Let It Snow!, Part 6

Here is some background and other thoughts on the next little batch of songs from my latest annual mix of holiday audio treats:

Track 20
Donald Trump Loves Christmas, by Donald Trump (2015)

This may be small potatoes compared to the lengthening list of miserable appointments and horrifying decisions President-Elect Trump has made since Election Day, but I'm still deeply troubled by his willingness to not only jump aboard the preposterous "war on Christmas" bandwagon, but to urge it on to ever-increasing speeds and levels of dishonesty.

Lord knows I have no objection to a presidential candidate discussing a genuine love of Christmas, and I'm sure that the President-elect and his family truly love the holiday, just as he claimed at the Values Voters Summit in the September 2015 speech from which this track was excerpted. But to suggest that he can somehow require businesses to use the phrase "Merry Christmas" is preposterous. There's no question but that over the years there's been an increase in the use of more generic greetings such as "Happy Holidays," but that's driven primarily by the judgments of individual businesses that choose to appeal to a wider audience of customers. Interestingly enough, Trump's own business uses generic greetings, as does Trump himself in tweets and similar social media communications.

Talk of the so-called "War on Christmas" highlights both the fundamental dishonesty of this country's right wing and the President-elect's willingness to pander to its least intelligent members. To hear the right-wingers and Fox News tell it, President Obama and his rad-lib socialist baby-killers have all but criminalized the use of the phrase "Merry Christmas." One Fox News commentator recently claimed that neither the President nor the First Lady has so much as uttered the miserable word "Christmas" since they first entered the White House eight years ago, a claim that's soundly debunked by the following video compilation:

Sure, lots of commercial enterprises favor "Happy Holidays" over "Merry Christmas" these days, including the Trump Organization itself. That's because our country is becoming increasingly diverse, and it makes good business sense to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Neither President Obama nor the Democratic Party gives a damn how you address your holiday guests or holiday cards, and to suggest they're trying to destroy Christmas is just a bunch of malarky.

Listen to Fiona Apple's NSFW Anti-Trump Christmas Song

Track 19
To Heck with Old Santa Claus, by Loretta Lynn (1966)

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn is among the most popular country music recording artists of all time. She recorded her first hit, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl," in 1960, and since then 11 of her songs have hit #1 on Billboard Magazine's weekly country music charts. In 1980, the Academy Award-winning biographical film about her life titled "Coal Miner's Daughter" became one of the top films of the year and the Academy of Country Music named her "artist of the decade" based on her work in the 1970s.

"To Heck with Ole Santa Claus" was written and recorded by Lynn for her first Christmas album, "Country Christmas," which was released in 1966. It also appears on "20th Century Masters, The Christmas Collection:  The Best of Loretta Lynn," and her latest album, "White Christmas Blue," which was just released this past October.

Track 18
Christmas in the Country Promo, by Johnny Dollar (1968)

This little gem was one of four promotional tracks released on a single record in 1968 titled "A Special Christmas Card." Each of the four tracks featured a different country recording artist droning on about the wonders of country music over the same dreary musical bed. What exactly did the four artists have in common? They all shared the same manager, Dick Heard, who was also the founder and president of the Royal American record label. All four tracks were posted on WFMU's late lamented "Beware of the Blog," which served up a slew of sensational off-the-wall tracks over its 10-year run. The blog was shuttered in July of 2015, primarily due to a lack of volunteer contributors, and, I'm guessing, a dwindling supply of postable material. After all, there's only so many bizarre clips, cuts and stories out there, and "Beware of the Blog" coughed up more treasures than you can believe. Happily, its rich archives are still available for your perusal at the same old address. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Track 17
Sleigh Bells, Reindeer, and Snow, by Rita Faye Wilson (1955)

This is Ms. Wilson's second appearance on one of my holiday mixes. Two years before she recorded this song, back when she was known as "Little Rita Faye," Wilson recorded another Christmas tune in that same full-throated voice that makes this track such a treat. I included that earlier track, "I Fell Out of a Christmas Tree," on my 2010 mix, "Winter Wonderland" — in fact, it's one of my favorite tracks on the mix. Each of these Christmas tracks faded from public consciousness shortly after their initial release, but that didn't stop this plucky young woman, who continued to record for the next several years. Ironically, she achieved her greatest popularity when this track was included on a John Waters compilation of odd tunes and crank numbers several years ago. I've featured a number of tracks off the Waters collection on my various mixes, mostly as a joke. But this one's no joke. Her voice is strong and memorable, and she seems to have gained a certain maturity since her 1953 release. Give it a listen and see what you think.

Listen to "Sleigh Bells, Reindeer and Snow," by Rita Faye Wilson

Let It Snow!, Part 2

Here's some background on the next three tracks from my latest holiday mix:

Track 6
You're a Mean One, Mr. Trump, College Humor Website (2015)

What can I say about this one? It was a whole lot funnier when it first came out, because, well, nobody thought he had a ghost of a chance to be elected President then, right?



Want More Like This? Watch "How the Trump Stole Christmas"

Track 5
Holiday Greetings from Ricardo Montalbán (1971)

Montalbán (R) with his Fantasy 

Island costar Hervé Villechaize

Ricardo Montalbán (1920-2009) was a Mexican-born actor who enjoyed considerable success in the movies and on television beginning in the early 1940s and continuing until shortly before his death. One of the few Mexican-American actors to work pretty much continuously through the 1940s and '50s, Montalbán is perhaps best known for his starring role as Mr. Roarke in the ABC television series Fantasy Island. I like these short holiday messages from various celebrities as they usually make for successful segues from one song to another and break things up pretty well. I especially like the greetings from the one-hit wonder sorts of public figures, mostly for the irony. Unfortunately, my supply is dwindling down to a precious few.

I like this clip because Montalbán goes out of the way emphasize his Mexican heritage and ends his holiday message by asking us all to "get well soon." While Montalbán has been dead for seven years and couldn't have imagined the results of this year's election, I'd like to think he's hoping our country recovers quickly and completely from our recent episode of collective mental illness.




Track 4
'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Art Carney (1954)

This is a track I've meant to include on one of my holiday mixes for several of the past dozen years or so and yet never quite did. I'm not sure why I haven't found a spot for it before now, because it's a great version of a beloved classic by an actor I've long enjoyed — Art Carney. This song was actually released as the "B" side of a holiday 45 RPM single titled "Santa and the Doodle-Li-Boop," which was released on the Columbia label in 1954. I've always thought of Carney as an actor, based on his work in The Honeymooners, his Academy Award-winning performance in Harry and Tonto (1974), and his many other roles on television and in the movies. But he also enjoyed considerable success as a recording artist, particularly during the 1950s, when released many albums and singles geared toward younger listeners.

This particular song, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," is based on the classic poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which was first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement C. Moore. It's not only a holiday classic, but it's largely responsible for the general acceptance of Santa Claus as one of the key characters in the holiday pantheon. The poem has been recorded by hundreds of different artists over the years in a variety of styles, but Carney's version is particularly memorable. A number of critics have lately described it as the "first rap" record, as it was delivered in syncopation and accompanied by only a single jazz drummer. 

Carney was previously featured in this blog for his role as the department store Santa in "Night of the Meek," a classic holiday episode from the original "Twilight Zone" television series that first aired in 1960. 

Listen to John Cleese's Version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Hear Michelle Obama read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Hear President and Mrs. George W. Bush Read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Watch Art Carney in the Honeymooners episode "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"


Introduction to Track 4
'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Tammy Grimes (1985)

For the past five years, I've included a number of tracks at the end of each new holiday mix in honor of certain talented entertainers who died during the preceding 12 months. We seem to have lost too many great entertainers this year, including several I was unable to honor for want of a suitable audio clip to include.

One change I have made this year is to place the various memorial clips throughout the mix rather than bunching them together at the end.

Actress Tammy Grimes died on October 30 at the age of 82. She was well-known in our household as she attended the girls' summer camp my godmother and grandmother ran in New Hampshire when she was a teenager. I knew her best for her role as the successor host to E.G. Marshall on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which I listened to as a child and have enjoyed ever since. Grimes enjoyed great success on the stage and in the movies, and I wanted to at least note her passing here.

Listen to Tammy Grimes' reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"