Christmas Cheer - Part 12 and Out

For the past few weeks we've been posting just a bit of background on each of the 37 tracks on my 19th and most recent holiday holiday mix, Christmas Cheer. Today, with two shopping days left to go before December 25, I'm proud to share some information about the final three tracks on the mix. I believe this is the earliest we've ever completed this task, and because we started early we were able to proceed at a pleasant and leisurely pace with nobody getting upsot. There's a lesson in the somewhere, though I'm darned if I can figure out just what it is!

Track 35
Yonder, The Sisterhood (1974)

Track 35 is the last of the song-poems on this year’s mix, and while it appeared on an M.S.R. Records album titled "Christmas Album," the lyrics don't seem to have anything to do with December 25. Frankly, it’s not immediately apparent just what they are about:

 

Yonder with a village view sits a village queen

And around all reading through planted with all colors of green

A little boy far traveled,

Might also care to travel back

With a seaboard, crates and masts

He is educational, years of more track

 

Towards yonder, where all work is done

With harvest enduring years

And more of distribution begins where all reading is shown by far and nears

 

[Repeat both stanzas]

 

Where all reading is shown by far and nears

Far and nears

 

The song is credited to The Sisterhood, a group of several female singers who worked for the M.S.R. label. The lyrics are by a fellow named Thomas Jackson Guygax, Sr., a Springfield, Missouri resident who wrote at least ten sets of lyrics that were ultimately set to music and released by M.S.R.

To say Guygax had an unusual style would be an understatement. Many of his efforts read like a jumble of random words that tumbled out of a high-speed blender in no particular order — and yet . . .  there’s a certain weight, even majesty, to some of them.

The Sisterhood

Song-poem enthusiast Phil Milstein has speculated that English may not have been Guygax’s first language, which would certainly explain the jumbled syntax. Or maybe he just wrote to the beat of a different drummer.

In any case, I’ve grown rather fond of “Yonder” over the many years since I first heard it. I guess I never really paid too much attention to the lyrics, however, for it was only recently that I figured out that this isn't a Christmas song at all. All M.S.R. had to do is include the tune on one of its several holiday releases and that was apparently all I needed to park it in an honored spot on this year's mix.

Before we bid adieu to M. Guygax, allow me to share another set of lyrics from one of his ten M.S.R. releases:

Thomas J. Guygax

 

A POET

(Thomas J. Guygax, Sr.)

as recorded by Dick Charles

 

A poet once sat among his papers

Letters from here and far across the sea

He scribbl'd with his pencil a moment

Saying, "My! what's happen'd to me?"

"Should I wrote poetry or prose?

Heaven only knows!

I wish I had something to write about

Then I wouldn't have to sit here and pout

So let's call Jerry and dance about."

 I think that pretty much says it all, n’est-ce-pas?

Track 36
Happy Holidays, Robbie Robertson (2019)

I surprised myself by finishing this year’s mix in early September, roughly three months ahead of my typical schedule. The way I have to assemble these things today makes it very difficult to make any changes to the mix once it's complete, so I really figured it was done until the first weekend in November when I happened upon this song on YouTube. I knew instantly that I had to include it, so I removed what had been the penultimate track (“The True Meaning Christmas,” by Ambulances) and stuck this one in its place.

Robbie Robertson has long been one of my favorite artists, and news of his death this past August cast a long shadow over 2023 for me — a year that started off on a sour note with the January 18 death of another of my all-time favorites, the legendary David Crosby. I used to try to include tracks by those artists I really liked who’d passed each year but discontinued the practice because the lists of departing celebrities were beginning to get too long. But I certainly wanted to honor Robertson and this is a terrific and appropriate track to do it with.

Recorded during the sessions for his last solo album, Sinematic (2019), “Happy Holidays” is Robertson’s playful attempt at pointing out the yin and yang of the modern holiday season.

“We love Christmas and the holidays,” Robertson said in statement quoted in Rolling Stone. “[They] brings good cheer, and also stress and depression, so I wanted to do a song that celebrates both sides and have a little fun.” This is evident from the very first verse:

Please don’t leave Old Saint Nick

Too much milk and cookies

’Cause by the time he gets round to us

He won’t be able to get

His fat ass down the chimney.

Proceeds from the song were donated to the American Indian College Fund. Robertson himself had indigenous roots, as his mother was part Cayuga and part Mohawk, and two of his six outstanding solo albums focus on Native American themes.

This is the second holiday song of Robertson’s I’ve used. My 2012 mix Gee Whiz . . . It's Christmas (Again!) included The Band’s song “Christmas Must Be Tonight,” which Robertson wrote for their 1977 album Islands.

I was familiar with Robertson’s work as a member of The Band but became a really big fan with the release of his first self-titled solo album in 1987. I loved the video for the first single off the album, “Somewhere Down the Crazy River,” which was directed by Martin Scorsese. I was also wowed by Robertson’s appearance on Saturday Night Live around that same time, which featured the rock song “Testimony” that he recorded with U2.

Over the next 35 years, Robertson released a string of outstanding albums, including Storyville (1991), Contact from the Underworld of Redboy (1998), How to Become Clairvoyant (2011) and Sinematic (2019). In 1994 he collaborated with the Red Road Ensemble on a collection of stunningly beautiful songs written to accompany a TBS documentary, later released as an album called Music for the Native Americans,

He also worked closely with Martin Scorsese, scoring a series of the famed director’s biggest films. Shortly before his death, Robertson completed the score to Scorsese’s latest release, Killers of the Flower Moon.

Robertson was one of a kind, and he’ll be sorely missed.

Listen to Robbie Robertson on Marc Maron's Famous WTF Podcast

Robbie Robertson Discusses His Parents' Backgrounds and How He Got Started in Music

Track 37
One Tin Soldier, Cher (1972)

This year's mix goes out pretty much the same way it came in, with an excerpt from the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. This track features Cher singing her version of the 1969 song "One Tin Soldier," written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and originally recorded by the Canadian pop group The Original Caste. It was later recorded by the group Coven for the 1971 Warner Brothers film "Billy Jack." Cher's version begins with her singing an excerpt from the classic carol "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," followed by Cher singing Coven's version of the song over a video created by animator John David Wilson:

I remember loving this song as a child, although I recall it took me a few listens to understand its principal message. It's profoundly sad to think that 50 years later we're no closer to world peace than when the song was first released.

Well, that's it, folks. I hope you've enjoyed many of these tracks and that you have a most enjoyable holiday with family and friends!

Christmas Cheer - Part 11

I'm back with the next three songs from this year's mix. The end is now in sight!

Track 32
Snowman, Bob Gerard (1978)

Track 32 is another song-poem called “Snowman,” which was released in 1978 on the Tin Pan Alley label. The song is performed by Bob Gerard, who seems to be competing with his bass player to see which one could sound the flattest. The lyrics don’t win any prizes either; in fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone paying to have these words set to music: 

I made a little snowman,

He was cute as could be,

I made him by the window,

So he could look at me.

 

Next morning when the sun came,

And he took a little peek,

I saw the snowman wink at me,

And tears ran down his cheeks.

 

[Instrumental]

[Repeat earlier verses]

 

Bye, bye, snowman!

See you again!

Goodbye!

Mercifully, the song lasts for only 93 seconds. That doesn’t sound very long. But try playing it with your eyes closed while blocking everything else from your mind. When you’re truly being tortured, a minute and a half can seem like an eternity.

What do you think?

Hear Two More Winners by Bob Gerard, “The Proon Droon Walk” and “Wandering Eyes,” courtesy of Bob Purse’s Excellent The Wonderful and the Obscure Blog

Track 33
Holiday Greetings, Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett

The final celebrity holiday greeting on this year’s mix is from Tony Bennett, who died this year at the age of 96. Providing a complete biography or even an appropriately detailed appreciation is really beyond the scope of this blog, but I sure know he was an extremely talented singer and performer who also seemed like a thoroughly decent man. He was certainly a prolific recording artist. Bennett released 61 studio albums in his 69-year career, including at least three Christmas albums:  Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album (1968); Christmas with Tony Bennett and the London Symphony Orchestra (2002) and A Swingin’ Christmas (2008). Each of these offers music with Bennett's signature sound, and all three are likely to brighten up any holiday gathering with memories from times gone by.

Listen to Tony Bennett’s Holiday Yule Log

Track 34
The Day Snowflakes Were Born, The M.S.R. Singers (1978)

This year’s mix contains a number of song-poems, and, as a result, I’ve had several people ask me about my interest in this particular oeuvre. One friend asked bluntly, “Aren’t you just trying to make fun of the poor folks who wrote these awful lyrics?” Actually, that’s not it. Some of the lyrics are pretty awful, but many of them aren’t bad at all — and most of them offer a glimpse of real life that commercial releases miss altogether. If I had to guess, I’d say most song-poem fans are more contemptuous of the companies that churn out the typically half-baked arrangements than of the poets who put their souls into the words of each song. Track 24 is one of those rare offerings where the tune is every bit as appealing as the message. This is a song-poem I truly love, and while there are elements that are slightly amusing I’ve been listening to it for years and genuinely enjoy it each time.

This song was originally released in 1978 and achieved considerable recognition some 20 years later when it was featured in the 2003 documentary “Off the Charts: The Song Poem Story,” which was broadcast multiple times on many PBS stations. It was also recorded and frequently played live by the Boston band The Weisstronauts. There aren't many song-poems that were recorded and or played by other bands, although as Christmas music collector Andy Cirzan has pointed out, another is the classic "Rudolph Pouts," which was recorded by Mary White (the original) and Israfel's Son (the remake). Which version is more enjoyable? Darned if I can say. They're both awesome.

Watch The Old Lady Drag Queens Sing “The Day Snowflakes Were Born”

Hear The Weisstronauts Version of “The Day Snowflakes Were Born”

Only three more tracks to go, and just five more shopping days until Christmas!

Christmas Cheer - Part 10

With only nine days to go until Christmas, we're getting into the shank of the holiday season. I guess it's only fitting then to discuss several tracks that represent the kind of material I had in mind when I first started putting these mixes together during the first few years of the current millennium. My earliest collections were filled with the tackiest and most grating stuff I could find. Most of the evidence of those original efforts has been destroyed, thankfully, but they didn't include many tracks you'd willingly listen to twice. Over time, I've come to include a more balanced mix of material, but I still sprinkle a little dreck in each mix for flavor, and today we're going to look at three of the dreckiest cuts from Christmas Cheer.

Track 29
Merry Christmas, Elvis, Michele Cody (1978)

I’ve written before about WFMU-FM, which for around ten years offered a treasure trove of internet oddities on its wonderful Beware of The Blog website. I discovered this tune via the first iteration of WFMU’s 365 Days Project, which offered up a unique and typically bizarre aural track each day throughout 2003 It was sufficiently popular and successful that they ran another series in 2007.

Longtime WFMU contributor Dancin’ Dave offered the following introduction to “Merry Christmas, Elvis” back on December 23, 2003:

 

We all know that Nashville is a music town and Nashville kids get into music early. They have "been playin" since they’s babies, get work before they’re two.' For singers, it seems to be about age nine when the urge to perform kicks in. (Although it’s probably the parents who have the urge and not their kids.)

 

Yes, there’s nothing they like better in Nashville than a tiny little girl who sings country music. She doesn’t actually have to sing well. After all, she is only nine. But she gets up there and sings her little heart out, God bless her.

 

I have collected a half dozen singles by these "Little Girls From Nashville' and each one is a crime against nature. (See also "Happy Birthday Jesus” by Little Cindy on November 2nd, number 306, and anything you can find by Rita Faye.) The girls don’t have good voices, the songs are sickeningly treacly, and the lyrics often involve God or the Easter bunny. It all adds up to a perfectly insufferable record.

 

The gem I present for you now has been hand-picked as the worst offender, perhaps the awfullest 45 I own. Released in 1978 on the Safari label, just a year after the passing of The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, this one has it all: Cloying sentiment, a message to a recently deceased celebrity, and a holiday theme! All wrapped up in two minutes and 31 seconds of pure joy.

 

You may be tempted to listen to the first minute and say "Okay, I’ve heard enough.' But I implore you, listen all the way to the end. There’s a spoken-word section that sends the Cringe-O-Meter to 11.

 

Interestingly, there’s a phone number listed on the label. Is it the number for Safari Records? Or is it Michele Cody’s home number? I must admit, I looked it up. It’s not listed as either. Besides, even if I could track down Michele she’d be about 34, and she’s probably lost that adorable quality that you can only find in only a talentless nine-year-old from Nashville.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Hear Linda Hughes’ “(It's A Sad, Sad Time For Me) Elvis Won't Be Here For Xmas” (1977)

Listen to Diana Williams' "Goodbye Bing, Elvis and Guy" (1977)

Track 30
I Want Kristy for Christmas, Craig Malon (1979)

I’ve got really mixed emotions about this track, friends — and I’m still conflicted about whether I should have included it in this year’s mix. On the one hand, it’s the kind of tacky period piece that I usually love. The first time I heard it I felt like I’d been magically transported right back to 1979. I suddenly wanted to flip on an ABC Afterschool Special or catch an episode of Battle of the Network Stars. On the other hand, this song is creepy as hell. I have no idea who Craig Malon is and while I don’t mean to sound judgmental, what kind of man would actually record a song about having a crush on a teenage TV actress? Sometimes it feels like today’s standards are going to hell, but I’m guessing this song would raise an awful lot more concern today than it did back then — and that’s a good thing. So far as I can tell, this is the only tune Craig ever recorded, and that’s probably OK, too.

Kristy McNichol

For younger readers who likely have no idea who she is, Kristy McNichol was a popular child actress in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s best known for her work on the ABC series Family. This show was intended to be an honest depiction of a typical upper-middle-class, suburban family with realistic characters and relatable challenges and struggles. McNichol played the family’s youngest daughter, Buddy, and she earned strong reviews for her work. She won Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series three years in a row and won in 1977 and 1979. In 1980 she was nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series. She appeared in over 20 movies from 1978-93 and had roles in more than a dozen other TV shows. As this song suggests, McNichol was also a favorite in the teen and celebrity press.

During the 1990s, McNichol stepped away from acting a couple of different times amidst reports that her busy schedule and career pressures had taken a toll on her. She was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Sometime later she acknowledged that a key cause of her difficulty was the stress associated with hiding her sexuality. McNichol came out as a lesbian and said she hoped doing so would help others who were afraid or being bullied. I suspect Craig Malon did not celebrate McNichol’s announcement, but I wish her a very merry Christmas and hope she’s finally comfortable being herself. 

Track 31
I Want a Hee Haw Honey Under My Christmas Tree, Boxcar Willie (1978)

Finally, we’ve got one more track to share today that is — as a friend of mine used to say — top-heavy with class. This one is something of an homage to that classic down-home variety show Hee Haw, and while there are a number of different versions of the song in circulation, I chose to use the one by Boxcar Willie.

Minnie Pearl

I never really cared for Hee Haw much myself. I thought it was pretty corny, the jokes seemed tired and I’ve never been all that crazy about most country music. There was one thing about the show I did appreciate, and that was the friendly sense of community and camaraderie found in the show. Co-hosts Buck Owens and Roy Clark were as friendly and welcoming as they could be, and the rest of the cast seemed to be relentlessly upbeat and gracious (if not always funny). Minnie Pearl always stuck out most to me, no doubt because she always seemed to wear a hat with the price tag still hanging from it.

I’m told the show was loosely based on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, only with a country slant. Even as a kid I preferred Laugh-In, which seemed a lot more topical and relevant. Growing up outside of Boston, the cornfield of Hee Haw seemed pretty remote and foreign to me, and the cast struck me as dull and dowdy compared to the quick-witted and “with it” folks who did the Frug at the crazy Laugh-In parties. I even had a poster in my room featuring Arte Johnson's character, German soldier Wolfgang ("veeeeery eeenteresting!"). I couldn’t see myself hanging a poster of Minnie Pearl anywhere in the house.

I guess the other common element that both shows had was pretty women. Owens and Clark surrounded themselves with good looking younger woman on most episodes of Hee Haw, which is really what this song is all about. This is another song that really wouldn’t get too far today, as it’s out of fashion to think of women as sex symbols. I don’t think women ought to be objectified myself, but I can’t pretend that it doesn’t happen or that men used to openly celebrate that it did. In other words, I think of this song as a period piece that reflects the different sensibilities that were prevalent 30 or 40 years ago.

Network television in the 1950s and ‘60s looked a lot different than what we’re used to seeing in many respects. One of the key lines of demarcation came with the “rural purge” of the early ‘70s largely orchestrated by Fred Silverman, who was in charge of programming at CBS at the time. Data showed that viewers of the many country-style shows on CBS were less responsive to advertising than viewers of more sophisticated programs based in urban and suburban settings. In response, Silverman axed a bunch of successful rural shows including Petticoat Junction, Mayberry RFD, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Jim Nabors Hour, Green Acres — and Hee Haw. They were replaced with such shows as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett Show, all of which worked more effectively for the sponsors.

 

Watch the Hee Haw Documentary

Just six left to consider and I'll be back one of these days to tackle a few more.

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!

Christmas Cheer - Part 8

It's been about a week since I've posted information about the tracks of my 19th and latest holiday mix, Christmas Cheer, so I'd say it's high time to get back to the task at hand. Here's a little background on three more of this year's tracks:

Track 23
First Snowfall, The Coctails (1993)

I first heard this pretty little tune on A John Waters Christmas, a compilation of oddball holiday tunes curated by the infamous director of such films as Polyester (1981), Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974). I went to college in Baltimore, where Waters is a genuine celebrity, and listening to his holiday collection made me feel like I was an undergraduate again, roaming the streets of Fells Point and Waverly.

Kitty's Lounge in Baltimore's Waverly Section

I loved Baltimore in the late 1970s. I'd grown up in a beautiful town called Dover, Massachusetts, about 45 minutes southwest of Boston, It was an idyllic community with thousands of acres of protected woodlands and very few major problems. Baltimore was different in so many ways. There was poverty, crime, racial tensions, decay; but there was also excitement and character. The world just beyond our campus offered the promise of adventure and danger, and I resolved to spend as much time in it as possible. It opened my eyes to what was then a whole new world to me.

Along with two friends, I applied for a cashier position at the local Rite Aid pharmacy. Applicants were required to take a polygraph test as part of the hiring process, which I apparently passed. To my surprise, my two friends didn't, but despite my disappointment and a certain amount of trepidation I took the job. I'm glad I did. I probably learned more in the 20 hours I worked at the Rite Aid each week than I did in class, and I wound up making some very good friends among the local community. In my senior year I became an intern for the area's neighborhood council and wrote my senior paper on the role such groups can play in less affluent urban communities. I learned a great deal, and some of the lessons were painful. I once saw a purse snatching on Greenmount Avenue and chased the thief nearly a dozen blocks to retrieve what he'd taken. The pride I felt returning the elderly victim her purse soured a little when she confessed that all she had in the purse were a few Rite Aid discount coupons and around a dollar in loose change. I also befriended another elderly woman who lived in a pitiful single room and often ran through her monthly income well before the end of the month.

Two of my Rite Aid Coworkers, 1979

“First Snowfall” is probably the tamest song on A John Waters Christmas — a sweet instrumental number that I’m told features someone playing a hand saw. The Coctails were a Chicago-based band that formed when the members were all attending the Kansas City Art Institute. They were active from around 1988 through the mid ‘90s and regrouped several times after that for brief reunion shows.

The band consisted of members Archer Prewitt, Mark Greenberg, John Upchurch, and Barry Phipps. While they were often described as a lounge band — due, in part, I'm guessing, to their name — The Coctails described themselves as a “garage jazz” band. They were rather prolific during the seven or eight years they made records, and their music actually included songs of many different styles.

The members were also heavily into the visual arts, and they even created a print shop at one point where they made posters, cards and such to promote the band and create other projects. A Japanese company later marketed a set of four action figures depicting the members of the band, and a book was published featuring the album covers and promotional materials created by the group.

I understand that in 2010, during one of the band's several reunions, they recorded a version of Erik Satie's "Gymnopédie No. 1,” probably one of the most beautiful tunes ever written. Try as I might, I haven't been able to locate a copy.

Read a 1993 Interview with The Coctails from a zine called Pure

Track 24
Let Us Be Gay, Bobbi Boyle (1973)

This one's another song-poem, from the album Peace is a Song to Cherish, which featured tunes by two different M.S.R. acts: Bobbi Boyle and the M.S.R. Singers  and Dick Kent and The Lancelots. M.S.R. was one of the biggest of the song-poem mills that operated in this country throughout the 1960s. '70s and '80s. The company name comes from the initials of its founder, Maury S. Rosen, and it's been estimated that they produced more than 3000 45s and something like 300 compilation albums before winding down in 1983. Boyle, who sometimes went by the name Bobbi Blake, was one of the group of M.S.R. staff who comprised The Sisterhood, M.S.R.'s go-to group of  female Singers.

I first heard this song on one of the terrific Mondo Diablo podcasts from Hellbound Alleee, an atheist and song-poem enthusiast from Wenatchee, Washington, whose real name was Alison Randall. I used to love listening to her podcasts, which covered a wide spectrum of issues and included lots of diverse holiday music each year. The Christmas podcasts in particular were exceptionally well-curated, and it's clear she put a great deal of work into each show. Sadly, Alison died of cancer in 2019. Her husband, Francois Tremblay, has been posting her podcasts on her YouTube channel so they can be more readily accessible. You might want to stop in a take a look around. Start with any of the Christmas shows and you'll probably wind up listening to some of the other ones. Allee was outspoken, genuine and fearless, and she's missed by many, including me.

Like so many of the old song-poems, there isn't an awful lot of information available about "Let Us Be Gay." I don't know who wrote the words that M.S.R. set to music, but I'm sure wherever the lyricist now resides, he/she is pleased to learn that we're listening to her work as the world falls apart around us in 2023.

You can hear "Let Us Be Gay" in the player, below, starting at around 1:09:49. Thanks to WFMU-FM for providing the player and its content, which features a collection of nostalgic and offbeat holiday tunes from Bill Mac's show The Zzzzzero Hour from December 25, 2010. Enjoy!

 

Track 25
My Christmas Dream, Dian Rosamond (1975)

I can't remember where or when I found this holiday song-poem and the only information I have to offer is that it was released on the Halmark (sometimes spelled "Hallmark") label.  

I did discover that there is a woman named Dian Rosamond who apparently wrote a short story titled "Obsession," that looks to me to be rather odd. I have no idea whether there's any connection to the singer of "My Christmas Dream," but who knows?

Here's the song, for your holiday enjoyment:

 

I recently learned of another Halmark song-poem that marries a different set of lyrics to the same tune and arrangement as "My Christmas Dream." It's called "The Christmas Message" and is credited to Raymond Spence, which is interesting because the vocalist is a female who sounds exactly like the woman singing "My Christmas Dream." I discovered the second of these two songs courtesy of Bob Purse's excellent blog titled The Wonderful and the Obscure. I sure hope they didn't charge full-price to both lyricists for the same tune.

That's all for now. I'll be back with more sometime soon.

Christmas Cheer - Part 7

Three weeks to go until the Big Day, and I'm back with a little information about the next three tracks from my latest holiday mix, Christmas Cheer:

Track 20
Hanukkah Mambo, The Yule Logs (2012)

This is the fourth song I’ve included in my annual mixes from The Yule Logs, a band based in Chico, California. Known as the “hardest working band in snow business” and the “greatest Christmas band of all time,” The Yule Logs have made spirits bright each holiday season for close to 20 years with their festive brand of original holiday songs and storied live performances.

Based in Chico, California, the band consists of Kirt Lind, Marty Parker, Jake Sprecher, and Maurice Spencer. In addition to their traditional string of live shows during the holiday season, The Yule Logs have released six albums of mostly original material, all of which is top-quality and lots of fun to boot. 

Unfortunately, late last year the band announced in a social media post that they were calling it quits:

Hey friends. As you may have heard, we’ve decided to call it a day as a band. Time marches on, ya know? Thank you so much for 17 amazing seasons. Take care, and see you around town.

I’m disappointed because I never did get to see them perform live, and because I was looking forward to another album or two. But they leave a rich legacy and they did provide lots of folks with a great deal of fun and merriment.

I’ve included songs by The Yule Logs on three of my previous mixes. This one’s the fourth, and it’s also the second Hanukkah tune. I try to include Hanukkah and Kwanzaa songs in my compilations when I can, although it isn’t always easy to find strong entries. Fortunately, The Yule Logs have released a number of great Hanukkah tunes over the years.

I’m posting two mini players, below, featuring two of The Yule Logs albums — The Yule Logs (2009), which includes “Hanukkah Mambo,” and their most recent release, Fezziwig (2021). There’s also a link to their Bandcamp site, where, for a limited time, you can purchase all six of their albums for just $22.50. That would be a deal at twice the price! 

Buy All Six of The Yule Logs' Holiday Albums from Bandcamp for Only $22.50 (for a limited time)

Track 21
The Red Skidoo, Lee Scott (c. 1976)

Track 21 is another song-poem (surprise!), produced by the Columbine publishing mill and credited to Ms. Lee Scott. This tune was featured on Columbine’s compilation “The Now Sounds of Today,” which was released sometime around 1976. The lyrics were penned by Myrtle Moorhouse, who seems to have been smitten by a handsome man she saw riding a red skidoo. It’s not a Christmas song per se, but it’s got a skidoo in it and those require snow and winter weather — so what the heck! Truth be told, I’d say that Ms. Moorhouse wasn’t thinking so much about Christmas when she scrawled out these lyrics. We all know what good ol’ Myrtle had on her mind.

I don’t have much more to offer in the way of background on this track; about all I can do is point you toward some additional tunes Lee Scott performed. (WARNING:  Most of Ms. Scott’s other performances fall short of the standard she set with “The Red Skidoo.” If that doesn’t frighten you, well, you’re made of strong stuff, indeed.) Some of her material is available through the links listed below. Additional titles appear HERE.

Columbine apparently offered its customers a little more than just a 45 RPM pressing of their joint efforts. They also produced hundreds of compilation albums like “The Now Sounds of Today,” most with equally exciting titles. This was no doubt intended to suggest they were committed to promoting and not merely creating the various tunes they produced. God knows what they did with these compilation albums once they rolled off the presses. I can’t believe many of them were sold or that anyone actually paid much attention to them, but you can usually find lots of them on sale via eBay “for a song.”

Listen to “The Red Skidoo,” by Lee Scott

Listen to “Strange, Cold Feeling,” by Lee Scott

Listen to “Generation Gap,” by Lee Scott

Listen to “Blue Jean, String Bean, by Lee Scott

Track 22
Holiday Greetings from Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez is a singer, dancer, choreographer and activist who’s appeared in more than 40 feature films and 70 television shows. A Brooklyn native of Puerto Rican ancestry, Perez first captured the public’s attention playing Tina in Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do the Right Thing.” The following year, she started a four-year run as a dancer and choreographer on the Fox sketch comedy show “In Living Color.” She handled the choreography for a number of popular music videos by artists including Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and Bobby Brown.

Perez was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1993 film Fearless, and also starred in “White Men Can’t Jump,” starring Wesley Snipes. She made her Broadway debut in 2002 in Terrence McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” In 2014-15 Perez served as panelist and co-host on The View.

Perez is also known for her activism and charitable work, particularly around Puerto Rican rights, HIV/AIDS prevention and support for the arts. She’s been a busy and productive woman over the past 30+ years, and yet she still had the time to pass along her holiday greetings.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back soon with more.

 

Christmas Cheer - Part 6

We're in the midst of reviewing the 37 tracks on my 19th and latest annual holiday mix, Christmas Cheer. Reviewing to us primarily means providing a bit of background on each of the featured songs. We've covered 15 songs to date, and today's post looks at four more: Tracks 16, 17, 18 and 19.

Track 16
Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight), Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul (2017)

Steve Van Zandt has his fingers and mind into a lot of things. For the past 50 years or so, he’s not only played guitar as a sporadic member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, while serving more consistently as Springsteen’s best friend, alter ego and consigliore. But that’s only one facet of Van Zandt’s flourishing professional life. Among other things, he’s:

• Recorded, individually and with his band, The Disciples of Soul, at least seven albums and numerous singles and EPs, often supporting these releases with tours and individual live performances;

• Produced records and written songs for other artists, including Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Ronnie Spector, Gary U.S. Bonds, Meatloaf, Darlene Love and the Iron City Houserockers;

• Built a respected acting career, beginning in 1999, including playing mobster Silvio Dante in all six seasons of the HBO smash The Sopranos and his subsequent role as star, co-writer and co-executive producer of Lilyhammer, Netflix’ first original series;

• Hosted the hit weekly radio show Little Steven’s Underground Garage, which he launched in 2002, and served as program director for two ongoing Sirius Satellite Radio channels, including his new Outlaw Country channel;

• Founded and oversaw his own record label, Wicked Cool Records;

•       Wrote and published Unrequited Infatuations: A Memoir, which Jay Cocks called “one of the best rock memoirs ever,” and Bob Dylan noted “is filled with outrageous humor, worldly wisdom, and an uncanny sense of daring”;

• Founded and promoted the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and its chief program, TeachRock, which developed and maintains a curriculum for elementary and high schools focused on rock music and its role in American history and popular culture; and

• Founded Artists Against Apartheid with record producer Arthur Baker and assembled over 50 artists to create Sun City, an album and affiliated releases aimed at fighting and raising awareness of South Africa’s former system of apartheid. Van Zandt has supported a variety of additional causes over the years.

Van Zandt recorded this track with The Disciples of Soul in 2017 at the end of the group’s extended tour of the U.S. and Europe. "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" was first recorded by The Ramones in 1987 as the B side to their single "I Wanna Live." It was later featured in the 2004 film Christmas with the Kranks.

The video of Van Zandt's 2017 remake was filmed on a beach in Barcelona, where the band was scheduled to perform. He explained how things came about a short time later:

Well, it was just kind of a spontaneous idea. We were gonna do a couple of Christmas shows [in New Jersey] to end the tour locally, so I said we should learn a Christmas song or two. I thought, well, I could do my own song that I wrote with Darlene Love or I could write something new or I could do something else. But I’m kind of conscious of trying to keep the Ramones music alive. So I thought it would be a good idea to do this thing and remind everybody how great the Ramones were and how great a writer Joey Ramone was, so I said, ‘Let’s do that. Let’s rearrange that a little bit, add some horns to it and the girls and we just cut it at a soundcheck, man. We learned it and just cut it live at soundcheck.

The CBS show 60 Minutes recently ran a profile on Van Zandt that provides a quick look at some of his many activities:

Watch the Ramones Original Version of "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"

Watch "Sun City," the 1985 Music Video by Van Zandt's Artists Against Apartheid

Steve Van Zandt Tells Howard Stern How He Got His Role on The Sopranos

20 Hilarious Silvio Dante Moments from The Sopranos

Visit the Website for Little Steven’s Underground Garage

Order Steve Van Zandt’s “Unrequited Infatuations: A Memoir” on amazon com

Learn About Steve Van Zandt’s Teach Rock Educational Program

Watch a Promo for Steve Van Zandt’s Lilyhammer, Netflix’ First Original Series

Watch TODAY’s 20-Year Anniversary Sopranos Cast Reunion

Track 17
Drummer Boy, Titus Andronicus (2022)

Titus Andronicus

If you know your Shakespeare, you'll probably recognize Titus Andronicus as the name of the Bard's first tragedy and one of his least popular works. If you're a contemporary music fan, you may know that Titus Andronicus is also the name of a New Jersey indie rock band that's been touring and putting out records for nearly 20 years.

This song is the brainchild of Patrick Stickles, the band's longtime front man. It uses the tune of Billy Joel's 1973 classic "Piano Man" to tell the story of the nativity from the perspective of The Little Drummer Boy.  

"I first connected the dots between the great Billy Joel song and the beloved Christmas standard several years ago, but it got tossed onto the pile with so many of my other crazy ideas.

“Things being how they are, though, I may not have the luxury of time to execute all those crazy ideas,” he continued, “so when we had two days off in Montreal on our recent tour, we figured we’d grab the reindeer by the antlers and cross this one off the list, so as to avoid the pain of eternal regret. Also, I’ve noticed a lot of discourse recently about what constitutes a legitimate ‘parody’ lately, and I’d like to get a piece of that action.”

This is the band's first holiday release.

Watch Billy Joel perform his 1973 classic, "Piano Man"

Watch Titus Andronicus perform their song "A More Perfect Union"

Watch the Film Version of Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus," starring Anthony Hopkins

Track 18
Here Comes Santa Claus, Terry and the Bunnys (1968)

Takeshi Terauchi (a/k/a Terry)

“Here Comes Santa Claus” is a popular post-War holiday tune written and originally performed by Gene Autrey (1907-98), known to many as the “Singing Cowboy.” Autry first became popular in the 1930s as a singer, actor and rodeo performer. He later purchased a number of TV and radio stations, mostly in Southern California, as well as the California Angels Major League Baseball team.

According to Autry, the idea for the song first came to him while riding a horse in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade in Hollywood. While riding, he heard excited spectators repeatedly murmuring “here comes Santa Claus” in anticipation of the parade’s main event. Following the parade, he jotted down the lyrics and worked with Oakley Haldeman to compose the suitable music. Autry’s version of the song, released as a single the following year, became a Top 10 hit. He performed the song in his 1949 movie “The Cowboy and Indians.”

In subsequent years, “Here Comes Santa Claus” has been covered by a wide variety of other artists ranging from Doris Day (1947) to Bob Dylan (2009), and from Billy Idol (2006) to RuPaul (1997).

This version is by Takeshi Terauchi, a Japanese instrumental rock guitarist affectionately known to his friends and fans as Terry. Much of Terry’s music has been labeled “surf rock,” and is often said to be similar in style to the work of The Ventures. His guitar sound is characterized by frenetic picking, heavy use of tremolo picking and frequent use of his guitar's vibrato arm.

Terry’s music became popular in Japan, especially during the mid- to late-1960s, when he worked with a backing band known as The Bunnys. In late 1968 the Bunnys went off on their own, and Terry formed a new group known as the Blue Jeans. Unfortunately, his music was rarely played outside of Japan, and I’m not sure he ever performed in the United States.

“Here Comes Santa Claus” appears on the album “Christmas Party,” which is especially hard to find today. It is believed to be among his final collaborations with the Bunnys. 

Hear Terry’s Surf-Rock Versions of Various Classical Works on WFMU’s Beware of the Blog

Track 19
Holiday Greetings from Tom Arnold

Tom Arnold

If you’ve listened to any of my previous mixes you know that I like to break things up a little by inserting brief holiday greetings from various celebrities between the regular songs. They give listeners a chance to relax for a moment in much the same way that commercials do in television broadcasts. It’s difficult to find such clips in the form I’m looking for, as they need to include the celebrity’s name and be free of excessive background noise and irrelevant content. I especially like finding clips of lesser known or fleeting celebrities as they can serve to comment on the vagaries of popular culture or offer a whimsical  glimpse into the strange times in which we live. 

I don’t know much about Tom Arnold, but I recall he was basically just some ordinary guy who became involved with comedian Roseanne Barr shortly after she became a star. He’s not much of an actor and doesn’t seem to have any discernible talents, but being involved with Roseanne was enough to make him a celebrity in his own right even after the couple had separated. Of course, now that Roseanne has revealed herself to hold some pretty obnoxious views I feel considerably more sympathy for Tom Arnold, who seems like a pretty decent guy. I’m happy to share his holiday greetings with others and wish him a Merry Christmas as well.

We're more than half-way through this year's mix and it's only December 2!

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend! Back soon with more.