Pretty sure there's never been any time in my life when I didn't love Christmas music. Love, I say! By the time I got to high school and then college in the late '70s, I had developed a significant hankerin' for rock 'n' roll Yuletunes. But I didn't own any. I think my first rock 'n' roll Christmas records were 45s of "Father Christmas" by The Kinks and "(It's Gonna Be A) Punk Rock Christmas" by The Ravers, both purchased in Cleveland over Christmas break '77/'78. For my first rockin' pop Christmas album, I started at the top: a water-damaged copy of Phil Spector's Christmas Album in the early '80s. Originally released in 1963 as A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, this remains an essential component of any respectable holiday music library. The Ronettes' "Sleigh Ride" was always one of my favorites, but most would agree that Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is the classic...IF we have to pick just one, that is.
I scored a copy of this magnificent 1962 comic book in a trade with my friend Dave Pratt in the mid '60s, and I wish I still had it; I would buy a reprint of it right now if I could, because this just may be The Greatest Comic Book Ever Made. I haven't read it in decades, mind you, but I don't think it's just nostalgia prompting me here. I don't remember whether or not legendary Good Duck Artist Carl Barks was represented in this particular funnybook, but I do know that I read it and re-read it and re-re-read it for many cherished years. Hey, Santa Claus! Ya out there? I've been reasonably good this year. Reasonably. Would you consider stuffing Christmas Parade # 1 in my stocking Sunday night...?
Screw it. I'm headin' to eBay.
I was managing a record store in Buffalo when this album was released in 1985, and I snapped it up faster'n you could say "Employee discount, Ho Ho Ho!" Still have it (though frankly it sounds like crap). I think I already had two of the songs, via the 45 of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and John Lennon's Shaved Fish best-of LP, which contained "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," albeit with the ending of "Give Peace A Chance" awkwardly stapled onto its tail. And I already despised Paul McCartney's awful "Wonderful Christmastime," so that was no enticement. But I didn't have Greg Lake's sublime "I Believe In Father Christmas," and I had never even heard of Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" or Roy Wood with Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday," both of which instantly became prevailing Festive Faves. Sure, I would have preferred Shakin' Stevens' cover of "Blue Christmas" be replaced by Elvis Presley's rendition (or, better yet, by King Elvis I's "Santa Claus Is Back In Town"), but the Naughty can't be choosers.
I have not read any of the great old Dennis The Menace comic books in many, many years. I should try to rectify that; they were often just incredibly well-executed books, created by writers and artists who knew their craft and took pride in it. This was particularly true of the 25-cent Giant issues; I was especially tickled by a Giant detailing the Mitchell family's Hawaiian vacation, and by a Christmas Giant showing Dennis' fascination with a high-end Texas mail-order outfit named Deiman-Harcus. I don't recall many details of the book; I only recall the smiles it brought me. I don't even know which issue I had, so I chose this image as a broad representation of the magic and splendor of Dennis The Menace Christmas Giants.
In 1979, my girlfriend volunteered for the Special Olympics in Brockport, assisting young athletes who were competing in the events, and navigating paths between celebrities from Sally Struthers to Muhammed Ali to the Kennedy of your choice. The summer of '79 was the epitome of the yin and yang of my young adulthood. I was 19, and in love. One of my best friends killed himself. I saw a lot of great rock 'n' roll acts, including The Ramones, Joe Jackson, The Flashcubes, David Johansen, Artful Dodger, and The Records. I cried a lot. I drank a lot. A lot. This was all in the rear view mirror by the time the Special Olympics benefit LP A Very Special Christmas was released in 1987, though I was still drinking a lot, and was trying to piece myself back together in Syracuse after failing spectacularly to build a life in Buffalo. I remember putting one of the album's tracks, The Pretenders' "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," on a holiday mixtape that December, feeling the sadness in Chrissie Hynde's voice, and wondering to myself, What now? Where do I go from here? This is not an album I ever pull off the shelf for a fresh listen, and honestly, I mostly remember it as being rather boring, too slick, too '80s mainstream for my taste. But I also remember the weariness of that great Pretender's voice, and that feeling of uncertainty that had me squarely in its cold, uncaring crosshair.
The early 1970s is considered the start of The Bronze Age of comics, but it was another Golden Age for Batman fans. The Neal Adams/Dick Giordano cover for Batman # 239 (dated February 1972, but on the stands in late '71) is itself a throwback to the '40s, with The Dark Knight wearing Santa's beard and delivering toys and goodies to a poor family. Inside, "Silent Night--Deadly Night!" continued writer Denny O'Neil's ongoing effort to both return our hero to his pulp-inspired roots and keep him relevant for the sensational '70s, moving from the campy image of the TV Caped Crusader to a fearsome creature of the night known properly as The Batman. We mostly remember this era's stories by O'Neil, Adams, and Giordano, but the always-underrated Irv Novick penciled more Batman adventures than Adams did, with Giordano's inks supplying continuity. Novick's work on this issue is splendid, as always, and while O'Neil's story is a bit hokey, it feels good, and I just adored it when I was twelve. (Or thirteen? I think I got my copy as coverless contraband, after its original on-sale date.) A Robin the Teen Wonder back-up and an actual Golden Age Batman reprint from the '40s completed a perfect Christmas package.
One early '70s December evening, I was in the car with my family, riding through the village of North Syracuse, when this crazy, manic comedy record came on the radio. When I asked what it was, my sister said it was one of The Beatles' Christmas records. I was fascinated. But the damned things were elusive; they were originally produced from 1963 to 1969 solely for paid subscribers to The Beatles' fan club, and not available to the general public. To this day, their only official commercial release has been as a pricey limited edition collection of 45s in 2017. The Beatles' Christmas Album, the fan club LP that collected all of the original messages on one platter in 1970, has never been officially released, though bootlegs are quite common. I got my copy at a used record shop in Berkeley in 1989, and I added a decent CD boot...er, RARE IMPORT copy a few years ago. I used to wait for radio stations to play all of these at Christmas time, but few of 'em ever did. When we started This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, we determined that we would play each and every one of them on our annual Christmas shows, without fail. I can't believe no one else does that. (And we just did it again on The 19th Annual This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Christmas Show. Happy Crimble.)
By the mid '70s, I was becoming more and more a DC Comics guy, and buying a decreasing number of Marvel Comics titles. I had loved both companies for years, but my allegiance was clearly to DC. I didn't own a copy of this 1975 Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag Marvel Treasury Edition until about a decade after the fact, but it's a pretty good one. The stories are less overtly holiday-centric than DC's specific Yuletime offerings; the Spider-Man story's Christmas connection is so incidental that, even though I knew the story and actually owned a copy of its original appearance in 1965's Amazing Spider-Man # 24, I never recalled any association with the most wonderful time of the year (though the sub-subplot of Spidey sweatin' out gift-shopping is indeed there). The cover illustration of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Luke Cage, The Incredible Hulk, and Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. deckin' those halls and trimmin' that tree is the book's most expressly festive moment.
Cheating with a CD cover, but that's okay: I never owned either of the two vinyl volumes in Rhino Records' Cool Yule series. Oh, I wanted 'em all right, but the ol' holiday shopping dollar never seemed to stretch sufficiently to include them. The eventual CD best-of was a Godsend, with The Sonics' swaggering "Santa Claus," Solomon Burke's "Presents For Christmas," The Drifters' "White Christmas," The Ventures' "Sleigh Ride," James Brown's "Santa Claus, Santa Claus," Brenda Lee's "Papa Noel," and Ike & Tina Turner's version of "Merry Christmas Baby," a song Bruce Springsteen covered on A Very Special Christmas; this was all just a little before I discovered Otis Redding's definitive version. Most of these have now become holiday music staples for me. The biggest Christmas treat for me here was THE MONKEES!! Well, almost The Monkees. "Christmas Is My Time Of Year" was a 1976 three-fourths Monkees reunion single by Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork, a cover of a '60s track by the studio group The Christmas Spirit (with members of The Turtles, The Byrds, plus some chick named Linda Ronstadt). I had the Davy/Mickey/Petey track on a boot...er, RARE IMPORT Monkees LP called Monkeeshines, absolutely worshiped it, and was so grateful to secure a cleaner copy of the track on CD. The group's then-unreleased 1967 TV performance of "Riu Chiu" would ultimately become the definitive Monkees Christmas classic, but there'll always be a place in my holiday heart for "Christmas Is My Time Of Year."
Looking through my stack of DC and Marvel tabloid treasuries from the '70s and early '80s, I was bummed to realize that I no longer own a copy of either of DC's two Limited Collectors' Edition Christmas With The Super-Heroes books. Man, what Grinch possessed me to ever part with these?! I didn't even retain the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer tabloid that introduced the oversized format to begin with. Jeez, Saint Nick's bringin' me nothin' but coal for sure. This first LCE Santa-approved super set opened with a reprint of the Batman "Silent Night--Deadly Night!" discussed above. It also included a pair of Golden Age stories (one apiece starring Superman and the original Captain Marvel), a previously-unpublished tale starring the humorous detective duo Angel And The Ape, and a very Silver Age '60s story starring The Teen Titans. The Titans story, "A Swingin' Christmas Carol!," is of course writer Bob Haney's delightfully goofy take on Charles Dickens. Titans artist Nick Cardy, who also drew this book's new cover, was one of my favorite comic book artists, possibly even my all-time # 1. I was certainly fond of his depiction of an irresistibly cute Wonder Girl in this story. Hey, this calls for a bonus image!
(The second LCE super Christmas collection a year later was also great, with a '40s Superman story originally offered as a department store giveaway, a really cool early '70s Mike Friedrich/Neal Adams/Dick Giordano Batman story called "The Silent Night Of The Batman!," a House Of Mystery short, and Golden Age stories starring The Sandman and Wonder Woman. Early print ads showed Captain Marvel Jr. as well, but The World's Mightiest Boy was cut when the page count shrank prior to publication. Hey, this calls for another bonus image!)
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| The print ad for this book also depicted Captain Marvel, Jr. sitting on the back of the sleigh. |
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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.
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