter saw before his accident was a moveable gate in the parking garage bearing those words of warning.

The series did well enough in its first half season to be picked up for the fall, but scheduled opposite Dallas and Miami Vice it was pulled before the end of the year.

Max remained a cultural icon of sorts even after his show was cancelled. There was something about a computer-generated character stuttering as his data buffers that portended a dangerous future, and who doesn't enjoy an occasional preview of our dystopian future? But Max Headroom never quite achieved the same sort of cachet in this country that he had in Britain a short time earlier.

Before invading American shores, the British producers of the show even scored with their own holiday special, the "Max Headroom Giant Christmas Turkey Special, which aired in late 1986. It was from that special that Track 37 from this year's mix was commissioned as a limited edition 7" single on Chrysalis Records. Enjoy:

For those brave folks who can handle it, here's the complete "Max Headroom Giant Christmas Turkey Special" for your holiday enjoyment:

There's been talk of a Max Headroom reboot now in production at AMC. I guess we'll have to wait and see on that.

We must also wait and see about my reports on the remaining five tracks from this year's mix. They'll be posted before Christmas, but I can't say exactly when. Mystery makes life more interesting.

The Story Behind John and Yoko's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"

Among the rock-era holiday standards with genuine staying power is the song "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with the Harlem Community Choir and released as a single in late 1971. The song wasn't a huge hit at the time of its first release, barely cracking the bottom positions of the Top 40. But over the past 50 years, it's surely earned a spot among the most popular and iconic holiday tunes of the period. The folks at Parlogram, which celebrates the music of The Beatles and other music of the 1960s, offer an engaging look at the creation of this enduring release that's well worth a look:

Happy Christmas, Kyoko. Happy Christmas, Julian.

I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Part 12

With just a little more than 10 days left to go until the big day, it's time to resume our look at the tunes on my latest holiday compilation, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today." Here's some background on the next three tracks:

Track 31
We Wish You a Merry Christmas, George Carlin and Ringo Starr (1990) 

One tends to miss an awful lot of fun without kids in the house. Yeah, I suffered through PinkFong's "Baby Shark" jingle last year like everyone else on the planet, but I suspect it's a very different experience to hear it non-stop for a month, as several of my parenting friends patiently explained to me. Similarly, I can't claim to know too about the popular PBS children's show "Shining Time Station," which I understand was inspired by a British program called "Thomas the Tank Engine." "Shining Time Station" first ran on PBS from 1989 through 1993, with subsequent reruns on Nick, Jr. and a variety of other cable and streaming services.

"Shining Time Station" is as popular with educators and parents as it is with children. The basic premise is simple and straightforward. According to Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker:  "It's an old-fashioned show that creates a gentle, lulling atmosphere to convince children that life is fun and that trains are the way to travel." True enough.

During the show's first season, the key role of the train conductor was played by Ringo Starr, who  was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award for his work. Starr was replaced at the start of the second season by comedian George Carlin, and a holiday special featured both gentlemen was produced to bridge the transition. This short clip was taken from the holiday special:

There's so much I could say about each of these two guys, as I genuinely admire them both and have enjoyed their work for years. 

I first heard of Carlin as a kid in summer camp when an older camper regaled us with his bit about the "seven dirty words" you can't say on TV.  That caught my attention because it was titillating and forbidden. Of course, Carlin's work was far more than that. It was consistently sharp and insightful — and he was unfailingly courageous. He told truth to power and got away with it, for the most part, because he draped his biting observations in comic clothing. In describing religion as "the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims" (his "religion is bull****" rant) he took aim at the clergy with memorable precision. To the end, Carlin reminded us that the American system was intentionally designed to maintain the ruling class at the expense of the typical Trump voters. If you haven't seen the 2022 HBO documentary "George Carlin's American Dream," I recommend it.

I first knew Ringo as the drummer for one of my two favorite bands, The Beatles. (I also loved The Monkees.) He also sang lead on one of my favorite Beatles songs, "Yellow Submarine." I suppose most folks would consider Ringo to be the least consequential of the four Beatles, but in the 50-odd years since the group's breakup he's clearly established that he's got both staying power and class. He's had a couple of #1 hits as a solo artist, he's acted in movies and on TV, and he's toured with multiple variations of his popular All Starr Band. 

I included a song of Ringo's, "C'mon Christmas," on my 2008 mix "Home for the Holidays." I've also featured a couple of songs about Ringo — "Ringo Bells" by Three Blonde Mice, also from my 2008 mix, and "Ringo Deer" by Gary Ferrier from my 2016 mix "Let It Snow." 

Ringo and George Carlin teaming up to share Christmas greetings may not be the biggest holiday blockbuster of all time, but it does my hippie heart good to hear them.

Watch the Shining Time Station Holiday Special (1990)

Hear George Carlin Tell Johnny Carson About His Arrest for Saying the Seven Dirty Words

Track 32
Plasma for Christmas, Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band (2008) 

While the group's name might lead you to think otherwise, The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band is a three-piece, Indiana-based country blues group consisting of Reverend Peyton on guitar and vocals, "Washboard" Breezy Peyton (his wife) on the washboard and Jacob Powell on drums. This song served as my introduction to the group. I'd received the album "A Very Standard Christmas" as a gift in 2006, and it featured this one as well as Harley Poe's "It's Christmas Time Again," which I used as the title track of my 2017 mix.

(L to R): Powell, Breezy and the Rev

Reverend Peyton started playing guitar at the age of 12. After a friend told him his noodling around had a blues-like quality, he worked to immerse himself in country blues and tried unsuccessfully to develop the finger-picking technique that animated much of the music of that style. After playing guitar at his high school graduation party, he awoke with his hands in terrible pain and was told by doctors that he would never be able to play guitar again. Following a frustrating year of abstaining, Peyton had surgery and was able to regain his strength and play better and more easily than before. While recovering from surgery he met Breezy, who shared his interest in country blues, and the two began writing, performing and eventually recording together and with Powell.

In 2008, the group signed with Los Angeles based SideOneDummy Records, for whom they recorded four albums. They subsequently recorded a string of other albums for several different labels and have built a significant following by maintaining a busy touring schedule. Their must recent album, "Dance Songs for the Hard Times" reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.

I've been holding on to "Plasma for Christmas" for years and just never managed to find a spot for it on earlier mixes. Sadly, with the Trump team preparing to take over the federal government I'm guessing my choice to include the song on this year's mix will make me look rather prescient in short order.

Watch the Video for "Raise a Little Hell" by Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band (2015)

See the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band Perform "Poor Until Payday" (2018)

Track 33
Merry Christmas Is All I Hear, Donald Trump and David Pakman (2024) 

Like millions of others, I was despondent following Trump's electoral victory last month. Much of my sadness and anger stemmed from the willingness of so many to overlook or minimize the never-ending stream of hateful and ridiculous lies he told. One of the silliest and most idiotic of his lies was that the Democrats had somehow made it illegal for people to say "Merry Christmas." He claimed that neither President Obama nor his wife ever used the phrase, which was a preposterous slander. And he pledged that if he was elected he'd make it OK for ordinary folks to say "Merry Christmas" without being carted off to jail.

I've tried to minimize the mention of politics on this year's mix, but I couldn't resist including this short clip, which features Trump's pledge along with an apt retort from political commentator David Pakman. I enjoy listening to Pakman's show, which is available on YouTube, among other places. He's a reasonable and exceptionally well-informed podcaster whom I hold in high regard.

Listen to The David Pakman Show via His YouTube Channel

Eight more tracks to look at and 10 days in which to do it. I'll be back with more before you know it.

Meet Matt Foley, the Mall's Latest Motivational Santa

Every Saturday from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, it's been our tradition to post a classic holiday sketch from the golden days of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) to provide a few minutes of respite from the stress you're likely feeling during the holidays. Hard as it is to believe, that gives us 50 years' worth of holiday sketches from which to choose. 

Today's selection features the late great Chris Farley as a Motivational Santa who can't quite seem to get it together. After frightening a group of children and their parents at the mall, Santa is left to prepare for Christmas Eve in a van down by the river. This one's from SNL Season 19, and it debuted on December 11, 1993. Truly seems like another time and place, no? Enjoy!

Join us again next Saturday for another SNL Holiday Flashback.

Old Holiday Songs (and Kendrick Lamar) Top Billboard's Hot 100

I guess it's about time for my annual rant about the appearance each December of a handful of venerable Christmas songs on Billboard's Hot 100. I used to gripe about Billboard's Holiday Sales and Airplay tallies, complaining that for the most part nothing but musty old standards ever made the holiday charts. During the past several years, however, changes to the formula that determines Billboard's weekly Hot 100 have led to a takeover of that chart by a bunch of 50-year-old holiday records each December. The latest Hot 100 reflects the same tired old pattern. Five of the nation's current Top 10 are perennial holiday tunes with an average age of 52 years. Three of the remaining five are by Kendrick Lamar:

Don't get me wrong, I'm fond of lots of the old standards (a class that excludes anything by Mariah Carey or Wham!, both of whom I could happily do without). But Lord knows there's plenty of other great Christmas music that merits a little airplay now and again. I realize that my advancing age has turned me into a curmudgeon when it comes to popular culture, but music, TV, films, the news media and politics had higher standards 40 years ago and lazy and greedy media executives deserve a good share of the blame.

Happy Holidays from Neil Young

One of my favorite musicians released his version of one of my holiday favorites this week with a note reading "Happy Holidays! Love Earth, Neil and [Neil Young Archives]." Enjoy!

I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Part 11

We're continuing to examine the 41 tracks on my 20th and latest holiday music compilation, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today," and today I have some background on two more tracks, each of which touch on U.S. politics in the 1970s and '80s. 

Track 29
The Night Before Watergate, Rich Little (1973) 

This short track is another clip from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the second of three on this year's mix. It was taped on November 30, 1973, which is just over 51 years ago, and it features a guy whom Carson refers to as "probably the finest impressionist in the business" at the time — Rich Little. I was a big fan of Mr. Little back then, based largely on his impressions of Richard Nixon, whom I actively disliked. While most of my family was Republican, my maternal grandmother loathed Richard Nixon as did the woman who took care of my brother and me after our mother was killed, and these two smart women persuaded me that Nixon was bad news. I avidly followed the Watergate scandal throughout junior high. When I was 13, I won my school's citizenship award and was thrilled to receive a bound volume of the Senate Watergate Committee transcripts as my prize.  Of course, most of the country was following Watergate then, and Rich Little was getting lots of work doing his Nixon impressions. As Little explains in the clip, he used to do a version of "The Night Before Christmas" each year, and with the public's attention focused on Nixon's problems, his Christmas story for 1973 was called "The Night Before Watergate":

I've set the clip (above) to start at the beginning of the selection I chose to include in this year's mix. but I urge you to watch the tape from the beginning to see Little's entrance, get a sense of the in-house NBC Orchestra, and hear about the other guests on that evening's show.

Rich Little is still alive, and recently celebrated his 86th birthday. He was probably at or near the high point of his career around the time this show was taped. Throughout the rest of the 1970s and '80s, he was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show and occasionally guest hosted for Carson. He frequently appeared at various venues in Las Vegas and ultimately relocated there, and maintained active television and touring schedules. Born in Canada, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2010. I was sorry to learn recently that he considers himself a Republican and thought Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

 

I can't help but compare the public's reaction to the Watergate scandal with our current political climate. Back then, reports of the alleged bugging of the Democratic National Committee in June of 1972 received scant coverage at first, allowing President Nixon to win reelection by a landslide that fall. But when evidence emerged suggesting that Nixon may have participated in covering-up Republican involvement in the break-in, Congress, the media, the FBI and others began thorough investigations.  Once Nixon was found to have lied about his role in the cover-up, it was over. His political support evaporated overnight, with even most Republican leaders demanding his resignation. This year, by contrast, we have just elected a twice-impeached, convicted felon who has committed far greater transgressions than Nixon and whose entire campaign was based on lies, hatred and revenge. His recent appointments consist of unqualified, corrupt stooges eager to destroy the departments they are supposed to lead. Yet even as he sets himself up as a de facto dictator, the institutions that should be protecting us appear uninterested or unable to stop the impending madness. I'm heartbroken, and left to wonder how we could have fallen so far so fast.

Maybe we should look to some of our comedians for help, as we did a half century ago. I'm just not sure Rich Little's going to be much help this time around.

Track 30
The Night Ronald Reagan Rode with Santa Claus, Red River Dave (1984) 

"Red River" Dave McEnery

This next track is (or should be) a genuine Christmas classic, for it tells the story of the night Ronald Reagan accompanied Santa Claus as he delivered toys to the children of the United States. I discovered this one on The World's Worst Records, an aptly named website, subtitled "An Arcade of Audio Atrocities." The song was written and performed by a feller named Dave Largus McEnery (1914-2002), a Texas native who became known as "Red River Dave" because he enjoyed singing the classic ballad "Red River Valley."

Described by the Old Time Blues website as "[o]ne of the true blue, larger-than-life Texas characters," McEnery 

tried his hand at just about every occupation that appealed to him at one point or another: prolific songwriter, blue yodeler, rodeo cowboy, television personality, real estate agent, Shriner, ventriloquist, fine artist, truck stop preacher, and many, many more. 

He launched his career doing rope tricks and singing western songs at rodeos in and around San Antonio before migrating to the East Coast. He found work at a series of radio stations singing and playing western music. He started making records in 1940 for the Decca label and went on to become a prolific recording artist, creating dozens of discs of traditional cowboy songs and popular standards.

During the 1950s and '60s, his material evolved to include topical social commentary and tributes to dead celebrities. This is the stuff he's perhaps best known for today. As the Old Times Blues site explains,  

[h]is songs increasingly reflected his patriotic, conservative, and staunchly anti-communist politics, as heard in such numbers as “The Bay of Pigs,” “The Great Society,” and “The Ballad of John Birch.”  For a time in the mid-1960s, Dave turned his attention toward being a “dynamic real estate salesman,” even billing himself on contemporaneous records as “Singing Cowboy Realtor.”  Though sales of his private press 45 RPM singles were usually fairly poor, Dave continued to record and publish his old-time yodeling songs about current events all the way into the 1980s, with numbers like “The Pine-Tarred Bat (Ballad of George Brett),” “The Ballad of E.T.,” and “The Night Ronald Reagan Rode with Santa Claus.”  In total, McEnery penned more than a thousand songs over the course of his life, many of which were never commercially recorded, and are now likely lost to time; in one 1946 publicity stunt, he wrote fifty-two songs in twelve hours while handcuffed to a piano.  Later in his life, he broadened his horizons to include oil painting, usually western landscapes, which he sometimes sold.  

This track was released in 1984 on Beautiful America Records, backed with a song called, "Santa's Watchdog, Archibald," both of which can be heard on and/or downloaded from the World's Worst Records site HERE. 

I suppose any true patriot would be stirred by the notion of Santa and Ronald Reagan joining forces, which is why this track is so powerful. Even a quick look at the lyrics should quicken the pulse of any true-blue American:

It was the night before Christmas at Santa’s abode,

The cold wind was whistlin’ down the old Arctic Road,

Reindeer were prancin’ out there in the snow,

And Santa’s big sleigh was all ready to go.

 

When out from the snow storm there rode a tall man,

The cowboy dismounted, extended his hand and said,

I’m Ronald Reagan, I hope it’s alright,

I’d like very much, sir, to join you tonight.

I’m bringing some presents, some items of truth,

That I want to give to America’s youth,

Oh, ho! chuckled Santa, of course I know you,

I gave you a pony the year you were two.

 

Why, you’re Ronald Reagan,

Of course, it’s alright,

I’m happy to have you on my journey tonight

We’re proud of you, Ronnie. You’re on the right track,

Now what’s in your saddlebag? What’s in your pack?

 

Why you’ve got mementoes of America there,

There’s Washington crossing the Old Delaware,

And miniature replicas of the Liberty Bell,

And prints of the Star Spangled Banner as well.

 

And pictures of patriots long in their graves,

And Abe’s proclamation that freed all the slaves,

And framed constitutions to hang on the wall,

And statues of liberty, nine inches tall.

 

And flags called old glory. Oh, God bless her name,

And little toy Alamos and the Battleship Maine,

And copies of music, well there’s “Over There,”

And “God Bless America,”

And manuscripts rare.

 

Son, you’ve brought some keepsakes more precious than gold,

For they tell the story of our country of old,

America’s creed and the great Declaration,

Of the 4th of July that made us a nation.

 

Why your pack’s a treasure,

I’m so glad you came,

To help me deliver such gifts in the name,

Of honor and liberty and freedom so sweet,

Ronald Reagan, this Christmas will never be beat.

 

Quick Dasher, quick Dancer, quick Vixen of old,

Yes, we’ve got a story that’s worth being told,

Get moving old Rudolph, start leading the way,

This Christmas we’re boosting the great USA!

 

With a dash on the wind they flew into the night,

Ronald Reagan and Santa Claus, holding on tight,

The sleigh bells were playing Yankee Doodle in time,

And here’s what I heard Santa shout down the line.

 

Merry Christmas, America, it’s time to renew,

Your pledge of allegiance to the red, white and blue,

And we found a new spirit in America because

One night Ronald Reagan flew with old Santa Claus.

I'm not sure there's much more to be said about that — at least not until someone finds a way to add Donald Trump to the mix. (If you want a real acid trip. try playing this song at a very slow speed.)

In his later years, Dave leaned real hard into the dead celebrity thing, releasing post mortems on Bing Crosby, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Lee Harvey Oswald, Sharon Tate, Amelia Earhart and Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys. He recorded a tribute to kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst when she was feared dead, but the discovery that Hearst helped her captors pull a bank heist kind of killed the mood for that tribute. He released the song anyway. I believe it's sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." (Listen HERE.)

In the end, of course, McEnery himself was called to follow the celebrities he'd honored in song. He died on January 15, 2002 at the age of 87. All told, he led a rather interesting life.

Hear Red River Dave's "California Hippie Murders"

Hear Red River Dave's "The Ballad of Emmett Till"

Read McEnery's obituary in The Guardian

Hope you're keeping happy and warm and have finished at least some of your holiday shopping. I'll be back now and again over the coming days with background on the 11 remaining tracks from this year's mix.