Year-round Yuletide oddities
Strawberry Alarm Clock reached the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 with this single… sixteen weeks on the charts… gold plated by RIAA…. failed to break into the UK Singles Chart.
The ’60s Invasion keeps double entendre drug rock alive with “Incense and Chia Pets” dedicated to stocking stuffer nonsense gifts. Love ’em.
The Kingston Trio championed this song, but The Youngbloods made it a minor Hot 100, peaking at #62 and reaching #37 on the US adult contemporary chart… sales increased again when it was used in a radio public service announcement for the National Conference of Christians and Jews… the most-remembered version was a re-release in 1969, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The ’60s Invasion inventory Xmas traditions to this tune resulting in “Come on People (Have a Merry Christmas).” It does the job.
The Rolling Sones’ wry indictment of valium overuse by oppressed housewives first appeared as the opening track to the United Kingdom version of their 1966 album Aftermath. It was released as a single in the United States and peaked at #8 on the Billboard Singles Charts in 1966.
Send up the drug references! Balderdash & Humbug give voice to the overworked elves with “Santa’s Little Helpers.” Won’t you care?
This quintessential Bob Dylan number first appeared on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde… the 1976 single is the live version where he’d worked out the timing better concurrent with Hard Rain… never charted, although some of the later covers did well.
Anti-Cool goes the distance for “Stuck Inside the North Pole Blues.”
Shorty Long’s Motown number got medley-ized with ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ to make Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels chart busters… peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
“Santa with the Red Suit” from The ’60s Invasion describes our saint of gifts quite well.
The Yardbirds dropped Eric Clapton and scored a top ten hit here both USA and UK… may have ‘introduced’ Indian sitar-sound to Invasion rock… recorded several times.
The 60’s Invasion worries about Mr. N. Pole’s burden with “Sleigh Full of Toys.”
The Standells’ first major hit single landed on the Cash Box charts and peaked at #8… reached #11 on the Billboard singles charts… dedicated to Boston’s Charles River, the song is beloved by the city of Boston and its sports fans… oddly the song first became a hit in the state of Florida.
The ’60s Invasion take us to Grandma’s house because “I Love to Go to Grandma’s House.” More pollution reference?!
The Stones could do no wrong back the ’60s. After ‘Satisfaction’ they released this major success reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100–remained there for two weeks… stayed at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.
Bob Rivers goes Sinatra pastiche with the lounge lizard spin “Hey You! Get Off of My House!” Why!? Seth McFarland, sure, but why Bob?
The ’60s Invasion play in more Stones-ish with “Hey Dude (Get off of My Roof).” That’s more sensible.
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs spun up a worldwide success, selling three million copies and reaching No. 2 on the American Hot 100 chart… the first American record to sell a million copies during the British Invasion… stayed in the Hot 100 for a then-impressive 18 weeks… nominated for a Grammy Award… named Billboard’s “Number One Record of the Year” despite never reaching No. 1 on a weekly Hot 100… certified as gold by the RIAA.
The 60’s Invasion have some wintery fun with “Merry Christmas” looking out for Santa Claus. What’d Hattie say?
The Beatles’ melancholy reflective ode was nominated for six Grammys in total that year, and its album Help! was also nominated in four categories… won the Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Song of 1965″… ranked 13th on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”… and fourth on the magazine’s list “The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs” (compiled in 2010)… inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1997… voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners… voted the No. 1 pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine 1998…criticized for being mundane and mawkish… BBC (2012) reported that it remained the fourth most successful song of all-time in terms of royalties paid, having amassed a total of £19.5 million in payments (more than 2,200 cover version) one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music… after Muzak switched in the 1990s to programs based on commercial recordings, its inventory grew to include about 500 covers… Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) asserts that it was performed over seven million times in the 20th century.
Yeah, so let’s make some merry! The Mistletones bring their odd parody skills (with glass bells) to “Holidays.” Stresses the right notes.