THE BEACH BOYS CHRISTMAS ALBUM

Between 1962 and 1964 The Beach Boys released six albums, Surfin' Safari, Surfin' U.S.A., Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Volume 2 and All Summer Long and, like many other artists before and since, in 1964 they turned their attention to the Christmas market with an album of classics and original songs.

In this article we look back at the album, it's influence, production, release, reception and success.

In November 1963 Phil Spector released the classic A Christmas Gift For You album featuring The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans on a selection of Christmas classics with that 'Wall of Sound' production.

The album made a big impact on Brian Wilson and was the inspiration for the Beach Boys to record their own Christmas offering. It is mentioned that Brian played piano on one track, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, but Spector dismissed him due to his substandard piano playing!. Maybe that was another reason that Brian wanted to respond by producing his own collection.

However, before this The Beach Boys did release a single. Little Saint Nick, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

Although it was partly inspired by Phil Spector's plans for a Christmas album, Wilson recalls writing the song, "I wrote the lyrics to it while I was out on a date and then I rushed home to finish the music." Originally credited only to Wilson, years later Love's name was added as co-writer.

Part of it's structure and rhythm can be compared to the groups earlier single, Little Deuce Coupe.

Recorded on two days in October 1963 at Western Studio in Hollywood with a tracking session on the 18th and vocals added on the 20th.

Besides guitar (Carl Wilson), bass (Al Jardine), piano (Brian Wilson), drums (Dennis Wilson) and lead vocals (Mike Love), the song featured celeste (Brian), sleigh bells (Carl), glockenspiel (Al) along with additional sleigh-bells by Murry Wilson and backing vocals by Bob Norberg.

Released on 9 December 1963, Little Saint Nick (Capitol 5096) reached #3 on Billboard Magazines seasonal Christmas Singles Chart. An a cappella version of The Lord's Prayer appeared on the B-side.

In the years that followed it did make chart appearances in several countries including Australia, Canada, Sweden, France, Ireland, United Kingdom and America. In the UK it was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) for sales of more than 400,000.

Sessions for the album ran from 18th June through to the 30th June 1964 at the Capitol Studios and Western Recorders in Hollywood. Along with the five band members a 41-piece orchestra was also present during the sessions.

Brian only arranged four of the songs handing the task to Dick Reynolds, arranger with The Four Freshman, who worked on the remaining tracks.

Brian produced the sessions with Chuck Britz, who had worked on all their previous albums, engineering the sessions.

At the first session at Capitol Studios on the 18th, between 2:30 - 5:30 pm, orchestral tracking sessions were held for We Three Kings Of Orient Are, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, White Christmas and Blue Christmas. At this session Brian also stripped the sleigh bells and glockenspiels off the earlier version of Little Saint Nick and added new vocals. This was done to match the sound of the current recordings being made.

On the 23rd sessions moved to Western Recorders where an attempt was made to add a vocal for Little Saint Nick onto the October 1963 instrumental track of the song Drive-In. An odd recording that failed and would not be used on the Christmas album remaining unreleased for more than thirty years. It is more than likely that the original lyrics for Little Saint Nick were meant to go with the melody from Drive-In but when it didn't work Brian was forced to write a new melody for Little Saint Nick.

Instrumental tracks for Frosty The Snowman, I'll Be Home For Christmas and orchestral tracks for Jingle Bells and Christmas Eve were laid down during a three-hour session at Western Recorders on the 24th. The latter two tracks would not be used.

A fourth session, once again held at Western Recorders, on the 25th resulted in tracking recordings for The Man With All The Toys, Merry Christmas Baby and Santa's Beard. Brian, Carl and Al were present for the session. Also tracked was Christmas Day and the session ended with the group recording an a cappella version of Auld Lang Syne. With all the tracking and instrumental work completed the remaining sessions would be for vocal overdubs.

Four more sessions held at Western Recorders would result in vocals added to The Man With All The Toys, Santa's Beard and Christmas Day (on the 27th), Blue Christmas, White Christmas and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (on the 28th) and Frosty The Snowman and We Three Kings Of Orient Are (on the 29th).

The final session, on the 30th, saw the band adding vocals to the final two tracks, Merry Christmas Baby and I'll Be Home For Christmas. With this session recording for the Christmas album was finished.

Multiple attempts at vocal overdubs and backing vocals were attempted during the sessions, many of which would find an unofficial release years later. No vocals were ever added to Jingle Bells and Christmas Eve and the basic instrumental tracks till remain officially unreleased.

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album was released in both mono and stereo formats (Capitol ST-2164 and T-2164) on 9th November 1964. It was their third album to be released in 1964 following Shut Down Volume 2 and All Summer Long.

The cover photo showed the boys, wearing woolly jumpers, decorating a Christmas tree and was taken by Capitol Records staff photographer George Jerman. A change from the Pendleton Shirt and surfin' images. Several photos were taken including the image at the start of this article.

The back sleeve featured a black and white signed image of the group with the heading 'We'd Like To Wish You A Very Merry Christmas.' A track listing and brief liner notes are also included. The notes read in part, 'Because Christmas is a very special occasion, the Beach Boys decided that this should be a very special album... and it is. Here for the first time you'll hear the Beach Boys accompanied by a sonorous forty-piece orchestra, with special arrangements written just for this album by Dick Reynolds.' It goes on, 'The songs the Boys have chosen for their holiday greetings to you range all the way from their own light-hearted seasonal hit "Little Saint Nick" to beautiful traditional favourites done with the orchestra.'

A second single was also issued the same day pairing two of the album tracks, The Man With All Toys and Blue Christmas (Capitol 5312) which would peak at #6 on Billboard Magazines seasonal Christmas Singles Chart. In the years that followed sales would build and it was listed in the Billboard Top 100 Selling Christmas songs, although it was well below Little Saint Nick.

The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Christmas Album Chart during 1964 and in the years that followed would reach, #66 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, #35 on the Billboard Top Catalog Albums and #23 on Billboards Top Holiday Albums Chart.

The Beach Boys Christmas Album opens with Little Saint Nick, the first of five tracks on the album written by band members, four by Brian and Mike and one by just Brian. The best known track on the album it was a re-recorded version that was used, not the original single. With lead vocals by Mike and great harmonies from the remaining band members it is very reminiscent of some of their earlier material.

The Man With All The Toys follows and has a catchy melody, albeit only running for just 92 seconds. The lyrics are simple...A guy in the North Pole peeks into a window and sees a fat man all dressed up in red surrounded by 'little tiny men everywhere' who are making toys. Tempted to go in he decides to stay out in the cold and leaves and tell everybody what he saw. The song features a lead vocal by Brian and Mike.

The child-like tale of a boy who isn't convinced that the Santa he meets at the department store is real is told in the jaunty Santa's Beard. Pulling the pillow out from under his suit and the beard off his face, the child is upset but is consoled when he is told that he is helping the real Santa Claus. Mike sings the lead vocal  

Merry Christmas Baby, with another excellent lead vocal from Mike, has dreamy romanticism as its theme. However, it is not a typical Christmas, cheery song. Having lost his girl the only thing he wants at Christmas is to have her back in his arms.

Up until now Al Jardine hadn't had a lead vocal on any Beach Boys song but this changed with Christmas Day, his first solo vocal. A beautiful song and my favourite on side one of the album. The song includes a fantastic Hammond organ instrumental break.

Recorded by The Ronettes on the Phil Spector produced A Christmas Gift For You album, Frosty The Snowman features a full orchestra on one of the best versions of this fun Christmas song I've ever heard. The song closes the first side of the album in style. 

Side two opens with We Three Kings Of Orient Are, the longest track on the album, running to just over four minutes.  With its beautiful arrangement and harmonies it is by far the best track on the album.

Brian turns in an impeccable lead vocal performance of Blue Christmas with great backing from the orchestra. Recorded by many artists over the years, most notably by Elvis Presley in 1957, this was a great choice for the album. Probably the best Brian Wilson solo vocal on the album.

Santa Claus Is Back In Town. Starting off slow it soon turns into a catchy/jazzy/big band version with both Brian and Mike sharing the vocals, in style. 

Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas back in the 1940s for the film Holiday Inn and the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Recorded by Bing Crosby it has become the biggest selling song of all time with sales of his version exceeding 50 million physical copies. There have been more than 500 recorded versions, many in foreign languages and artist that have recorded the song include Frank Sinatra, The Drifters, Elvis Presley and Darlene Love. Brian's vocals shine, yet again, on this Christmas classic. 

I'll Be Home For Christmas is another song recorded by many artists and, as with Blue Christmas, highlights how exquisite Brian's voice was when used on songs such as this. The remaining band members add some stunning vocal support.

The album is bought to a close with the beautiful harmonies on the a cappella version of the traditional Auld Lang Syne. Dennis Wilson adds a Christmas message during which he messes up the word, "Happen" . Strange, considering how Brian was so particular about perfection on the groups records, that he allowed the mistake to remain. Despite this it is a great way to end an enjoyable album.

Brian called the first half of the album as the 'teen side', hence describing Father Christmas, in Little Saint Nick,  as " a real famous cat all dressed up in red."

Over the years many magazines and on-line sites have reviewed the album. Music historian James Perone wrote, "It is regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era."

All Music's Jason Ankeny said, "Brian Wilson's pop genius is well suited to classic Yuletide fare, and the group delivers lush performances of standards ranging from Frosty The Snowman to White Christmas as well as more contemporary material like The Man With All The Toys and Blue Christmas."

Meanwhile Jason Birchmeier stated, "Beach Boy's Christmas Album features the Beach Boys performing a variety of holiday favourites. Most of the featured songs are well known, some of the more popular being Frosty The Snowman, White Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and I'll Be Home For Christmas, among others. Furthermore, there are four songs composed by the Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick, The Man With All The Toys, Santa's Beard and Merry Christmas Baby - which begin the album. This mix of favourites and originals makes this a balanced holiday album that should please both Beach Boy admirers and those unfamiliar with the group."

Finally, in 1971 Billboard wrote, "At some time or another, most major artists have recorded either albums or singles devoted to the holiday season, and from there, it's only logical that a few would create classics in this manner. But if we were to chose just one out of the wealth of pop Christmas albums, it would have to be The Beach Boys endearing efforts of a few seasons back." They went on to say, "While the thrust of the album is directed at Christmas as a fun-time event, there are elements of (well...) social commentary (Santa's Beard) and straight emotionalism (Auld Lang Syne), all covered over those uniquely transcendent Beach Boy harmonies and a 'sonorous' (yep, that's what is says in the liner notes) 40-piece orchestra."

Talking about the album, Brian Wilson said, "For our Christmas album we more or less made one side in our own style and the other side in a more traditional style. My memory of recording that album was that it was a real happy time for us, It took about a month to record at Western. I liked that studio because they had a good sounding bass and good-sounding highs."

In 1991 the album was re-issued on CD with bonus material. Along with the twelve original tracks the CD included the single version of Little Saint Nick,an a-cappella The Lord's Prayer, which had been the B-side of The Man With All The Toys single, and alternate takes of Little Saint Nick and Auld Lang Syne without the Dennis Wilson message.

These sessions have been well covered on the unofficial market. The bootleg label Sea Of Tunes have released many CDs under the title Unsurpassed Masters covering The Beach Boys career up to the end of the 1960s. many of these are multi-CD sets covering individual albums.

Among these is the 3-CD set Christmas Sessions - The Alternate Beach Boys Christmas Album.

Over the three CDs are multiple takes of all the tracks on the album with instrumental takes, instrumental overdubs, try-out takes, vocal overdubs, alternate vocals, mono takes, stereo mixes and much more. Also included is the instrumental Jingle Bells but unfortunately no takes of Christmas Eve. An interesting listen for completists only.

The best summary of The Beach Boys Christmas Album is to be found on the original notes on the back sleeve which end with... 'Here, certainly, is an outstanding Christmas album - one that you'll enjoy for many seasons to come.'

How true, as sixty-one years since it's original release many tracks can still be heard on the radio today and the CD will be spinning this festive season in my office.

Check out my other Christmas articles here:

Christmas With Elvis

A Christmas Gift For You

Do They Know It's Christmas @40

All that leaves is for me to wish you all,,,

...A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? @40

Throughout the 1980s there were a number of charity singles released including You'll Never Walk Alone (The Crowd) for the Bradford City Stadium Fire, Let It Be (Ferry Aid) for the Herald Of Free Enterprise Disaster At Zeebrugge, Ferry Cross The Mersey (Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson and The Christians) for the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster and Living Doll (Cliff Richard, The Young Ones and Hank Marvin) for Comic Relief. All of these went to number one in the UK Charts and raised much needed money for the various charities but none had the effect or sales of Band Aid's 1984 charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?

Released forty years ago, on 7 December 1984, and in celebration we look back at the recording, release and how it raised awareness and money for Famine in Ethiopia.

A BBC News report by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 about the famine crises in Ethiopia inspired Do They Know It's Christmas? The BBC were the first to document the famine who described it as, "... a biblical famine in the 20th century" and "... the closest thing to hell on Earth."

The report showed Claire Bertschinger, a nurse, having to chose which children would receive the limited amount of food available and those who were too sick to save.

The report shocked the UK and prompted the British public to donate to relief agencies like Save The Children. The disaster also affected Bob Geldof, of the Boomtown Rats, who had watched the report with his wife Paula Yates.

At the time Geldof said, "I really couldn't handle it, you know. I think it was that particular clip where it showed you this nurse and she had to chose 300 babies from a total of 10,000, and in effect those 300 were going to be given some sort of liquids that they had in the camp, and the rest of the 10,000, well, they were going to die."

He went on to say, "It was this sort of random decision between life and death that really got me. So it just affected me pretty badly, and I started to think, well I know a hell of a lot of people, I must be able to get something organised."

It all started because of Bob Geldof... The man bellowed and blustered at anyone and everyone he could get his hands on to make this thing work. He shouted at people so that his word could be turned into food for Ethiopia.

A few days after the BBC report, Yates was at the Tyne Tees studios in Newcastle presenting the music show The Tube and one of the groups appearing on the show was Ultravox. The bands frontman Midge Ure was chatting to Yates in the dressing room when she received a call from Geldof who asked to speak to Ure.

During the conversation Geldof said he wanted to do something to help end the suffering in Ethiopia and they agreed to meet for lunch. A few days later they met and the idea to make a charity record was conceived.

Midge Ure recalled the telephone call, "I was up in Newcastle recording The Tube when Bob Geldof called me. I did it because anybody in the music business can exploit their position to help a good cause like this."

The first job was to write and record the song and one of the biggest challenges to overcome was to write and record it in time for Christmas, a matter of just a few weeks away! 

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure chose to write an original song rather than record a cover version. The reasoning behind this was to avoid having to pay royalties which would reduce the amount of money raised.

Ure went away and over several days in his home studio composed a Christmas sounding melody on a portable keyboard and drum machine which, when played to Geldof, he remarked that it sounded more like a TV theme.

The next day they joined forces and worked on the song with Geldof playing acoustic guitar and adding lyrics that were based on a song Geldof had written for The Boomtown Rats, with the working title It's My World.

With a tape of Geldof playing guitar, Ure continued working on the backing track back at his home studio adding his own melody as a chorus. A sample of the drums from the 1983 Tears For Fears track The Hurting was used for the intro while both John Taylor and Paul Weller visited to add bass and lead guitar which both Weller and Ure felt did not fit and so was not used on the final recording.

Ure added a guide vocal and the only change he made to Geldof's new lyrics was on the line 'And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time.' Originally it was 'There won't be snow in Ethiopia...' but Ethiopia didn't fit due to the amount of syllables and he replaced it with Africa.

The next stage was to gather musicians to work on the project. Geldof called Sting and Simon Le Bon who both agreed to participate. A chance meeting with Gary Kemp in London resulted in both Gary, along with the rest of Spandau Ballet, Martin Kemp, John Keeble and Tony Hadley all agreeing to be involved.

With some of the biggest bands around offering their time it prompted Geldof to comment, "It suddenly hit me. I thought, Christ, we have got the real top boys here, all the big names in pop are suddenly ready and willing to do this. I knew then that we were off, and I just decided to go for all the rest of the faces and started to ring everyone up, asking them to do it."

It wasn't long before the list of people happy to help read like a who's who of the current pop music scene...  George Michael, Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Boy George, Paul Weller, Paul Young, Phil Collins, Bono and Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward of Bananarama.

It was not only the lead singers, as members of the various groups were not going to be left out and these included... Pete Briquette, Simon Crowe and Johnny Fingers (Boomtown Rats), Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran), Chris Cross (Ultravox) and Dennis Thomas, Robert 'Kool' Bell and James 'J.T' Taylor (Kool & The Gang). All of the artists offered their time free of charge.

Pop band The Thompson Twins were out of the country and unavailable but offered to donate part of the royalties from their single, Lay Your Hands On Me, to the charity.

Everyone knew that this record had to be a success. It went beyond their personal careers and personal views.

Apparently only three people refused to be involved and Geldof declined to mention who they were.

It wasn't just artists that Geldof approached and also contributing to the project were various UK music magazines including Smash Hits, Sounds, Melody Maker and Music Week, who offered advertising space to promote the single, Phonogram Records (Geldof's record label) who would release the single, and PolyGram who would deal with the distribution. Peter Blake, who created the iconic cover for The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, would design the single's sleeve.

Geldof had approached Trevor Horn to produce the record and he was agreeable, but as an in-demand producer who had achieved three number one singles for Frankie Goes To Hollywood during the year, said he would need six weeks or more. This would mean missing the Christmas market and although he would go on to produce the 12-inch version it was Midge Ure who would gain the producer credit.

However, Horn did offer the use of his Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill for free for a 24-hour period on 25 November. I recently visited the area and the following photos I took show the studio building today.

Geldof and Ure arrived at the studio around 8am on the morning of Sunday 25 November and the press were already there to record the event. The session was scheduled to start at 10.30am and the press captured the artists as they arrived.

The Daily Mirror were given exclusive access to the studio and one of their first jobs was to capture a group photo, which was taken by staff photographer Brian Aris, and would appear in the next days issue creating publicity for the record.

With everybody assembled Ure played the back tracking and his guide vocal to the artists. The decision was made to record the ending of the song first and with every artists in a large group they sang the final few lines over and over again... 'Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time again.'

Tony Hadley was then chosen to record his solo section first, not without some apprehension. He later said it was nerve-wracking having all his contemporaries standing around watching him.

One by one each artist laid down there own solo segments as Ure recorded their efforts and kept notes about which sections would be used in the final mix.

Both Simon Le Bon and Sting had recorded a vocal at Ure's house during the time spent working on the backing track. However, Le Bon wanted to re-record his part so as to be part of the moment. Meanwhile Sting added his words again to provide harmony vocals to his earlier recording.

Bono was at first reluctant to sing the line 'Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you' but Geldof managed to persuade him.

Despite having written the song both Geldof and Ure chose not to sing any solo parts although they did join in for the finale.

A the time a comment summed up the feeling about the record and what it was aiming to achieve... "Hopefully if the fans of the people who are here today and have played on the record go out an buy it, then it'll be number one, and for once we'll have a record there that's for a good cause."

Most of the backing track had been completed by Ure before the session but on the day of recording two additional musicians would feature. Phil Collins of Genesis played some excellent drumming on the recording while Duran Duran's John Taylor played bass guitar. Collins waited till most of the vocals had been recorded before laying his parts down. Ure was happy with the first take but Collins asked to do a second take which was used on the record.

The last person to add their vocal to the song was Boy George who was in New York and nearly didn't make it to the session. Geldof had called him the day before insisting he attend. George managed to take the last flight of the day on Concorde and turned up at Sarm West Studios around 6pm and went straight to the recording booth and added his lines to the song.

The planned B-side, Feed The World, used the instrumental track onto which Christmas messages from the artists who had been at the session, and those who were unable to attend, were added. David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson along with Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler and Bruce Watson, all members of Big Country, who were not able to attend the session recorded messages for inclusion.

Although Annie Lennox's name would appear on the sleeve and a message from her was meant to be included on the B-side it arrived too late to be used.

At the end of the day and after the recording session had finished. Geldof recorded his own statement which become the last message on Feed The World.

His spoken-word piece said, "This record was recorded on the 25th of November 1984. It's now 8am in the morning of the 26th. We've been here 24-hours and I think it's time we went home. So from me, Bob Geldof, and Midge, we'd say, 'Good morning to you all, and a million thanks to everyone on the record. Have a lovely Christmas.'"

While all this additional recording was taking place, Ure started working on mixing the track.

Comments from some of the artists show why they were more than happy to be involved in the project and these are just a few...

"I'm delighted to be here. When Bob rang to ask us to turn up we just dropped everything. It's a great idea and it shows, I hope, that we care. Just buy it, for everyone in Ethiopia." (Simon Le Bon)

"The fact that I did it speaks for itself. It's obvious why I did it." (Boy George)

"People always talk about helping out, but I am very happy that I was physically able to do something to help, over this disturbing problem." (John Moss)

"It's the sort of project that if you're asked to join you immediately say yes. I thought it was right, and I wanted to be involved in it." (Rick Parfitt)

"The reason for my participation in the project should be obvious. I have always tried to help out with worthwhile causes where and when in the past. I was very flattered to have been asked - and I didn't expect such a lively and prestigious turnout." (Phil Collins) 

The day after the session Geldof appeared on the BBC Radio One Breakfast Show hosted by Mike Read. During his appearance he promoted the record and stated that every penny raised would go to Famine in Ethiopia. Radio One also played the record every hour, much more than any other A-listed single would receive.

Within a week of the recording of Do They Know It's Christmas?, and before its official release date, it had racked up advance orders of more than 250,000 and within a few days the orders placed by the record shops had reached one million.

To meet this demand PolyGram, who were distributing the single, utilised all five of their pressing plants in Europe.

Do They Know It's Christmas? backed with Feed The World (Catalogue Number FEED 1) was released on 7 December, costing just £1.35,  and entered the UK charts at number one the following week. It sold more copies that week than the rest of chart put together, an outstanding achievement.

Trevor Horn produced a 12-inch single which had a running time of just over 6 minutes compared to the 7-inch single which ran to just under 4 minutes.

Actual sales reached over a million in the first week, and by the end of the year the single had shifted more than three million copies.

Wham's festive release, Last Christmas, was kept off the top spot by Do They Know It's Christmas? and they donated their royalties to the charity.

In the USA it was released on 10 December and sold almost two million within the first two weeks. However, due to differences in how the charts were compiled, it failed to reach number one and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The record did reach number one in more than ten countries worldwide including, Australia, Norway, Netherlands, Austria, Canada, Denmark and Ireland.

Despite the support and time given for free from everyone involved there was one issue that would infuriate Geldof following the release of the single. The British Government refused to waive the VAT charged on the sales of the single! It was only when he publicly stood up to Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at the time, that the Government did a U-Turn and donated an amount to the charity, equal to what had been collected in tax.

Within a year, and far exceeding Geldof's expectations, the single raised more than £8 million. 

Re-released a year later, in November 1985, it reached #3 in a newly remixed version by Trevor Horn. It had an updated B-side, One Year On (Feed The World), which began and ended with a telephone message from Geldof and throughout the track, Ure talks about what had been bought with the money raised so far.

By 1989 worldwide sales were over 11 million and in the UK alone it had sold almost 4 million by 2017.

Most singles released around this time had an official video produced. However, due to time restrictions, a video was made using just the footage from the recording session. Normally a video wouldn't be shown on BBCs flagship music show, Top Of The Pops, until it had charted, meaning it could not be shown on  the 29 November episode. Geldof contacted Michael Grade, BBC 1 Controller, and persuaded him to run every programme due to be broadcast before that weeks TOTP to start five minutes earlier. This allowed the video to be broadcast before Top Of The Pops started.

The UK music press had mixed feelings about the song. NME wrote, "Millions of dead stars write and perform rotten record for the right reasons." Unfair and to be honest, typical of NME. Meanwhile Sounds felt the song was, "... far from brilliant but you can have fun playing Spot the Star."

They all seemed to be missing the point of the record. Melody Maker seemed to follow the familiar pattern when they reviewed the single saying, "Inevitable, after such massive publicity, the record itself is something of an anti-climax, even though Geldof's sense of universal melodrama is perfectly suited to this kind of epic musical manifesto. Midge Ure's large-screen production and the emotional vocal deliveries of the various celebrities matches the demonstrative sweep of Geldof's lyric, which veers occasionally toward an uncomfortably generalised sentimentality which threatens to turn righteous pleading into pompous indignation." They ended the review with, "On the other hand, I'm sure it's impossible to write flippantly about something as fundamentally dreadful as the Ethiopia famine."

There was also criticism from other quarters. Various sources criticised it's colonial western-centric viewpoint, condescending stereotypical descriptions of Africa and one publication even deemed the lyrics as racist and demeaning towards Ethiopians.

Even Bono was hit with criticism for his line, 'Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you.'

Over the years both Geldof and Ure have responded to the criticism. In his autobiography Ure wrote. "It is a song that has nothing to do with music. It was all about generating money. The song didn't matter, the song was secondary, almost irrelevant." Geldof, speaking in 2024, said, "This little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands if not millions of people alive." Responding to the criticism of the lyrics he went on to say, "The alleged 'colonial tropes' of the lyrics were in fact 'empirical facts', and that hunger remains endemic in Ethiopia, water is scarce and rain is increasingly unreliable due to climate change."

Despite the unfair criticism Do They Know It's Christmas? was an important record which achieved much more than anyone involved could ever have imagined. It helped save millions of lives and bought worldwide attention to what was happening in Ethiopia.

The following year Live Aid would raise even more money but that is a story for another day and one which I might cover in a future blog.

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU

Last year I wrote about one of my favourite Festive albums, Elvis' Christmas Album and the article can be read here... Christmas With Elvis.

Now it's that time of year again and the opportunity to write about another of my favourites... A Christmas Gift For You, an album that is sixty years old this year.

 

The album was produced by legendary producer Phil Spector who was best known for his innovative recording techniques and use of dense orchestral sounds that would make him one of the most influential and successful producers of the 1960s.

He began his career in 1958 and penned the number one single To Know Him Is To Love Him, by The Teddy Bears, of which he was a founding member. The song was inspired by the wording on his father's grave which read 'To Know Him Was To Love Him.'

Following his time as an apprentice working with songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller he co-founded Philles Records. He was only 21 and became the youngest record label owner at the time. Among the hit records he produced were Da Doo Ron Ron and Then He Kissed Me (The Crystals), Be My Baby (The Ronettes), River Deep, Mountain High (Ike & Tina Turner) and You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (The Righteous Brothers). All featured his trademark 'Wall of Sound.'

The 'Wall of Sound', in simple terms, was a technique that captured the musicians live and embraced chaos and oversaturation. Spector chose not to record instrumental pieces with the minimum of interference and preferred to let the sonics of the studio define the sound. He allowed sounds to bounce around the room to create a dense sonic sound that was rich with complex overtones. The musicians that worked with Spector were a major part of the sound and became known as 'The Wrecking Crew.'

Among those session musicians who earned the name 'The Wrecking Crew' and would work on Spector's Christmas album were Hal Blaine (drums), Tommy Tedesco (guitar), Leon Russell (guitar), Barney Kessel (guitar), Jimmy Bond (bass), Ray Pohlman (bass), Al De Lory (piano), Don Randi (piano) and Frank Capp (percussion). There was also the brass section that featured Roy Caton (trumpet), Steve Douglas (baritone saxophone) and Jay Migliori (saxophone).

He picked his regular artists of the period for the album and bought together The Crystals, The Ronettes, Darlene Love and Bob B Soxx and The Blue Jeans for the recordings.

The Crystals were formed in New York City and were one of the defining acts of the girl group era. In 1963 the members were Patricia Wright, Dolores Kenniebrew, Dolores Brooks and Barbara Alston. Between 1961 and 1964 they charted with There's No Other (Like My Baby), Uptown, He's Sure The Boy I Love, He's A Rebel, Da Doo Ron Ron and Then He Kissed Me. Despite the success and steady flow of hit singles with Spector there were tensions which resulted in them leaving Philles Records and signing with Imperial Records. One reason was the decision by Spector to devote more of his time to The Ronettes. They released two albums, Twist Uptown and He's A Rebel, both produced by Spector.

Consisting of Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her sister Estelle Bennett and cousin Nedra Talley, The Ronettes had sung together since they were in their teens when they were known as The Darling Sisters. A short spell with Colpix Records in 1961 was followed by their signing with Spector's Philles Records in March of 1963 where they changed their name to The Ronettes. Their hits included Be My Baby, Baby I Love You, (The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up and Walking In The Rain. They released one album, Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica, in 1964 with tracks including their singles along with Chapel Of Love, How Does It Feel?, So Young and When I Saw You.

Darlene Love, born Darlene Wright on 26 July 1941, was the lead singer of the girl group The Blossoms and also recorded as a solo artist. She started recording with Spector, who renamed her Darlene Love, in 1962. She sang lead on He's A Rebel and He's Sure The Boy I Love, both credited to The Crystals. Her vocals can also be heard on songs by Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans including Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts and Not Too Young To Get Married. Under her own name, and as part of The Blossoms, she released several singles including Hard To Get, Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry and Wait 'til My Bobby Gets Home. In 1968 she worked with The Blossoms on Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback TV Special.

Bob B. Soxx and The The Blue Jeans were a vocal trio, originally formed as a vehicle for the lead vocals of Bobby Sheen who used the stage name Bob B. Soxx. The other two members were Darlene Love and Fanita James, both members of The Blossoms. As mentioned earlier it was Darlene Love who provided the lead vocals on Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts and shared the lead vocals with Sheen on Not Too Young To Get Married. They also shared vocals on the trio's only album, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. However, it is Sheen who was featured as lead vocalist on the trio's contributions to the Christmas album. By late-1963 they were dropped by Philles Records and ceased to exist, although Sheen would go on to record for Capitol Records using his real name.

Sessions ran during September and October 1963 at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with Spector producing, Larry Levine engineering and Jack 'Specs' Nitzsche arranging all the tracks.

Founded by David S. Gold and Stan Ross, Gold Star Studios was an independent studio that opened in October 1950 on Santa Monica Boulevard. The studio name was a mix/combination of the names of the two owners. It was a unique studio with custom-built recording equipment, echo chambers and was a popular studio for many years. Among those who recorded there were The Righteous Brothers, Sonny & Cher, Eddie Cochran, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, whose work there included the Pet Sounds album, the hit single Good Vibrations and the abandoned Smile project. 

The sessions weren't without their problems. Spector took the best track away from Ronnie (his wife) claiming she couldn't sing it to his standards and it wasn't emotional enough while other performers had issues about the sessions. However, there were just as many positive comments, with Levine recalling that Spector would regularly "do stand up comedy for 20 minutes at a time" when things were going well, while Darlene Love remembers them all receiving gifts from him.

Levine also recalled that the spoken introduction to Silent Night could have been very different. "The first time he did it, he used foul language, something like, 'I made this record for you, cocksuckers!'"

A Christmas Gift For You (Philles 4005) was released on 22 November 1963 and a month later peaked at #13 on the Billboard Magazine year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart.

It failed to make any impression on the Billboard album chart at the time and this has been blamed on the fact that it was released the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. As Nitzsche explained at the time, "The album never really took off. I think some of that had to do with the world after the Kennedy assassination. It affected the public. No one really wanted to celebrate Christmas in December 1963."

However, in December 2018 the album entered the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the first time reaching a respectable #12. The album would return to the chart in January 2021, reaching #12 again, and over the next two years it would chart again, reaching #10 in 2022 and achieving its highest placing the following year when it peaked at #8.

In 2003 Rolling Stone listed the '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' and A Christmas Gift For You was placed No. 142, keeping the same rating a few years later in 2012 on a revised list. It was also ranked the Greatest Christmas album of all time in the magazine in 2019.

Pitchfork ranked it the 130th greatest album of 1960, not bad when you consider the quantity and quality of albums released in that decade.

The album opens with the Irving Berlin classic White Christmas, made famous by Bing Crosby in the films Holiday Inn and White Christmas. Crosby's version, which reached number one in 1942, 1943 and 1944, sold more than 50 million copies. It has been stated that there are more than 500 recorded versions of the song.

White Christmas is the first of four songs performed by Darlene Love on the album. Her other contributions are Marshmallow World, Winter Wonderland and the only original song on the album, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), a song written by Brill Building songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry along with Phil Spector. It was released as a single although it never achieved the chart success it deserved. Written in 1949 by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose, Marshmallow World was first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1950. The song is about winter but doesn't actually mention Christmas although it is now classed as a festive song. Winter Wonderland is another winter themed song that has become a Christmas standard. Written by Felix Bernard and Richard V. Smith, it has been recorded by many artists including Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan and many others.

The Ronettes are featured on three tracks, Frosty The Snowman, Sleigh Ride and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Written by Walter 'Jack' Rollins and Steve Nelson, Frosty The Snowman is a popular Christmas song first recorded by Gene Autry in 1950. It was written for Autry after his success the previous year with Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Another popular song for the festive season is Sleigh Ride, originally an orchestral piece written by Leroy Anderson during a heat wave in 1946. A few years later the lyrics, about riding in a sleigh and other wintertime activities, were written by Mitchell Parish. With music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded in 1952 by Jimmy Boyd, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is yet another popular Christmas song. Its the  story of a young boy who sees his mother kissing Santa Claus under the mistletoe and wondering how his father will react, not realising that his father was actually Santa Claus. The song caused some concern and it was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church in Boston who believed it described an adulterous encounter. However, after a meeting with the Archdiocese, the ban was lifted.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is The Crystals first contribution and they also take the lead on Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers. Written by John Fred Coots & Haven Gillespie, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town was first recorded by Harry Reser and his Band and covered by more than 200 artists including, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, The Temptations, Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen. Rudolph... was composed by Johnny Marks in 1939 and based on the story of the same name. Gene Autry had a number one hit with the song in 1949. Based on the instrumental piece Parade Of The Tin Soldiers, written by German composer Leon Jessel in 1897 as a popular jaunty march, Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers gained its slightly different title in 1911 when Russian impresario Nikita Balieff chose it for his vaudeville revue and altered the title. It remained an instrumental piece until 1922 when Ballard MacDonald wrote the English lyrics.

Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans perform two more songs, The Bells Of St. Mary's and Here Comes Santa Claus. The former was written back in the 1910s and revived by Bing Crosby in the film of the same name. Featured in a scene at a Christmas Pageant, it has become known as a Christmas song despite having no lyrical connection with the season. Here Comes Santa Claus was written and originally recorded by Gene Autry back in 1947.

The closing track on the album is Silent Night which features all four artists and an introduction by Phil Spector. My all-time favourite Christmas song, it was written by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr in 1818 with the original German title of Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht. It is a beautiful ending to the album.

Reviews were scarce and at the time the UK music paper New Musical Express failed to print any review. However, many years later they did write, "It's impossible to imagine the festive musical canon without it. Despite largely consisting of covers, the joy that exudes from Spector's production ensures his take on the songs is the only one worth bothering with."

In 2013, Darlene Love commented, "Christmas meant a lot to Phil. It was one of the biggest projects he ever took on, because it was something that had never been done before."

The front cover featured a group photo of all the artists looking festive and a list of the tracks. It is unknown who took the photo as there is no credit.

The reverse featured sleeve-notes by Spector, part of which read, "Can twelve great Christmas songs be treated with the same excitement as original pop material of today: sang by four of the greatest pop artists in the country: produced with the same feeling and sound that is featured on the hit singles of these artists, without losing for a moment the feeling of Christmas and without destroying or invading the sensitivity and the beauty that surrounds all of the great Christmas music? Until now, perhaps not. But I am quite sure that after you listen to this album you will agree that the answers to these questions are found in every groove of this album."

In the years following the albums original release it has been re-issued many times on vinyl and CD on different labels.

It was first re-issued in 1972 by Apple Records with a different cover art, an image of Spector dressed as a heavily bearded Santa Claus and wearing a 'Back to Mono' button. The album also received a new title, Phil Spector's Christmas Album. This issue of the album reached #6 on Billboard's Christmas Album Sales Chart in December 1972, its highest chart placing. In the same year it made its debut on the UK Albums Chart and would re-enter the charts in 1983, peaking at #19.

In 1974 it was re-released on Warner Spector, the first to feature a stereo mix of the songs although they used the same cover as the one used on the Apple release, complete with the Back To Mono badge! 

Additional re-issues included, a stereo version on Pavilion, a short-lived imprint of CBS, in 1981, Impression (1983), Passport (1984) and Rhino (1987). In 2009 the Sundazed Label put out a vinyl copy of the album.

The album made its first appearance on CD in 1987 on Rhino mastered by Bill Inglot and Ken Perry restoring the original mono mix. Further CD issues occurred in 1987 on Chrysalis and in 1989 on ABKCO. The latter restored the original title, artwork and mono mix and was remastered by Spector and Levine.

When Sony Music took over the distribution rights to the Philles Records catalogue in 2009 they re-released the mono album, newly remastered by Bob Ludwig, on its Legacy Recordings imprint. Three years later they issued a two-CD set with a new remastering of the album by Vic Anesini on disc one and a selection of non-festive Spector hits and rarities on the second.

Despite all the critical acclaim the album received and the amount of times it has been re-issued over the years, I'm surprised there has never been a special or definitive edition. It is unknown if any other Christmas songs were recorded during the sessions or if any outtakes exist but it would be great to have a two-disc version with extensive liner notes, photographs and memorabilia... I can always dream.

Spector believed he could produce an album for the holiday season that would capture not only the essence of the Christmas spirit, but also be a pop masterpiece. An album that would stand alongside any work the artists had already recorded. He succeeded on every level, with all the artists recording some of their most memorable performances. A Christmas Gift For You is the album which all later festive releases would be judged.

I'll end this article with Phil Spector's words that led into the final track on the album, Silent Night...

Hello, this is Phil Spector, it is so difficult at this time

To say words that would express my feelings

About the album to which you have just listened

An album that has been in the planning for many, many months

First, let me thank all the people who worked so hard with me

In the production of this album and in my endeavour and desire

To bring something new and different to the music of Christmas

And to the recording industry which is so much a part of my life

Of course, the biggest thanks goes to you

For giving me the opportunity to relate my feelings

Of Christmas through the music that I love

At this moment, I am very proud of all the artists

And on behalf of all of them, The Crystals, The Ronettes

Darlene Love, Bob B Soxx and the Blue Jeans, and myself

May we wish you the very merriest of Christmases

And the happiest of New Years, and thank you so very much

For letting us spend this Christmas with you.