Overview of 2013 Christmas singles: Part III (final-ly)

I have never published the last part of the overview of Christmas singles on this blog, so now we are getting nearer and nearer to Christmas 2014, it's time I also published this last part here.

One label that usually puts out a Christmas 7” every year is Damaged Goods. Last Christmas, they released a great single by Helen Love and Ricardo Autobahn ('The Salvation Army'). This year, Damaged Good did not really release a new 7”, but choose to repackage a 7” of a few years ago, 'Christmas 1979' by Damaged Goods regular Billy Childish, this time under the moniker Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians Of The British Empire. This new package has the two versions of the 7” (one green and one red vinyl), plus a homevideo of Billy Childish, starring his son. The two 7”'s and the homevideo come packed in a special cardbord cover. I guess the label still had quite some copies of the 7” left, and this is an inventive way to get rid of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sv1l1Ftgh0

Another Christmas 7” that in fact is a ghost from Christmas past is put out by Japanese label Merritone Records. They have re-released a Christmas 7” by Jamaican rocksteady artist Hopeton Lewis, 'Happy Christmas'. The B-side has the instrumental 'Lester Sterling Special', by Lester Sterling with Lynn Taitt And The Jets, which has no Christmas connection. I like rocksteady versions of Christmas song, and I also truly enjoyed this song. No video on Youtube or sound on Soundcloud, but you can listen to a small sample of the songs of this 7” here:
http://www.pressure.co.uk/store/DSR-FED7-038/hopeton-lewis-happy-christmas-lester-sterling-special/

Although Christmas is a celebration of the birth, and not of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christmas 2013 did bring the resurrection of the punk band Impact from Wales. In 1983, they released their only EP, which was called 'Punk Christmas', and it featured the title song on the A-side, and two non-Christmas songs on the B-side. Now, 30 years later, they released a new EP, that they called 'Punk Punk Christmas' (I guess they wanted to have a different name, despite the fact that the artwork of the front cover is exactly the same as the 1983 original, and they kinda ran out of inspiration). It features a new version of 'Punk Christmas' of the original EP (that is, of course, called 'Punk Punk Christmas'), the original recording of the song from 1983, and two new songs, that I haven't heard yet, but I guess from the titles, that it aren't really Christmas songs ('Queen And Country' and 'Something Must Be Done'). It comes on green, white and red vinyl, each version limited to 100 copies, and is released on Anti Society Records. Decided for yourself which version of the title song you like best, the 2013 version of the 1983 version. Now it's waiting for Christmas 2043, when they will release 'Punk Punk Punk Christmas'...
New version:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3rx43bWPRM
Old version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ayIv8j58Y

Rise Above Records is a label started by Napalm Death member Lee Dorrian. Although Napalm Death is known for their extreme grindcore assault, Rise Above is focused on bands that sound like they have taken far too many drugs. Rise Above Records has celebrated its 25th year of existince this December, and as part of this celebration, they have released a Christmas split-7” (another addition to the already many Christmas split 7”'s that have been released in 2013), that was given out to all people going to the anniversary show. The 7” has two songs, recorded by two bands that played the anniversary show: The Sharon Tate Experience and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Even if you hadn't know that Rise Above is a label focused on psychedelic music, the name of these bands would have spoken for themselves. My favorite of the two songs is 'Christmas Killer' by The Sharon Tate Experience, that has more a Christmas feeling, and sounds like a garage cover of a 1960 Christmas song. 'Blow Up The Xmas Tree' by Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell is pretty decent, but doesn't really sound like a Christmas song, more like late 1970s hard rock.
Sharon Tate Experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiHd4P8A2AI
Admiral Sir Cloudesley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBtHYBRWv48

It will be difficult to get your hands on a copy of this Rise Above Records split, but it will be even more difficult to find a copy of one of the three one-sided Christmas 7”'s put out by the Danish label Mastermind Records. Of all three 7”'s 24 copies are cut: it are lathé cut 7”'s, so no vinyl, but still, I choose to include them, as they are pretty good. The songs featured on these 7”'s have all been recorded before 2013. The first of the three, with catalog number MRSPJUL13 (I guess JUL stands for Jule, and not for July; the number 13 also makes me wonder if in previous years already 12 limited Christmas 7”'s have been released on the label), is by the punk pop / power pop band Glow Kit, and the song on the 7” is 'Christmas Daze'. It's a pretty good indie rock song, that was already available digitally through Youtube at Christmas 2012.

Even older is the second 7”, by psychedelic band Powersolo. The song 'Beam Mig Op Jesus' was already put on Youtube Christmas 2009. Another pretty good song, and I wonder if the title stands for 'Beam Me Up Jesus'... The song on the third 7”, by a Danish surf band with the name The Tremolo Beer Gut (more a name for a garage / punk band, if you ask me), 'Santa Duane (Jengo Balls Version)', has been released on a split Christmas EP with Leopold Kraus Wellenkapelle (yes, I saved all the weird band names for this part) in 2007 on German label Rhythm Island Records. I haven't been able to track this song down yet, so I can't tell you how it sounds, but there haven't been many surf Christmas songs that I didn't like, so I am pretty sure I would have liked the song.
Glow Kit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygdKiaECkvk
Powersolo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_a97pFjITE

Belgium all star band Hitsville Drunks is another band that released a one-side Christmas 7” this year, on local label Starman Records. It has the song 'JC Says JC', an original. The band is described as Mauro Pawlowski’s power pop group, and the song is also to be found on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUL7XzMvlXA

This year, also Austria brought us a Christmas single. It's titled 'Stray Dogs On Christmas' and it's done by Lost Compadres (like that name!), a Vienna based quintet that, according to their website, do their own twisted version of Americana. Which is not as strange as it sound, Americana from the Alps, as wasn't jodelling a popular ingedrient of country one time, a singing technique that has its roots in the same Alps. No jodelling in this Christmas song, unfortuately (or not), that the band 'a heartbreaking loser's ballad'.

Not really a Christmas single, but it has a winter theme going on, was released early December and our local record store put the single with the other new Christmas singles they were selling, so I choose to include it anyway: the new 7” of Dutch band Labasheeda. It is a EP with five songs, of which only the title song has a winter theme: 'Listen, The Snow Is Falling'. It is a cover of a song originally recorded by Yoko Ono. As the band was without a drummer when they recorded this EP(that includes one re-interpretation of an older songer of the band and on side B three brand new songs), the single shows the more 'introspective side' of the band, at least, that is how they describe it themselves. It was released on US label Presto Rango Records, but it is also available, for us Europeans, directly from the band. I don't know the original version of the song, but I do like the version Labasheeda recorded – worth to check out, and as it is a winter single, and not a Christmas single, you can still listen to it in January and February without having to explain to your family or room mates why you are playing Christmas songs weeks after Christmas...
https://soundcloud.com/info-288/listen-the-snow-is-falling

The winter does not limit itself to December, so also January can bring winter-themed singles. In December 2012, UK singer Mary Epworth released a 4 song CD EP, 'Snow Queen', with four songs about snow and winter. That was a good timing, as December 2012 did bring quite some snow, at least here in Europe, if I remember well. Now two of the songs of the EP have been re-released on Hand Of Glory Records on a 7”, the title track and 'Ice And Snow', on snow white vinyl. Of course! The timing is not as good as for the CD-version, as January 2014 has seen spring-like temperatures and no snow at all, mostly. Both songs on the 7", that sound as having been put out in the psychedelic late 1960s, definitely have a winter-y feel, a subtile sound that breaks through the stillness of a cold winter night. It is limited to 250 copies, so will be gone soon, as soon as snow that melts in the spring sun.
Snow Queen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7gYdbBYEXw
Ice And Snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJhRNLZBzZw

A Christmas 7” that was only available in the digital format at Christmas 2013, but now is also available on green-red vinyl, has been put out by Soft Speak Records from Hoboken, New Jersey. The label calls it 'Christmas Split', although the name 'Christmas Compilation' serves better to describe the record, as it has four bands with as many songs. All songs are cover versions of quite well known Christmas songs, and all bands can be considered US indie rock. You Blew It! do a very messy sounding version of 'Rocking Around The Christmas Tree', with lot of back up vocals, which actually sounds quite nice. Dikembe cover 'All I Want For Christmas Is You', and play it very slooowww... Have Mercy play a over-the-top version 'White Christmas', and, finally, Kittyhawk do a slackerish version of 'Silver Bells'. Proceeds go to Toys For Tots, which also is really in line with the Christmas tradition, as I remember Christmas singles from the 1950s that were released to raise money for this charity. All four songs can be listened on the Bandcamp page of the label:
http://softspeakrecords.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-split

There are more 2013 Christmas singles that were officially released in January 2014, although I think this particular one already was already available in December, for those people who went to see Canadian singer/songwriter Ben Caplan on his European solo tour. It's called 'Ben Caplan Festivus Volume One', which sounds as if more volumes should follow... I hope in time for Christmas 2014! Only the A-side has a song with a Christmas theme. It features one of the most covered 'modern' Christmas songs, 'Fairytale Of New York', originally recorded by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl in 1987, and one of few really classic Christmas songs the 1980s gave us. Ben Caplan looks like a rather big guy, a bit like a younger and Irish version (because: big red beard) of Santa Claus and certainly has a big voice, so that's probably why the Kirsty MacColl role is not done by one female singer, but by four: the four women of the Norwegian folk / punk cabaret band Katzenjammer. The third guilty party in this Christmas conspiracy is an orchestra that listen to the name Trondheimsolistene, from the name I would guess they are also from Norway, and of course, they are. The song was already recorded in 2012, and the video of the song was on Youtube last Christmas, but now it's also out on vinyl. The accompaniment of the orchestra gives the song a chamber pop feeling, more than the folk feeling of the original. A nice try, but it is simply impossible to come close to the original version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGD0I5qdw8c

Another Canadian 7” that was intended for Christmas, but was only ready 2 days before Christmas, so reached no one before Christmas (is this just a coincidence, or are Canadians just not that good at planning?) is by Toronto-based band The New Mendicants, that features some big names from the alternative music scene: Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Joe Pernice (Pernice Brothers) and Mike Belitsky (Sadies). It has 'A Very Sorry Christmas' on side A and 'A Very Sorry New Years' on side B. I guess they are excusing themselves for being so late, but they make it up by offering quality. The band describe the single themselves as 'a Yuletide ode to seasonal woe and disappointment', in which 'guitars shine and jangle counter-intuitively while Joe & Norman declare “Oh Silent Night, Guilty Night...I’m carrying a cross you won’t believe…”. Right. I would say it are long lost Christmas songs recorded by The Byrds in the late 1960s. The New Mendicants have also put out an album in January, and if it is in line with this single, it will be pretty good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_NCgVvQCWs

We close with a complete overview of all Christmas 7”'s of 2013 – if you know of any other, please let me know!

Indie / Alt. Rock
* Ben Caplan with Katzenjammer & Trondheimsolistene / Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers: A Ben Caplan Festivus Volume One
* Hitsville Drunks: JC Says JC
* Labasheeda: Listen, The Snow Is Falling EP
* Lost Compadres: Stray Dogs On Christmas
* Mary Epworth: Snow Queen
* Rose Melberg & Gregory Webster: Kingfisher Bluez Christmas Single 2013
* Sudden Death Of Stars - Beat Mark: Winter Warmer Split 7" Christmas Single
* Seize The Chair / Best Friends: I Just Want To Sleep / When Christmas Comes
* Smoke Fairies: Simple Feelings / I Wonder As I Wander
* The Garlands: Christmas Song / I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You
* The Miserable Rich: Everything You Wanted / Stop The Cavalry
* The New Medicants: A Very Sorry Christmas / A Very Sorry New Years
* You Blew It! / Dikembe / Have Mercy / Kittyhawk: Christmas Split

Psychedelic Rock
* Powersolo: Beam Mig Op Jesus
* The Sharon Tate Experience / Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell: Christmas Killer / Blow Up The Xmas Tree

Garage Rock
* Glow Kit: Christmas Daze
* Jeff Hershey & The Heartbeats: Santa Claus Is A Monster
* Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians Of The British Empire: Christmas 1979 (double-7”, re-issue)

Surf
* The Hollyberries: I Wanna Go Surfin' With Santa! And Other (Mostly Christmas) Surf-Pop Delights EP
* The Silhouettes: Under The Mistletoe / Merry Little Christmas
* The Tremolo Beer Gut: Santa Duane (Jengo Balls Version)

Punk
* Bad Religion: Father Christmas
* Evil Conduct / The Old Firm Casuals: Yuletide Cheers & Oi!
* Figgy & The Scrooges: Alcoholiday EP
* Girl Trouble / The Dignitaries: Letter To Santa / I Know Why Santa Is Drunk
* Impact: Punk Christmas EP
* Masked Intruder: Under The Mistletoe
* Misfits: Horror Xmas (3 versions)
* Möngöl Hörde / Jamie Lenman: Xtra Mile Single Sessions 8 (track: How The Communists Ruined Christmas)
* Poison Idea / Angry Snowman: Santa Claus Is Back In Town / Sugar Plum

Pop
* Miguel Angelo: O Teu Natal

Electronic
* !!!: And Anyway It's Christmas
* Loren Connors: Christmas Day

Soul / Funk
* Bobby Allen And The Exceptions: Soul Chicken / Lonely Christmas Tears (re-issue)
* Sha La Das: Sha La Da La La (Christmas Time)

Reggae / Ska / Rocksteady
* Hopeton Lewis / Lester Sterling with Lynn Taitt And The Jets: Happy Christmas / Lester Sterling Special (re-issue)

Country
* Blind Boys Of Alabama / Jason Isbell & John Paul White: Christmas In Dixie / Old Flame

Jazz
* Vince Guaraldi Trio: Linus And Lucy (re-issue)

More 2013 Christmas 7" vinyl singles

Thanks to Stubby's House of Christmas, Rotten Xmas, Discogs and Juno Records, I have found some more Christmas single releases, so it's time for a little update of my earlier overview of Christmas 7” singles released in 2013.

Like I noted before, there is no substyle of music in which bands are recording more Christmas singles as punk, and this update is another proof of that. We have three more punk Christmas singles for you – or, if you count all different editions, in fact six.


Most famous of the punk bands doing a Christmas single this year is without any doubt The Misfits. One of the longest lasting punk bands (although not exactly still in its original line-up), and a band that will you expect more at Halloween than at Christmas. Still, the band released three different Christmas songs, on three different formats. Money has to be made, hasn't it? The record is titled 'Horror Xmas', and the first version comes on green vinyl... or, if you are lucky, green splattered vinyl, as some of the people ordering the green vinyl version, will get the even more limited green splattered version. On the A-side of the single, The Misfits cover 'You're A Mean Man, Mister Grinch', a song perfectly fit for them. For the B-side, the band penned an original, 'Land Of Misfit Toys', a straight forward punk rock song. The second version, that comes on blue vinyl (and again, also in a more limited blue splattered edition), has the same A-side, a pretty okay cover of 'Blue Christmas' on the B-side. And of course, doing this on blue vinyl is a nice idea. The third version is a very limited (and already sold out, I think) double single on red vinyl – in fact, just the two previous single pressed on a different colour vinyl. You can decide for yourself how many different versions you want to buy for yourself.
You're A Mean Man, Mister Grinch (Youtube)
Land Of Misfit Toys (Youtube)
Blue Christmas (Youtube)


Figgy And The Scrooges (ehum) is a Columbus, OH, punk band that is like the Angry Snowmans, that is a Christmas project featuring several members of other punk bands, in the case of Figgy And The Scrooges the bands Connections, Times New Viking, Grafton, Nervosas, The Ferals and Nom Tchotchkes... to be honest, never heard of any of these bands. Their single, titled 'Alcoholiday', features three raw sounding punk originals: 'The Scrooges' Carol (Figgy Cares)', the up-tempo 'Santa Is For Simpletons' and the bluesy and noisy 'Halfway Outta The Dark'. Profits of this single, that comes on three different colours (black, green and red), go to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Listen to the three songs on the Bandcamp of the band:
Bandcamp


We can add another Christmas split release to the already quite large collection of 2013 Christmas splits. Girl Trouble! and The Dignitaries have organized their fifth annual Countdown To Christmas show in their hometown of Tacoma, WA, and to celebrate this, they released a split 7” on Unbreakable Records (cool name for a label, by the way, although I am sure the records will not live up to this claim). Girl Trouble! have written a 'Letter To Santa', while The Dignitaries claim 'I Know Why Santa Is Drunk'. As Tacoma is also the city that brought us The Sonics and The Ventures, they have large shoes to fill, as far as Christmas songs go... I haven't heard the Girl Trouble! track yet, but the track of The Dignitaries has a rocking garage punk sound (including a guitar solo!) - unfortunately, I can't really understand the lyrics, so I still don't know why Santa was drunk.
Bandcamp


Last year, the Vancouver, BC (Canada) label Kingfisher Bluez started a new tradition: releasing a Christmas charity vinyl single every year, which is of course something we applaud! Each single comes housed in a sleeve portraying a nice house in a snowy street, so you can slowly build your own Christmas village. A really nice idea. Unfortunately, the first edition, a split 7” featuring the lo-fi anti-folk singer/songwriters Tim The Mute performing 'VGN SXE XMASX' (which stands for 'vegan straight edge Christmas', for those of you less into the hardcore punk underground) and Old Phoebe performing 'Christmas For Christmas', did not exactly live up to my high expectations, although it did live up to the label 'lo-fi anti-folk' for sure... but the 2013 edition is much better: it has Rose Melberg (once member of legendary indie bands Tiger Trap, The Softies and Go Sailor) and Gregory Webster (of twee pop band Razorcuts) covering what is one of the best punk Christmas songs ever: 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)', originally recorded by (of course) the Ramones. Rose and Gregory turn it into a sweet acoustic pop song. If you still want to order copy, be very quick, as the record is almost sold out! All profits will be donated to 1-800-SUICIDE and Crisis Centre BC, so it's for a very good cause, too.
Bandcamp


Another label that made sort of a tradition of releasing of Christmas 7” singles is Daptone Records, a funk/soul label based in Brooklyn, New York. Also this year, they have released one, or to be more precisely, their sublabel Dunham Records has. The single features two songs by a new group, called the Sha La Das. The group consists of Bill Schalda and his two sons, Paul and Billy Jr. The trio is accompanied on this record by one of Daptone Records housebands, the Menahan Street Band. Both songs, 'Sha La Da La La (Christmas Time)' and 'I Wish Christmas Time Was Over', are (co)written by Bill Schalda, and sound as if having been recorded in the early 1960s, the heydays of Soul, with the (quite highpitched) harmonies of the Sha La Das. Definitely a nice addition to the 21st Century Christmas soul discography.
Soundcloud


The second soul/funk Christmas single has been released recently, on German's Tramp Records, known for their reissues of long forgotten soul and funk classics, and for their much applauded 'Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party'-album, of which the second volume was released this year. The Christmas 7” Tram Records is another long lost treasure, by a band called Bobby Allen & The Exceptions. Side A has a non-Christmas funky track called 'Soul Chicken', originally released as a 7” on the label 'Soul Sound... Is Coming', which was a division of the Crowley, Louisiana based-label MBM. The Christmas song is found on side B, and it called 'Lonely Christmas Tears' – and with a title like that, what else could you expect than a blues song... not much soul or funk in this song, but a lot of blues... it is also featured on the second volume of 'Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party'.
Bandcamp

The Kinks: Father Christmas b/w Prince Of The Punk (UK: Arista, Arista 153, 1977)

In the 1970s, rock bands started to write original Christmas songs instead of recording covers of classic Christmas songs. These songs would later turn into Christmas classic themselves. Everybody knows songs like Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody', 'Lonely This Christmas' by Mud or 'Wonderful Christmas Time' by Paul McCartney. One of the best of the original Christmas rock songs was released for Christmas 1977, the year punk broke.

The band that recorded the song was not one of the many punk bands that had sprung up all over the UK, despite the fact that the song reflected the attitude and music of punk quite well. It was a band that was big in the sixties, and had been an inspiration, because of their raw guitar sound and their energetic and hectic live shows, for the many bands being started in garages all over the US in the second half of the 1960s, bands that in turn were an inspiration for the 1970s British punk bands. Most 1970s rock Christmas song were musically rock, but their message and lyrics did not really differ that much of the Christmas standards of the past – the songs were merry, expressing the joy and fun that Christmas is supposed to bring, or were full of melancholy, longing to be with loved ones or thinking about friends lost somewhere along the way.

This song was different. It told the story of young kids who don't want Father Christmas to give them toys for Christmas, as they have no use for it – they needed money, or if not money, than at least a machine gun 'so they can scare all kids on the streets'. The lyrics were written by Ray Davies, singer / guitar player of The Kinks, a song writer known for his ability to write striking observations of the social climate of the day. He did that in the sixties, in songs like 'A Well Respected Man', 'Mr. Pleasant', 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion' and 'David Watts' (later brilliantly covered by The Jam, in a way The Kinks of the late 1970s). He had not lost his talent to write a biting social commentary by the mid-1970s, as the song 'Father Christmas' proves.

The band already started working on the song in 1976 while recording their 1977 album 'Sleepwalker' at Konk Studios in Hornsey, London, but did not complete it, and continued working on it when they recorded the follow up of 'Sleepwalker', 1978 album 'Misfits'. The song was finished in October 1977, just in time to have it released as a single late November 1977, not only in the UK, but also in other European countries like Germany and The Netherlands.

The song was uptempo and aggressive, despite the typical Christmas bells and other Christmas sounds. The story told is that of a young kid who believed in Santa Claus, although knowing that in fact his dad was Santa Claus, to keep his stockings being filled with presents. When he is grown up, he becomes a Father Christmas himself, but the kids he meets on the street are of a different kind than he was as a kid. They don't have any respect for Father Christmas, don't care about his presents, toys that they can't use and demand from him, violently (even knocking poor old Rudolph to the floor), the only thing they really need: money. He can keep the toys, to give those 'to the little rich boys'.

And then the song takes a turn, because these boys may behave like little criminals, there is another side to it. They need the money as their father is without a job and can't feed his family. They need bread, to feed the hungry mouth of their little brothers and sisters. These boys are not nice (not at all, they want the machine gun to scare the other kids), but they are not only perpetrator, but also victim – victim of a world in which some people have so much that they can afford to give their children a Steve Austin outfit (aka the bionic man aka the six million dollar man), a cuddly toy, a jigsaw or monopoly money, while others can't even give their children bread.

Then, in a break, we, the listeners, are addressed directly: 'have yourself a merry merry christmas, have yourself a good time, but remember the kids who got nothin', while you're drinkin' down your wine'.
For those who still did not get the message of the song, this will definitely do the job. 1977 was not a nice year, and this was not a nice message, but if you really want to give Christmas some meaning, it's something you should not close your eyes to. You better try to do something about it, when you are lucky enough to buy toys for your kids, instead of not even able to buy them bread.

The B-side was not a Christmas song, but the title “Prince Of The Punks” sets also the scene for this song very firmly in 1977. The UK version of the single came in cartoon style artwork, portraying the story told in the lyrics. Despite the fact that 'Father Christmas' is now considered one of the classic Christmas rock songs, it did not chart in 1977 – not in the UK and not in the USA.

The song has been covered several times, and it is no coincidence that the covers were mostly by punk bands or hard rock bands, like for example by Green Day, Warrant and Bowling For Soup, and, most recently, this year, Bad Religion, who released their cover of 'Father Christmas' on a one sided 7” (on Epitaph Records) and The Old Firm Casuals who covered the song on their split Christmas 7” with Evil Conduct (on Randale Records). Bad Religion kept it simple, and recorded it with the basic band setup of guitar, bass and drums. The Old Firm Casuals added piano and bells, and gave it a little bit more of a Christmas feeling.

The original version of The Kinks stood the test of time very well, and still stands out as one of the best Christmas rock songs ever. Not surpringly so, knowing how many great songs The Kinks have recorded.

Listen to the song here: Youtube

Erik Voeks: Christmas Singles b/w The Cruel Tide (Demo) (USA, Parasol Records, Par-028, 1997)

It's funny to know that there is even a Christmas single, titled 'Christmas Singles'. The song was written and performed by a Kansas singer/songwriter, Erik Voeks. He was joined on bass by Steve Scariano and on drums by Patrick Hawley. The 7” single was released in 1997, with the non-Christmas song 'The Cruel Tide' in a demo version on the B-side. 'Christmas Singles' was already recorded 3 years earlier, in 1994, and was released as an old fashioned cassette, in a one-off edition of 100, just before Christmas, on Decemer 19.

Erik is not too fond of Christmas singles, he does not need much time to make this clear. Already in the first two lines of the song, he makes a firm statement.
'They're just a cheap promotional trick
All those Christmas singles'

Erik has some useful suggestion what to do with the Christmas singles:
“Well you can nail them on the wall
Make an ashtray, y'know
Crank 'em up and sing along to make unwanted guests go.”

Of course, there is another meaning of a Christmas single. The next part of the song is about all those people who have to spend Christmas alone, because they have no lover...

"They're home alone around the world
All those lonely Christmas singles
It's A Wonderful Life re-runs
Never fails to give them tingles"

But Erik is different, as he has a goal in his life, and that is, of course, to record rock songs – he is still doing so in 2013.
I do like the end of the song, because, apart from all the clever word jokes all the irony towards Christmas, also this song has, as all good Christmas singles, a message. Of course.

"I'll bet the daddy of all Christians
Would be turning in his grave
If he saw the way his birthday made the retail world behave."

Couldn't agree more!
Listen to Erik's Christmas Single via the link below and most important, don't forget to buy some cool Christmas singles this Christmas! Even Erik's single is still available to be bought – give it some nice warm home, and spin it on your record player, so it doesn't have to feel alone anymore!

Bandcamp

Muriel Smith: I Wonder As I Wander b/w Sweet Little Jesus Boy (UK, Philips Records, BF 1291, 1963)

Smoke Fairies cover the Christmas carol 'I Wonder As I Wander' on the B-side of their Snowflakes Christmas single. This song has been recorded by many other artists and bands, although only very few of these cover versions appeared on a 7”, and, as far as I have been able to track down, only in one instance, the song was the A side. This was a single by Muriel Smith, released in 1963 in the United Kingdom on the Philips label.

The song has a long history. Although it is generally believed that this song is a traditional, in fact, this is not the case. The version of 'I Wonder As I Wander' as we know it now, was written by John Jacob Niles, a folklorist and singer from Louisville, Kentucky. But he did base the song on an existing folk song. On July 16, 1933, John Jacob Niles visited the mountain town Murphy, located deep in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. There he witnessed a fundraising meeting of a group of evangelicals, who had been ordered out of town by the police. A girl, according to the account of Niles, “unwashed, in unbelievable dirty and ragged clothes, with ash-blond hair that hung down in long skeins, but still very beautiful”, stepped out to the edge of a little platform, attached to the automobile of the evangelists. The girl, Annie Morgan, sang a small fragment of a song, and repeated the fragment seven times (note the symbolism!) in exchange for a quarter per perfomance. Inspired by this performance, Niles decided to write a song based on the lines and melody he had heard the girl sing. He completed the song, that he titled 'I Wonder As I Wander' on October 4, 1933 and first performed it on December 19, 1933 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. In 1934, the song was published in Songs Of The Hill Folk.

Many performers and listeners mistook the song as a traditional, anonymous in origin. Niles had to undertake several lawsuits to establish its authorship and demand royalties of other performers. Niles wrote the song as a more general Christian hymn. The first verse speaks about how Christ the Savior died for the poor people. Only in the second verse there is a link to Christmas: “When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall – With wise men and famers and shepherds and all – But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall – And the promise of ages it then did recall.” The third verse celebrates Jesus as the King, and after that, the first verse is repeated again. The fact that the song is more about Jesus as the Savior than about Christmas did not prevent the song to be considered as a Christmas carol by many, and also its inclusion on many Christmas albums.

The only time the song was used as the A-side of a 7” was in 1963, in a version by American singer Muriel Smith. Smith was born in New York. She was the first African-American to study at the Curtis Institute Of Music in Philadelphia and graduated in 1946, in the same class as Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern. She made her debut on Broadway in December 1943, in Carmen Jones, playing the title role. Muriel appeared in some other musicals and stage plays, before moving to London in 1949. She played several roles in London musicals, and in 1953 had a #3 hit with 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me' single in the UK. Muriel returned to the USA in 1955, to play in the revival production of Carmen Jones. The following year she was back in London, now starring as Carmen at the Royal Opera House, her first role in a more traditional opera. In the fifties, she also could could be heard as a ghost singer in several Hollywood movies, most notably in 1958's South Pacific, where she dubbed 'Bali Ha'i' and 'Happy Talk' for actor Juanita Hall.

Although 'I Wonder As I Wander' was released in the UK as a 7” in 1963, the recording was not new, as it had already been included on the 1960 Christmas album 'The Glory Of Christmas', that was released both in the UK and the USA (on the Philips label). The album was recorded in the UK, and Muriel was accompanied by the British conductor and composer Peter Knight, his orchestra and chorus on the record. Muriel was a soprano, and that is also how she sang 'I Wonder As I Wander', making the song almost like a part from an opera. On the B-side was another song of her album, 'Sweet Little Jesus Boy'.

'I Wonder As I Wander' has been recorded by many artists, especially from the 1950s on. More known performers who recorded the song include Burl Ives (1953), Percy Faith (1954), Jo Stafford (1955), Hugh Downs (1959), Cort Johnson (1963), Joan Baez (1966), Julie Andrews (1975), George Beverly Shea (1980), James Galway (1986), Vanessa Williams (1996), Jewel (1999), Linda Ronstadt (2000), Harry Connick, Jr. (2003), Gladys Knight (2006) and Oleta Adams (2006).

The song has also appeared as the B-side on several 7”s. Burl Ives recorded the song in 1953, and it appeared on a 4 song EP on Decca Records. it was also the B-side to Christian singer Bill McVey's 'Abide With Me'. The same year as the Muriel Smith version was released on 7”, the song also appeared on a Dutch 7” of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, B-side to 'The Holy Babe', although also she recorded the song several years earlier, as it also already appeared the 1961 'The Holy Babe of Bethlehem' 7” EP. In 1965 Cy Grant recorded it for the B-side of the single 'The Lord's Prayer'. Funny enough, two years later Barbara Streisand combined the same two songs on a 7” on Columbia Records. To my knowledge, this was the last time the song has appeared on a 7”. And now, 46 years later, it is available again on a 45, in a beautiful and haunting version.

Listen to the song here:Video

Frank Sinatra: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas b/w I'll Be Home For Christmas (UK: Capitol, CL 15329, 1963)

Although Frank Sinatra was surely not the first to record 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', his version is probably the most famous version of the song. It has been released on several different 7”'s and EP's – the version I have chosen is the 1963 version released in the UK, and has 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' on the B-side.

'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' was already almost 20 years old, when Frank Sinatra recorded it – not for the first time – for this single. The songs was first performed by Judy Garland, in 1944, in the MGM movie musical 'Meet Me In St. Louis'. Esther, the character played by Judy, sings the song to her little sister Tootie (played by a very young Margaret O'Brien) in a scene situated on Christmas Eve, to cheer her up, as the whole family is sad, because of having to leave their St. Louis, Missouri home for New York, where their father had found a new job.

The song was written by Hugh Martin (lyrics) and Ralph Blane (music), although Hugh Martin later claimed he had also written all music of the 'Meet Me In St. Louis'-songs and that his naivity and lack of businessmenship made him share the credits with Ralph Blane. The music of the song has stayed the same through the years, but Martin has rewritten part of the lyrics several times. Judy Garland, who was supposed to sing the song in the movie, was the first who thought the original lyrics to be too depressing. With lines like "Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last/ Next year we may all be living in the past” and “Faithful friends who were dear to us/Will be near to us no more'' it was indeed not exactly an optimistic song. In a way, it reflected the time it was written, a time when the US was deeply involved in World War II. Martin first refused to write the song, but after first director Vincente Minnelli (who claimed that his movie was about hope and dreams, so the song also had to have some hope in it) and later Judy's co-star Tom Drake, who was a friend of Hugh Martin, talked to him about, he gave in, and changed several parts of the song. For example, the lines "It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past" became "Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight". Martin, who himself was a religious person, also changed the last part of the original line "through the years, we all will be together if the Lord allows" into "if the fates allow", to remove religious references and make the song a secular song.

The changes turned the song from a song of sadness into a song of hope, hope for a brighter future. But it was still not a light song, because the final line of the song still reflected the sad situation of the moment: ''until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow.'' Judy Garland recorded 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' for a 78 rpm single on Decca Records, and it became especially with popular the US troups abroad, although it was certainly not the big hit from the movie. That was 'The Trolley Song', that got an Oscar nomination for best song of 1944.

But this was not the end of the story for the song. When Frank Sinatra wanted to record the song for his 1957 album 'A Jolly Christmas' (he had recorded it before in 1947), he asked Martin to 'jolly up' the final line. Martin changed the line to "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough" and made several other changes. This changed the character of the song again, it was no longer a song expressing hope for a better future, but a celebration of present happiness. It is this version that hundreds of artists have recorded through the year, and also the version The Silhouettes have recorded for the flipside of their Christmas single.

To illustrate the differences of the three versions (and how very small changes can totally change the meaning and mood of a line):

The original version had “Faithful friends who were dear to us / Will be near to us no more”.
The Judy Garland version changed it to “Faithful friends who were dear to us / Will be near to us once more”
The Frank Sinatra version changed it again, now to “Faithful friends who are dear to us / Gather near to us once more”.

Martin, who always continued writing songs, wrote a complete new set of lyrics to the song in 2001, when he was well into his 80s. The new lyrics not only brought the original line "through the years, we all will be together if the Lord allows" back, but also turned the song in a completely religious song. It was retitled to 'Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas' and has been recorded by several gospel artists since then.

The version that Frank Sinatra recorded for the single release in 1963 also had the new 1957 lyrics. There are still artists who prefer the Judy Garland version to the more cheery 1957-version, as it acknowledges that Christmas is not all about being cheerful and jolly, but that it is also a time you miss beloved ones, and a time that gives hope in difficult times. It is exactly this feeling that the Judy Garland-version expresses very well.

Besides on the 1963 UK single, that same year, the song also appeared on two more Frank Sinatra 7” records. Also in the UK, 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' appeared on a EP with the same title, that also featured tracks by Sammy Davis Jr, Keely Smith and Dean Martin on Reprise Records. The song also appeared on a split 7” between Frank Sinatra and Les Baxter's Balladeers, who did a Christmas Medley on the B-side, also on Reprise Records.

Other Frank Sinatra 7”'s, that include the song, is a Columbia Records EP (EP 10321), that included three more Christmas classics: 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town', 'White Christmas' and 'Jingle Bells' on Columbia Records (EP 10321). And in 1976, Reprise Records released a Frank Sinatra EP in the UK, titled 'Christmas Mem'ries, with 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas as first track on side B. Other tracks included 'Christmas Mem'ries', 'A Baby Just Like You' and 'Whatever Happened To Christmas'.

The song has been recorded by many other artists, also on 7”. The song got more and more popular with time, making it one of the most covered non-traditional Christmas songs now.

EP's that included the song were recorded by The Michael Sammes Singers (1958), The Singing Nolans (1972), John Denver And The Muppets (1979) and David Grant & Jaki Graham (1985).

On 7” the song appeared as A-side on singles by Margaret Whiting (1949), Ramsey Lewis (1958), The Hollyridge Strings (1965), Andy Williams (1966), Barbra Streisand (1967), David Grant & Jaki Graham (1985), Crystal Gayle (1986) and Fear (2011, as RSD Black Friday release).

As B-side it appeared on singles by Cliff Richard (a promo with A-side 'Mistletoe And Wine'), Sascha Burland And The Skipjack Choir (1963), Andy Williams (1965) and Carnie And Wendy Wilson (1993).

This list is probably far from complete.

On the B-side of the 1963 UK single, there is another Frank Sinatra Christmas classic, 'I'll Be Home For Christmas', a beautiful ballad-kind-of-song, with 'whoowhoo'-female back up vocals, also present on the A-side, that give it both songs a comforting, relaxing and a real Christmas-y feel.

Funny thing is that I was planning to post this today, and when I was visting Concerto Records yesterday (to bring them a new bunch of Snowflakes Christmas singles), guess what I found there: exactly this single, that I did not have in my collection yet – I like these coincidences!

Listen to the Frank Sinatra version from 1963 here: Video

Claudine Longet: I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You b/w Snow (USA: A&M Records, A&M 895, 1967)

The Garlands have recorded a new version of the song 'I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You'. It was written by New York songwriter, lyricist, pianist and singer Margo Guryan for French actrice, singer and dancer Claudine Longet, who recorded it in 1967. Earlier that year, Claudine Longet had recorded another song of Margo Guryan, 'Think Of Rain', in fact the first song Margo Guryan wrote after switching from writing jazz songs to pop songs. In the first ten years of her career as a songwriter, Margo Guryan had mainly written jazz and jazz-inspired songs, that had been recorded by artists like Harry Belafonte, Chris Connor and Nancy Harrow. She also wrote lyrics for compositions of jazz greats like John Lewis, Ornette Coleman and Arif Mardin. After a friend played 'God Only Knows' of the Beach Boys album 'Pet Sounds' for her, a complete new world opened for Margo, and she decided to switch from writing jazz songs to writing pop songs. Margo Guryan is mainly known as a songwriter, although she did record a solo album in 1968, 'Take A Picture', but not wanting to tour to promote the album, the album was not a succes, and remained her sole solo release, until several demo recordings she did of songs she wrote for other artists, were released on the CD compilation '25 Demos' in 2001. That compilation also features her own version of 'I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You'.

It was Tommy Li Puma, head of A&M Records, who had asked Margo to write a Christmas song for Claudine Longet. He explicitely requested to make it a song without all the common Christmas stuff, like snow, misletoe, presents. It was the only time Margo wrote a song with a performer in mind. She wrote the song, recorded a demo version, that was send over to California, where Claudine recorded it. In line with the reques of Tommy Li Puma, the song was about Christmas, but had nothing to do with the usual cheerful Christmas celebration, although in the end, the message of the song was a positive one. Two people separated, but in the end, it turned out they only wanted to show the other how it feels to be alone, and to not be together. In the end, the lesson is learned and the singer returns to her love, as, she tells him, “I don't intend to spend Christmas without you'”.

The singer who Margot wrote the song for, Claudine Longet, was born in Paris in January 1942, and had just seen her major breakthrough the year before Margot wrote the song. In 1967, Claudine Longet had released several singles and two albums, and her label A&M Records was very active in promoting her as their major female star. At the time, Claudine Longet was married to Andy Williams, well known for the many Christmas songs he recorded, among those one of my personal favorites, 'It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year'. Both Claudine and Andy felt a strong connection with Christmas. It was no coincidence that had married on Christmas Day, 1961 and that they named their first two children Noëlle and Christian. So it was no suprise that Claudine sooner or later would record a Christmas song. Claudine was originally from France, but already went to the USA as a teenager, and became the lead dancer of the Folies Bergère revue at the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. She met Andy Williams in 1960, when he stopped when he saw her standing by the side of the road with car trouble. The first few years of her marriage, Claudine was mainly playing in tv series and she also appeared several times on the Andy Williams show. Occasionally she also appeared as a singer on tv. Her big breakthrough came when she sang a English-French bilingual rendition of the bossa nova song 'Meditation', in a style that soon would become her trademark: singing with a soft sensuel voice, filled with longing and melancholy but also with a cheerful optimism. Herb Alpert offered her a recording contract with A&M Records. Between 1966 and 1970 Claudine would record five albums and many singles for the label, one of these singles being 'I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You'. The single went to #30 in Billboards 1967 Christmas list, but did not chart in the Hot 100, nor in the Adult Contemporary list, like some of Claudine's other singles.

The B-side of the single, titled 'Snow', also deserves a few words. Despite the title, it is not really a Christmas song. It's a beautiful ballad, starting with only piano, and later joined by a flute and violas, about missing a loved one gone, with all memories buried under snow. It's sung in a lovely way by Claudine, and in this song, her charming French accent, really adds something to the song. It's a kind of song to warm yourself, while sitting by a fire inside, while snow is all around you outside...

Claudine went on to star with Peter Sellers in the great Blake Edwards movie 'The Party' in 1968, divorced from Andy Williams in 1975, and was convicted a year later for fatally shooting her then boyfriend, Olympic skier Vladimir Sabich. She later married her attorney in the proces, and has not performed since the trail, despite the fact that interest in her music has resurged following several CD releases.

In the late 1990s, when sunshine pop became popular again, the song got back in the spotlights, which lead to several cover versions.

Saint Etienne, known for having released several Christmas singles over the years, covered the song in 1998 for a Christmas fanclub release (unfortunately, only on a CD single). Tomorrow's World also covered the song on the compilation 'The World In Winter', a CD compilation from the UK that was released in 1999 by the Él label. Indie electronic duo Lover And Poets covered the song, in 2010, on their bandcamp site. Maylee Todd was the most recent one to cover the song – it appeared on Soundcloud in December 2012.

Japanese band Pizzicato Five, who by the way inspired me to christian this project 'Snowflakes Christmas Singles' with their song'Snowflakes', sampled Claudine Longet's version on their song '20th Century Girl' on their 2000 album 'The Fifth Release From Matador'.

The Garlands version of the song is the first time since 1967 the song has appeared on (7”) vinyl again!

Listen to Claudine Longet - I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You here: Claudine Longet version

The B-side Snow: B-side Snow

And the demo version Margo Guryan recorded herself: Margo Guryan's demo version