It's Christmas Time Again, Part 4

Looks like we've fallen hopelessly behind with our look at this year's tracks, so I've accepted the fact that this enjoyable exercise will continue until well after Christmas Day. Hey, that's OK. It's kind of fun to be able to stretch the Christmas season past its ordinary limits. Ready to get back to work? Well, I am . . . so here we go!

Track 12
One Christmas Catalog Too Many, Captain Sensible (1984)



The lyrics to this song don't make a whole lot of sense, and I don't suppose it's a track many people have ever heard. It's got a catchy enough beat and a tuneful melody, I guess, and it's probably worth including on that basis alone. But there's another reason I chose this song for this year's mix and that  has to do with another song by the artist who made this one. This track and the other are by a guy named Raymond Ian Jones, a British singer/songwriter better known as Captain Sensible. He was one of the co-founders of the punk group The Damned, which was among the first group of British punk bands to catch on back in the late 1970s. Sensible has also enjoyed a moderately successful solo career before, during and after his his work with The Damned. I can recall hearing his version of "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" back in the day, and his cover version of the song "Happy Talk" from South Pacific made it all the way to #1 on the British charts in 1982. But I first became acquainted with Captain Sensible as the guy who wrote a pop song about one of my favorite characters in Washington political history -- one of the genuine heroes of the Watergate scandal, the inimitable Martha Mitchell.

I was just finishing the 6th grade when a group of agents from the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) were arrested in Washington's Watergate Hotel as they tried to bug the offices of the Chairman of the Democratic Party on behalf of Republican Richard Nixon in June of 1972. Nixon was running for re-election that year and he desperately wanted to not only win but win big. Knowing that a very large portion of the electorate opposed both him and his policies, Nixon and his henchmen decided that their best shot was to rig the Democratic contest to ensure that the opposition party nominated its weakest challenger, Senator George McGovern, and then paint him as a crazy kook far outside of the American mainstream. And they succeeded. The bugging of the Watergate was just one small piece of an elaborate scheme that included manufacturing fake news, interfering with Democratic rallies and events, raising millions in illegal campaign contributions, and even breaking into the psychiatrist's office of a well-known Nixon opponent. By Election Day, the Nixon team managed to secure exactly what Nixon had wanted -- a landslide election victory. They had also managed to keep the arrest of the Watergate burglars from becoming a major story. But once Nixon was sworn in for his second term, the story started to capture the nation's attention, due in no small part to the outspoken and colorful Martha Mitchell.

Martha and John Mitchell, c. 1973

Martha was already a major public figure as the Watergate story took off, for she was the wife of John Mitchell, former attorney general and the manager of Nixon's re-election campaign. In fact, Martha herself was one of the original founders of CREEP. During most of Nixon's first term she was a stalwart defender of the President. She had a high profile and her sharp tongue was frequently unleashed against the liberals and hippies whose criticism of her husband and the President led her to suggest they be "torn limb from limb." However, one of the men arrested for the break-in was a man named James McCord, a former CIA agent who had also worked for a time as a security guard for Martha and her daughter. Unlike many other observers, Martha realized almost at once that the Watergate break-in was a Nixon operation and with one of the chief architects of the operation and cover-up living under her same roof she had access to more information than most about what was going on. To her credit, she did what she could to set things right.

It wasn't easy. Following the arrest of the burglars, CREEP sent several thugs to detain her against her will in a California hotel. When one of them discovered Martha on the phone with the UPI's Helen Thomas, he grabbed the receiver out of Martha's hand and ripped the phone from the wall. Several others threw her onto the bed and held her down while she was forcibly sedated. Then the Nixon people put out the word:  Martha was crazy; she was an alcoholic; she was delusional. Yet Martha persisted, decrying the administration's illegal activities and calling on Nixon to resign.

Martha with Merv Griffin

Eventually, the various official investigations revealed that Martha's reports were anything but crazy. She and former White House counsel John Dean are now widely recognized as the true whistleblowers of Watergate. Tragically, Martha died of cancer less than two years after Nixon's resignation. At her sparsely attended funeral someone sent a large collection of flowers that spelled out the words "Martha Was Right." While her good sense and courage fail to receive the respect they are due, her name is now invoked as the name of a unique psychological condition. The Martha Mitchell effect describes a situation where someone has made claims so preposterous on their face that the reporter is diagnosed as delusional, only the claims are later determined to be accurate.

So why the long diatribe about Watergate in what's supposed to be a humble little Christmas music blog? I don't know, I've long been taken by Martha Mitchell's story as the unlikely hero of the Watergate scandal, and my hat's off to Captain Sensible who appears to have felt similarly some 33 years ago when he wrote and recorded "Martha the Mouth." Of course, more than a few observers are drawing parallels between the current administration and the Nixon White House. Both appear to be under fire, both appear to have engaged in treacherous and illegal activities, and both seem to have trouble telling the truth. Today, as then, we need a colorful and brutally honest character to step into the ring and tell it like it is. 



Hear an interesting take on Martha's story by the late comedian and social activist Dick Gregory.

Listen to "Martha," the first episode from the excellent podcast about Watergate called "Slow Burn"

Check out "Get Off that Phone, Martha," by Gene Burns

Listen to "The Ballad of Mrs. Martha Mitchell," by Gary Paris


Track 11
I'm Christmas Day, The Three Stooges (1955)

Back when I was growing up, it seemed like The Three Stooges were always on TV. They were particularly popular on the lower-budget UHF stations, where they had a certain allure for pre-adolescent boys (to whom Moe's swagger and violent tendencies were appealing) and older men (who likely appreciated the bygone era their black and white reels conjured up). I never liked the Stooges myself. Not these Stooges, at least. (I was partial to the ones who played with Iggy.) I recoiled instinctively every time the sadistic Moe belittled Larry, or poked his finger's in Curly's eyes. But I clearly recall pretending that I liked them in front of certain of my friends. It seemed like the cool thing to do -- better, certainly, than having them think of me as soft or effete. I suppose I felt a little of that same feeling this year when I opted to include their shabby little excerpt on this year's mix. I probably deserve a quick poke in the eye for that. And maybe the Hugh Hefner clip, as well. Ouch!

If you are a fan of the Three Stooges, you may enjoy this bit by Billy West, the comedian, voice actor and former radio personality:

Listen to "The Three Stooges Record the 12 Days of Christmas," by Billy West

Track 10
Melt Our Way Out, The Rosebuds (2012)
This is, without question, my favorite track on this year's CD. It comes from the 2012 album Christmas Tree Island, a wonderful collection of original holiday tunes by the indie rock band The Rosebuds. The group is based in Raleigh, North Carolina and consists of musicians Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp. They're a prolific duo with a unique and very tasty sound not to mention a fun sense of humor and what appears to be a strong commitment to basic Christmas sensibilities. I strongly recommend checking out Christmas Tree Island in its entirety, and the rest of their catalog, too, but the track I used and "Christmas in New York" are truly outstanding. Listen to them below and support the band with a purchase, if you can.

Is There Really a Santa Claus, Part 6

There are 39 tracks on my latest holiday mix, and we're taking a few moments to look at each one, in turn. We've finished with the first 14 so far, and today we're going to consider three more:

Track 17
Thanks for the Electric Shaver, Spiro, by Richard M. Nixon and Spiro Agnew (1972)

President Richard Nixon (left) and Vice President Spiro Agnew

I've always had a keen interest in politics and history, and I'm especially fascinated by the character and personalities of those who seek positions of authority in this country and elsewhere. Human nature being what it is, the true essence of our leaders is often quite different from the public image they work so hard to create. This is especially true of Richard Nixon, whose secretly recorded White House tapes reveal a gravely insecure and tormented man. Tragically, his keen intellect proved no match for his deep-rooted prejudices and petty obsession with exacting revenge on his so-called enemies. Listening to Nixon's tapes is a painful and embarrassing exercise, not only for the ugliness they expose, but because they confirm that the public had been so thoroughly duped by Nixon's packagers. It's difficult, too, to hear so many wise and accomplished individuals debase themselves by their shameless attempts to flatter and woo the President. This short clip highlights an especially awkward attempt at ingratiation by Nixon's vice president, former Maryland governor Spiro Agnew. Nixon's selection of Agnew as his running mate in 1968 surprised and confounded most experienced observers, as he seemed to add little or nothing to the Republican ticket. He'd been governor for less than two years at the time and had accomplished little or nothing during that brief period. His earlier service as a Baltimore County commissioner was similarly undistinguished, and there was no evidence that he was especially bright or gifted or that he had the strong support of any particular voting bloc or special interest group. The Democrats sought to make Agnew's lack of experience an issue in the campaign, and polls showed that Edmund Muskie, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was more highly regarded by the public than Agnew. Ultimately, however, the Nixon/Agnew team defeated the Humphrey/Muskie ticket in one of the closest presidential contests in history.

Once in office, Nixon did little to involve Agnew in much of anything, other than to keep him out on the hustings where he worked to keep the President's conservative base happy with a steady stream of increasingly combative speeches and a long string of unvarnished and intemperate remarks. Nixon reportedly wanted to dump Agnew from the Republican ticket in 1972 in favor of former Texas governor John Connolly, but it was ultimately decided that sticking with Agnew was the safer choice. In 1973, however, Agnew was forced to resign the vice presidency after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland revealed that Agnew had accepted bribes in connection with a number of public works projects. President Nixon selected Rep. Gerald R. Ford of Michigan as Agnew's successor, only to see Ford succeed him as president in 1974 when Nixon, too, was forced to resign as a result of his role in the Watergate scandal.

This clip is a recording of a telephone call the President placed to Mr. Agnew in January 1972 to thank him for the electric shaver he had given him for Christmas. Nixon seems relatively comfortable and relaxed throughout the call, opening the conversation with a self-deprecating reference to the five o'clock shadow some say cost him the presidency in 1960. Agnew, on the other hand, comes across as an obsequious toady. At first, I found his passionate defense of the shaver's merits to be rather pathetic, but then I found myself wondering just what sort of gift would a vice president ordinarily give to the president, and wouldn't any exchange of gifts between such two such individuals come across as awkward, especially where, as here, the two people had little or no personal relationship to draw on? I imagine there would have been a similar degree of awkwardness had Lyndon Johnson given President Kennedy a gift, or George Bush offered a present to President Reagan. I'm not sure about Vice President Biden, however. My guess is that he's rarely uncomfortable dealing with any social situation, although he sometimes makes the people around him slightly uncomfortable as a result of his well-meaning, bull-in-a-chinashop style of communication.





Track 16
That's the Christmas Spirit, by Frank Luther (c. 1941)

I chose this short clip primarily as an introduction to the conversation between Messrs. Nixon and Agnew about Agnew's Christmas gift to the President. Yet the message it conveys — "the more you give to others, the happier you are" — is undeniably true and profound, and it deserves to be considered on its own merits, too. This clip is from the 45 RPM single A Child's First Christmas, by Frank Luther. Luther enjoyed a long and successful career as a recording artist that began in the early 1920s and pretty much continued until his death in 1980. His early records primarily featured country and western tunes, but beginning in the 1930s he also became a popular dance music vocalist. Shortly after signing with the Decca label in 1934, Luther began to record children's records, and it's this style for which he is best remembered today. The combination of his lush baritone and soothing speaking voice proved popular with children and their parents, and Luther began to record material on a wide range of children's subjects ranging from instructional records on manners and safety to the more standard fairy tales and stories. Included among Luther's children's records were several holiday-themed singles and albums, and I'm hoping to include additional samples on future mixes.

Track 15
Sha La Da La La (Christmas Time), by the Sha La Das (2013)
As I noted in an earlier post about this year's mix, this track by the Sha La Das is one of my very favorite holiday songs of the past dozen years or more. Just listen to this piece of audio confection and tell me it's not a sheer delight:



I don't have an awful lot of information to share about the group, other than the short blurb that was posted last Fall on the website of their record label, Daptone Records:

Introducing Staten Island's newest sensation: The Sha La Das!  Making their debut, they offer up two sides of unadulterated holiday cheer - Sha La Da La La (Christmas Time)' b/w 'I Wish Christmas Time Was Over.'  Discovered by Dunham Records mogul and one man musicial gang, Tom 'TNT' Brenneck, you may recognize their doo-wop tinged harmonies from such SMASH records as Charles Bradley's Victim Of Love. Ring a bell? Well I should hope so! And if that's not enough to make you wanna fill yer belly with Egg Nog and cover your house in lights, the Sha La Das are a legitimate family affair. Comprised of Patriarch Bill Schalda with sons, Paul, Will, and Carmine - this ain't no Patridge family people, this is the REAL DEAL. Side A, penned by Thomas Brenneck and Bill Sr. is a mid-tempo seasonal masterpiece, decorated to the nines with lush harmonies, gratuitous sleigh bells, and an insistent Yuletide groove, courtesy of the Menahan Street Band. Side B composed by Bill Sr. is a classic group harmony carol, sure to warm even the coldest of souls. Save yourself the trip to the Macy's window and get hip to the sonic Holiday realness of Daptone Records and the Sha La Das. 

This single seems to be the group's only official release to date, but I sure hope we'll be hearing more from them soon. They take me back to that fabulous soul/R&B sound of the 1960s and '70s, epitomized by such groups as The Stylistics, The Chi-Lites, The Delfonics and Baltimore favorites The Whatnauts. Daptone is on a mission to rediscover the old style soul and funk sound of that magical error, and so far they same to be succeeding.

[I'm not ordinarily drawn to conspiracy theories and I shudder when I glance at the comments sections of most video posting websites, but I read an interesting comment on YouTube the other day. Someone had written in response to an old Stevie Wonder tune that the soul and R&B music of the 1970s was so far superior to the garbage that's marketed today that they couldn't understand why young listeners were choosing the latter over the former. This observation drew the response that this was all a part of a conscious effort by the Illuminati, the New World Order, or some similar force to divide us into increasingly hostile groups and replace love with hate so we could be more readily controlled by the monied interests. I'm not sure it's possible to simply write-off that kind of thinking anymore, as it almost seems to be the story of the last 20 years, doesn't it? I'm on Daptone's side in this fight!]

Order a copy of the Sha La Das Single from Daptone Records

We're nearly half-way through this year's mix, so join us in a day or two when we look at the next couple of tracks, including one that addresses the "Great Menorah Debate" — do you begin the first night of Hanukkah by lighting one candle or eight?

Is There Really a Santa Claus, Part 5

Here's some further information about the next two tracks from my latest holiday mix, titled Is There Really a Santa Claus?

Track14
Five Pound Box of Money, by Pearl Bailey (1959)

Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey made a name for herself in the 1950s and '60s as a singer, stage and film actress and television personality. In the 1970s and '80s she added the roles of author and political activist to her resume, writing six books, campaigning for Republican political candidates (see video clip, below) and serving as a Special Ambassador to the United Nations (appointed by President Ford) and worldwide Ambassador of Love (appointed by that old love machine himself, President Richard Nixon). She is perhaps best known for playing Maria in the movie version of Porgy and Bess and the title role in the all-black Broadway production of Hello Dolly! Before her acting career really took off, Bailey made a name for herself as a popular nightclub performer whose material occasionally veered from the straight and narrow into the risque. Her album releases were sometimes overshadowed by her acting, but Bailey was a prolific recording artist who made over 30 albums in styles ranging from the soundtracks to her stage and movie shows to blues, standards and even some "mature audience" material.

Bailey's discography features at least two holiday tunes: "Jingle Bells Cha Cha Cha" and "Five Pound Box of Money," the latter of which appears as Track 14 on my 2014 mix. These two tracks were released on a single two-sided 45 RPM disc in the late 1950s on the Roulette label, and have subsequently been included in a number of different compilation albums, including the 1999 release Hipsters' Holiday. I love "Five Pound Box of Money," which really captures Bailey's vivacious personality, at least what I remember of it from her many TV appearances while I was growing up. Not only does she handle the vocals on this song, but she is one of the two credited composers as well. There is, however, a bit of uncertainty about exactly when these two songs were released. The label on the single itself includes a copyright date of 1958, which is the same release date that appears in the liner notes on the Hipsters' Holiday compilation. Based on that information, the CD version of Is There Really a Santa Claus? lists the release date for "Five Pound Box of Money" as 1958. But a later Roulette Records compilation lists the release date as 1959, as does the the Global Dog Productions Roulette 45 discography and the Goldmine Christmas Record Price Guide. Moreover, the November 23, 1959 issue of Billboard magazine lists the song among its new pop music releases for the week. On the whole, I guess I'd have to agree with Randy Anthony of the wonderful Hip Christmas blog, who weighed the competing evidence and concluded that the actual release date was probably 1959. The track list that appears in my latest CD package lists the release date as 1958, but I've updated the stand-alone track list to reflect the later year.

Before we close the book on Pearl Bailey, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention several of her other achievements. For one thing, she had her own TV variety show on ABC, The Pearl Bailey Show. She won a Tony Award for her work in Hello, Dolly! in 1968 and a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother in the 1986 ABC Afterschool Special, CindyEller: A Modern Fairy Tale. In 1988, Bailey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Reagan. Finally, in what is perhaps her greatest accomplishment, Bailey earned her bachelor's degree from Georgetown University with a major in theology at the age of 67. She may have been a Republican, but she was one very cool lady all the same.

Track 13
Christmas Dinner Country Style, by Bing Crosby (1962)

Bing Crosby

It's a cold, snowy day in December and you're sitting with some friends by the fireplace when one of them asks you which American entertainers you think are most closely associated with the Christmas season. That's a highly subjective question, of course, and there's no way of knowing the correct answer. But I'd argue that any list that didn't include Bing Crosby would have to be considered wrong. Crosby, of course, is responsible for the definitive version of "White Christmas" — the bestselling record of all time — and that fact alone is enough to secure Bing's spot on the list. Crosby is also remembered for his annual Christmas specials on radio and TV, and for his many other holiday-themed songs and records. But "White Christmas" is what people remember most, and probably always will. Having now put together more than a dozen holiday mixes with nearly 450 different tracks among them, I figured it was high time this year see to it that Bing Crosby is represented in my collection, so I saved a spot for him on my latest mix. I chose this particular number largely because it's played less often than many of Crosby's other holiday tunes. I also chose it because it's one of the hokiest tunes I've ever heard. That distinction, of course, appeals to me.

"Christmas Dinner Country Style" was first released in 1962 on the album I Wish You a Merry Christmas. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a holiday table covered with a bountiful assortment of traditional Christmas dishes. The song borrows generously from another of Bing's earlier songs, "Country Style," from the 1947 film Welcome Stranger. Both are presented in "square dance calling" style, although "Country Style" is performed at a real square dance, while this holiday version describes the passing of the various dishes up and down the table as if it, too, were a square dance:

Mother, mother, everybody's starving,

Mother, mother, let's eat.

“Hold your horses, got a million courses,

And I'm fixin' a treat.”

Jeremiah, go and help your mother,

Jane and Jonah, you too.

Ezekiah, go and get your brother,

Then fetch Jamie and Sue.

Mother, mother, everybody's happy,

Got a reason to smile.

“Cause you know that I'm about to serve a

Christmas dinner country style.”

Christmas dinner country style!

Everybody sit and bow your head,

We'll all say grace, and then break bread.

Put your napkin on your lap,

While Judd pours cider from the tap.

Oh, don't that turkey look divine?

Well, promenade it down the line.

Plenty of dark, we’re long on white,

So Alby, hand the platter to your right.

Now sashay along that country ham

And double-sashay the marshmallow yams.

Swing to the left, and test that stuffin',

And swing to the right, a huckleberry muffin.

Time for your partner to reach across,

And do-si-do the cranberry sauce.

Have another helpin’, one and all,

And you with the rhubarb, swing to the wall.

Pass a little drumstick, if you please,

And promenade the pretty black-eyed peas.

Well, you all sashay and do-si-do,

So much turkey, you’re about to explode.

But you still gotta swing to the pickled quince,

Choose your pie, either pumpkin or mince.

Oh dinner was grand, to say the least,

So honor the lady who cooked the feast.

Mother, mother, thank you for the dinner,

All the fixin’s were great,

“Nothin' to it, mighty glad to do it,

Seeing how much you ate."

Jeremiah, go and get your fiddle,

Come on father, let's dance!

I'm too full of turkey and the stuffing,

I ain’t taking a chance.

It’s a very, very merry Christmas,
Got a reason to smile,
Mother, mother, everybody loved your Christmas dinner, country style.
Christmas dinner, country style!

Listen to Bing Crosby's "Christmas Dinner, Country Style"

Back in a day or two with notes about the next few tracks from this year's mix!

C'est Noel, Part 12 (Tracks 31-32)

Here are a couple of thoughts about the next two tracks from my latest holiday mix, C'est Noel:

Track 32

Happy Holiday, by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé (1964)

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé were most popular with folks a couple of generations before me, and I can't say I know an awful lot about them or their music. I know them more as cultural icons, thanks to their appearances on shows like The Nanny and satirical bits about them like Phil Hartman's 1991 Sinatra Group sketch on Saturday Night Live. Nevertheless, the news of Eydie's passing pained me. Since her marriage to Steve in 1957 the two were practically inseparable, and they seemed to love working together. I've enjoyed what music of theirs I've heard, and they've certainly released a prodigious amount of great Christmas music. For this year's mix, I chose their version of "Happy Holiday," which was written by Irving Berlin and first performed by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in the 1942 film Holiday Inn. In the movie, the song was performed on New Year's Eve, and the lyrics are sufficiently vague so that it could actually be sung on almost any holiday and still work. But it's come to be seen as a Christmas song, and it's usually presented as "Happy Holiday" instead of "Happy Holidays" to emphasize the identification with Christmas alone.

Track 31

Christmas Is for the Children, by David Frost (1970)

David Frost and Richard Nixon

I can remember when David Frost's talk show first started to air in the United States, and for awhile here, he was a huge success. This was the late 1960s, and Frost was showing up the likes of Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas. I remember at the time that my mother and the other stay-at-home moms in the neighborhood were especially keen on him, and somehow I associated a British accent with popularity and success. Frost didn't stay on top for long, but his career enjoyed a definite resurgence in 1977 when he scored a major interview deal with former President Richard M. Nixon and managed to get the former president to acknowledge that he'd let the country down. Frost died this summer at the age of 74, and in his honor I added a little snippet he recorded in 1970 about a fellow hotel guest he'd met whose words and actions on the subject of Christmas are at odds with one another.

(Some people have reported problems listening to the SoundCloud clip, above. If you can't hear it, try clicking HERE.)

Nixon's Christmas Morning Call to LBJ in 1971

There's no music in today's clip, but it's a rather fascinating piece of audio nevertheless. This is a recording of a short phone call from President Richard Nixon in the White House to former President Johnson on his Texas ranch on Christmas Day 1971. Johnson sounds like he's having a terrific time with his family, as he's laughing and talks about being surrounded by toys. Nixon, on the other hand, sounds about as awkward and ill-at-ease as ever. Mrs. Nixon is apparently elsewhere. Lady Bird Johnson's mention of Mrs. Eisenhower suggests that she may have been spending the holidays at the White House. Former President Eisenhower died two years earlier, and, of course, her grandson, David, was married to Nixon's youngest daughter, Julie. Things would slide downhill rather quickly for both men after this. Johnson's health declined rapidly in 1972 and he suffered a fatal heart attack in January 1973. Nixon visited China and won re-election in 1972, but the Watergate break-in took place in June, and by early 1973, his administration had begun to unravel. Give this tape a listen. It's not often that we get to listen to them instead of the other way around. (Apologies for the volume on the Texas side of the call. You have to turn the volume up pretty high to hear President Johnson, although Nixon comes through loud and clear. I guess he's got more experience with taping devices than most other presidents.)

Working Alone in the Office on New Year's Eve, Nixon Sends Holiday Wishes by Phone

Nixon at His Desk (notice the buttoned jacket)

I've always been a history buff, and from a very young age I've been interested in reading about our nation's political leaders. Growing up in Massachusetts, I idolized John F. Kennedy, and he and his two younger brothers remain my personal heroes to this day. I've also had a longstanding interest -- a fascination, really -- in their nemesis and contemporary, Richard Nixon. My parents were Republicans for the most part, as was I until college, but by the time he left the White House in 1974 I'd come to detest President Nixon and most of what he represented; in fact, the night he resigned I led a small group of other kids on a celebratory parade around the small Maine island where we spent our childhood summers. Over the years, I've developed a more balanced view of our 37th president. Thanks to his infamous secret taping system, we've all had a chance to eavesdrop on some of his most private White House conversations, and while much of what he said is repulsive and pathetic, it's hard not to feel a certain measure of sympathy for someone who was so awkward and uneasy in his own skin. I've included excerpts from Nixon's White House tapes in at least a couple of my previous holiday CDs, and I was thrilled this year to discover recordings of two telephone calls the President made on New Year's Eve in 1971. Looking back, these calls were made at the height of Nixon's presidency, some six months before the third-rate burglary at the Watergate that became his undoing. Of course, he couldn't have known what lay ahead, nor did he seem to appreciate the relative strength of his political position at the time. These two calls reflect a certain unease and insecurity, wrapped tightly, as usual, in a masque of resolve and bravado. This New Year's Eve found Mr. Nixon alone in the Oval Office, working late, as he told one of the men he called that night, on "the year-end review." 

Nixon's first call was to Elmer Bobst, a former pharmaceutical executive and old friend of President Eisenhower who had become something of a mentor to President Nixon (and one of the very few who could get away with calling him "Dick" in conversation).  It was a touching call in many respects, from Bobst's enthusiastic review of Nixon's performance to the President's awkward assertion that Bobst "still ran with the best of them" when it came to the society circuit.  But despite his able performance as a stand-in presidential father figure, Bobst's public image ultimately sunk well below even Nixon's own.  For one thing, he was later revealed to be a notorious anti-Semite, telling the President later that year that "Jews have troubled the world from the very beginning" and were responsible for most of the country's ills. Perhaps more shocking, Bobst was later accused of repeatedly raping his two granddaughters, starting when the youngest was four years old. Making money and wielding power clearly have nothing to do with moral character. 

Nixon's second New Year's Eve call was to someone far better known than Bobst, and certainly more respected -- future President George H.W. Bush, who held a variety of different posts in the Nixon and Ford administrations. Two years earlier, Bush had given up a safe congressional seat at Nixon's urging to challenge Texas Democrat Ralph Yarborough for his seat in the U.S. Senate. Yarborough had become increasingly liberal while serving in the Senate and it was assumed he'd have considerable trouble getting re-elected in Texas, which was true, as he never made it to the general election but rather was defeated in the Democratic primary by fellow Democrat Lloyd Bensten. Far more moderate than Yarborough, Benstsen had  lots of Texas oil money behind him, and he went on to defeat Bush in the general election. Nixon rewarded Bush for his sacrifice by making him U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a position Bush was still getting used to at the time of Nixon's call.  Bush was viewed as something of a Republican wunderkind at the time, although he was sufficiently modest to take issue with Nixon's strong review of his recent performance and to later tell the President he thought he'd let him down.  It was also interesting to hear the President ask Bush whether he enjoyed "fighting that New York society crowd" (that presumably included Elmer Bobst).  "I don't like that part of it," Bush responded emphatically, before quickly, and wisely, changing the subject.

It's not clear how late Mr. Nixon remained in the office that New Year's Eve, but hopefully he left for the mansion well before midnight and was able to enjoy some quiet time with family and friends.

Tomorrow is Election Day, and the curtain will soon come down on one of the least attractive presidential campaigns in my lifetime.  In some ways, this year's contest makes me yearn for the relative civility of Nixon's day.  This blog is about holiday music, not politics, but my thinking about this Election Day was expressed rather eloquently by the unrepentant progressive rocker who spent much of today traveling with the President on Air Force One:

Don't forget to vote!

For your Election Day enjoyment, here are several moving tributes in song to our 37th president:

Richard Nixon in '76

The Great Richard Nixon

Richard M. Nixon (God's Infinite Wisdom)