Merry Christmas to our readers around the world. Below is one of the classic Christmas songs, appropriately titled, “The Christmas Song.”
You have to wonder whether other songwriters were jealous when songwriters Bob Wells and Mel Tormé named their song “THE Christmas Song.” How could anyone come up with a more definitive title for a Christmas song than this one first published in 1945?
But then you hear Nat King Cole sing it, and you finally understand why it is “THE Christmas Song.”
Cole recorded the song several times during his career. He first recorded it in early 1946 as part of The Nat King Cole Trio, but later that year Cole asked to re-record it with a string section. It was that second version that became a massive hit. Cole recorded it again in 1953 with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. A version we often hear was recorded in 1961 with an orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael.
According to Wikipedia, Tormé later added a coda to the ending of the song, adapting the words from “Here We Come A-wassailing.”
Love and joy come to you; And to you your Christmas too; And God bless you and send you a happy New Year; And God send you a happy New Year.
Many people mainly remember Charlie Rich for his 1970s hits “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl” off of his album Behind Closed Doors (1973). And if you look on YouTube, most of the live performance videos of this great artist are of those two songs. But most of Rich’s best work took place both before and after that album, and Rich remains one of my favorite singers because of that other work. Rich consistently did outstanding work, even if fans did not always buy his songs the way they did for his hits.
Having played piano and sang for Sun Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and following a brief stint at Groove, Charlie Rich — who was born on December 14, 1932 -– signed with Smash Records in 1965. His first single for Smash Records was a novelty song “Mohair Sam,” written by Dallas Frazier.
The song became a hit, ending up in the top 30 on the pop charts. Below, Rich performs “Mohair Sam” (appears to be on the October 7, 1965 episode of ABC-TV’s show Shindig!). Check it out.
Even at the time, “Mohair Sam” sounded like a song from an earlier era. Songs on the radio in 1965 included Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” Otis Redding’s “Respect,” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”
Rich would continue to have ups and downs in his careers. As he did many times during his career, despite continuing to make quality music, Charlie Rich would have to reinvent himself before finding success again in the early 1970s. Then, after a period of semi-retirement through the 1980s, he released a wonderful jazzy album Pictures and Paintings in 1992 before passing away on July 25, 1995.
What is your favorite Charlie Rich song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In the video for The Killers singing their holiday single “Christmas in L.A.,” Owen Wilson laments life in Los Angeles.
The Killers have released their annual Christmas song. This time, the video for “Christmas in L.A.” stars Owen Wilson lamenting life in Los Angeles, dreaming of a white Christmas.
As was the case with The Killers’ seven previous Christmas singles, all proceeds from “Christmas in L.A.” go to to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS as part of a partnership with (RED).
In addition to Owen Wilson, the video for “Christmas in L.A.” also features an appearance by Harry Dean Stanton. And see if you can spot the animated Warren Zevon too. Check out “Christmas in L.A.”
One of the great American songs of the late twentieth century is “City of New Orleans.” The song was originally written and recorded by Steve Goodman but made famous by Arlo Guthrie.
“City of New Orleans” was a top 20 hit for Guthrie in 1972, and numerous artists have performed and recorded “City of New Orleans.” While the song recounts the story of the Illinois Central Railroad’s City of New Orleans train, one might read a little more into the story by knowing more about the songwriter.
Steve Goodman and “City of New Orleans”
Goodman was born on July 25, 1948, and when he was in college, he was diagnosed with leukemia. While the disease was often in remission, Goodman always recognized he was living on borrowed time.
Goodman died at the young age of 34 on September 20, 1984. Knowing about his diagnosis, one may see more in the sadness of the song about the end of the life of a train.
The Real Train
The City of New Orleans itself was a train that the Illinois Central Railroad began operating in April 1947, a little more than a year from Goodman’s birth. The overnight train had the longest daytime regularly scheduled route in the country for a time. The train went between New Orleans, Louisiana and Goodman’s birthplace and hometown, Chicago, Illinois.
In May 1971, though, Amtrak took over the City of New Orleans train. The company converted it to a nighttime route, renaming it the Panama Limited.
Goodman reportedly came up with the idea for a song about the train while riding on a trip. But it is hard not to see some heartfelt connections between Goodman’s life and the train in his most famous song.
“Half way home, we’ll be there by morning, Through the Mississippi darkness. . . . This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues.”
Below is Goodman performing the song live in 1972.
Arlo Guthrie’s Version: Changed Lyrics
While Arlo Guthrie’s famous verion of the song follows Steve Goodman’s lyrics, there is one exception. Note in the video above, Goodman sings about “passing towns that have no name.” In Guthrie’s famous version, he sings about “passing trains that have no names.”
One commentator has explained that the difference between the two versions comes from Goodman’s knowledge of train travel. Goodman would know that traveling on the train, one would go through many towns without seeing any signs. But perhaps Guthrie did not understand or he thought city listeners would not understand a train traveling through nameless towns. Or maybe Guthrie just wanted to contrast regular nameless trains with the train named “City of New Orleans.”
In this video, a young Guthrie performs “City of New Orleans.”
“City of New Orleans” Today
Sometimes we all forget that we have a limited time on earth to make a difference, but Goodman’s leukemia diagnosis at a young age made him want to do as much with his life as he could. And his song about a train did make a difference.
After the song “City of New Orleans” became popular in the 1970s, Amtrak, hoping to capitalize on the song’s popularity, brought back the “City of New Orleans” train name in 1981. Thanks to Steve Goodman, you may still take a ride on the City of New Orleans today. And thanks to him, you may also sing along to one of the great American songs.
The changing attitudes toward marijuana, with states legalizing medical marijuana or legalizing it outright, reminded me of a 45 rpm record I had as a kid. I had never seen or smelled pot at that time, but I just liked a funny song called “Wildwood Weed.”
Jim Stafford recorded the song, which is really more talking than singing. If you had a TV in the 1970s, you probably know who Jim Stafford is. Like Paul Williams (and to some extent John Denver), he was one of those singer-performers who for a period seemed to be on every television show before suddenly seeming to disappear.
Stafford was a country-singer-comedian who often appeared on The Tonight Show. He had his own summer variety TV show in 1975 called, appropriately, The Jim Stafford Show. You might also remember him as a co-host of Those Amazing Animals from 1980 to 1981. Or you might recall his appearances on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ‘Revival Show.’
But before all of that, I knew Stafford from a 45 rpm record playing in my bedroom where he sang a story about “Wildwood Weed.” Below Stafford performs “Wildwood Weed” while hosting Nashville Now. But first he explains how the song was controversial at the time.
“Wildwood Weed” went to number seven on the U.S. charts in 1974. One of his other songs that I recall from that same year was “My Girl Bill,” which is a little more serious than “Wildwood Weed.”
Stafford was one of the most likable people on television in those days, and he always seemed to be smiling. So I was glad to hear that he is still performing even if the shows are not on national TV. Since 1990, he has performed at The Jim Stafford Theatre in Branson, Missouri.
What is your favorite memory of Jim Stafford? Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via public domain.
The changing attitudes toward marijuana, with states legalizing medical marijuana or legalizing it outright, reminded me of a 45 rpm record I had as a kid. I had never seen or smelled pot at that time, but I just liked a funny song called “Wildwood Weed.”