Advent Calendar Day 8

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After yesterday’s comedic contributions I was wondering how best to follow them. Maybe two of the biggest stars on the planet having fun with Christmas songs? OK, here we go!

I think I can safely say that this first video is the only one in my series which is by a Nobel Prize winner:

Did you know that Bob Dylan made a Christmas album? It was called Christmas In The Heart and was released in 2009: a mixture of carols and traditional favourites. This song was written in 1960 and is based on a German drinking song, with a call and response treatment: I think Bob did justice to that with this utterly bonkers video and the accordion band. It’s good to see him having so much fun, too. His royalties from the album were all donated to charities that provide food programmes, especially at Christmas.

Another global superstar having fun with a Christmas song is my second of the day. It starts slowly, but is worth the wait:

The song dates back to 1934 and has been recorded many times. Bruce’s version was released in 1985 as the B-side to the single My Hometown, from the Born In The USA album. The single was a top ten hit in both the US and the UK and this song was also a minor UK hit on re-release in 2007, the year of this performance. Again, it’s great to see big stars having fun like this, though I have to say I think Clarence Clemons (RIP) rather steals the show!

On Day 2 of this series I shared with you this year’s Christmas advert from Hafod Hardware, a shop in the small Welsh town of Rhayader. I mentioned then that this was their fourth such video, and promised to share their others, as they are all equally lovely, and really do get to the spirit of Christmas. As a bonus for today this is their first one, from 2017. Watch out for the first appearance of little Arthur, who has since become the star of their shows:

I really do think they put to shame all those big budget extravaganzas that flood our TV screens each Christmas. Keep your eyes peeled for a nice visual joke for fans of the Two Ronnies, too. The music for this one, as for all four, is by Andrea Von Kampen, who may well be making an appearance in her own right at some point during Advent.

As always, the final word of the day is from an image I have ‘borrowed’ from t’interweb:

Till tomorrow…

19 thoughts on “Advent Calendar Day 8”

  2. I can listen to anything that Springsteen sings. I also enjoyed the Hardware commercial. I couldn’t but help think of how things have changed this year. The delivery drivers all mask up and usually knock on the door and take off.

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    • It is good, isn’t it. Crazy, but a lot of fun, and true to the song’s origins. You should see Santa’s language on some of the ones I won’t be sharing 😉

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      • From what I remember reading last year, they paid her £100 to use her version of the song, so I guess the same would be true for other years. All of the video recording and post-production is done for free by friends and family, as far as I know. They make £100 go a long way!

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  7. Such joy in both of these videos. Love Bruce´s version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. He often ended his performances with that song even if it was summer. Clarence Clemons was an amazing musician and certainly did steal that show. Thanks!

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