Well, it is Sunday morning and that usually means that it is time for some music here. Since it is the last Sunday before Christmas a little holiday music is called for. This is a song that I have played here before. It’s that odd pairing between Bing Crosby and David Bowie and the song The Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth.
The story behind how it came about is pretty interesting. In 1977, 73 year old Bing Crosby was in the midst of what would be his last British tour. While there , producers put together Crosby’s annual holiday special for American TV, this time with an English theme, a Merrie Olde Christmas. It was filmed in September with a number of British celebrity guests, including the 30 year old rock star David Bowie. Bing actually introduced and showed the video to Bowie’s song Heroes on the special.
On the day of shooting, Bowie learns that he is scheduled to sing Little Drummer Boy with Crosby. He balks, telling producers that he hates the song and if that’s the song they wanted he might as well leave. He said he was only there because his mother was huge Crosby fan.
Producers and composers went to work. In just over an hour, they produced an original tune, Peace on Earth, that would be sung by Bowie as a counterpoint to Bing’s Little Drummer Boy. The two singers both liked the new addition and the arrangement and ran through it together several times in less than an hour before recording the final version.
Bing Crosby died less than a month later and the special ran as scheduled in December of 1977. The pairing of Bing and Bowie was considered an oddity then and producers of the show and song thought that was the end of it. But bootlegs of the song circulated for several years, gaining in popularity to the point that RCA decided to release it as single in 1982. It has become one of the most popular holiday songs in the intervening years.
I know it’s one of my favorites. Have a great Sunday…
Redtree Times 