ELEVEN FUTURE MUSIC STARS IN 65-66

I may make people sick with the post pertaining to 1965 - 1966, but that is where my mind is at right now, due to the research I'm doing for a novel I'm writing, which takes place in early 1966. With that said, one of the plot lines of this novel has to do with a character working at a Top 40 radio station.

I've been going through old radio station hit surveys on ARSA and some that have turned up on Pinterest and Tumblr, and I found that Top 40 radio was a cornucopia of various styles and genres.

The main reason was there were not individual formats for every genre or style, just Top 40, country & easy listening/adult contemporary (which was the new kid on the block in 1966). Smaller markets had, what was known as, block programming, which meant they were all three formats for certain portions of the day.

The other reason was every radio station had its own program director or music director, who based the playlist on sales and request. Unlike today, when large corporate radio stations all sort of play the same songs in every market based on what the corporate office says should be played. Another thing to remember was Top 40 was aimed at an audience that was, for the most part, under 30 years old and mainly between ages 12 to 20. You find individual radio station played a myriad of soul artist, British invasion groups, girl groups, and regional garage bands. They would play it and see if anyone liked it, without "testing" it first, like the corporate giants of today do.

Looking at these charts, I noticed that 1965 - 66 saw the first appearances of some major music acts of the 70s & 80s. Granted some took off within a short time (Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, The Who), some appeared and then disappeared (Edwin Starr, The O'Jays, Statler Brothers), and some were known by other names (David Bowie, Warren Zevon) or part of a group (Don Williams, Joe Stampley, Delbert McClinton).

THE WHO - They are considered the third most influential band of the British Invasion, but in 1965-66, The Who were struggling to make an impact in the United States. They were the hot new band in their homeland, but in this country they had distribution problems, bouncing back and forth between Decca, Brunswick and Atco. They also seemed like they were too young. They also seemed odd, with their use of distortion and archaic endings to their songs. In some radio markets, "I Can't Explain" was a big hit, but not "My Generation," in another market, "My Generation" was the hit, but not "I Can't Explain."  There was also confusion caused by an earlier record, by an unknown studio group, called The You Know Who Group, followed by a goofy, annoying, nostalgia, novelty project by the Four Season masquerading as The Wonder Who, and a Canadian group, Chad Allan & the Expressions, began using the name The Guess Who. However, after their appearance at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967, everyone knew who The Who was.

NEIL DIAMOND - In late 1965, Diamond had his first taste of success as a Brill Building songwriter, when Jay & The Americans had a hit with his composition, "Sunday and Me." The next year, Diamond signed to the Bang label and released the single "Solitary Man."  It was not a big hit, but his next singles, "Cherry Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman," were bigger hits. By the end of the year, three of his songs were used on a new TV sitcom, The Monkees. One of those songs, "I'm a Believer" became a number one hit.

DOLLY PARTON - Many people don't know this but in 1965-66, Dolly was being marketed by Monument Records as the next Leslie Gore-Brenda Lee-Skeeter Davis. During that time period she released three singles, which received airplay in many Southern markets, but didn't seem to sell very good. The only one to make the Billboard chart, was a remake of the 50s hit, "Happy Happy Birthday Baby." The other two were a Phil Spector-ish "Don't Drop Out" and the Joe Meek-ish "Busy Signal." However, someone at Monument figured out that her popularity in the South might signal that she should be a country singer. Her next hits, "Dumb Blonde" and "Something Fishy," were country hits and the next year, she joined The Porter Wagoner Show. Once people saw what Dolly looked like, they fell in love with her.

EDWIN STARR - Maybe not a major hit maker, but he certainly gave us one of the big hits of the 70s, "War," as well as the hits "25 Miles," "Contact" and "H.A.P.P.Y Radio." In 1965, Starr was on a small label called Ric Tic. His first single, "Agent Double O-Soul," about a hipster-secret agent went Top 30. Another single, in early 1966, "Stop Her On Sight (S.O.S)" only made it to number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100. Like Neil Diamond, Starr's songwriting paid off, when one of his compositions, "Oh How Happy" became a huge hit for a white vocal group named The Shades of Blue. Later, Ric Tic was bought out by Motown, which is where Starr had his biggest hits.

THE O'JAYS - In the 70s, The O'Jays were a three man soul group, who had seven Top 40 ("Love Train" & "Back Stabbers" were two of them). In 1965- 66, they were FIVE guys from Ohio, who had been recording since 1963. They had their highest charting hit of the 60s with "Lipstick Traces." It only made it to number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was a top 20 hit in Canada. It also got the group some radio and TV exposure, but still they were struggling to make it big. In the early 70s, two of the original members left. The other three were signed to Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International record label, where they became one of the best remembered soul acts of the 70s.

THE STATLER BROTHERS -  In 1964, The Statler Brothers joined the Johnny Cash Road Show as both his backup singers and opening act, mixing gospel with country. Their first two single for Columbia failed to chart, but their third single, "Flowers On the Wall". went to number 2 on the country chart and number 4 on the Hot 100 in January of 1966. After that, The Statlers never had another Top 40 pop hit and only had two Top 10 country hits. They did become more familiar to people in the later part of the 60s, thanks to their weekly appearances on Johnny Cash's TV show. When that show ended, they parted amicably with Cash, signed with Mercury Records and began churning out one hit country song after another. "Flowers On the Wall" would later turn up in the movie Pulp Fiction.

WARREN ZEVON - In 1966, Warren Zevon wasn't Warren Zevon. Instead he was Stephen Lyme of the folk rock duo of lyme & cybelle (Not a typo, they were ahead of their time by using lowercase letters).  Lyme and his female partner, Cybelle (Violet) Santiago had a minor hit with a song called "Follow Me." Their next single was a cover of Bob Dylan's "If You Gotta Go, Go Now." It was banned from radio stations for being "suggestive" (Maybe they thought it was about going to the bathroom). Zevon recorded a solo album under his real name, in 1969, that flopped. Most people became familiar with Zevon after his 1978 LP Excitable Boy, which contained the hit "Werewolves of London."

DAVID BOWIE - During the early days of the British Invasion, any single by a British band might be picked up for airplay by Top 40 radio stations. A handful of radio stations in the United States picked up a sort of The-Yardbirds-meets-The-Who styled song called "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" by David Jones & the Lower Third in late 1965. The problem was there was another British singer named David Jones, in late 65, with a record out called "What Are We Going To Do."

It shouldn't have been confusing. One record was on Parlaphone, the other was on Colpix. One was dark haired and looked like a child and other was a skinny, blonde guy with an overbite and eyes that were different colored. By the end of the year, one of those David Jones had become Davy Jones and was a member of The Monkees, and the Lower Third released a new single called "Can't Help Thinking About Me," only this time, the lead singer was credited as David Bowie. Few American radio stations picked the new Lower Third single. Bowie would have the same sort of smattering of airplay later in the decade with his original version of "Space Oddity" on Deram. By 1973, most people were not confusing Bowie with Davy Jones.

Don Williams is the middle in this concert announcement.

DON WILLIAMS - Often referred to as the Gentle Giant of Country Music because of his soft, bass-baritone voice and six foot height, Don Williams became a major star in country music in the 70s and 80s with hits like "It Must Be Love," "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend," "Tulsa Time" and "Amanda." In 1965 - 66, Williams was part of a folk trio known as the Pozo-Seco Singers, that was intended to be Columbia Records answer to Peter, Paul & Mary. Their first single, "Time," featured Susan Taylor on the lead vocal. The slow, somber ballad received substantial airplay, but barely missed the Top 40 (Number 47 on Billboard). Their second single became a hit on the easy listening chart, but not on the Top 40. The third single, "I Can Make It With You," featured Don Williams on lead vocal and became their first Top 40 hit. It also received heavy airplay on Top 40 radio stations. Their next single, "Look What You've Done," was a duet of Williams and Taylor. The group disbanded in 1970. Williams began having solo hits on the country charts in 1973 and had one solo Top 40 hit in1980 with "I Believe In You."

Joe Stampley is second from the left.

JOE STAMPLEY -  In the 70s, Joe Stampley became a major country star with hits like "Soul Song," "Roll On, Big Mama," & "Put Your Clothes Back On," and recorded novelty songs with Moe Bandy in the 80s, such as "Just Good Ole Boys," "Holding The Bag," and the rather homophobic "Honky Tonk Queen" and "Where's The Dress." However, in 1965 - 66, people probably heard him and thought he was Mick Jagger. He was lead singer of a group called The Uniques, who were on the Paula record label. They had a minor hit with a song called "You Ain't Tough," which sounded like the Rolling Stones, except for the chorus, where Stampley would go country singer for a few seconds. The Uniques also had hits with "Not Too Long Ago" and "All These Things," which Joe Stampley re-recorded as a solo artist in the mid-70s. It went to Number 1 on the country chart.

DELBERT McCLINTON - Even before 1965 - 66, Delbert McClinton was part of rock & roll history. He is the person playing harmonica on the Bruce Channel 1962 Number 1 hit "Hey Baby." That song influenced The Beatles first two hits, "Love Me Do" & "Please Please Me." In 1965, McClinton and singer Ronnie Kelly, recording as The Ron-Dels (Get it) recorded a folkish song "If You Really Want Me To I'll Go." It received minor airplay, but because of being on a small label, it just snuck into the Hot 100 and peaked at Number 97.  McClinton has been a sort of cult artist writing songs for other artist, recording duets with Bonnie Raitt ("Good Man, Good Woman") & Tanya Tucker ("Tell Me About It"), as well as, his two most famous songs, the 80s hit "Giving It Up For Your Love" and "I'm Your Weatherman," featured in the movie Groundhog Day. (Note: There was a band called the Rondells. Most photos are of them, so I used a photo of the 45 at the top of this post)

Honorable Mentions - Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night worked for Hanna-Barbera Records and had a minor hit (Number 73) in 1965 with the song "Roses & Rainbows." Fellow Three Dog Night member, Cory Wells, was in the garage band, The Enemys. They were one of many bands that recorded the song "Hey Joe" before Jimi Hendrix. They also appeared in an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies, where they performed the song "Mo-Jo Woman" & "Oh Pretty Woman."

Jimmy Page & Glen Campbell - Jimmy Page, besides joining The Yardbirds and appearing in the film Blow Up with them, he was on several major radio hits of that era, such as "Downtown" by Petual Clark, "As Tears Go By" by Marianne Faithful, "Is It True?" by Brenda Lee. He and future Led Zeppelin band mate, John Paul Jones, played on most of Herman's Hermits and Donovan's big hits of 1966.

Glen Campbell was working and, sometimes, touring with The Beach Boys. He is playing on the Pet Sounds LP. Like Page, Campbell was a session guitarist. He worked in Los Angeles with the Wrecking Crew, which meant he was on hits by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Jan & Dean, The Byrds, The Mama & Papas, Sonny & Cher, etc etc.

DESDINOVA'S FAVORITE DAVID BOWIE SONGS

I had promised to do this at the time of his death. I said I was going to compile a list of my favorite David Bowie songs. These are just my preferences.

Before I get into this list, I have something to admit. When I was small, there was a TV special called NBC: The First 50 Years. There was a segment, narrated by Dean Martin, on the history of music and variety program on the NBC network. He was doing the voiceover of clips from these various singers. There was a clip of some singer, like Eddie Fisher, then Dean Martin says something about The Midnight Special showcasing "current singers like David Bowie." On screen was this strange, inhuman looking person with bright red hair singing. It scared me to death. From that moment, I was frightened of David Bowie. There was a copy of the Pin Ups LP at the Consumers Supermarket in Lebanon and I would try not to walk past it. I was scared of this guy.

What changed this was his appearance on the Bing Crosby Christmas special. He looked normal on that. A few years later, I saw an attempt to bring back the old TV series Omnibus, which feature a segment on David Bowie appearing in The Elephant Man on Broadway and a debut of the video for the "Fashion." I was later delighted, when a college, my drama teacher told how she had got to meet him, after a performance, and he ask her to meet his personal trainer the next day.

However, my love for his music really started with a syndicated radio show, where there was a profile on his career and it featured music from his new LP called Let's Dance. I taped the music from it. From then on, I was hooked.

1. "Rebel Rebel"
2. "Panic In Detroit"
3. "Golden Years"
4. "1984"
5. "Blue Jean"
6. "Suffragette City"
7. "Space Oddity"
8. "The Man Who Sold The World"
9. "Ashes To Ashes"
10. "Modern Love"
11. "Fame"
12. "Lady Grinning Soul"
13. " Let's Dance"
14. "Day In - Day Out"
15. "The Jean Genie"

Let me add as an extra, I will also mention favorite covers David Bowie did.

1. "Wild Is the Wind" (Johnny Mathis)
2. "Knock On Wood" (Eddie Floyd)
3. "Let's Spend the Night Together" (The Rolling Stones)
4. "White Light/White Heat" (Velvet Underground)
5. "Friday On My Mind" (The Easybeats)

And three early Bowie tunes:

1. "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" - David Jones & the Lower Third
2. "Liza Jane" - Davie Jones & the King Bees
3. "Good Morning Girl" - David Bowie & the Buzz
4. "Love You Til Tuesday"
5. "Laughing Gnome" (It is probably the worst thing he ever did, but I like it)

R. I. P  Ziggy Stardust 1947 -2016         

R.I.P DAVID BOWIE

I may do another Bowie post later. I have been listening to his music quite a bit recently while I worked on the satirical post about "glam country." For right now, here is my favorite David Bowie song.

I'M GOING BACK TO MY PLOW: I WANT TO CREATE GLAM COUNTRY

My idea of what my glam country singer will look like.

It seems like every five to ten years, you hear people complain that "Country music jest ain't what it usedta be." Since I hate most country music, it all country music sounds the same to me. The big complaint always comes from the hardcore country music traditionalist is that it is "soundin too much like dat thar ole rock & roll crap."  Supposedly, there are people from Hollywood, who are manufacturing hits with autotune and rapping by people, who never lived on a farm or drove a pickup or rode a horse. Like that is a bad thing.

Must of this hatred seems to be directed at a country music act called Florida Georgia Line. I checked out some of their music on YouTube. I don't see what the controversy is. It sounded like country music to me, although I might say better than most country music acts.

I've noticed that these country music fans, many of whom I went to school with, hated the music I liked. I've been thinking about possibly creating the next big trend in country music that will hack them off.

Many of my classmates, who liked country music, hated that I liked the music of the British Invasion. Creating a country music British Invasion wouldn't be the same. There is a big country following in Great Britain. I've seen some of these British country singers on RFD-TV. The problem is they are all older men, who play extremely, traditional, country music and frankly not that good. They place a heavy emphasis on yodeling. The young girls won't get hysterical about dorky, white men in their 50s & 60s yodeling.

These country music loving classmates of mine didn't like the fact that I liked psychedelic rock either. Now there is some debate as to whether there isn't already psychedelic country. Some might bring up music by The Flying Burrito Brothers, early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Sweetheart of the Rodeo era The Byrds, The Band, a handful of Grateful Dead songs and most everything by Creedence Clearwater Revival. You could also argue Jim Stafford's "Wildwood Weed" and the Cross Canadian Ragweed song about "those boys from Oklahoma" (not sure what the name of that annoying song is). However, it is rare that country music ever tried to copy the sound of psychedelia, with about two exceptions: Buck Owens hit "Who is Gonna Mow Your Grass" features a fuzztone guitar and a harpsichord in the background, and then there is Porter Wagoner's "Rubber Room." I could also add the Dylan-esque "Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel" by Townes Van Zandt.

I thought about punk country, but a radio consulting company already thought of it, as part of a satirical audio play. Here is a NSFW portion of it.

Then, it hit me what would hack these people off: a country version of glam rock. I think country music needs its own versions of David Bowie, Elton John, T. Rex and Mott the Hoople. I want to be the creator and driving force behind this trend; a cross between Tony DeFries and Chinn & Chapman.

First, I would need to find the perfect person to be the first star of the glam country movement, although I think it should have a hipper name like "bro-country." Maybe I'll call it "Brokeback Mountain Country."

First, I need to find the right person willing to try anything, as the classified ad, that gave rise to one of America's top glam acts, said. I could probably find someone on CMT's Next Superstar, Nashville Star, The Voice, America's Got Talent, or American Idol. If this does work out, I'll put an ad saying "Do You Want to Be the Next Big Country Star?" on Gay Farmer Central or Gay-Cowboy-dot-com. At the end of the ad, I'll put, "Transgender applicants strongly encouraged."

Once I find this guy, I will give him a makeover and dye his hair a garish orange or red. This guy will need more makeup than a teenage girl in the 80s. He should put as much of an Estee Lauder makeup gift set on their face as they can.

I stole Daisy Duke's legs for this pic.

One of the complaints about bro-country is the videos seem to focus on girls in Daisy Duke cut off shorts and cowboy boots. My idea is to have this guy not only wear Daisy Duke shorts, but pantyhose under them like Daisy Duke did on The Dukes of Hazard. He will wear cowboy boots, but as a tribute to the great glam rockers of the 70s, they will have seven inch platform heels.

The big complaint with bro-country is the songs all sound the same. They are all about how fun it is to be young in a small town in the South or Midwest. It is a kind of rural sitcom milieu. After the Friday Night Lights football game, we will party with the girls from Petticoat Junction, who will be wearing Daisy Dukes shorts, but we can't get too loud or Andy and Barney will show up and bust up our party. Of course, one could point out that outlaw country songs all seem to be about being, to paraphrase President Obama, an angry white man in a Red State afraid of change, living a life that sounds like the plot line of a Daniel Woodrell novel. There is whiskey, guns, fights, whiskey, pickup trucks, whiskey, divorce, whiskey, and (as bro-country star Luke Bryan said) waking up in the gutter.

Glam country will have some recurring themes that were recurring themes in glam rock, but some that will place them in opposition to both the bro-country and outlaw country crowd. Since rural rednecks don't like science fiction (probably they are not intelligent enough to understand it), my glam country artist will have sing about feeling out of place in a small town and wanting to live on another planet. He should sing about wanting to be an alien from Mars. As a matter of fact, I believe his backing band should be called The Red Dirt Cowboys from Mars. The video for this song should be shot in black & white, then solarised with a video synthesizer. The glam country singer will be dressed as a clown about to be run over by a giant steam roller, while drowning in quicksand.

One thing that is prevalent among the outlaw country crowd is a hatred for Hollywood. They believe they are trying to change country music. Anyone familiar with 70s glam rock will remember there were several songs about Hollywood icons of the past, such as Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Roy Rogers, Marilyn Monroe and even Dwight Frye. Since nobody has written a song about Rita Hayworth and bro-country sings about other alcoholic drinks, besides whiskey, I think that my singer will record a song called "Margaretta Hayworth." At some point in this song, the singer will stop and scream "Wham Bam thank you, mame!"

Also, there should be some songs celebrating 50s rock & roll. Maybe "I Want to Be The Sock Hop Queen." He should do a sexual song about cars like "Rub Yourself Against my Buick."

I also want the glam country singer to record a real pretty ballad that women will love. The kind off song a Russian dissident would dedicate to Bailey on WKRP. It should be called "Thing of Beauty." However, when anyone ask about the title, he should say, "Actually, 'Thing of Beauty' is my pet name for my cock."

This guy's interviews should be full of controversial statements like, "They said that as a country singer, I should try to look and dress like John Wayne, but I told them I'd rather look and dress like Jane Fonda in Klute. Hot pants, knee boots and a shag haircut" or "I don't chew tobacco. It is unhealthy, but I do spit rather than swallow."

Okay, I used Lita Ford's legs this time.

Since one of the complaints against bro-country is the use of audiotune, glam country will use it, but on backing vocals. They need to sound other worldly. Also, plenty of hard fuzztone guitar and synthasizers. If they use a violin, it should be a distorted electric violin. Also a grand piano must be used. There should be some songs with that Chinn- Chapman backbeat that was on Gary Glitter's hits that goes "Womp-a-chucka-womp-a-chucka-womp-a-chucka."

The album covers should be strange. I thought putting his head and torso on a cat's legs and tail to attract country kids to the furry fetish. Maybe call the album "Pussyboy." Maybe an Andy Warhol-ish black & white photo with color added, like the photo above.

He can do covers of both glam and country songs. First up, should be "Country Comfort" by Elton John. If he does country covers they should be female singer's hits. I'm thinking Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Bobbie Gentry/Reba's "Fancy" (my mama bought me a dancing dress) and Reba's "I Think His Name Was John."

He should do a Christmas song, although, sadly, he can't do a Christmas song with Bing Crosby.

Would anyone in Nashville go for this? I really doubt it, but it would be fun to try to irritate the country fans who hate bro-country's hip-hop traits and were all bent out of shape over Little Big Town's "Girl Crush."

Of course, an idea, like this one, is why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HaHAHAHAHA!!

BTW: How many references to glam rock songs and artist did up pick up on.



 
  





           

BING CROSBY, DAVID BOWIE & THE RASHOMON EFFECT

When you read or hear the stories behind most Christmas songs, they are very straight forward and have one definitive version. Maybe it is the "I-can't-believe-it-happened" factor involved or the fact that it happened fairly recently in history, but the details of the recording of Bing Crosby and David Bowie's duet "Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy" is getting more and more convoluted as the years go by. There is a Rashomon effect to what happened at the recording of the Christmas classic.


Here are the facts that are included in every version of the "behind-the-scenes" story:

1. This was a segment in Bing Crosby annual Christmas TV special. It was recorded in September of 1977. What nobody knew at the time was that it would be Bing Crosby's last Christmas special, although for a few years after his death there were retrospective "clip" shows aired. Bing Crosby died in November of 1977, before the special aired in December of that year.
2. This song was never meant to be a commercial recording. The performance was only for the TV special. Somewhere along the way, a radio station recorded the song off of one of the "clip" shows the aired after between 1978 - 1982. They began playing it on the radio at Christmas. In 1982, RCA released it against David Bowie wishes. He left RCA shortly after that. The version released by RCA was on a 7 inch extended single, ran for 5 minutes and contained the dialog from the TV special.
3. By his own admission, David Bowie said, "I hate "The Little Drummer Boy"! Is there something else I can sing?" That was why songwriters Ian Frasier, Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan wrote the song "Peace On Earth" for Bowie too sing.
4. Bowie and Crosby performed this with less than a hour rehearsal.
5. David Bowie's mother was a Bing Crosby fan.

From there it gets almost as bizarre as the idea of Bing Crosby singing a duet with David Bowie seemed in 1977. Stories from those involved have contained such elements as mutual admiration by both artist to neither artist had ever heard of the other artist. There are also accusations that both men were wearing too much makeup. There are also reports that it almost didn't happen because of a performer's ego, tyrannical producers and one of the performers almost dying during the rehearsal.

Remember fact number 3? There have been a few articles which suggest that Bowie threatened to walk off the show if he had to sing "The Little Drummer Boy." However, in an interview Bowie gave a few years back with a British music magazine, and in at least one of Ian Frasier's interviews, they portray this as just a casual comment not a egotistical tirade as some articles have suggested. However, the song was written rather quickly to please Bowie.

However, Bing's children have said the producers almost cancelled Bowie's appearance at the last minute, because he showed up dressed in his Ziggy Stardust makeup and wearing an earring. They insisted he get a make-over from the makeup and wardrobe department (apparently something was used to make Bowie's hair brown).

At the same time, Bowie said, in that interview with a British music magazine, that Crosby had, in his words, been "heavily made up" to make him appear healthy. He went on to say that Crosby seemed despondent during rehearsal and was having a hard time speaking.  Then, according to Bowie, Bing collapsed. Bowie says Crosby was carried into another room and emergency personnel were called in. He was heard someone say that Bing "was gone," but a few minutes later, Crosby came in and said "Let's get back to work." This was the version that was used in the TV show and the eventual recording. He said Crosby was more alert this time and sounded great.

Mary Crosby (who later "shot J.R." on Dallas) said in an interview that "David seemed nervous." According to Bowie, the experience was "nerve wracking" after Bing collapsed. He said he had hoped to talk to Crosby and tell him how much his mother loved his music, but he said he felt that he "hadn't really met Bing Crosby. There was a light on, but nobody lived there anymore."

Then there is the on-going question of did Bing Crosby know who David Bowie was or did David Bowie really know who Bing Crosby was?  Everyone agrees Bowie did this because his mother was a Bing Crosby fan. He said in that interview that was why he did it. However, some wonder if Crosby knew who Bowie was or anything about him. According to Ian Frasier,  "I'm pretty sure he did. Bing was no idiot. If he didn't, his kids sure did." The Crosby kids said, in a recent interview, they vividly remember Bowie's arrival, so they were obviously excited about his.

Hearing the song played in heavy rotation on the radio at Christmas time in the "all Christmas, all the time" has taken part of the novelty away from this. After all, this was not made to be a commercial sold recording. It is essentially a song that was, more or less, taped off of a TV show.  Also younger generations do not realize how shocking this was at the time, because to them, this is how David Bowie has always looked. This was the beginning of his "Thin White Duke" era and the end of "Ziggy Stardust." Also, the younger generation doesn't associated Crosby with WWII, but as the "guy who sings all the Christmas songs."

Eventually, all the stories will come together in a definitive "story-behind-the-song" that will be told by DJs, music historians and retro bloggers for generations to come.

NOTE: If I can ever find the magazine with that Bowie interview in it, I will try to scan it and post it on this blog, because so many people question my sanity when I mention reading it.