This is the point at which my regular series meets the seasonal one. Rather than overload you with posts this month I’m allowing Tuesday Tunes to share with my Advent Countdown, which means that I will be keeping to my usual pattern of three posts a week. For now, anyway, though there may be a late change in that…

Part two of the Advent Countdown is another set of songs which I have mostly played before. I’m aware that longer term followers may have seen these before but as a) that was at least a year ago, and b) they’re all good, I think they are worth sharing again, and newer followers will be able to continue their introduction to my weird and wonderful tastes. I’m starting today with a long time favourite, both the guy and this song – it is one of those that I shared on Facebook before I ever considered playing Christmas songs on the blog:

John Mellencamp recorded I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus for the album A Very Special Christmas, which was released in 1987 to raise money for the Special Olympics – the first of ten albums in the series: it has sold more than 2m copies to date. His version is one of many of this song, but it has never been a hit in its own right. This performance is typically boisterous and is made for me by the show-stealing role played by John’s then six year old daughter Teddi. She is 42 now, and has built herself a career in reality tv, but I hope she still gets a buzz from seeing how adorable she was back then. The ‘proud Dad’ look on his face says it all. The song was written in 1952 by a British songwriter, Tommie Connor, and was first recorded by the then 13 year old Jimmy Boyd. It topped the US chart that year and got to #3 in the UK when it was released here the following year. Other versions you may know are by The Ronettes and the Jackson 5. I much prefer this one, though!

This one is the new one for today. It was only put up on YouTube last Friday, but as it is by one of my favourite folk bands and they are having a ball with it, I think it merits its place here:

I like to include modern treatments of traditional Christmas Carols as much as I can, and this is simply delightful. You may know the story of the Fisherman’s Friends, about how they were ‘discovered’ by BBC Radio DJ Johnnie Walker while he was on holiday in Port Isaac, in Cornwall, and how his manager joined him to negotiate a record deal for them. They had already released three CDs through small local companies, but their debut album on a major label became a huge seller (UK #9), giving rise to several more albums, two of which also reached the UK top thirty, world tours, and two very enjoyable movies based loosely on their story. This is very typical of their style, and they are as friendly a bunch as this might suggest – I’ve seen them play live, and the after show meet and greet was a riot!

For today’s next tune, I’m returning to the A Very Special Christmas album, as this was also included on it. There have been many versions of this, quite a few of which I have played, but I think this is my favourite:

The Little Drummer Boy (originally known as Carol of the Drum) was written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. It was first recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family (yes, that one), and has been recorded many times since. In the lyrics, the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the Nativity of Jesus. Without a gift for the Infant, the little drummer boy played his drum with approval from Mary, recalling, “I played my best for him” and “He smiled at me”. It is a nice little song, and Bob Seger’s version and the accompanying video are lovely: he gives it everything, doesn’t he. This has never appeared on any of his own albums or singles, though it did feature in a retrospective compilation in 2011. I’ve only played it once before, and that feels like an omission on my part!

This next one was first released in 2020, since when I have played it each year. It is a mixture of German and quasi-Irish folk music, and it is a lot of fun:

Patricia Büchler, aka Patty Gurdy, is German, just like Fiddlers Green, the ‘Irish’ band accompanying her in this. Her command of English is excellent, and she frequently posts in English – both speaking and in writing – on her Facebook page. She is also one of those artists who responds to comments made by fans, rather than leaving it to her ‘team’ to do the work, which is always good for brownie points from me, and she is an absolute delight. Her commitment to supporting mental health issues is to be admired, too, especially after she lost just about everything in the floods that hit Europe a few summers ago. She has played in several bands and has had a number of musical collaborations, including one with Faun, another band who you may have noticed that I really like. This song is the opening track on Patty’s 2020 EP Frost & Faeries: she also has another EP (Shapes & Patterns), several singles and a full length album (Pest & Power) to her name, and released a new EP, Folk And Pop, last week. She took up the hurdy gurdy in 2014, and is making a mark for herself with it. It is an instrument that is clearly important to German folk bands: Faun also has a hurdy gurdy player. 

To close the tunes today I’m taking one of my very occasional trips into the pop charts. This has become a real Christmas classic over the years, and is one I almost always play:

That was one of the big Christmas hits here in 1975, reaching #2 at a time when just about everyone was jumping on the bandwagon and releasing Christmas songs, though many of them were of dubious quality. The song was written by Greg Lake, of the prog rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, with other lyrics by Peter Sinfield, who was with Greg in the first of those bands. Although it is thought of as a Christmas song, Greg said that he wrote it in protest at the way that Christmas had become commercialised. Peter, however, said that the words are about a loss of innocence and childhood belief: take your pick! Whatever it is about, I’ve always loved it and continue to play it. That closing scene feels particularly poignant this year.

That’s all for the music, but I’m also going to be sharing an ad with you to round off each of these posts. Some of them will, like the first one, be little tearjerker stories but humour also has its place, and I’ve enjoyed seeing this one on tv this year:

Bravo, KFC! An object lesson in playing to your strengths and not being diverted from the path you have set for yourself. And I love the way they use the dramatic music to underpin it, too.

That’s all for today. I’ll see you again soon, and you may be pleased to know that the next selection will feature a couple I haven’t played before, so keep an eye out for them. Take care, and enjoy your week 🎅