Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 14 (and Out)

Well, here it is Christmas Eve again, and boys and girls of all ages – good and not-so-good alike – are already climbing into their beds and trying to go to sleep. As appealing a notion as that may be, there will be no sleep here until the chief annual mission of this blog has been completed in full – namely, providing some background on the individual tracks that appear on this year's annual holiday mix. This year’s mix is called Here Comes Santa Claus, it runs for just under 80 minutes and consists of 38 tracks. We've only got two more to go, and since this is a big night, I need to be quick about it. Everybody ready? On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, On Blitzen . . . 

Track 38

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Caleb and the Caroling Caravan (2011)

Caleb Groh (left) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (right)

The closing song for this year’s CD is one of my very favorite Christmas songs, for it captures what I consider one of the most powerful and enduring messages of the season – faith and hope that amidst any temporary sadness and despair, the Lord’s grace shall bring peace and solace. The lyrics to this song were written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the depths of the American Civil War. Longfellow was despondent, and barely able to get out of bed each morning. His wife had died in a terrible home fire in 1861, and shortly before the Christmas season of 1863 he learned that his son had been seriously wounded in the Army of the Potomac.  Sitting down at his desk on Christmas Day with the bells of the nearby churches in Harvard Square ringing in the background, Longfellow wrote these lines: 

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep.

"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!

The wrong shall fail,

The right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men!"

Longfellow's poem was first published in a children's magazine in 1865 under the title "Christmas Bells," and it became quite popular. It was first set to music in 1872 by British organist and composer John Baptiste Calkin in a version that remains the standard today. This version was recorded by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, among others. A second version was later written by Johnny Marks, who's best known for composing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Marks' version has been recorded by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Sarah McLachlan, Harry Belafonte, Bing Crosby and The Carpenters. Both the Calkin and Marks versions omit the third, fourth and fifth verses of Longfellow's original poem.

The version I chose to end this year's CD is by Caleb and the Caroling Caravan, an indie group created by Boston indie folk artist Caleb Groh, who's also recorded under the name Happiest Lion. Caleb and the Caroling Caravan has released two albums to date, both of which consist entirely of holiday music. The first is a self-titled album that was released in 2009, and the second, titled Volume 2, was released the following year. Both are available on iTunes or amazon. I like this group's version of the song because of its thoughtful, almost melancholy tone, which strikes me as especially appropriate in light of Longfellow's powerful lyrics.
   
However dark the skies sometimes appear, and however far justice and right may occasionally appear, I have come to believe that right will ultimately prevail. In the end, the train of human history follows a righteous track. Such is the power of the holiday season that against such overwhelming despair, Longfellow could find the ringing church bells a message of hope and optimism. May those who suffer find the same this season, and may the coming new year bring solace and comfort to one and all.

Track 37

The Christmas Gift, by Andy Griffith (2004)

I've always enjoyed The Andy Griffith Show. It’s one of those “comfort shows” that seem to make people feel better after some bad news or a rough day. I realize that it’s an unrealistic picture of American life, and that, like most television fare, it glosses over hundreds of vexing social issues, but sometimes we need to see something that’s simple, homespun and better than the cold reality around us. Andy Griffith had a long and very successful career in film, television, stand-up comedy and music, but to me he'll always be fair-minded and thoughtful Sheriff Andy Taylor. As an attorney, I couldn't bear to watch Griffith's later TV series, Matlock, which took incredible liberties with the rules of evidence and criminal procedure for dramatic effect. It's also difficult to watch Griffith in the classic film "A Face in the Crowd," for although his acting was superb, the character he played was so much darker than Andy Taylor that I almost felt betrayed. And while Griffith took pains to assert that he was a very different man than Sheriff Taylor, that's how I'll always think of him – well, that and the courageous private citizen who recorded ads in favor of President Obama's election in 2008 and the President's health care reforms in 2010, commercials that alienated large portions of his Southern fan base at the time. This particular track is taken from Griffith's 2004 album The Christmas Guest: Songs and Stories of Christmas. I was torn between including this track on my CD this year and using an excerpt from the one holiday episode of The Andy Griffith Show. This track is a little corny, I suppose, but it's an important and inspirational message from an important and inspirational man.

That's the end of our main story for this year, and I hope it's been useful to have some additional information about the tracks on this year's CD. Please be sure to check out my holiday music blog at www.marksholidaymixcds.net for more, and note that this year's release will likely be available only through New Year's Day. We'll feature a few more blog posts before this blog begins its long winter's nap, so check back from time to time here, too.

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 13

We're now in the home stretch of my look at the 38 tracks on my latest holiday mix CD, Here Comes Santa Claus. We've already covered the first 33 tracks, and today we look at Tracks 34-36, each of which celebrates the life of a popular entertainer who passed away during 2012. That will leave just two final tracks to consider after today's post, and I'm looking to tackle them over the next several days – assuming our luck holds out and the world survives the predicted Mayan apocalypse.

Track 36

Happy New Year from Dick Clark (2000)

Dick Clark in Times Square on New Year's Eve

When radio and television personality Dick Clark died this past April at the age of 82, he left behind a rich legacy of cultural achievement. But during the holiday season, the contribution that stands out most is New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the program Clark created and hosted for nearly 40 years. This track is made up of two parts – an excerpt from an interview in which Clark discusses the launch of the program in 1972, and an excerpt from his New Year’s Eve countdown from Times Square on December 31, 1999. ABC is scheduled to air a tribute to Clark on December 31 this year, and its New Year’s show will be called “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” But it won’t be quite the same without him.

Track 35

I’ll Be Home for Christmas, by Donna Summer (1994)

Donna Summer

It’s not for nothing that the late Donna Summer was known as the “Queen of Disco.” While her career had its roots in gospel and musical theater and she ultimately explored a variety of different genres, she was one of the first recording artists to achieve commercial success with electronic dance music and she remains the only artist in history to top the Billboard album charts with three consecutive double album releases – the disco classics Live and More (1978), Bad Girls (1979) and On the Radio (1980). During the period from 1978-80, she had nine Top 5 singles, four of which (“MacArthur Park,” “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” and “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)”) made it all the way to #1. Summer died this past May at the age of 63, and her death brought tributes from a wide range of people within and outside of the music industry. This track is from her 1994 album Christmas Spirit, which includes a variety of traditional and popular holiday songs. (My original track list and the list inside this year’s CD list the date of this track as 2005, but that is incorrect. Although "Christmas Spirit" was reissued in 2005 as part of Universal’s 20th Century Masters line under the title "The Best of Donna Summer: The Christmas Collection," it was originally released in 1994.) The song was written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent and originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943. It’s written from the point of view of an American serviceman writing home from overseas during World War II, and has subsequently been recorded by scores of other artists.

If you'd like to appreciate Donna Summer's version of the song that much more, listen to this alternate version that will make you wish the world was ending tonight:  I'll Be Home for Christmas (Mayan Apocalypse Version).

Track 34

George Plays Santa, from the Cast of “The Jeffersons,” featuring Sherman Hemsley (1981)



Hemsley (left) and Sean Garrett McFrazier
 in "All I Want for Christmas"

Best known for his portrayal of dry cleaning magnate George Jefferson in the long-running CBS sitcom The Jeffersons, Sherman Hemsley passed away this past July at the age of 74. An intensely private man, Hemsley rarely gave interviews or spoke about his experiences. However, in 2003, he confided in a rare interview for the Archive of American Television that playing George Jefferson was difficult for him. I’ve only seen a limited number of reruns from the show myself, but I get the sense that Hemsley is closer in temperament to the George Jefferson who appears in the 1981 episode “All I Want for Christmas” than the brash and cocky character he typically portrayed in the series. This track was taken from that episode, in which George Jefferson reluctantly agrees to play Santa for a group of orphans at the Help Center where his wife Weezie volunteers. One of the children, Mark, wants nothing to do with Santa, as he’s never received the one thing he’s asked for from Santa in the past – a family of his own. Unsure of how to respond, George notices that many of the younger orphans look up to Mark and depend on him for guidance and support. Isn’t that what a family’s really all about, asks George? The entire episode appears below, in two parts:

The Jeffersons was on the air for 11 years, which makes it one of the longest-running non-animated sitcoms in television history. Hemsley later starred in the NBC sitcom Amen, which ran for five seasons from 1986-91. It's worth noting that one of the three Christmas episodes that series produced, "The Twelve Songs of Christmas," includes a performance of Mary's Boy Child, a Christmas carol written in 1956 by one of the show's stars, Jester Hairston. The full episode is available on YouTube in three parts:

Part 1 of 3

Part 2 of 3

Part 3 of 3

Sherman Hemsley brought a lot of laughter into this world, and the characters he created helped emphasize a variety of lessons about how to treat others and value what's most important. He'll be missed.

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 12

Less than one week to go until Christmas, and we’ve been looking at the tracks on my latest holiday compilation, Here Comes Santa Claus. There are 38 tracks altogether and I’ve provided at least a little background on the first 31 so far, which leaves seven more to consider. Six of the remaining seven tracks were included in remembrance of entertainers who left the stage for good this year, starting with Andy Williams and Phyllis Diller.

Track 33

My Christmas Stocking, by Phyllis Diller (1982)

When comedienne Phyllis Diller died on August 22 at the age of 95, she was hailed as a comedy pioneer. As her longtime agent Fred Wostbrock explained, “She was the first lady of stand-up comedy. She paved the way for everybody. And she conquered television, movies, Broadway, record albums, nightclubs, books, and radio. She did it all.” I can remember watching Phyllis Diller on television with my mother as a small boy and thinking she was some sort of clown – literally. With her blonde fright wig, extra-long fake cigarette holder and crazy outfits, she couldn’t help but make you smile. I also remember my mother explaining that she dressed like she did to make fun of herself, and that it was important not to take yourself too seriously. This short track is something I pulled from Bob Hope’s 1982 Christmas special. Hope was Diller’s biggest supporter, and he frequently asked her to join him on his USO tours and television appearances. This is one woman who never took herself too seriously, and, according to her son, she died peacefully in her own bed with a smile on her lips. Not too shabby.

 

Track 32
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, by Andy Williams (1970)

Decorating the Christmas tree was always a big deal in our house when I was growing up – not simply for its own sake, but because that was usually when we first brought out the Christmas records each season. I’d guess we had somewhere around 25 or 30 Christmas albums, and among the first to get played very year was The Andy Williams Christmas Album, which was released in 1963 and featured this original tune. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t promoted much at all when the album was first released, and it was passed over in favor of "White Christmas" as the album's first single. Over time, however, the song not only emerged as the most popular track on the album, but it became one of Williams’ signature songs. Nearly 50 years after its initial release, the song continues to appear on almost every holiday playlist – in fact, it’s the #7 song on the current Billboard holiday music chart. This particular version was taken from one of Williams’ many television specials. You can hear a clip of his biggest hit, “Moon River,” as the intro and outro to this tune. Although Williams’ career spanned six decades, it was during the 1960s and ‘70s that he achieved his greatest success, both as a popular recording artist and television performer. Indeed, he came to symbolize the mainstream version of 1960s hip culture in this country. He was a supporter and good friend of Senator Robert F. Kennedy before Kennedy was killed, and later accompanied Kennedy’s widow, Ethel, to a good number of Washington social functions. In his later years, however, he became a staunch conservative, and even went so far as to call President Obama a “communist” during the 2008 presidential campaign. But when I learned of Williams’ death this Fall, I didn’t think too much about that. The first thing I thought of was how good it was to hear him sing this song each year as we strung the lights on my family’s tree.

Schoolchildren today probably associate this song with something a little less festive:

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.

 

 

 

 

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 10

Here’s some background on several more tracks from my latest holiday compilation, Here Comes Santa Claus:

Track 28

Holiday Greeting from Mark Wahlberg (c. 2010)

"Marky Mark" Wahlberg

This one’s another celebrity greeting – probably the shortest one I’ve used to date as the whole thing lasts no more than five seconds. As I noted in an earlier posting, there are lots of these recorded greetings floating around, and they serve a number of purposes on a compilation like this. I opted to go with a Mark Wahlberg greeting as a nod in the direction of two wonderful friends of the female persuasion, both of whom think this guy’s pretty terrific. Being from Boston, I know a thing or two about Mark Wahlberg. He’s a talented actor and film producer, of course, who formerly went by the name “Marky Mark” back when he was a rapper and underwear model. He’s the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg, who was a member of New Kids on the Block, a Boston-based boy band that was popular in the 1980s. Before he hit it big himself, Mark was known more for his lengthy criminal record, which included a number of violent hate crimes against African American children and two elderly Vietnamese men. Happily, he seems to have changed his way of thinking about people with different backgrounds. Moreover, the sort of unthinking prejudice and hatred he formerly espoused is no longer accepted or overlooked in the increasingly diverse neighborhoods of Boston where he and I grew up. In a world where most of us are quick to point out all of the troubling developments around us, that’s a positive change that needs to be recognized.

Track 27

St. Nick Is Alright, by The Smalltown Poets (2011)

Track 27 is a pretty little tune by the Atlanta-based Christian rock group called The Smalltown Poets. Released in 1997, their self-titled debut album was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Gospel Rock album, and their next three albums were also well received. The band went on hiatus in 2004, but reunited in 2011 to record their first Christmas album, Smalltown Poets Christmas, on which “St. Nick Is Alright” appears. It’s an upbeat tune that’s fun to sing along with, and it seems to give the Christian rock seal of approval to a key non-religious component of Christmas – namely, Santa Claus. I’m not sure whether this reunion will lead to further albums, but Smalltown Poets Christmas is a fine piece of work and worth reuniting for. Funny how the holidays tend to bring people together.

Track 26

Seasin’s Greetinks from Popeye the Sailor Man (1933)

I don’t know whether kids today know who Popeye is, but this mighty sailor was certainly a favorite when I was growing up. With his ditzy and almost emaciated girlfriend Olive Oyl by his side and that nasty villain Brutus usually in hot pursuit, Popeye helped at least two or three generations of American children feel good about eating their spinach and doing what’s right. This little clip is from the animated short by the same name, which you can enjoy below:

Track 25

Christmas Gift Ideas from The Norelco Santa (c. 1965)

The Christmas holiday season is the busiest and most lucrative time of year for manufacturing and retail businesses, and most rely on advertising to maximize their share of the seasonal market. People often complain about how early the holiday ad season begins as well as the sheer volume of holiday ads, but a number of Christmas commercials on radio and television have achieved the status of cultural touchstones and the best of them can conjure up some powerful memories of Christmases gone by. The Norelco Santa campaign for Norelco’s line of personal shavers was extremely successful during the 1960s and ‘70s. Norelco is the American brand name for electric shavers and other personal care products made by the Consumer Lifestyle division of the Philips corporation. (Norelco stands for "North American Philips [electrical] Company.")  Here’s the full version of the commercial from which I extracted Track 25:

The campaign was retired many years ago, but just last year, Norelco turned again to the Norelco Santa, albeit in a somewhat spruced-up format:

 

We’ve now looked at 28 of the 38 tracks on this year’s compilation, and we’ll continue with comments on the ten remaining tracks between now and December 25. How many days is that? Click on our old friend (below) to find out:

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 9

I’ve been providing a bit of background about each of the 38 tracks on my latest holiday mix, which is titled Here Comes Santa Claus. Here’s some information on two more tracks:

Track 24

Tag Along, by The Wilburn Brothers (1963)

Doyle and Teddy Wilburn were a popular country music act from Hardy, Arkansas, who performed and recorded together for more than 30 years – first as The Wilburn Children, and later as The Wilburn Brothers. They were discovered by country legend Roy Acuff, who arranged for them to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, but while their act was well-received, they were forced to stop performing after about six months due to federal child labor laws. Both brothers served in the U.S. Army in Korea, after which they signed with Decca Records and had a string of modest hits with such numbers as “Go Away with Me” and “Trouble’s Back in Town.” Tag Along was recorded in the early 1960s and released as a special holiday single several different times. It tells the story of Santa’s watchdog, Tag Along, who travels with Santa each Christmas Eve to guard the sleigh while Santa goes indoors with the presents. It’s apparently a prestigious assignment. Both Rin Tin Tin and Lassie sought the position unsuccessfully. But it’s no easy job, as the song makes clear. The Wilburn Brothers continued recording into the 1970s, by which time they were putting the bulk of their energies into talent management. They were instrumental in launching the careers of a number of popular country stars, including Loretta Lynn, and they also hosted their own syndicated TV variety show, The Wilburn Brothers Show, which ran from 1963 to 1974. Despite their successful careers as performers and businessmen, the two brothers will also be remembered as the singers who gave away their chance to record “Heartbreak Hotel” before Elvis Presley. In 1956, they decided against recording the song, which they described as “strange and almost morbid.” When you stop to consider that assessment for a moment, it’s pretty tough to argue the point.

Track 23

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, by Shakespeare Man (1993)

Kevin and Bean

Thirty years after the release of Tag Along, Kevin Ryder and Gene "Bean" Baxter, better known as Kevin and Bean, hosts of the morning show on KROQ-FM, released a lovely album called “A Family Christmas in Your Ass,” which is where I found Shakespeare Man’s rendition of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Kevin and Bean have handled the morning duties for KROQ-FM since 1990, and their show is also syndicated in a number of other markets. The “Family Christmas” album is just one in a series of similar holiday releases that were sold to benefit local charities. It mimics their morning radio show in that it offers a mix of music and comedy bits designed to appeal to adolescents and those with adolescent sensibilities. But, hey, it’s for charity, and people like me deserve to be entertained, too, right? 

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 8

Today, I've got a little background information about three more tracks from my latest holiday mix, Here Comes Santa Claus:

Track 22

Santa’s Big Red Car, by Bobby Farrell

I first came across this tune several years ago by way of the Ernie (Not Bert) blog, which is a favorite spot for collectors of offbeat and out-of-print music of all types. According to Ernie, he found the song among a bunch of used novelty records at a store in St. Petersburg, Florida. “I was hoping for a Beach Boys-Little Saint Nick-type thing,” he wrote, “but this is what I got.” I think it’s kind of a cute little song myself, although I haven’t been able to find out much about it, or about the man who recorded it. I’m reasonably sure that this wasn’t recorded by the “Bobby Farrell” who sang lead for the German/Jamaican group Boney M, whose disco hit Daddy Cool was a favorite of mine back in the day. There does seem to have been at least one additional Bobby Farrell who’s made records in the past – a guy who first recorded as “Little” Bobby Farrell beginning sometime in the 1950s before expanding his horizons to become active in various other areas of the music business. Here’s how the ReverbNation website describes this second (or first) Bobby Farrell:

Singer, Songwriter, Recording Artist, Band Leader, Broadcaster, Model, Actor, Record Producer, Booking Agent, Concert Tour Director & Producer, Music Publisher, Promoter, Licenser, Distributor, Production Studio Owner/Operator, Show Producer, Night Club Owner/Operator, Sound Engineer, Lighting Director, Artist &: Road Manager, Pressing Plant Foreman, Printer, Graphics Art Director, Disc Jockey, Radio Talk Master, Program/Music Director, and that's just a few of his Entertainment Credits! If it has to do with Recorded Music and Entertainment, Bobby Farrell has been there and made a success of each and every venture.

His honesty and integrity are exceeded only by his expertise. He founded BFM Enterprises at Dayton, Ohio, in 1959, and built it into one of the surviving Super Seven General Licensers that promote, manufacture and distribute records and motion pictures, videos, CDs and DVDs world wide! It should come as no surprise that his Vandor Motion Pictures, PhonoRecords and Music Publishing Group is the only one of that Super Seven that isn't in debt!

He also is a Master Metaphysician, an accomplished Novelist, Globe Trotter (he helped measure the earth [IGY July 1957-December 1958] with Team II 1959-1966), Inventor, Scalar Scientist, Political and Civil Rights Activist, and Firearms Handling Expert.

Now, while all this sounds a little over the top, I don’t have any reason to dispute any of it, and I’m not sure I would in any event in light of that last item on his resumé. I tend to avoid getting into it with firearms handling experts whenever possible.

Track 21

Rockin’ in a Christmas/New Year, by The Fools (1992)

The Fools

Growing up around Boston when I did, I remember The Fools as a popular novelty-type band that played some unusually good original material and appealed primarily to the area’s large college-age population. Their first hit record was a 1979 take-off on the Talking Heads’ song Psycho Killer called Psycho Chicken. The Fools were signed by EMI the following year, and their first major label single, “It’s a Night for Beautiful Girls,” was a minor hit in markets across the country. The band got additional exposure in the early 1980s as the opening band for both The Knack and Van Halen on their world tours, but they were never quite able to make the big jump to national prominence themselves. There are at least two different versions of Rockin’in a Christmas/New Year, the first of which was released in 1986 and features a completely different set of celebrity party guests than the 1992 version I’ve used in this year’s holiday mix. Frankly, I prefer the earlier version, as it's not only less violent but features cooler celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen and Prince. I used the later release, however, for reasons of sound quality. Both versions remain seasonal favorites on Boston-area radio stations to this day.

Track 20
Holiday Greetings from the Cast of "The Nanny" (1993)

I’ve never been a big fan of prime time network television, and I’m pretty sure I saw only one episode of The Nanny during its original six-season run on CBS. But several years after its network finale, the show was picked up in syndication by Lifetime Television, which started airing it at 7:00 am in place of The Golden Girls. Since I'd grown accustomed to having breakfast with Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia every morning, I left the TV on the same channel after the switch and slowly got used to The Nanny. It's a cute little show that had some mildly amusing moments, and while the story lines were mostly retreads, the characters were nice enough and they became comfortable breakfast companions who didn't mind me reading the news or cleaning the apartment while they were on. I like that in a breakfast date.

Here's the show's pilot episode, which pretty much tells the whole story:

Tomorrow: Rudolph and Tag Along, the guard dog you never knew Santa had.

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 7

My ongoing current assignment involves providing interesting background information about the various tracks from my latest holiday mix CD, Here Comes Santa Claus. I’ve been examining a few tracks each day, more or less. I started with Track 1, and the plan is to continue to the bitter end, which hopefully means completing all 38 tracks. I’d hate to consider any alternative bitter ends, thank you. Anyway, we’ve taken care of Tracks 1-16, so today it’s Tracks 17, 18 and 19.

Track 19

Honky the Christmas Goose, Johnny Bower (1965)

The name Johnny Bower should be familiar to many Americans and a larger number of Canadians over the age of 60, but it’s not because of his musical talent. In fact, “Honky the Christmas Goose” is the only record Bower ever recorded, for which we can all be grateful. But when it comes to scrappy goaltending in the hockey arena, there was a time when Bower had few rivals. Known as “The China Wall,” he helped lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to three Stanley Cup championships during his tenure with the team from 1958-69, and he was ultimately elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. How did he come to record the monstrosity I included in my latest holiday mix? According to Bower, the story begins after a brutal practice session in 1965, when a man named Chip Young talked his way into the Maple Leafs’ locker room in the hope of convincing one of the players to record a song he’d just written to benefit a local charity. All the other guys showered, changed and headed for home pretty quickly that night, Bower recalls, and he was the only player left by the time the songwriter made his approach. As tough as he was on the ice, Bower must have been a soft touch for a charity appeal, because he not only agreed to make the record, but even recruited his 9-year-old son and a group of neighborhood kids to appear with him. It wasn’t long before “Honky the Christmas Goose” hit the Canadian airwaves, and while it posed no real threat to the chart-topping singles of that holiday season – including Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds; The Sound of Silence, by Simon & Garfunkel and We Can Work it Out by some British group – it was a respectable hit in Canada and apparently raised over $40,000 for a worthy local charity. Bower says he had fun making the record, and he didn’t mind the heavy ribbing he took from his teammates after the record came out. It was a little tougher to shrug off the angry calls he received from parents whose kids were driving them crazy by repeatedly playing the song, but Bower says he’d probably do it all over again. It was, after all, made for a worthy cause.

You can hear Johnny Bower himself tell the “Honky” story right HERE.

Track 18

O Holy Night, Ellis Chadbourne (c. 1979)

This one’s something special, something unique. I only wish I knew more about it. I found it several years ago on a terrific blog by Bob Purse called The Wonderful and the Obscure, which he describes as “[a] look at some of the more remarkable items found during my 30 years of collecting all manner of recordings.” Bob and I seem to share some similar enthusiasms, including an appreciation for song poems and so-called “outsider music.” He’s also big on Christmas tunes. Several years ago, he wrote that his two favorite Christmas songs are “Silent Night,” and “O Holy Night.”  The rest, he wrote, all lag far behind. In support of his position, he offered two versions of the latter work – the first, a rollicking arrangement by The Christmas Jug Band; and the second, the version I’ve used in this year’s mix by the relatively obscure Ellis Chadbourne. I hope Bob won’t mind if I reprint what he wrote about the song, because I really like what he had to say about it:

In a completely different direction, I offer up Ellis Chadbourne, a singer I was introduced to by my friend Citizen Kafka, a man I have subsequently lost touch with. Also offering up rewritten text, in this case significantly so, to remove all Christian references, Mr. Chadbourne instead is seeking for a Holy Night in which the Bomb has been banned, and peace reigns over the Earth.

This (and all of Mr. Chadbourne's work) tends to be quite divisive – either you "get it" or you don't.…Yes, some say he can't sing, and/or even that this is painful to listen to. I won't disagree with anyone about taste, and I recognize that there is one howler of a note here.

But I will disagree (and have, quite forcefully) with those who have said there is nothing to "get" – there is a passion, a life-affirming spirit captured in Ellis Chadbourne's records, particularly this one, which gives me chills. When he gets to "O Night Divine", and seems at the very top of his range, it takes my breath away – and yet then, I realize there is a higher note yet to come. Will he make it? When he reaches that note, just at the end, I feel I am hearing a man singing directly to God, and I rarely can hear this track without tearing up.

Well, OK, Bob seems to have been a little more affected by this track than I was. But only a little, for I, too, find it to be a powerful and moving statement by a genuine individual who’s singing directly from the heart.  Try as I might, I haven’t been able to learn much more about Mr. Chadbourne, except that he also recorded a song called The Last Round-Up at some point, and possibly another called “Pagan Love Song” from an album titled “Americana Volume I: Vox Populi.” I also found a series of essays about America’s youth and the youth movement that were written by someone named Ellis Chadbourne from New York City during the first several years of the Great Depression – no idea if it’s the same guy.

Track 17

Preparing for the Christmas Pageant, The Cast of “Frasier” (2005)

The Cast of "Frasier"

I was watching TV with a wonderful friend one sweltering morning this past summer when one of the several Christmas-themed episodes of Frasier came on. I’d just added the Ellis Chadbourne version of "O Holy Night" to my mix list, and, wouldn’t you know, one of the subplots of this episode involved that very song. Frasier’s Dad, Martin, is performing in a local Christmas pageant and his part involves singing this most difficult number before a sizeable audience. He works throughout the show to prevent others from attending the performance, especially Daphne. Frasier is one of my favorite shows. I especially like Frasier’s producer, Roz Doyle, and his Dad, played by the very talented John Mahoney.

We're now half-way through the 38 tracks on my 2012 holiday mix, and I'll be back before you know it with some further commentary. In the meantime, click on the lovely lady below for another important reminder from the business community:

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 5

I've been sharing some background about the various tracks on my latest holiday mix, titled Here Comes Santa Claus. We've already covered Tracks 1-11, and turn now to Tracks 12, 13 and 14.

Track 14

The Montreal Express, by Al Sears and His Countrymen (c. 1969)

This isn't a holiday song, strictly speaking, but then neither are such classics as "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman," or even "Jingle Bells," for that matter. Somewhere along the way we seem to have reached a consensus that songs about snow and winter weather, which must certainly be considered "seasonal," also qualify for the "holiday" label. It's a curious issue when you stop and think about it, with some interesting implications. For example, a good friend of mine who was raised a Jehovah's Witness tells me he was forbidden from singing or listening to Christmas carols as a child because his family's religion ignores Christmas due to its quasi-pagan origins. His mother, a wonderful, generous and otherwise open-minded woman is especially doctrinaire when it comes to religion, and she brooked no nonsense when it came to Christmas songs. Forget about arguing the secular grounding of songs about snowmen, sledding or sleighs, my friend recalls. If it's a song that was ever sung by carolers, it wasn't allowed in his home.

By that rather rigid measure, this particular non-holiday winter's tale might well be allowed. It was commissioned in the 1960s by the old Boston Gas Company for use in their radio and television advertising campaigns, and it quickly "went viral," to the extent such a thing was possible back then. Responding to public demand, the ad agency that devised the campaign arranged for the jingle to be lengthened and released as a single, after the lines referring to Boston Gas were removed, of course. TV weathermen (no females on TV in those days) used to work bits of the song into their forecasts, and even the Boston Pops started to cover it at their holiday shows in Symphony Hall. I'm not surprised the song caught on as it did. New Englanders are a funny lot, and while they pride themselves on suffering through the most miserable winter weather without complaining, there's nothing they like more than hearing others give them credit for their toughness and their quiet resolve. There were a number of different versions of the jingle, which typically ended with the lines:

Boston Gas heat's

The only way to beat

The Montreal Express

Here are the lyrics for the 45 RPM version I included in this year’s mix:

There's an arctic wind up in Canada

Howling like a wolverine

And it whistles on down into Boston town

Whenever it feels real mean

Up around the Pru

And out Route 2

People all sigh “ah, yes”

We must have sinned ‘cause here comes that wind

Called the Montreal Express.

It rattles sills in the old Blue Hills

With a terrible icy roar

Your BVDs and your pipes all freeze

And your heating bills just soar

It shivers and shakes

And big snowflakes

Toot! No school today

Why down in Hull they ground the gull

And the blue jays all turn grey

It dropped a pall on the City Hall

The thermom’s two below

When it descends on the old North End

You're up to your ears in snow

It's hootin' into Newton and Watertown

The Pike just gleams with ice

The traffic snarls along the Charles

So take this good advice:

Swap your miniskirt for some flannel shirts

And send out an SOS

'Cause it freezes all, this wind they call

The Montreal Express

I haven’t been able to find anything more about Al Sears and His Countrymen, and this seems to be the only record they ever released. But, hey, that’s one record more than I’ve ever done, and while they may be gone, they’re not forgotten. Incidentally, I was surprised to learn today that Boston Gas is no more. Since I left town, they were apparently acquired by a company called Keystone, which in turn was acquired by something called National Grid. As someone who hasn't yet adjusted to a world without Woolworth's, this is almost too much to bear. Fortunately, National Grid has kept the iconic Rainbow Swash by the wonderful Sister Corita Kent on its Dorchester Gas Tanks. Mustn't mess with that.  

Track 13

Holiday Greetings from Ozzy Osbourne (c. 1994)

I don't intend to write very much about this gentleman or his music here because I don't know much about him and I'm not eager to learn any more than I already do. I included this track only because I think it's deliciously ironic to hear a warning about drunk driving from someone who apparently bit off the head of a live dove during a meeting with record company executives because he was too inebriated to know what he was doing. With a background like that, of course, who could be better qualified to deliver this sort of warning? Besides, while I've only seen his wife on TV for a few minutes here and there, she seems kind of neat, and their daughter's a stalwart fighter for gay rights, so he can't really be all bad. Few people are.

Track 12

The Wrong Way to Celebrate Christmas, by Rev. Edward W. Clayborn (1928)

I’ve previously featured recordings by the Rev. J.M. Gates on two of my previous holiday mixes, both of which were recorded in the 1920s and simmer with the righteous energy of a true Southern preacher. While this track was recorded around the same time and carries a similar kind of message, it has a very different feel than either of the recordings by Pastor Gates. Unfortunately, very little is known about Rev. Clayborn, who billed himself for a time as “the Guitar Evangelist.” The picture included here is apparently the only picture of him that exists, and I’ve seen his last name spelled four different ways while trying to find out a little more about him. About all I can report is that he recorded some 40 tracks for Vocalion Records between 1926 and 1930, and the message he carried is one that millions revere to this day.