Category: pop music

So what have we learned from a decade of Christmas songs?

England’s Elvis, Billy Fury, first charts in 1959 with pretty pieces like “My Christmas Prayer.” In the ’60s he will rival The Beatles for top ten hits in the UK. But this style of rock is getting old here.

Johnny Houston, with “Gimme a Kiss for Christmas,” rocks it Fats Domino style, but colors between the lines without going for it. We need to trade up.

Nearly a dozen different doo wop groups with names like Marquis stepped off street corners in Detroit, Chicago, Philly, and Nyark to lay down tinselly tracks. It would take a meticulous musicologist to trace each’s hit list. For now, let us bask in the Marquees’ “Santa Done Got Hip.” It will make you more hip. Then, sit down comfortably, because “Christmas in the Congo” by Marquees just got weird.

Girls gotta rock, too. Marquerita Trina syncopates “The Rocking Tree” to a wailing sax and a playful axe.

More Detroit doo wop, natch! The 4 Imperials recorded only for a couple years. In fact “Santa Got a Coupe DeVille” may be their last platter. But with it we’re riding roadster rock into the ’60s.

Boyhood chum of Rickie Nelson, Zane Ashton (orig. Bill Aken) was one of those guys in The Wrecking Crew, the musicians all cool rock gods in the ’60s had lay down tracks for them in the studio recordings.  Not much of a soloist, here is an early rockabilly number from him “The Christmas Spirit.” What an acid trip of echo effects and tinkly percussion.

Edd Byrnes is known as ‘Kookie’ from the ABS detective series 77 Sunset Strip. Here’s a wild ride from him: “Yulesville/Lonely Christmas.” I don’t know what to tell you, except that’s 1959, baby.

Canadian rockers The Martels bring it home with “Rockin’ Santa Claus.” Dance, Dancer, dance!

post scriptum:

I’ve had some fun judging sounds of the ‘Fifties, but i don’t know the history of rock ‘n’ roll at all. I have skimmed some websites, researched some groups, and drawn my own conclusions for whatever humorous or profound effect i could conjure. Plenty better historians out there can set you straight as to the geneology of cool (like that blackboard in ‘School of Rock’). I’m just sharing what i’ve heard and what i’ve found and i hope that twists no ones nose. Peace.

Music matures before our eyes here. Music for under-thirties all begins to sound like rock.

Switching up honky tonk country with a twist of the blues, Chuck Berry has been blasting out the hits since ‘Maybellene’ in 1955. This year with “Merry Christmas Baby” Berry plays it cool. Cool as a rock.

Switching up doo wop with a percussive beat, The Montereys wail in an unreleased single from near this time (?) “Santa Claus Gained More Weight.” Are you not rocked?

Switching DOWN the gospel with tubular bells and a touch of sass, Georgia Harris and The Lyrics propose “Let’s Exchange Hearts for Xmas.” Rockety rock, McRockerson.

The only trend in rock we have to watch out for is the white sport coat crowd, the follow-authority fellas and ladies who think The Four Aces are just swell. These types rock out to the tunes ‘Love is a Many Splendored thing’ and ‘Three Coins in the Fountain.’ I guess the boys can’t help how white they are. Bear in mind they started the ‘Fifties with an odd number (‘There’s a Christmas Tree in Heaven’), and now continue the blah band sound (‘bland’) of “The Christmas Tree.” Fairy land, kids!

 

Elvis releases his first single (‘That’s All right’) this year. Let’s see what the new generation is listening to for the holidays…

Betty Johnson cashes in on the pop parade with “I Want Eddie Fisher for Christmas.” Oddly this tepid waltz does not seem to be the class of music Eddie Fisher would want to be a part of. Linda Strangis leads Spike Jones and His City Slickers with another (jazzier) rendition.

The height of doo wop for the holidays becomes “White Christmas” by The Drifters. This today has become a standard and sadly has become mired in controversy over who created the wonderful blackening of Der Bingle. Let’s just say Cool.

Swinging and hep, the Davis Sisters deliver “The Christmas Boogie.” Adapting boys’ doo wop with their own amazing gospel, these sisters testify to the rock. Wild!

Ramping up that doo wop, Oscar McLollie and the Honey Jumpers wail out “Dig that Crazy Santa Claus.”

Getting down and dirty, Jimmy Butler marries honky tonk and blues in a preview of Jerry Lee Lewis with “Trim Your Tree.” Cover the children’s ears.

The Crew Cuts were Canadian Catholic choir boys barely out of school when discovered and put on the radio. This year they get away with insipid harmonies like “Twinkletoes” (next year is ‘Sh-Boom’). But you can tell they have promise with “Dance, Mr Snowman, Dance.” Cue the screaming girls.

Now that we’re afraid of the home invader who judges your worth, let’s beg “Don’t Kill Me, Santa.” Or better yet, let’s have The Oh Wells do it for us.

Let their millennial pop (love that trombone!) carry you to a land of paranoid sugar plums dancing in your head. Perhaps they’re no Seafood Mama, but they’ve got a great club presence.

Slamming guitar and heavenly harmonies from Ebeneezer Pop and the Scrooges gives us retro British Invasion style jingle. It also suffers from pontifically illustrated videography. “Santa Claus was Dead” may haunt you with its musical skill, but i doubt it’ll trouble your immortal soul.

These Vancouver (B.C.) partiers know how to entertain. And even better, how to connect Christmas, for J.C.’s sake, to yellow snow. I can’t find much about them apart from their Youtube channel, so good luck tracking down their albums.

But please shake it twice, zip it carefully, and listen up to The Ded Beats’ “Peesing in the Snow.”