I was looking for an appropriate Holiday song for this 9th day of December which happens to be a Sunday. And I kind of wanted it to be a classic song as well. I racked my brain last evening, and just was not satisfied with anything I came up with, whether from my own collection or searching online.
And then I woke up with the perfect song in my head.
Now, today's holiday selection is not exactly a Christmas song, but because it is in the 1954 holiday classic, White Christmas, it is often considered such. White Christmas is best known for its songs by Irving Berlin, songs that were admirably performed by the stars, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. Today's selection, "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)," appears in the film as a means for Crosby's character to pass a little homespun wisdom to Clooney's Betty Haynes. And it is indeed wisdom that life is better than one might think, and you can find happiness by focusing on the good things and people in your life.
"Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" was nominated for an Academy Award as "Best Song" but did not win.
Update 12/9/2020: New video embedded. Previous one was removed from YouTube.
Welcome to the 8th day of our holiday-song-a-day journey through this month!
In 2001, when alt-rock band Cake released "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," they probably had no idea what was in store for their quirky little tune. It was the first single off their fourth studio album, Comfort Eagle, so they were well-used to accolades, critical acclaim, and radio play. But I doubt they expected the song would go in these directions:
Used in the films Waitress (2007), All About Steve (2009), Date Night (2010), and The Change Up (2011). The latter three used an instrumental version.
Become the theme song for the NBC series Chuck (2007 - 2011). Again, an instrumental version was used.
Have both the song and the CD used in the 3rd episode of Season 8 of the CBS series ER.
You may have noticed that I have yet to tie "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" to the holiday season. I mean, it certainly doesn't reflect any of the December holidays in lyrics or tone.
Well, here's the thing. In the same year that Cake released "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," Ken Rosenberg wrote and recorded a parody of the Cake song with his Whale Holiday Carol Marching Band. This parody, titled "(Fruit)Cake White Beard Red Jacket," received airplay at WVUD (Delaware), WYSP and WXPN (Philadelphia), and 98 Rock (Baltimore). You can download the song from the WHALE Band Press Release Page. And you can enjoy this video created by YouTube user Burnett Lacy:
[Shuffle] -- I didn't have much time to work out a theme this week. That is probably due to my additional blogging duties for 25 Days of Holiday Music. So, I plugged in my iPod Nano, dialed up the 80s collection, and hit shuffle. The first three songs that queued up became the selections for today. If you're ready to find out what those tunes were, you can read and hear more after the break.
Our artist for Day 7 is Tonic Sol-Fa. They are four guys singing a cappella. Founded about 12 years ago at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, Tonic Sol-Fa has a catalog of 14 CD releases and two DVDs. They've sold over 1,000,000 copies of their CDs and have a successful touring career, having appeared on NBC’s Today Show, numerous late-night TV shows, and Garrison Keillor’s 30th anniversary celebration of A Prairie Home Companion.
I would call Tonic Sol-Fa's musical something along the lines of, say, hip-pop. And by that I mean they have a pop-oriented and far-too-safe-to-really-be-called hip-hop sound. It's, um, kind of a slick barbershop quartet thing. Their recordings are distinguished by their sparseness: only four voices and a little percussion. Today's song comes from a promotional giveaway CD: Pillsbury® Holiday Shape® Cookies Presents: Tonic Sol-Fa -- A Capella Holiday Music Favorites. It is always among the first CDs I crack out after spending Thanksgiving at my parents' home. Of the 10 tracks on this disc, "Snō" is the most contemporary, and that's saying something considering Sonic Tol-Fa's rendering of some old, favorite hymns. Still, "Snō" is an upbeat, but steady, interpretation of "Let it Snow," and it is a perfect addition to the 25 Days posts.
I can't be certain, but I think the first time I heard today's holiday song was in 2002. Or was it 2003? I do know I was still involved with a community theater in Hatboro, PA. And I know one of the directors there handed out promotional copies of the Pillsbury promotional CD. (He worked at one of the local grocery stores and they apparently had an overabundance of the discs).
These days, it is difficult, but not impossible, to find the Pillsbury giveaway. It's not even listed on Sonic Tol-Fa's discography. However, the exact same tracklist is available on their 2002 release, Sugaure. So if you enjoy "Snō," please check out a copy of the full album.
One of my favorite vocalists is Holly Cole who is very popular in Japan and in her native Canada. Cole began her music career in the mid '80s primarily as a jazz singer. Her first few albums were recorded in the trio format, specifically the Holly Cole Trio which featured Cole's voice accompanied by pianist Aaron Davis and bassist Davd Piltch. In the early 90s, Cole became a solo artist -- actually, the trio simply dropped "Trio" from the label -- and expanded her repertoire. Their first effort in this new direction was their 1993 tribute to Tom Waits, Temptation. Have I mentioned that Holly Cole and her musical partners don't write any original songs? They interpret and sometimes recreate other artists' songs, but I strongly recommend you don't write her off as a mere cover singer.
The Holly Cole Trio's first recording was their 1989 EP, Christmas Blues. It has a wonderful, jazzy cover of The Pretenders' "2,000 Miles." But today's holiday tune is "I'd Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus," a fun ditty about a wish that is surely common for any fan of Santa Claus: a chance to ride in Santa's sleigh, and maybe even take the reins! "I'd Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus" was written by the songwriting team of Burke and Van Heusen who cranked out a slew of hits in the late 1930s and 1940s. I couldn't find a video on YouTube or DailyMotion, so I created my own. Er, well, I slapped the mp3 file together with still frame capture image and exported the combo to a format that YouTube would accept. That's the effort I go through for you here during #25Days!
Katherine Kennicott Davis, who has over 600 songs and hymns for choirs to her credit, composed "The Carol of the Drum" in 1941. Within 10 years, it was popularly known as "The Little Drummer Boy." For more about the history of this carol, I refer you to the very excellent summary, History of Christmas Carols: Little Drummer Boy by Penelope Hart (aka: GoodLady).
Due to the carol's origins in choir music, most recordings of "The Little Drummer Boy" seem to focus on orchestral arrangement or vocal aesthetics (see your favorite choir, Josh Groban, Rosemary Clooney, the Celtic Woman performance, and other artists). The next subset of recordings focuses on popular artists and unusual pairings, such as Bing Crosby and David Bowie in 1977). But for a song nominally about a drummer, precious few recordings seem to emphasize drumming (though there is this version with a nice drum solo).
"The children sleep upstairs and Santa works below."
In my childhood, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning loomed very large. Christmas Eve in particular was a flurry of activity because, for many years, we waited until that day to put up the tree. Oh, we already had it, and by Christmas Eve day it would have been resting on the front porch for a few weeks, just waiting for its big moment. But it was Christmas Eve -- and, yes, the evening to be precise -- that the tree got to be front and center for a few hours. I have vivid memories of my father first rearranging the furniture to clear the bay window area. Then he would drag in the tree which was wrapped in old throw rugs and such to avoid scratching the floor or door jams. Next, he would judiciously saw off some lower branches to prepare it for the tree stand. The scent of pine filled my nostrils and the sounds of Christmas music wafted throughout the house.
Later in the evening, after a visit to church (yes, there was a time in my life when I attended church) and a helping of Christmas sausages, my father would read a story. The story was always a choice between 'Twas the night before Christmas or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I'm not certain how we alternated between them -- maybe even years for Night and odd for Rudolph, or maybe my sister and I took turns choosing the story -- but the important thing is that, as far as we kids were concerned, that story concluded all family work for the evening. After the story, my sister and I would be sent to bed.
Our third holiday offering comes from one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Vienna Teng. Initially a successful software engineer in Silicon Valley who dabbled in music as a hobby (if someone who has studied classical piano since she was five years old could be considered a "dabbler"), she gave up her lucrative career in technology to pursue her passion. The move has paid off with a pair of critically acclaimed independent albums that feature her "chamber-folk" style.
I first heard of Vienna Teng, whose birth name is Cynthia Yih Shih, when she opened for Jonatha Brooke at the Sellersville Theater a few years ago. At that time, she provided her own accompaniment on an electronic keyboard. I was so impressed with her that I purchased tickets when she returned as a headliner. For that April 2007 show, her sound was augmented by a cellist, violinist, and percussionist (this latter musician being Alex Wong, a master on the Cuban box drum known as a Cajón). I have been a fan of her music ever since.
Vienna has not released a collection of holiday music. However, on Warm Strangers (2004), her second album, she has a song that so completely captures the tone and spirit of this time of year, I have to share it with you. So today's song is "The Atheist's Christmas Carol." Now, do not let the title mislead you. This tune is not an anti-religious screed. Rather, it is a beautiful summation of the pure potentiality of each and every holiday that claims the Winter Solstice as its time of observance. Here is a video of Vienna performing the song live at THE LIVING ROOM in NYC (I've included the lyrics below the video):
The Atheist's Christmas Carol
It’s the season of grace coming out of the void
Where a man is saved by a voice in the distance
It’s the season of possible miracle cures
Where hope is currency and death is not the last unknown
Where time begins to fade
And age is welcome home
It’s the season of eyes meeting over the noise
And holding fast with sharp realization
It’s the season of cold making warmth a divine intervention
You are safe here you know now
Don’t forget
Don’t forget I love
I love
I love you
It’s the season of scars and of wounds in the heart
Our second holiday offering comes from relative newcomers, Neon Trees. Formed in Utah in 2005, Neon Trees got national recognition as the opening act for The Killers on their Day & Age Tour. After a slew of independent releases, they released their major label debut, Habits (2010), with Mercury/Def Jam Records. A series of appearances on late night television (Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, and Dave Letterman) helped boost Habits to the #28 and #1 position on the US Billboard Rock Albums and the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums charts respectively. It peaked at #113 on the US Billboard 200. In November 2010, Neon Trees released their Christmas single, "Wish List." It is, appropriately enough, a love song, and a peppy little number at that. Despite the upbeat tempo, however, it is clear to me that this song is about the longing for someone who is not close by, and who may not be close anytime soon. Hence, he sings "Wish as I may, wish as I might | Grant me this one small wish | On Christmas night."
I got "Wish List" as a free download on iTunes, which still looks to be the only place it is available (only not for free anymore). If you like your holiday music with a little pop rock zip, you should add this number to your rotation.
In addition to my weekly Friday 80s Flashback posts, I will be sharing one holiday song per day from now through December 25.
We'll kick off this new music feature with the first tune I heard when I hit shuffle on my Holiday Collection playlist early this week: "We Three Kings" by Pink Martini.
Pink Martini plays multiple styles: jazz, latin, lounge music, and classical. Thomas Lauderdale, who founded the band in 1994, refers to the band's diversity when interviewed on the January 1, 2012, broadcast of CBS Sunday Morning: “All of us in Pink Martini have studied different languages as well as different styles of music from different parts of the world. So inevitably, our repertoire is wildly diverse. At one moment, you feel like you’re in the middle of a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next moment, you’re in a French music hall of the 1930s or a palazzo in Napoli. It’s a bit like an urban musical travelogue." Pink Martini has a roster of 10–12 musicians, and they perform a multilingual repertoire -- the band's vocalist is fluent only in English, but sings in 15 different languages -- on concert stages and with symphony orchestras all over the world. In 2010, they released their fifth studio album, Joy to the World, featuring 14 tracks of holiday songs. Track #10, "We Three Kings," was released as a free Starbucks download.
