Hey, Radio Programmers: How About Playing a Few New Holiday Songs Next Christmas?

As we get ready to close up shop here for our annual post-holiday hiatus, I thought it might be interesting to take one final look at Billboard's most recent Holiday Music Charts.  I was wrong. Nothing to see here, folks. These listings look pretty much the same as they've been throughout the season. In fact, the Airplay chart hasn't changed much since I wrote my last letter to Santa Claus. (I'm reluctant to share my exact age here, but I can tell you that stamps back then only cost a dime.)

Here are the latest tallies for this year:

I know I must sound like a broken record on the subject, but the average age of the ten most frequently played holiday songs this season is 50 years old! Now, it's not that I've necessarily got anything against any of these songs (well, OK, I'd love it if I never had to hear Mariah Carey again), but wouldn't it be nice to see a few stations take a chance and play some music recorded after color television was invented?

To get things started, I figured I'd suggest a few relatively recent releases that today's audiences might enjoy hearing amongst the old-time classics. Here, off the top of my head and in no particular order, are eight possibilities:

A Long Way Home, Sofia Talvik (2014)



Mrs. Claus Ain't Got Nothing on Me, Little Jackie (2010)




Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (2009)



A Christmas Song for You, The Kik (2011)

Christmas In New York, by The Rosebuds (2012)

My Favourite Time of the Year, The Florin Street Band (2011)




Wish List, Neon Trees (2010)


Christmas at the Airport, Nick Lowe (2012)




I could easily pull together another couple of dozen suggestions, but I think I've made my point. Our culture seems to be at a particularly awkward point in its development just now, as we watch two fundamentally different trends continue to unfold. On the one hand, our mass media has become bland and lifeless as TV, radio and traditional print outlets are either gobbled up by a small handful of powerful corporations or quietly put out of their misery. The result is an industry that panders to the lowest common denominator so as to avoid offending potential consumers, or at least Hollywood's conception of what the typical consumer now is. On the other hand, we have the internet — a truly revolutionary tool that gives everyone a microphone and printing press and helps even small groups of like-minded fans to find one another and support an infinite variety of tastes and styles. Of course, the very diversity the internet serves can be manipulated to divide people into ever smaller segments and thereby exert greater overall control over society as a whole, which is why it's so important to follow developments on both a macro and micro level. The challenges we face as a society require increasing vigilance and involvement, along with a generous dollop of holiday spirit and cheer.

Florin Street Band Has Another Winner

My 2012 holiday mix, Here Comes Santa Claus, featured a fantastic song by The Florin Street Band called "My Favorite Time of the Year." This group was founded by British composer Leigh Haggerwood for the specific purpose of producing a quality holiday song that captures the joy and wonder of Christmas. They succeeded wonderfully — in fact, the success of their first song prompted Haggerwood to begin writing a Florin Street Christmas musical. He's reportedly completed ten songs for the show, and he's currently working to attract the necessary financing to produce a movie. One song called "Winter Wonder" was completed and released last year in video form, but somehow I've only just recently became aware of it. Here's what Haggerwood has to say about the video:

I don't want to give too much of the story away at this stage, but "The Winter Wonder" is a party that the town's folk decide to put on towards the end of the story. It's been a tough year for them and their love of Christmas and music is reflected in the upbeat, celebratory style of the song. It is purposely very different from "My Favourite Time of Year," as are the rest of the new songs I've written. I felt it was important to try to make another music video to keep the momentum going whilst the musical is developed into a film [or] animation. These things take time so I want the fans to be happy and be able to enjoy the music without giving too much of the story away.

I think it's terrific, and I'm sure hoping Haggerwood manages to get enough funding to do the whole story: 

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 11

Some thoughts on Tracks 29-31 of my latest holiday mix, Here Comes Santa Claus:

Track 31

WOR Children’s Christmas Fund Promo Spot, by E.G. Marshall (c. 1975)

E.G. Marshall

This track consists of a fundraising appeal for the WOR Children’s Christmas Fund, recorded by the late E.G. Marshall, who hosted the popular CBS Radio Mystery Theater from 1974-82. For more than 40 years, the WOR Children’s Christmas Fund purchased and distributed thousands of holiday presents to children in New York area hospitals and institutions. It was started in 1948 by Edythe Meserand, one of the first women to hold significant positions of authority in this country’s broadcasting industry. It seems she was working late one night with a colleague when the pair decided to get something from their favorite restaurant. Although the kitchen was closed, the chef agreed to cook them dinner if they’d drive him to Bellevue Hospital afterward so he could drop off some candy for the patients in the abused children’s ward. Meserand accompanied the chef inside, and she was so moved by what she saw that she persuaded WOR’s management to raise money on the air and provide gifts to the children in such institutions. She remained the driving force behind the project from its inception until shortly before her death in 1997, attracting talent like E.G. Marshall to assist with fundraising, as here. I wrote about Marshall’s work on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater last year, at which time I provided links to two entertaining Christmas-themed versions of his show. Here they are again:

Press HERE to listen to the CBSRMT version of A Christmas Carol, starring E.G. Marshall in his only appearance on the program that extended beyond his typical role as host.

Press HERE for a second Christmas-themed CBSRMT episode, A Holiday Visit, starring Lloyd Battista and Diana Kirkwood. Don't miss the frigid weather forecast that opens the broadcast, which was recorded on December 25, 1980.
(NOTE: Depending on your browser, these tracks may take up to 20-30 seconds to load. Bah! Humbug!)

Track 30

My Favourite Time of Year, by The Florin Street Band (2010)

Leigh Haggerwood

This is probably my favorite song on this year’s CD, which is just the sort of reaction London-based composer Leigh Haggerwood had in mind when he first started work on this ambitious recording project. Haggerwood loves Christmas songs, and he had become increasingly concerned about the lack of quality holiday music being produced in the English-speaking world. He’s far from alone in that opinion, of course, but Haggerwood took things to the next level by resolving to create a heart-warming new song that would capture the old-fashioned spirit of Christmas. He took his idea – and eventually this song – to the major British record labels, but none of them was interested in supporting the project, so he put things together on his own. He gathered together all of his many musical friends and called the resulting group The Florin Street Band, and by November of 2010, they not only had a fine-sounding record but a beautiful video, too:

 

For the full story, be sure to check out the group’s terrific website, where you’ll find some real old-fashioned Christmas magic.

Track 29

The First Noel, by Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow (2004)

When I hear ‘Over The Rainbow,’ I think of Judy Garland. When I hear ‘Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend,’ I think of Marilyn Monroe. And in the future, when I hear ‘The First Noel,’ I shall think of Bowtie. He has made it his own – and that goes for anything he sings.”

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett

Every now and then an artist emerges whose vision is so unique that it creates an entirely new musical paradigm. Stretching the realm of technique by introducing harmonic or rhythmic contexts far removed from the norm, they’re often unappreciated in their time, but the passage of years can ultimately bring recognition for their genius. Ornette Coleman was one such artist. Now we have singer Johnny "Bowtie" Barstow.

John Kelman, allaboutjazz.com

When keyboardist Larry Goldings discovered Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow performing at an open mic night in a New York City bar in the early 1990s, he knew he’d found something special. Over the course of the next two years, Goldings recorded Bowtie’s treatment of a variety of holiday songs and other standards in his home studio. The result was a 24-song album titled A Bowtie Christmas and More. I’ve featured Bowtie on nearly all of my holiday CDs – in fact, no other artist has appeared more frequently in my mixes. Fortunately, there are still a couple of holiday numbers of his that I haven't used yet, so we’ve all got something to look forward to. What is it that makes Bowtie’s style so memorable? Jazz journalist John Kelman explains the secret as follows:

Some musicians spend years on technique, working hard to hone accepted skills like pitch and time. Barstow dispenses with such limitations. His interpretive sense is so unorthodox that once you hear his renditions of classic Christmas tunes including "Joy to the World," "The First Noel," and the tongue-in-cheek "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," you’ll never see them the same way again.

Here’s a promotional piece for Bowtie’s only album to date. Let’s hope we see another before too long.