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MUSIC AND POP CULTURE BLOG, Written by Alan L. Chrisman

A variety of writings on a variety of music and pop culture

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"AULD LANG SYNE", GUY LOMBARDO & DICK CLARK'S ROCKIN' NEW YEARS EVE

12/30/2014

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“AULD LANG SYNE”, GUY LOMBARDO, DICK CLARK’S ROCKIN’ NEW YEAR’S EVE

By Alan L. Chrisman   

When the calendar year was changed by the Church under Pope Gregory X111 in 1582, from the old Roman Julian calendar to better line up Easter with the Spring Equinox, and account for an uneven lunar cycle, the end of the year was designated to be December 31.  Ever since, most English-speaking countries have celebrated New Year’s Eve by saying good-bye then, to the previous year and welcoming in the New Year.

“Auld Lang Syne” has long been one of the songs to be played and sung at that time, at the stroke of midnight. The words to it are based on a poem, “Auld Lang Syne” (meaning ‘old long since’) by Scottish poet, Robbie Burns, and the melody is taken from a traditional Scottish folk tune.  As the Scots and others from The British Isles settled around the world they brought it with them and commemorated the occasion, so it became part of North America’s traditions.

One of the musicians most associated with “Auld Lang Syne” for years was Guy Lombardo.  Lombardo was actually originally Canadian and he and his big-band dance group, The Royal Canadians, popularized it.  Lombardo was the headliner on New Year’s Eve for almost half a century at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel and later at the Waldorf Astoria from 1924 on, where live remotes were broadcast in conjunction with celebrations on Times Square, which had become the center of  American festivities.  Those shows, first on radio then on TV, were transmitted into millions of American homes and became part of the shared tradition.

By the 70’s, rock ‘n ‘roll promoter and founder of American Bandstand, Dick Clark, had up-dated and began hosting the show for younger generations. He called his show, “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve’ and Clark’s array of acts, whomever was currently popular, soon became the most watched.   The carried-on tradition of watching the ball drop as everyone counted down the arrival of the New Year, became part of the ritual from New York’s Times Square, the center of New Year’s Eve celebrations in America. Clark continued on until, after a stroke in 2004, he had to eventually pass the hosting duties on to Ryan Seacrest.  

But even today, the first song played is still Guy Lombardo’s version of “Auld Lang Syne”.  Since John Lennon’s death in New York in 1980, his anthem, ”Imagine” ,is also poignantly played as well as Frank Sinatra’s “ New New York”.  For thousands who gather in Times Square, as well as millions more watching around the world, it has become the occasion to kiss those close and say good-bye to the old year and welcome in the coming year and say, “Happy New Year!”

Below Rod Stewart doing “Auld Lang Syne” at Scotland’s Stirling Castle, 2012:

http://youtu.be/Al7ONqrdscY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al7ONqrdscY

“AULD LANG SYNE”

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne*?


CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.


 

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Scottish poet, Robert Burns is credited with "Auld Lang Syne" words, later set to a traditional Scottish tune: Guy Lombardo , big-band leader, popularized it for New Years in North America
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EL TOPO:  THE MOST AMAZING FILM YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER SEEN !

12/29/2014

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EL TOPO: THE MOST AMAZING FILM YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER SEEN ! 
By Alan L. Chrisman

My hero, John Lennon, said El Topo was the best film he’d seen, so of course, I had to check it out.  It contains everything I usually don’t like in films: bloody violence, gratuitous sex, heavy symbolism, etc. The first time I saw it, half the audience walked out; the rest gave it a standing ovation-my kind of movie!  By the end of the film, I found myself weeping. I didn’t know just what I had just seen, but I knew it was great.

El Topo is an American-Mexican film written, directed, and acted by  Alejandro Jodorowsky, a Chilean avant-garde theatre director who studied mime and it was originally released in 1970.  It’s hard to describe really-perhaps Fellini meets The Good, Bad, and The Ugly.  Some have called it an Eastern-Western. It’s basically the story of a violent, leather-clad gunman who has to meet and defeat several “masters” while on a journey to enlightenment. El Topo is loosely based on a South American allegory: El Topo (The Mole, in Spanish) spends its life underground and when it finally reaches the surface, it is blinded by the sun.

Along the way, Jodorowsky skewers every Western icon and adds in eastern spiritual influences. He juxtaposes the most brutal images of our civilization with, somehow at the same time, the most touching human images (the visuals are stunning), with biting, satirical humor.  The first time I saw it I didn’t really understand its many layers, but gradually after more viewings over the years, I began to realize it all did fit together like a clockwork.  El Topo became a cult film and instigated the concept of special regular Midnight Screenings in New York and in cities around the world. I first saw it in Montreal and it was shown  Saturday mid-nights for several years after.

John and Yoko attended that first New York screening in New York and championed it, arranging for the Beatles’ manager at the time, Allen Klein, to take over its distribution and release its soundtrack (Jodorowsky also wrote the music). An experience, I suppose, is the best way to describe the film.  Some, as I say, will like it and others will be revolted.  But it was loved by Lennon (an equivalent, perhaps, to his surrealist songs, I am The Walrus and Strawberry Fields Forever) and by George Harrison and Bob Dylan, and had an influence on many other artists, musicians, and directors from David Lynch, Dennis Hopper, to Marilyn Manson. Peter Gabriel says it inspired the Genesis album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Jodorowsky would make a sequel of sorts, The Holy Mountain in 1973 (in which he even includes a character satirizing Allen Klein, his producer) and Klein would later sue Jodorowsky, preventing him from making more films for years.  But recently, there was a documentary about a proposed project where Jodorowsky was to make a film of the Frank Herbert classic Sci-Fi. book, Dune, which never got off the ground. El Topo then is a unique cinematic experience; some will love; some will hate, like all great art.  But for those without weak stomachs, but yet for those with strong minds, it’s highly recommended, checking out at least.  By the end of the film, as happened with me, you might even find yourself crying at humanities’ both ugliness and beauty.

El Topo along with The Holy Mountain and some of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s other work was finally released in 2007 on DVD.

Below  Alejandro Jodorowsky’s trailer from the film, " El Topo":

http://youtu.be/FjKcuh8pZtE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjKcuh8pZtE&feature=youtu.be



The main character goes through many changes and appearances, all played by Alejandro Wodorowsky:  

 

 


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"THE INTERVIEW":  A JUVENILE DICTATOR & A JUVENILE FILM

12/25/2014

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THE INTERVIEW: A JUVENILE DICTATOR & A JUVENILE MOVIE

BY Alan L. Chrisman


Everyone all around, in this whole The Interview movie brouhaha, has acted like big children.  Of course, first the tin-pot dictator of North Korea, of whom the movie makes fun. Then Sony Pictures, for first pulling the film and, now under pressure, releasing it to select theatres and on the internet.

All the conservative flag wavers got up in arms about how they weren’t going to let a foreign power tell Americans what film they could watch. Then the liberals joined in and yelled, “censorship”. Even President Obama weighed in, saying Sony should have called him first. The FBI laid the attack at North Korea’s door, supposedly.  At least, Obama didn’t characterize it, as some conservatives did, as an act of war, but instead called it “cyber vandalism” and said the U.S. would act proportionally. Then suddenly North Korea’s own internet was hacked, (likely by the U.S.)  North Korea, evidently doesn’t have much internet access anyway.  But the whole thing could have been right out of a Marx Bros. movie.

Of course, Hollywood couldn’t have dreamed up a better publicity stunt to get people into the theatres for one of their lesser efforts.  For now, not only conservative flag wavers and but liberals too, (plus all those who just want be part of the latest thing, like the latest Apple product) are lining up.  It’s the perfect storm for marketing an otherwise, with both critics and Rotten Tomatoes giving mixed reviews at best, for basically a mediocre slacker comedy.  We have people going to see it not for entertainment, but for principle, even. We live in a very politically–correct society these days and it leads to some often-strange reactions.  Hollywood, primarily liberals, despite their making plenty of violent films, says we’ve got to protect our rights to produce “art”, even if that stretches the concept far indeed, in a lot of cases.  

Most Korean experts say, the peculiar dictator or whoever is actually running the place, just really want the world’s attention, and that’s why they perhaps try these often-ridiculous stunts.  But it seems to me, he or they are just like a big schoolyard bully, and should be dealt with the same basic way.  Of course, a bully should not be allowed to continue his little power games, but he should be answered appropriately. Yet we should not over-react either and think just by attending a facile movie, it’s going to “show” them and yelling “free speech” coming out of a movie theatre and by making it into a “cause celeb.”

Sony and many other companies and organizations should have been aware of cyber attackers, whether they be foreign or individuals, and have had better protections of their data in place (some of their own employees are now suing them over this). Edward Snowden revealed to the public just how many governments including the U.S. are doing this too.

But all the uproar and over-reaction seem to be almost as juvenile as the instigators’ childish attempts and for such a juvenile movie.  Dumb and Dumber indeed!

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KIM JONG-UN, the real dictator of North Korea, was already a sad joke, but people shouldn't over-react
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"WHITE AND BLUE CHRISTMAS" & ELVIS' CHRISTMAS ALBUMS

12/24/2014

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”WHITE AND BLUE CHRISTMAS’” & ELVIS’ CHRISTMAS ALBUMS
 (Part of a series on Xmas songs) By Alan L. Chrisman


White Christmas is one of the most recorded songs in popular music and written by one of the best songwriters in the 20th century, Irving Berlin. Originally, it was composed for the 1942 movie, Holiday Inn, starring Fred Astaire and Bing Cosby, who sings it during the film and it became a big hit. The song’s name became the title to the later film, White Christmas, in 1954, starring Danny Kaye and with again, Bing Crosby, singing it in the film. The theme of both movies was the main characters putting on a show over the holidays. Rosemary Clooney (George Clooney’s aunt) was also in the 1954 movie, and would have another big hit of it with her version.  Holiday Inn, the earlier one, is actually a better film, and the scene where Crosby sings the song for the first time near the end, to Marjorie Reynolds is, I think, one of the most romantic in cinema. “White Christmas”, sung by Bing Crosby, is the biggest selling single in history, selling over 50 million copies.

Since then, virtually every singer has tried to cover it.  But another, controversial version at the time, was Elvis’s, because his interpretation was more like the black group, The Drifters’ version.  Berlin had tried to have it stopped as he thought it demeaned his original intention for the song.  It’s on Elvis’ 1st Christmas Album, originally released in 1957, but re-issued many times. The album also contained “Silent Night”, “Here Comes Santa Claus” (by Gene Autry), “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (‘if only in my dreams’) and other traditional holiday standards. Elvis, always a big fan of gospel, also included four spirituals on the original album, including his previous hit, “Peace in The Valley”.  He’s accompanied by The Jordanaires.  A later re-issue replaced the spirituals with, “If Every Day Was like Christmas” and “Mama Liked the Roses”.

Then Elvis asked his often-song writers, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (who had written his hits, “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”, as well as many other songs for the Coasters, etc.) to come up with an original Xmas song.  Elvis starts the album with their R&B tune, “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”, and it sets the mood for the album.  Also Elvis does a re-make of the 1945 Ernest Tubb song, “Blue Christmas” (‘it’ll be a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas without you’) and it too would become identifiable with Elvis and become a holiday classic.  In 1971, Elvis would put out another Christmas album, Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (with more standards and the bluesy hit, “Merry Xmas, Baby”), with Elvis’ magnificent voice, re-interpreting the standards.

ELVIS performing his classic Xmas song, “Blue Christmas”, from his 1968 TV special:

http://youtu.be/L9-PN1sftaI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9-PN1sftaI

Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas to Marjorie Reynolds in the original 1942 film, Holiday Inn:

http://youtu.be/SvfhoWIPoVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvfhoWIPoVw

Elvis did “Merry Christmas Baby, with bluesy guitar by legendary James Burton, on his 2nd, 1971 Xmas Album:

http://youtu.be/zKN-iF5JyLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKN-iF5JyLs

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"WHITE CHRISTMAS" was written by Irving Berlin for the 1942 film, Holiday Inn, and first sung by Bing Crosby and became the most popular song of all time.
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THE BEATLES' XMAS MESSAGES ,1963-'69

12/22/2014

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THE BEATLES’ CHRISTMAS MESSAGES 1963-‘69

(Part of a Xmas music series) By Alan L. Chrisman


The Beatles recorded short Xmas messages especially for their Fan Club members. They were originally only available on flexi-discs and only in the U.K.  They were a mixture of skits, fractured holiday songs, and a few brief snippets of some original compositions.  Their statements were usually written by their press officer, Tony Barrow, but the boys would often make fun of the written script, and just mess around for their loyal fans, with the Beatles’ characteristic off-the-wall humour.

The first one was recorded in 1963 and the last one was in ’69.  They also used them to plug their latest single or album or film, but did so in a self-deprecating way, sometimes singing little parts of their latest songs, as well as made-up Xmas tunes.  In the 1965 message, they sing an off-key, “Yesterday” and in ’66, they sing a short original, “Everywhere It’s Christmas” and perform a Beatles’ pantomime skit. Tiny Tim sings “Nowhere Man” with a ukulele in 1968.  But by the final one in ‘69, with The Beatles basically falling apart, it was mainly John & Yoko, with Ringo promoting his Magic Christian film.  Most of the earlier years’ recordings weren’t available in the U.S., even to U.S. Fan Club members.

Finally in 1970, all the individual years’ messages were compiled on one vinyl record (From Then to You in the U.K. and called The Beatles’ Xmas Album in the U.S.) and other fans could finally get their own copy.  There were only a couple semi-completed original songs, such as “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)” and “ Everywhere It’s Xmas”, from the 1966 and ‘67 messages, and “Christmas Time” was later added to the other side of the “Free as a Bird” single and was on The Beatles’ Anthology in ’95.  They were really just The Beatles having fun and using inventive word play and making up things in the studio, but well worth listening to, if you haven’t heard them, especially for the holidays.

The Beatles doing, “Christmas Time (Is Here Again”), from Beatles’ Xmas message, 1967:

http://youtu.be/XK7O_afAXf4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK7O_afAXf4

The Beatles doing, “Everywhere It’s Xmas”, from the 1966 message:

http://youtu.be/b1zvoVi3fCU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1zvoVi3fCU

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Above top original flexi-disc for U.K. Fan Club only; Finally in 1970, all the messages were released in  England and North American Fan Clubs on one regular vinyl LP
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SANTA CLAUS, " Rudolph" & Night Before Xmas-The Origins

12/22/2014

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SANTA CLAUS, RUDOLPH, & NIGHT BEFORE XMAS- THE ORIGINS

(Part of series on Xmas) By Alan L. Chrisman


Santa Claus (St. Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle) goes back to pagan times. But he didn't appear in North America until the Civil War. Based on the 1922 poem, "A visit from St. Nickolas'" (Night Before Xmas), cartoonist, Thomas Nast drew him to cheer up Union troops. By the 1920's & 30's, advertisers like Coca Cola had commercialized him into the image today.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" the story was created by Robert May. His wife had died of cancer before Xmas, and he didn't have any money, so he wrote it for his daughter as a gift. Montgomery Ward featured it in their line of coloring books in 1939. The song was written by May's brother-in -law, Johnny Marks, who wrote as well, several other Xmas songs, "Holly Jolly Xmas", etc. Cowboy actor, Gene Autry first recorded it in 1949; it sold 2 1/2 million copies the 1st year alone.

“THE NIGHT BEFORE XMAS"(Visit from St. Nick) poem was written by Clement Moore in 1822 to shift away from the primarily religious Xmas Day to Xmas night and towards children. That, along with Santa's image, became part of our culture:

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads,


 

Gene Autry had Xmas hit with “ Rudolph” in 1949:

http://youtu.be/7ara3-hDH6I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ara3-hDH6I

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 Above top original "Santa" Image from Thomas Nast in 1865 moved to commercialized icon for Coca Cola and others by the 1920's
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Clement Moore's original poem, "Visit from St. Nick"( Night Before Xmas) in 1822, inspired image and icon of "Santa Claus"
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"MERRY XMAS BABY", "PLEASE COME HOME FOR XMAS", CHARLES BROWN

12/18/2014

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“MERRY XMAS BABY”, “PLEASE COME HOME FOR XMAS”, CHARLES BROWN (Part of a series on Xmas-rock songs) By Alan l. Chrisman

Charles Brown, a R&B piano player and singer in the 1950’s had Xmas hits with, “ “Merry Xmas Baby” and his own composition, ”Please come Home For Xmas.”  Brown’s laid-back jazzy-blues style piano playing had a big influence on, especially Ray Charles., who himself did a cover of “Merry Xmas Baby”.  It’s also been recorded by Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Springsteen, Etta James, and Rod Stewart and Cee Lo Green.

Elvis would have his own Xmas hit with it, off his second Xmas album, Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas in 1971. It’s a great rendition of the song with  blues-guitar work by the legendary James Burton (see previous blog: “Rick Nelson: More Than a Teen Idol” & James Burton”).   Many people too did covers over the years, of Brown’s, “ Please Come Home For Christmas”, including James Brown, Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi, Lady Antebellam, Grace Potter, etc. But The Eagles’ version in 1997 is probably the next most well-known.  It’s sometimes called, “The Bells Are Ringing” because that’s its beginning words.

Elvis singing a bluesy version of “Merry Xmas Baby” from his 2nd Christmas album, 1971:

http://youtu.be/rJcJbVBwREc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJcJbVBwREc

The Eagles doing Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home For Xmas”, 1997:

 http://youtu.be/XeShHAZk3to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeShHAZk3to

 

 

 


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XMAS NOVELTY SONGS:  "CHIPMONKS ' XMAS" & "SNOOPY'S XMAS"

12/17/2014

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NOVELTY XMAS SONGS: "CHIPMONKS' XMAS" & "SNOOPY’S XMAS"

(Part of series on Xmas-pop songs) By Alan L. Chrisman


Alvin and The Chipmonks’ Christmas song, “Christmas (Don’t Be Late)”, was first a hit in 1958.  They were three fictional chipmonk characters, all created and voiced by songwriter, producer, and actor, Ross Bagdasarian. He created the high–pitched voices of the group by speeding up the tape (something he had experimented with on his earlier hit, “Witch Doctor”). He had developed three separate characters in the chipmonks:  Alvin the spoiled one, Simon the intellectual and Theodore the chubby, shy one and Bagdasarian plays their father/manager, David Saville.  During the Xmas song, Alvin starts to act out, as Saville tries to get them back to singing the song-“ALVIN!.”

The Chipmonks would go on to have several more albums and cartoons and animated features with them for years to come. But their Xmas song also became a part of many children’s lives growing up.

Another novelty song was “Snoopy’s Christmas”.  The performers, The Royal Guardsmen, actually from Florida, changed their name to cash in on the British Invasion theme. They had had an earlier hit in 1966 with “Snoopy VS. The Red Baron”.  Snoopy was, of course, based on the Charles Shultz cartoon character. In fact, when they had first released “Red Baron” in Canada on a small Canadian label, Laurie Records,(the Red Baron was a infamous German pilot in WW1, who had been shot down by Canadian ace, Billy Bishop) Shultz had tried to stop the song, but it became a big hit and he relented. The Royal Guardsmen followed up the song with “Snoopy’s Christmas” the next year, and it too became a holiday novelty hit.

 Alvin & The Chipmonks sing their novelty Xmas song, “Christmas (Don’t Be Late”:

 http://youtu.be/6hAUWyp0qzs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hAUWyp0qzs

ROYAL GUARDSMEN doing 1967 Xmas hit, “ Snoopy’s Christmas”:

http://youtu.be/MSFQzyNJzj0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSFQzyNJzj0

 

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First released “Red Baron” in Canada on a small Canadian label, Laurie Records,(the Red Baron was a infamous German pilot in WW1, who had been shot down by Canadian ace, Billy Bishop) Shultz had tried to stop the song, but it became a big hit. and he used it as part of his cartoon shows. 
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"RUN RUN RUDOLPH" XMAS ROCK 'N' ROLL CLASSIC

12/16/2014

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"RUN RUN RUDOLPH"-XMAS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CLASSIC
(Part of a series on Xmas-pop songs) By Alan L. Chrisman


Run Rudolph Run has become a Christmas rock favorite. Originally recorded by Chuck Berry in 1958 as a Chess Records single, musically it sounds a lot like his defining song, “.Johnny B. Good”. Although often credited to him, it was actually written by Johnny Marks (who wrote the original “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer’).

But Berry, one of the true fathers of rock ‘n’ roll, rocked it up. But everybody from Keith Richards to Bryan Adams to Whitney Houston to Conan Obrien has recorded it at one time.

Still probably the best-known versions are by Chuck Berry and Keith Richards. Richards released it as a Xmas single in 1978 with Jimmy Cliff’s reggae song, “The Harder They Come” on the B side. A real rock ‘n’ roll Christmas rocker!

 See below CHUCK BERRY’S original 1958 version of “Run Run Rudolph”:

http://youtu.be/cCXx1Z8srYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCXx1Z8srYY

 See Below Keith Richards 1978 version,“Run Run Rudolph”:

http://youtu.be/Ym62kKIydo8

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"12 DAYS OF XMAS"/CANADIAN STYLE

12/16/2014

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“12 DAYS OF XMAS”/ CANADIAN STYLE

( Part of a series on Xmas-pop songs) By Alan l. Chrisman

“The 12 Days of Xmas” by fictional Canadians Bob and Doug McKenzie (played by comedians Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) became a North American hit in the early 80’s.

Actually, it all started as a joke on the government requirement for Canadian content.  Moranis and Thomas had been part of the satirical group spoofing the running of a low budget TV station, SCTV. When they moved to the bigger CBC network, they were told they had to fill the remaining 2 minutes with Canadian content, which they thought was ridiculous. So they just improvised with all the Canadian stereotypes they could come up with; dressing in lumberjack shirts, wearing toques, talking about hockey, beer, and Tin Horton’s coffee. They called each other “hosers” and say, “Eh”, a lot.

But to their and everyone’s surprise, suddenly, it became the most popular part of the show.  Soon Moranis and Thomas parlayed the two dim-witted characters into a bestselling album, The Great White North, and even a movie, Strange Brew in ’83.  On their album they did a take-off on the traditional “12 Days of Xmas”, adding in their own juvenile list of items, and the fractured song also became a Christmas hit.  Another song, “Take-off”, on the album also featured Canadian band, Rush, member Geddy Lee.

Thomas along with later, Saturday Night Live’s Martin Short, Gilda Radner, and David Letterman’s band leader, Paul Shaffer, had all been a part earlier of the Toronto production of Godspell.  And Thomas (who did a great impression of Bob Hope) was, along with Moranis, in the SCTV show with John Candy, Andrea Martin, and Eugene Levy (American Pie films).  SCTV was probably the closest to a Canadian version of Monty Python. Both Thomas and Moranis had also been members of the improvisational group, Second City.  Moranis did an accurate impression of Woody Allen and would appear in several Hollywood movies, Ghostbusters, Flintstones and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.  Both would also play their characters on The Simpsons.

So for something which had originally started out as complaining about a government requirement and was full of somewhat-demeaning Canadian stereotyping, it became, ironically, popular with Canadians and in the U.S. too.  They even got a satire of a traditional Xmas classic out of it, with their “12 Days of Xmas” take-off.

Bob and Doug McKenzie doing their Canadian version of “12 Days of Xmas”:

http://youtu.be/1DTwLqR071M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DTwLqR071M

   

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    Alan Chrisman went to Purdue U. and U. of Ill.(International Relations), came to Canada, was influenced by The Beatles, and became involved in many aspects of music and writing.

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