Year-round Yuletide oddities
No, it’s not David Soul here!
Antonio Fargas was the jive talking informant who added color to the muscle car commercial that was this cop show. His 1980 single “It’s Christmas” is just as Jamaican flamboyant as a closeted drag queen can be. (His parents were Puerto Rican and Trinidadian.)
But “Christmas Eve 1953” is free form word jazz with a dollop of disco. Worth a listen.
The holidays include more than Christmas, as many other cultures get holy-rolly this time of year for their own simpatico reasons.
Thus we include a mention to the Wiccan-mystic underground fantasy creatures who worry about the big bell overhead. “The Bells of Fraggle Rock” mentions no Santa, no JC, no mistletoe… but it is in the spirit of the season relying on faith–not proof.
Silent film for kids, this long running cartoon series without dialog appealed to the imaginative and the dense alike.
A 1978 special “A Pink Christmas” featured the rewriting of an O. Henry story (used more than once for Xmas TV series). Instead of dying at the end of “The Cop and the Anthem,” however, it’s Santa and magic food. Despite muteness, the show had a couple songs, including “Yuletide Spirit”
and “Wonderful Wintertime”
sung by St. Michaels Day School Choir. Also “Jolly Holiday” covered by grown up fan jazz stylist Marian Hortens (w/The M Sandberg Duo). Cool.
A peek inside a God-fearing Midwest home during the Great Depression resonated with the Take-This-Job-and-Shove-It generation of struggling middle class haters. It calmed them down that such monumental problems could be solved in less than an hour.
After nine years the show was cancelled but wouldn’t die through specials and movies for decades. Then came Walton’s Christmas: Together Again, a 1999 holiday album of anachronistically rollicking country music.
Some tunes are covers of country faves, like “Follow That Star,”
and “That’s What Christmas Means to Me.”
Then there’s the original second eldest Jason’s ode to “Mama’s Applesauce Cake.” A barn burner.
And then there’s Grampa’s patient explanation about the heaven snowmen go to when they melt for the granddaughter’s weepy sake. “Snowman’s Land” is that talky Red Sovine country blather that means to tearjerk, but runs long with chorale backup.
But, heavens, when you think of Waltons, you think of the longshot of the darkened home with the endless “Good Night”s. So here’s the Christmas song to make you remember that old TV series. Goodnight, John Man.
Spin off of a spin off, this eight season working class manifesto launched some careers. Penny Marshall later directed “Big.” Cindy Williams went on to be a professional guest star. David Lander developed Multiple Sclerosis. Michael McKean collected several Oscar and Emmy nominations.
The latter two as Lenny and Squiggy gave us some musical mirth, including “The Jolliest Fat Man,” an expose of ’60s folk which reveals how gruesome iconoclasm can be.
That Was the Week That Was launched a BBC moderator into a television personality. By 1970 David Frost was cool enough to co-launch his background music band leader’s Christmas album Merry Christmas from David Frost and Billy Taylor. This is NOT a TV serial, but i’m invoking my executive veto by including this vanity news/interview programme album, ‘cuz it’s happenin’.
Largely instrumental then, like the hep jazz piece “Bright Star in the East” introduced with some wit by Frost.
But the strength of this album is the gospel that probably resonates through every church in late December, but doesn’t get enough airplay. So close your eyes, raise your hands, and sway.
“Stable Down the Road” from Ella Mitchell uplifts.
“Wexforde Carole” from Gerri Granger transcends.
Then “Rise Up Shepherd” by Joseph Crawford discos down.
Not quite a half a century old, the Street that built The Childrens Television Workshop has housed many a talent, and launched many a literacy program. But it’s also featured some cool Xmas songs. (This also is not a regularly scheduled drama/sitcom, but it’s got such good stuff i can’t keep my mitts off.)
Less than 10 years out, Merry Christmas from Sesame Street dropped in vinyl. Highlights included “I Hate Christmas” from Oscar the Grouch. Recalls vaudeville and Jimmy Durante.
“Saludo (aguinaldo)” and “Arrurru” were more ethnic celebrations from neighbors Luis and Maria. These songs were not carried over into the rereleases of this record into CD.
The show taught you how to have a family, too, with songs like “Keep Christmas with You (All Through the Year).” Grand overture in lite chorale.
A later album Sesame Street Christmas Sing-Along counters this with “Counting the Days,” one of those genre experiments that introduces the wee ones to cotton candied classic rock’n’roll. That’s the only original song from that disk.
1996’s ‘Elmo Saves Christmas’ features the horror of the children being in charge. Elmo wishes every day should be Christmas. When it comes true weariness, bitterness, and mayhem ensues.
“It’s Christmas Again” was a refrain played throughout the hour, showing how fed up the chorale got each time they had to sing it. Comedy gold.
Charles Durning tries to teach THE LESSON to Elmo in song with “Every Day Can’t be Christmas.” Somber stuff. Tough love. Pay attention, you greedy brats.
During the regular run of the show celebrities wanted to be educational for the kids, or i guess some of them are doing community service.
In a 2oo7 TV special ‘Elmo’s Christmas Countdown,’ we get plenty of juice.
Sheryl Crow duets with Elmo for “It’s Almost Christmas.” Kid pop with a nice alt twist.
Anne Hathaway sings and dances with Big Bird for “I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas.” You got that right.
Jamie Foxx gets weird with his “Nutcracker Mash” sprinkling light jazz/hip hop on top the Tchaikovsky.
Kevin James brings it home with some classic rock bidness in “You Just Gotta Believe.” Credit where credit is due.
I’m disallowing musical revue shows, of which the ’60s are replete. No Andy Williams, Dean Martin, or even Red Skelton. But some shows do feature the musical adventures of fictional folk, so they loophole in.
The Monkees only lasted a couple years (1966-1968) so not much Christmas music. One of their missteps was the 3/4 reunion song from a mid-‘seventies album, “Christmas is My Time of Year.” All of the pop, with none of the counterculture they were known for.
One novelty, however, is the 16th Century villancico, “Riu Chiu.” This Spanish song celebrated the kingfisher bird chasing the wolf away from the Virgin Mary right around nativity and had been popularized previously by The Kingston Trio. But these fake musicians shine here with their unaccompanied angelic harmony for this episode.
While The Brady Bunch has their own TV family Christmas album, it’s all traditional music, nothing the least novel.
The Partridge Family‘s Christmas album almost suffers the same fate, but includes one original: “My Christmas Card to You.” It features David Cassidy thinking of and singing to you (and family). Swoon.
This was the second longest running western on TV. But they blessed us with the best TV Western Christmas album of all, Christmas on the Ponderosa, a 1963 concept miracle.
Many will poke fun at big dumb ol’ Hoss Cartwright as when he sings “Deck the Halls” in a harrowing bass. But it’s in the spirit and all, so shut up.
The cast gathers for the second cult hit “Merry Christmas Neighbors.” Bourgeoise judginess.
The better stuff is the old fashioned songs that never caught on, like Pernell Roberts singing “The New Born King.”
And Michael Landon with “Oh Fir Tree Dear.”
There’s some foolin’ around as well with Landon’s “Santa Got Lost in Texas.”
But best is the short fun of Lorne Greene with “Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney.”
The blind curmudgeon won animated shorts Oscars in the ‘5os. But when the wealthy jerk got his own TV series in the early ’60s the production company no longer made animation and farmed out the cartoon to a less professional group.
Yet, the 1962 A Christmas Carol adaptation (made by the original United Productions of America) struck gold with Julie Styne and Bob Merrill songs including:
“All Alone in the World,” the lament of boy Scrooge at not having a family who cares. Country show tune.
“Winter was Warm,” the goodbye of nearly-girlfriend Belle. Diva big band ballad.
“Ringle Ringle,” an ode to profit, harmonized by the suffering Bob Cratchit. Snarky childrens’ pop.
“The Lord’s Bright Blessing (Razzleberry Dressing),” a contrast of Papa Cratchit’s grace at supper undercut with the kids’ whining about what they have not. Hopeful gospel.
Most fun is the glimpse of Christmas future spying on the working class stiffs who loot Scrooge’s corpse in the music hall “We’re Despicable.”