Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! - Part 5

The principal raison d'être for this blog is to provide background on the various tracks on each of my annual holiday mixes. The current business at hand is a review of the 42 tracks on my latest mix, which is titled Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! It's currently available to one and all on my holiday music website under the Tab marked "Latest." If you'd like to hear mixes from previous years, there are 17 of them available under the "Archive" Tab. Feeling adventuresome? Be sure to check out the tab marked "Extras."

Now, back to the task at hand:

Track 14

Christmas in New England, The '60s Invasion (2015)

The '60s Invasion

I grew up in a house where music was almost always playing, and the first music I remember getting excited about was the stuff I heard coming out of my AM transistor radio in the late 1960s. Popular music in those days was exciting, novel and diverse. Stations weren't hyper-focused on narrow demographics as they are today — you'd often hear songs by such disparate acts as the Doors, the Temptations, Herb Albert, Cream and The Lemon Pipers one after the other on the very same station. To this day I'm not sure there's ever been a time when there was better music coming over the radio airwaves. Small wonder then that I was immediately taken by the sounds of a New England-based covers band called The '60s Invasion when I first heard them several years ago. I was even more excited to learn that they'd recorded an entire album of holiday songs based on various '60s classics. The album, released in 2012, is called Incense and Chia Pets, and it features 13 clever holiday take-offs on popular '60s hits that even most Millennials are sure to know. I've used two selections from this great album on my 2022 mix, the first of which, "Christmas in New England," is a holiday version of the Mamas and the Papas smash hit "California Dreaming." 

The '60s Invasion consists of Gino DiMaio on keyboard and vocals; Jack Little on bass and vocals; Artie Shannon on drums and vocals; Rich Ranalli on guitar and vocals; and Jake Smith on guitar, keyboard and vocals. The guys are primarily based in Massachusetts and Maine, and you can find out more about each of the members on their website, HERE.

Another song from the '60s Invasion pops up as Track 34 of this year's mix, which still leaves 11 other holiday-themed songs from the '60s to mine from their album. I have to confess, they're all great songs, so picking even two tracks to feature was no easy task.

Purchase selections from The '60s Invasion's "Incense and Chia Pets" from amazon.com

Hear "Christmas in New England," by The '60s Invasion

Track 13

God Rest Ye Free Speech, U.C. Berkeley Free Speechniks (1964)

While it didn't really start off this way, the 1960s also became known as a time of increasing activism and political protest, and one of the first major protests to attract widespread and serious attention was the so-called Free Speech Movement (FSM) that began at the University of California's Berkeley campus in 1964. Historians have noted that the FSM was the first significant protest to utilize some of the tactics developed in the civil rights movement on a university campus. 

Prior to the Fall of 1964, the corner of Bancroft and Telegraph in front of the southern entrance to the Berkeley campus had served as an informal gathering place for students to distribute political information and set-up tables for petitions and the distribution of literature. With increasing numbers of students becoming active in off-campus causes, however, the area had become somewhat unruly. In addition, increasing numbers of the activists who gathered there had no connection to the university. In late September, the school administration announced that tables would no longer be permitted in the area and collecting money or distributing information for or about outside causes would no longer be allowed.

Mario Savio Addresses Protestors

On September 30, students set up tables for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality.(CORE) in violation of the new rules. The students staffing the tables were referred for formal discipline by the school. The next day, a former student named Jack Weinberg who was staffing a table for CORE was arrested when he refused to take down the table. Hundreds of students mobilized in response to these actions and the FSM was born.

Describing the events that played out at Berkeley that Fall would require hundreds of pages and obviously take us far from the focus of this blog. Suffice it to say that while it took until the Christmas vacation, the forces that opposed the school's crack-down ultimately gained the upper hand. But it was a difficult fight that required the hard work of many committed participants. One of the most forceful and articulate of these was Mario Savio, whose remarks on the steps of Sproul Hall on December 2, 1964, are often cited as among the most powerful orations of the 20th century. 

As events neared their climax in December, a group of students who called themselves the Berkeley Free Speechniks reworked the words to a number of Christmas carols to press some of the points they were arguing in their struggle against the administration. I happened to discover a number of these short clips this year and I've included three of them in this year's mix. Each clip lasts only about 30 seconds, and I thought it would be useful to have these short snippets from history to remind us of what a dedicated group of students was able to accomplish against a powerful university administration 58 years ago.

It may be worth noting that the Free Speechniks released the following statement at the time their short carols were released:

In the spirit of farce, and of Christmas, these songs were written and sung. We of the FSM are serious, but we hope we are still able to laugh at ourselves, as well as those who would restrict our Constitutional freedoms.

The first clip is based on the familiar carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and while the name of this clip strikes me as odd, it really is titled "God Rest Ye Free Speech." The lyrics are as follows:

Hear "God Rest Ye Free Speech" and Other FSM Carols by the U.C. Berkeley Free Speechniks

See the FSM's "Free Speech Songbook"

Track 12
Santa's New Bag, Rudi and the Rain Dearz (1966)

As noted in yesterday's posting this year's mix includes three different versions of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag," and that count does not include "Santa's Got a Bag of Soul," at Track 4, or this number at Track 12, "Santa's New Bag," by Rudi and the Rain Dearz. In fact, a close listen to this tune reveals that it seems to be based more on "Jingle Bells" than anything by James Brown.

This tune appears on Volume 3 of the terrific compilation series "Santa's Funk and Soul Christmas Party," released on the Tramp Records label in 2015. Unfortunately, Rudi and the Rain Dearz appear to have released only this one tune before calling it quits. They didn't even record the B side of their own single — that went to a song called "I Stole Away on Christmas Day," by a group called Pretty Polly Pinecone. 

I'll be back with more before too long. Only 24 more shopping days until Christmas! 

Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! - Part 4

Here's some background on several more of the holiday tracks on my latest seasonal compilation, Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof!, which is available to hear or download on my holiday music website:

Track 11
Holiday Greetings, Peri Gilpin

I’m a longtime fan of the NBC sitcom Frasier, which ran for eleven seasons from September 1993 through April 2004. The show consisted of 264 episodes and won a record 37 primetime Emmy awards including five consecutive Emmys as outstanding comedy series. The program featured sharp writing, smart comedy and, best of all, a generous collection of offbeat and likeable characters. I especially liked Roz Doyle, who produced Frasier's call-in radio show. Actress Peri Gilpin played Roz for the show's entire 11-season run all eleven seasons and she did a terrific job of developing her multi-faceted character. Gilpin's short holiday greeting appears as Track 11 of this year’s mix.

Gilpin’s played a host of other roles in at least a dozen films and 50 or more television shows, including a major role as Kim Keeler on the ABC Family series Make It or Break It about the lives of teen gymnasts preparing and competing for the Olympic games. But she’ll always be best known for her work as the wisecracking, fun-loving Roz Doyle.

Frasier is said to be in development for a 10-episode reboot at Paramount+. Unfortunately, David Hyde Pierce has reportedly declined an invitation to return as Frasier’s brother, Niles, and John Mahoney, who played their father, Martin, died in 2018. We certainly hope that Roz will be included in whatever version of Frasier returns in the future.

Watch Clips of Roz Doyle's Funniest Moments on "Frasier"

Track 10
Santa's Got a Brand New Bag, Gary Walker (1965)

This year's mix includes three different novelty takes on James Brown's classic "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," which became the groundbreaking performer's first Top 10 hit in the late summer of 1965. This is hardly the first instance of a mainstream hit spawning one or more holiday knock-offs, but this song may hold the record for the greatest number of contemporaneous holiday novelty versions. Phil Milstein's pop culture website Probe Is Turning on the People cites six different versions that were released within 18 months of Brown's unforgettable original. While each version has its own unique style, all six assert that Santa, like Brown's "Papa," is updating his image. In the parlance of the time, a "brand new bag" referred to a new interest, style or way of doing things — specifically, in this context, an older man brave enough to strut his stuff on the dance floor and otherwise adopt the hip style of the younger generation. 

Of the three versions offered here, it's Gary Walker's that stays closest to Brown's original. Walker, originally known as Gary Leeds, recorded his version shortly after leaving The Standells, a Los Angeles-based band later known for their 1966 hit "Dirty Water." The following year, he moved to London and joined The Walker Brothers, who had a number of hits on both sides of the Atlantic including the Burt Bachrach song "Make It Easy on Yourself," which topped the British charts. The group disbanded in 1967 and while Gary continued to perform as a solo artist he failed to reach the charts again.

Listen to Gary Walker's version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Listen to The Walker Brothers' hit "Make It Easy on Yourself"

Track 9
Santa's Got a Brand New Bag, Joey Reynolds (1966)

Joey Reynolds

This next version is another radio DJ novelty record, not unlike Jerry Worsham's version of the Rolling Stones' "Get Off of My Cloud" (see Track No. 7, above). Joey Reynolds has been on the radio since the late 1950s and has worked at well over 30 different stations over the course of his long and storied career. Reynolds is known particularly for his on-the-air pranks and publicity stunts; in fact, he's sometimes referred to as one of radio's original "shock jocks."

Reynolds first made a name for himself in the 1960s and '70s as a popular but fairly typical Top 40 DJ in Cleveland; Detroit; Hartford, Connecticut, and his hometown of Buffalo, New York. While working in Buffalo, he turned down an opportunity to bring the Beatles to that city immediately after their American TV debut because he thought the quoted fee of $3500 was too high for a Monday night show. He was working in Detroit when he recorded "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag." 

Over the next 30 years, Reynolds worked at stations across the country, including WQV in Pittsburgh; KMPC, KRTH and KMGG in Los Angeles; WFIL in Philadelphia; WSHE, WQAM and WIOD in Miami; WFLY in Albany, New York, and WNEW in New York City. His show gradually transitioned from primarily music to predominately talk until by the time he joined WOR in New York City in 1996 it was pretty much exclusively talk. Reynolds stayed with WOR until 2010 and enjoyed even wider coverage while there through syndication. More recently, he had a Sunday evening show on New York's WABC.

Reynolds released a couple of additional novelty records over the years, but this was his sole holiday tune. Our loss, to be sure.

Listen to Joey Reynolds' version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Check out Joey Reynolds' Personal Website

Listen to the Joey Reynolds Show Theme by The Four Seasons

Check out Joey Reynolds' Demo Tape

I'll be back sometime soon with additional background on more of this year's selections including yet another version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag."

Christine McVie, 1943-2022

News of the passing of Christine McVie today was very difficult to hear and will be even tougher to process. McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, and while she maintained a relatively lower profile than her bandmates, she wrote many of the band's biggest hits and was in many ways the secret ingredient to its phenomenal success. Her very fine solo records and the album she recently recorded with Lindsey Buckingham are further evidence of her undeniable talent. Christine McVie is surely one of rock's greats and she'll be sorely missed.

Watch "Christine McVie:  Fleetwood Mac's Secret Weapon"

Top Christmas Toys from the 1960s and '70s

As a child of the '60s and '70s, quite a few of the toys in this video really resonate with me. Christmas was always a special time of year in our home, and my brother and I were the happy beneficiaries of our family's generosity. I loved my Etch-a-Sketch and Lite Brite toys, but was also slightly jealous of my female cousin the year she received an Easy-Bake oven! I marvel today about how my Dad kept up with the latest fads and always seemed to know which toys were most popular. 

I also have vivid memories of shopping trips to the Natick and Dedham malls in suburban Boston to buy my gifts to various family members, as well as the secretive wrapping parties at which they were wrapped. Things seemed less pressured and frantic in those days, and the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas seemed to last forever. I'm awfully grateful to have grown up when I did!

Learn more about Christmas in the 1960s

Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof! - Part 3

I hope everyone's enjoyed a pleasant Thanksgiving weekend, but that's coming to a close today and it's time to start getting serious about the upcoming holidays. Only 27 shopping days left until Christmas!

Let's get back to our ongoing effort to provide a little bit of this and that concerning the 42 tracks on my latest holiday mix, Hey! You! Get Off of My Roof!

Track 8

Holiday Greetings, Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

I'm not sure when this short holiday greeting was recorded, but I'm guessing it was sometime after the final episode of The Cosby Show aired on April 30, 1992. The first 20 or so years that followed the closing of this renowned series were pretty good ones for the cast and others associated with the show, as the respect they had earned opened countless doors in the entertainment industry. But after the show's principal was unmasked as a serial sexual abuser, the program lost some t of its luster. Among the consequences of Cosby's unforgiveable behavior was the devaluation of his hit program and the harm this caused to the many talented people who made the program successful. I can't be the only one who still sees Malcolm-Jamal Warner and thinks of Theo Huxtable, and wrong as it is this association is a little unsettling.

Happily, Warner's resume includes far more than his excellent work on The Cosby Show. Born in 1970, Warner was named for Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. Like his name, his career includes components that are both diverse and impressive. For one thing, he's had a variety of other great acting roles on TV. For example, he played Malcolm McGee on the hit UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, and Dr. Alex Reed in the sitcom Reed Between the Lines on BET. He also served as executive producer for the PBS children’s series The Magic School Bus. He has appeared in numerous films and acted in and directed a variety of other television shows. Warner is also a respected performance poet and plays bass guitar.

I was pleased to run across his recorded holiday greeting and am glad to include it on my 2022 mix. 

Hear Malcolm-Jamal Warner Discuss His Life as a Black Actor in Hollywood

Track 7

Get Off of My Roof, Jerry and the Landslides (1965)

The title track of this year's mix is, of course, a novelty adaptation of the classic Rolling Stones song "Get Off of My Cloud," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in November 1965. The song was featured on the group's album December's Children (And Everybody's), which was released the following month. The adaptation I've included on my mix is a holiday novelty record that was put together by Jerry Worsham, a Connecticut-based DJ who apparently intended to use it primarily to spice up his own show. According to Captain Wayne's Mad Music website, the Landslides were a group of Long Island musicians assembled by producer Ed Chalpin to record the music behind Worsham's lead vocals. According to the Mad Music site, Worsham laid down the lead vocal track by himself and never met the hired musicians who recorded the balance of the song. It doesn't appear that Jerry and the Landslides ever recorded a follow-up, or anything else for that matter, but luckily their holiday version of this 1965 hit was pressed and released by PPX Records so we can still enjoy it today.

Listen to the Rolling Stones' single "Get Off of My Cloud"

Listen to "Green Fire," the B-Side of "Get Off of My Roof" 

Track 6

I Want Eddie Fisher for Christmas, Betty Johnson (1954)

The oldest song on this year's mix was recorded 68 years ago by Betty Johnson, a 25-year-old North Carolina native who'd already been singing professionally for 16 years by the time she cut this record. Remarkably, she's still going strong today; in fact, her most recent album, a collaboration with two of her daughters and a granddaughter, was just released in 2018.

Johnson started singing with her parents and two brothers as The Johnson Family Singers in 1938. After winning a local talent competition, the group was signed by a popular AM radio station in Charlotte and before long Betty was given her own 15-minute show. As a teenager she was signed by Columbia Records but does not appear to have released any material for that label. In 1954, after releasing a children's album with country singer Eddie Arnold, Johnson recorded "I Want Eddie Fisher for Christmas," which was written by Joan Javits and Phil Springer, who previously wrote the hit "Santa Baby."

I suspect that many folks reading this today will be unfamiliar with the object of Betty's desire. Well, at the time this record was recorded, Eddie Fisher was among the country's biggest pop stars — earning fame as a singer, initially, and later starring in a number of hit movies. During the first half of the 1950s, 17 of Fisher's single records made Billboard's Top 10 with an additional 25 hitting the Top 40. Johnson was hardly the only woman to express an interest in the young Hollywood star. In 1955, Fisher married "America's sweetheart," actress Debbie Reynolds. Several years later Fisher divorced Reynolds and married actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Johnson remained active in show business for many years, juggling her recording and singing appearances with her family activities. She lived in New York City for a time and appeared on such programs as The Arthur Godfrey Show and The Tonight Show with Jack Parr.  

She continued to make records through the 1960s and beyond, although her biggest hits were released in the '50s, including "I Dreamed" from 1956; "Dream," released in 1958, and "You Can't Get to Heaven," from 1959.

Johnson was married three times and recently released "Four Shades of Gray," with her daughters and granddaughter.

Hear Betty Johnson sing "I Want Eddie Fisher for Christmas"

Visit Betty Johnson's Website

I'll be back in a day or two with more holiday music information. Be sure to enjoy all of your leftover holiday turkey!