Christmas Cheer - Part 9

Here's a little background on three more of the tracks from my latest holiday mix, Christmas Cheer. 

Willie Nelson at His 90th Birthday Concert

Track 26
Holiday Greetings from Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson celebrated his 90th birthday this past April, and while I can’t claim to be especially familiar with his extensive catalogue, I really like a lot of the stuff I’ve heard. Beyond that, there’s no disputing that he’s a bona fide original — a genuine national treasure. From where I sit, his work ethic, activism and honesty deserve great respect.

A long description of Nelson's myriad contributions to our culture and politics is probably beyond the scope of this blog, and it would take more time than I have available to do justice to the task. I'm just happy he's still "on the road [again], doing well and doing good.

Listen to a Collection of Willie Nelson’s Christmas Songs

Order the New Willie Nelson Bobblehead

Track 27
Christmas Time for Sailors, Green Monkey Christmas Chorale (2019)

Forty years ago, a Seattle musician named Tom Dyer started a fledgling underground record label with the idea of producing and promoting some of his city’s formidable underground music artists. The label, known as Green Monkey Records, has never been terribly successful financially, but it’s a gritty little competitor that sprung back to life after an eight-year hiatus in 2009 and is still releasing new music today (albeit from its new location in Olympia). The label boasts a number of local bands whose sound has been described as "post-punk/pre-grunge Seattle" and "indy pop music—good honest, ballsy, delicate, garage-y, punky, folky, mildly trippy pop music."

Since its resurrection 14 years ago the label has perhaps become best known for its annual holiday compilations, proceeds of which benefit MusicCares, an industry-based charity that supports struggling musicians with health care and other basic needs. Featured artists include such Green Monkey artists as The Green Pajamas, Donovan’s Brain, The Queen Annes and, of course, The Green Monkey Christmas Chorale, featuring Dyer himself. That’s the crew that’s responsible for this wonderful holiday sea shanty, which, as you can see, comes across even better on video:

Review and Order from the Collection of Green Monkey Christmas Comps

Track 28
We Want the Best for You, Radio Station Jingles

This little jingle comes from a short collection called Holiday Radio Station Christmas Jingles, Volume 2, which I found on YouTube. It’s from the Pirate Radio U.S.A. YouTube channel, which features specific audio files collected over the years by Pirate Radio U.S.A., a non-profit internet radio station that broadcasts occasionally on the Mixlr application. The content available on this channel is stated to be for educational purposes only.

YouTube hosts a wide variety of holiday radio promos, bumpers and fillers, as well as lengthier tracks such as holiday recordings played in department stores and shopping centers in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Links to just a couple of these offerings appear below. If you check them out, be sure to read some of the comments posted about these nostalgic soundtracks. While YouTube comments can sometimes be rather mean-spirited (they’ve cleaned them up a lot in recent years, thankfully), these comments are mostly touching and bittersweet, pining for the simpler times of 30 or 40 years ago. I can certainly understand the appeal.

Check Out Holiday Music Played in K-Mart Stores in the 1970s

Hear 4 Hours of Vintage Department Store Christmas Music

It was good to see Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 again this week, and only a part of my happiness comes from the fact she kept Mariah Carey out of the top spot. Six of the ten top tunes are old Christmas songs again this week, and my favorite holiday song of all time, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," by Darlene Love, is up six spots to #21 on this week's chart!

I'll be back soon with thoughts on the nine remaining tracks on this year's mix. Stay warm and dry and be of good cheer!

More News from The Latest Billboard Hot 100

Brenda Lee in November 2023

As someone who followed Billboard's music charts religiously in the the 1970s and '80s, I was taken aback by yesterday's news that the #1 song on this week's Hot 100 is a 65-year-old Christmas song by Brenda Lee. Well, Tuesday's the day when Billboard releases each week's full Hot 100 list, and today's chart blew my mind yet again.

In what probably has to be considered good news for seasonal music enthusiasts, six of this week's Top 10, 21 of this week's Top 40 and 26 of this week's Top 50 songs are holiday tunes. (Remarkably, no holiday songs appear in positions 51 through 100.)

Most of the holiday songs that made the Hot 100 this week are vintage tracks. In other words, they're old. The average age of this week's Top 10 songs is 32 years old. Four of the Top 10 tunes were released before I'd entered kindergarten.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised by my reaction to these developments. I should really be elated. I love Christmas music, and I prefer music of all kinds from the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s to the kind of dreck that's dominated the charts since the turn of the millennium. Still, I find it unsettling that Burl Ives currently has the #6 song in the nation. I mean, it's terrific, but I feel like I've entered a strange and frightening new dimension. (The fact that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the #2 song in land is just flat out horrifying with no silver lining. Ditto for "Last Christmas" at #5.)

All of this is the result of a long series of changes to the way Billboard tabulates its Hot 100. Back when I followed the charts each week, the Hot 100 included only those songs that had been officially released as singles and their chart positions rose or fell based on radio airplay and singles sales. Today, few songs are even available as singles, so any recorded song can be considered. Positions are based on a host of factors, including not only radio airplay but also downloads and streaming service data. (For a good explanation of the evolving Hot 100 formula, see HERE.) That makes it easy to see what's happened to this week's Hot 100. The start of the holiday season led millions of folks to start playing their sentimental favorites on Spotify, and suddenly a 78-year-old woman has the #1 hit in the country. That's actually kind of sweet. And I'd much rather see Brenda Lee at #1 than another damned song by Taylor Swift or Drake.

And there's cause for genuine celebration when Darlene Love is back on the Hot 100 at #27 with "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." It's also nice to see The Ronettes at #14 with "Sleigh Ride," Jose Feliciano at #16 with "Feliz Navidad," Nat King Cole at #19 with "The Christmas Song," and Thurl Ravenscroft at #43 with "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

I'm starting to feel much better now. I only hope Brenda can keep Mariah out of the #1 spot as effectively as Prince's "Purple Rain" blocked Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" back in 1984. Not that I think about that very much anymore ...

Check Out Billboard's Hot 100 for the Week of December 9, 2023

Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Tops Billboard's Hot 100

Music history was made this week when 78-year-old Brenda Lee topped Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart of the nation's most popular songs with "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," a record she released 65 years ago. With this achievement, Lee becomes the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100. Her song breaks the records for longest time after its original release and longest time since its Hot 100 debut to reach the top of the charts.

Written by Johnny Marks and produced by Owen Bradley, the song first entered the Hot 100 at #64 on December 12, 1960, following four Top 10 singles that Lee placed on the chart in the previous 12 months. Her Christmas song peaked at #14 two weeks later. Following changes in the formula by which the Hot 100 is tabulated, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" re-entered the Hot 100 in December 2019 and has returned in each subsequent holiday season. Lee was 15 years old when she recorded the tune.

This is only the third holiday song in Billboard history to top the Hot 100. The first was "The Chipmunk Song," by The Chipmunks with David Seville, in 1958. The second was Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which spent combined total of 12 weeks at #1 during 2019-22. 

This song is Lee's third #1 hit on the Hot 100. The first, "I'm Sorry," which became her signature song, spent three weeks in the top position beginning July 18, 1960. It was followed by "I Want to Be Wanted," which made it to #1 three months later, during the same week I was born. 

The first official music video of the song was recorded only this year to coincide with the 65th anniversary of its initial release. The video features cameo appearances by Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood.

Read More About Brenda Lee's Remarkable Achievement in Billboard Magazine

Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! - Part 7

Today we take a look at Tracks 19-22 of this year's holiday mix, Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof!

Track 22
Yoko Ono Holiday Album Parody (2008)

I've always been a big Beatles fan — whether the exuberant innocence of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," the trippy psychedelia of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," or the long medley on the second side of "Abbey Road," I love them all. I like most of their solo stuff, too, with the one sad exception of Paul's "Wonderful Christmastime," which I find utterly unlistenable. In fact, not only do I love everything by The Beatles, I like songs that feature Linda McCartney's vocals. And I'll do you one better. I'm a big fan of Yoko Ono.

I figure most people think I'm joking when I make that claim but it's the God's honest truth. Unfortunately, Ono has been ridiculed and slandered almost constantly since she first became famous worldwide as John Lennon's lady, To some, she's the dragon lady who broke up the Beatles. To others, she's a talentless social climber who used Lennon's wealth and fame to promote her inferior art and atrocious "music." In fact, Ono was a highly respected conceptual artist before she ever met Lennon and her work has long been celebrated in avant gard circles for its originality, insight and wit. She certainly isn't responsible for the disbanding of the Beatles. And while some of her music can be an acquired taste, much of it is profoundly moving and meaningful. You can dance to a lot of it, too. From 2003-2016, remixed versions of 13 of Ono's songs topped the Billboard Dance Club chart. Not bad for a woman who turns 90 years old in February.

Anyway, Track 22 is a short parody purporting to be a commercial for a Yoko Ono holiday album. Clips of the various holiday standards are played and they all consist of a woman screaming indecipherably for five or six seconds. Terrible. So why did I include this track? Well, for one thing it gives me a chance to sing Yoko's praises and I like such opportunities. It's also sort of funny if you're aware enough to see through the preposterous claim that her music sounds alike and sounds awful. Finally, I know Yoko's got a sense of humor and likes to deal with criticism head-on. I doubt she'd be offended.

Watch the "The Case for Yoko Ono" from PBS Digital Studios

Listen to the Album "Between My Head and the Sky" by Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band

Track 21
I Want a Beatle for Christmas, The Fans (1964)

One measure of the size of the cultural tidal wave that hit with the arrival of the Beatles in February 1964 is the number of holiday novelty songs about the group that were released later that same year. I've featured half a dozen on my previous mixes as listed a bunch more in previous posts about the phenomenon, and I've got two more on this year's compilation. 

Track 21 is by a London-based duo called The Fans, which is made up of two friends named Gita Renik and Jeanette Ross. I haven't been able to find out much more about the song or the group than that, however — the song can be found all over the internet but it typically appears with nothing more than the song, artist and year of release.

Hear "I Want a Beatle for Christmas," by The Fans

Track 20
Christmas Song (A John and Yoko Parody), Guppy Pie Productions (2014)

I don't have much of anything to offer about this track either. It's a clip I found on YouTube featured on The Great Movie Channel page. According to the clip itself, it was created by Guppy Pie Productions, which is apparently affiliated with a North Hollywood outfit called Pie Town Productions. I don't know that the singer sounds or looks too much like John Lennon, but it's a cute little clip that suggests both the movie industry and the Bush family are impediments to world peace and I think that's something John and Yoko would probably endorse.

Track 19
(I Want) a Beatle for Christmas, Patty Surbey and The Canadian VIPs (1964)

The last of this year's four Beatles-related tracks (actually the first of the four since we list each day's tracks in reverse order) is by Canadian Patty Surbey, who has been described by the Canadian music website Canuckistan Music as a "perky amalgam of Connie Francis and Brenda Lee, with maybe a bit of Annette Funicello or Cathy Carroll thrown in for good measure." The website gives high marks to this record, too. "Buoyed by a rollicking backbeat supplied by the Canadian V.I.P.s and peppered with Surbey's hiccupy vocals, "(I Want) a Beatle for Christmas" is a fine record on its own and could probably have done well enough without the Xmas or Beatles references."

The song did well in some parts of Canada, but delays in mailing the production master prevented a timely pressing in the United States and Christmas arrived before the record caught on in this country. 

Surbey followed-up this record with another single recorded with The Canadian VIPs called "Hey Boy" that was released in early 1965, but that was pretty much the end of Surbey's music career. She eventually resurfaced in Ontario as an active member of a born-again Christian church.

I'll be back sometime soon with the start of the second half of this year's mix. How's your holiday shopping going?

Be a Santa, Part 8

Only four more shopping days until Christmas and we've got lots of ground to cover before we complete our look at the tracks on this year's mix. (Got a lot of holiday shopping left to do, too, but that's a whole 'nother Oprah show.) Let's get at it!

Track 27
Holiday Greetings from Harvey Fierstein (1997)

I'm afraid I'm running out of these short celebrity greetings that I like to use to break up the musical numbers. You'd think there would be lots of them out there, but most of the clips you can find on YouTube or elsewhere have too much background noise or fail to identify the celebrity by name. You may know who Simu Liu is on sight, but without video a clip of him saying only "Happy Holidays" doesn't identify him sufficiently for listeners of an audio mix.

One of my few remaining greetings clips is this one from actor, playwright and screenwriter Harvey Fierstein, who has to have one of the most distinctive voices in show business. Actually, a tape of him saying "happy holidays" without identifying himself probably would work out OK. At least folks would know who was sending along best wishes.

The few words at the end of this clip weren't something Harvey really said. I just added them to be funny.

Track 26

Santa's Coffee, Billy Beau (1960)

I've written before about my prejudice against songs that are heavily produced to make the performer sound extra cute and adorable — especially where adults are masquerading as little children. The prime example of this practice is "Little" Marcy Tigner, who's already received more attention than she deserves in these pages. (See HERE and HERE, if you must.) "Santa's Coffee," isn't anything like that. Sure, it's sung by what sounds to be a young boy, but it doesn't overplay the cute angle and therefore comes across as — well, cute. 

Billy Burnette

The artist is credited as Billy Beau, but his real name is Billy Burnette, who went on to have a pretty successful career in pop music. His father, Dorsey Burnette, and his uncle, Johnny Burnette, were two-thirds of the '50s group The Rock and Roll Trio and both worked closely with recording star Ricky Nelson. In 1960, 7-year-old Billy recorded a novelty song with Nelson called "Hey Daddy (I'm Going to Tell Santa Claus on You)." Several other holiday tunes were recorded in that same session including this one, which was release by Billy as a solo artist.

Billy's family connections helped him to get other gigs as the years went on, including touring work with Brenda Lee, Roger Miller and others, and by the early 1970s he released his first solo album. Burnette later scored contracts with Polydor and Columbia, scored a couple of country hits and had written songs for Greg Allman, Tanya Tucker and Ringo Starr. Following Lindsey Buckingham's 1987 departure from the band, Burnette was asked by Mick Fleetwood to join Fleetwood Mac.

Hear "Santa's Coffee," by Billy Beau

Track 25

Holiday-ish, The Regrettes (featuring Dylan Minnette) (2019)

 

The Regrettes are a Los Angeles-based punk band that signed with Warner Records shortly after forming in 2015. Known for their brash and unapologetic style, they opened for twenty-one pilots for part of their 2019 Bandito tour. "Holiday-ish" features guest vocalist Dylan Minnette of the rock band Wallows. Minnette is also known for his starring role in the controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, a mystery series that revolves around the suicide of a suburban high school student.

Although it's typically described as a punk holiday song, "Holiday-ish" sounds a little too tame to me to merit that description. But then again I was raised on the music of the 1970s, when punk was punk. Kids today — well, you know ...

Watch The Regrettes' Quarantine-Themed Video "What Am I Going To Do Today?"

Watch The Regrettes Dig Through Old Records at Rough Trade and Discuss Their Faves

Track 24

Samantha's Holiday Spell, Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens (1969)

This one's a clip from Bewitched, the ABC fantasy sitcom series starring Elizabeth Montgomery. The show ran from 1964 through 1972 and told the story of a witch in human form who lived a relatively normal mid-century suburban life wither her mortal husband, Darrin (played first by Dick York and subsequently by Dick Sargent). A long description of the show is beyond the scope of this blog, but it was exceptionally popular during its eight-year run and remains widely watched in syndication. From what I've read, Elizabeth Montgomery was a thoroughly wonderful woman who donated generous amounts of time, money and energy to a range of progressive causes. She also advocated for Bewitched to address a variety of important social issues, including the holiday episode "Sisters at Heart," in which young Tabitha Stephens invites a young African -American classmate to spend Christmas with the Stephens. It may not sound so big these days, but in the 1960s, this was a notable storyline indeed!

Watch the Bewitched Holiday Episode "A Vision of Sugar Plums" (through 12/31/21)

Watch the Bewitched Holiday Episode "Santa Comes and Stays and Stays" (through 12/31/21)

Watch the Bewitched Holiday Episode "Sisters at Heart" (through 12/31/21)

Just ten more tracks to cover and four days left until Christmas. With a little luck we should get this done before Santa arrives!

C'est Noel, Part 3 (Tracks 7-9)

My annual holiday music mix for 2013 is called C'est Noel! – and I've been posting a little background information on each of the 35 tracks it contains. We've already covered the first six tracks. Today, we look at three more:

 

Track 9
Batman and Robin Meet Santa Claus, by the Cast of Batman featuring Andy Devine (1966)

I grew up a long time ago, and while I try to keep up with certain aspects of popular culture, I'm the first to admit that there's lots I miss. When it comes to superheroes, for example, I'm still stuck in the '60s. I understand the franchise has expanded quite a bit since then, but mention Batman to me and I think primarily of the campy TV series that ran on ABC from 1966 through 1968. In the TV series, Adam West played Batman, Burt Ward played Robin, and the villains were played by a distinguished group that included Burgess Meredith (as The Penguin), Anne Baxter (as Zelda the Great), Art Carney (as The Archer) and Cliff Robertson (as Shame). And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The track I've included on C'est Noel! is from a 1966 episode featuring Andy Devine as Santa Claus. Here it is in video form:

Track 8
Holiday Greetings, by Adam West

Adam West in 2013

The second celebrity greeting on this year's mix is from Adam West, who, as noted above, played the role of Batman and his alter ego, millionaire Bruce Wayne, in the ABC series Batman. While the series only ran for about three years, West was severely typecast as a result of the show, and it became difficult for him to find significant work in other projects once the series was cancelled. West is now 85 years old, if you can believe that, and in recent years, he's done considerable voice-over work, including a role in which he portrays himself after having been elected Mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island on the animated series The Family Guy. (I'm still beside myself over the producers' decision to kill off the family dog last week. Bastards.)

Track 7
Holiday Jangle, by The Found Sound Orchestra (2009)
This is another mysterious track about which I have very little to offer. I believe The Found Sound Orchestra (or “FSO”) was formed in Australia in or around 2008. The group released several albums of mashups during the next couple of years, including Christmas Midgets, a nine-song collection of holiday music that was rumored to have resulted from a collaboration with American comedian David Cross of Arrested Development fame. I downloaded Christmas Midgets from the group’s website in January 2011 based on the following promotional copy that appeared there at the time:

Girl Talk not got enough Christmas joy for you? Crappy old flea ridden junk shop Christmas albums lying around for another year? Sick of Mariah Carey warbling through another Christmas[?] Then tell your family and friends about Christmas Midgets, the new Christmas album by The Found Sound Orchestra. Disco flipping, bed bugging and reorchestrating over 100 of the best, the worst and the downright wrong Christmas records ever made.

Recycling bits of Jona Lewie, Burt Bacharach, Nat King Cole, Julie London, Brenda Lee, Demis Rousos, Pariah Carey, The Sunset Band, Pacman and Ronan Keating’s butchering of ‘Fairytale of New York’, amongst many more, Christmas music reaches new highs and lows.

So, throw away your copy of Enya’s Christmas album, delete Boney M’s ’Christmas with Boney M’ album from your music folder and let ‘Christmas Midgets’ replace ‘Phil Spectors Christmas Gift’ album as the soundtrack to your December.

Unfortunately, the group's website is gone now, and all we’ve got left is whatever copies were captured for posterity by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. No matter. “Holiday Jangle” is still a great little tune, and some of the other tracks from the FSO’s premier holiday album can still be found on Soundcloud.

That's all for now. Back soon with more!