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 Way
back when Rhino Records was a little indie label run out of a Santa Monica
record store, they were known mainly for punk rock and novelty records. It
didn't take long, however, for Rocky and his crew to reveal their affinity
for holiday music. The Ravers' bang-up single, "Punk Rock Christmas" (1977)
was the label's first Christmas release, later included on their next holiday
record, the tree-shaped, green vinyl EP in 1982 (and ultimately immortalized on Rhino's Punk
Rock Xmas CD compilation). However, not counting Rhino's compilation of
songs from the Three Stooges' latterday series of children's records (, 1983), the label did not commence reissuing
honest-to-goodness vintage Christmas music till 1984, when they dropped a bomb
with two full-length
LP's entitled Rockin'
Christmas (1984).
The importance of these two pieces of plastic cannot be overstated - at least,
that is, to geeks like me. These were among the first-ever reissues of vintage
Christmas music - not just at Rhino, but anywhere - and they were harbingers
of a coming flood of reissues beginning in the late 1980's. More personally,
the Rockin'
Christmas LP's supercharged my then-nascent obsession with Christmas rock
'n' roll. By association, then, they're partly responsible for Hip Christmas - an impressive act of dysfunctional
behavior, if I do say so myself.
[close]
 The
two Rockin'
Christmas records - one each for the 50's and 60's - consist almost
exclusively of the kind of rare, idiosyncratic yule tunes that make guys
like me hyperventilate. Novelty records, doo wop, rockabilly, soul, garage
rock - it's all here! Track-for-track, the Rockin'
Christmas series has never been equaled. On the other hand, both LP's
are hopelessly out-of-print and have never been reissued on CD (try eBay).
So, what's a girl to do? Well, Rhino retooled many of these songs (along
with others more commonplace, though no less great) on another LP series
called Cool Yule (Vol.
1, 1985, and Vol. 2, 1988). These, also,
are out-of-print, but Rhino subsequently issued a Best
Of Cool Yule CD in 1989 compiling most (but not all) of those tracks.
Confused? Several more of the tracks showed up the same year on Rhino's
fine (though less distinctive) Christmas
Classics. Together, the two CDs (both enshrined in my Top
20 Albums list) virtually form an instant Christmas collection, but
that still leaves many of the Rockin' Christmas tracks
stranded in vinyl Siberia; as many Christmas CD's as I own, a full dozen
of these songs appear in my collection only on the original LPs. Great
stuff! Happy hunting! Rhino, are you listening? [top of page]
 Albums
Songs
- (It's Gonna
Be A) Punk Rock Christmas (Ravers, 1977)
-
Rockabilly Christmas (Johnny Cue, circa 1981)
-
Santa's Gone Surfin' (Malibooz, 1981)
-
Silent Night (Dragons, circa 1978)
- Christmas In Jail
(The Youngsters, 1956)
-
Dig That Crazy Santa Claus (Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, 1954)
-
Hey Santa Claus (The Moonglows, 1953)
-
It's Christmas (Marvin & Johnny, 1958)
-
Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms, 1957)
 Top 100 Song [close]
Though he remained active through the 1980's,
Bobby Helms never had a lot to show for his career
besides "Jingle Bell Rock," his rockabilly-flavored smash from 1957. A few months earlier he had launched his career,
promisingly enough, with "Fraulein"
and "My Special Angel," both of which made the Top
10. Then, "Jingle Bell Rock" zoomed
to #6 and charted again four of the next five years. Oddly,
Helms never graced the pop charts again, though he remained
a fixture on the country circuit. "Jingle Bell
Rock," however, became a musical archetype, one which
shows up frequently on Christmas albums (such as Rockin'
Little Christmas), either with Helms' snappy Decca original, his remakes for Kapp (1965) or Little Darlin' (1967),
or in one of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of cover versions. (The original
Decca 45-rpm record, by the way, featured Helm's wonderfully goofy "Captain Santa
Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol" on the flipside.
Both songs are included on Bear Family's Fraulein: The Classic Years 2-CD set.) -
Jingle Jangle (The Penguins, 1955)
-
Just A Lonely Christmas (The Moonglows, 1953)
-
North Pole Rock (Cathy Sharpe, 1958)
-
Rockin' 'n' Rollin' With Santa Claus, (The Hepsters, 1955)
-
Rockin' Santa Claus (The Moods, 1959)
-
Santa And The Satellite (Parts 1 & 2) (Buchanan & Goodman, 1957)
-
Sleigh Bell Rock (Three Aces & A Joker, 1959)
-
Who Says There Ain't No Santa Claus? (Ron Holden, 1960)
-
Yulesville (Rockin' Stockin' featuring Billy Lee Riley, 1960)
- Baby Sittin' Santa
(Barry Richards, 1961)
-
Christmas Is My Time Of Year (Christmas Spirit, 1968)
-
Christmas Spirit?? (Wailers) Top 100 Song [ close]
There's never been a more sour Christmas single than the Sonics/Wailers split 45, "Don't Believe In Christmas" b/w "Christmas Spirit??" The a-side featured the Sonics railing against the entire institution of Christmas, largely for personal
reasons. The Wailers' flip side attacks the holiday for what it reveals about America - our commercialism,
our shallowness, our lack of self-awareness. Told in a droll, Dylanesque twang, "Christmas Spirit??" is
so broad, so bitter, so altogether over-the-top that it just may have been intended as parody. Or, it
may have been an earnest attempt at relevance by an aging party band ("Tall Cool One," 1959).
Either way, it works for me - bah humbug, babe. (Both sides of this infamous single are included on Etiquette's Merry
Christmas From The Sonics, Wailers, Galaxies, a compilation of garage bands from the Pacific northwest,
as well as Rhino's Bummed Out Christmas.) -
Dancing With Santa (Trashmen, 1964)
-
Don't Believe In Christmas (Sonics) Top 100 Song [ close]
Almost since the dawn of recorded Christmas music, a favorite
topic of songwriters has been how much Christmas sucks for them. Never mind that it's the "most
wonderful time of the year" - dude, I am bummed! Here, the Sonics' ferocious lead singer, Gerry
Roslie, expresses his disbelief in the "Happy Holiday" and his displeasure with Santa Claus,
declaiming "I didn't get nothin' last year!" Not only did the "fat boy" not show,
but Roslie got shot down at the dance - "you jerk," sneers his date, "mistletoe doesn't
work!" "Don't Believe In Christmas" was featured on Merry
Christmas From The Sonics, Wailers, Galaxies, a compilation of garage bands from the Pacific
northwest; the LP also includes another of my Top 100 picks, the Wailer's "Christmas Spirit??" Both
songs are also on Rhino's Bummed Out Christmas. -
Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year (James Brown, 1966)
-
Merry Christmas Baby (The Poets, 1965)
-
Monster Holiday (Bobby "Boris" Pickett, & The Crypt Kickers, 1962)
-
Mr. Santa Claus (Nathaniel Mayer, 1962)
-
Santa & The Sidewalk Surfer (Crossfires, 1963)
-
Twistin' Bells (Santo & Johnny, 1960)
-
Wear A Smile At Christmas (Paul Revere & The Raiders, 1968)
- Winter Wonderland (Aretha Franklin, 1964)
Further
Listening
[top of page]
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 Now, you can hear the Christmas music I write about! My Christmas Jukebox is bulging with over 350 tracks, and I'll be adding more rockin' Yule tunes throughout the year. [listen now] |
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