Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth 12/24/19

Were there any "Great Christmas Songs of the '70s?" A few, and today, I'm dedicating one of them to my mom.

Carole (Taylor) Cook was born on Christmas Eve, 1934 (But according to my grandparents, she was named after 1930s film actress Carole Landis and NOT because she was a Christmas Carole.) She grew up loving the crooners of the 40s...but also enjoyed the early rock and roll of the 50s and 60s. The last several years of her life, (she died in 2014.) she and I would sit down together on Christmas and watch a holiday-themed film--such as "White Christmas" or "The Bells of St. Mary's," both starring Bing Crosby. You can probably guess where I'm going with this. :-)

For Bing's 1977 TV Christmas special, David Bowie was scheduled to be one of his guests--an odd pairing to say the least. But it almost didn't happen. Producers wanted Bowie to sing "Little Drummer Boy" with Bing, but he refused, stating in no uncertain terms that he HATED the song. Instead of panicking, creative minds went to work, and in short order, a NEW song was written that could be sung as a counter melody: "Peace on Earth." Bowie liked it, and after less than an hour of rehearsal, the cameras rolled.

Following some extremely contrived dialogue, magic was made! It was the last song Bing ever recorded. A few weeks later, before the special even aired, he died of a heart attack. For the next few Christmases, radio stations played bootleg copies of the song...until 1982, when RCA records finally released the official single. Bing and Bowie have both passed away, but fortunately, this song will live on as a testament to the "surreal" paring that created a "Great Christmas Song of the '70s."

For my mom, who loved all things "Bing: Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas!