by Steve Funk
“So this is Christmas… and what have you done?” - John Lennon “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”
When Autumn leaves turn the ruddy colors of rust and gold my mind wanders ahead in anticipation of winter, conjuring up Currier & Ives-like memories of country Christmases past, replete with happy holiday revelers bundled up in warm coats, caps and scarves… packed into horse drawn sleighs… trundled down rural trails flanked by flocked evergreens to a sparkling snow-covered church splendid with glowing stained glass.
Not that I really have those Christmas memories in the ol'memory bank (can I get an injection of memory bank liquidity from that bail-out bill?), but my mind prefers to pretend I do. It only takes moments for the soundtrack to kick in. The music makes the images congeal. The music is the feel that's real.
As a kid living through grey winter days in the city, I looked forward to Christmas, with its presents and pageantry, like every kid does. For me tho', the music of the holiday was the best part of all. I remember being a proud child when I learned all the words (in Latin) to Adeste Fidelis. An early treasured family memory revolves around a trip to the campus at Berkeley for a brilliant performance of Handel's “Messiah”. As to the secular music of the holiday, Brenda, Bing, Burl & Buck… just barely on my radar.
“Rockin' around the Christmas Tree on a happy hol-i-day…” -Brenda Lee
All that changed tho' in 1961 when I first heard Elvis sing Blue Christmas on KFRC. Wow! Christmas music that was fun, and best of all… really cool! Elvis records went right into my letters to Santa. In the fall of '64, I remember the radio playing bits of the Beatles' holiday record sent out to the fan club. I bugged my grandmother 'til she gave in and bought “Meet the Beatles” for me as an early Christmas gift.
This season, these memories started me thinking… what lasting influence has my generation had on the holiday music experience? So, I consulted my record collection and 3 guys who bring our holiday favorites to the radio every season. Dave “Dead Air” Herold, Music Director and APD of 100.1 The X; Jim McClain, Ops Manager and morning co-host of 105.7 KOZZ, and Bill Schulz, Director of Programming at the Americom Group and morning cohost on Alice@96.5, to see if we could find it.
Brian Epstein was a marketing savant. He invaded America in November of '63, releasing the Beatles' new albums every holiday season and whipping up the desire of a newly affluent generation of youngsters at a time when their parents were loathe to say “no”. He probably wasn't the first, but he may have been the best at leveraging that dynamic to make his group the best selling act and most popular people in the world, even rivaling the cat for which the holiday is named.
“Father Xmas, give us the money. We got no time for your silly toys…” -The Kinks “Father Xmas”
It's the American Way, to take a good mouse-trap and make it better. By the end of the 1980s, the American music industry had made a fine art of holiday music commercialization, using it to introduce new artists, adding depth to established acts and, in some cases, even reviving sagging careers with yet another “Best Of…” collection with a holiday number tacked on. And DJs couldn't wait to play them! Because the kids of the '50s and '60, who loved re-living those Christmases past, were now parents bent on making hip holiday memories for their own kids.
The industry machine geared up as if it was wartime and rolled out hit after holiday hit. Traditional songs, modern musical takes on the holidays and especially novelties, like “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and the Bob Rivers Christmas albums grabbed our attention as we shopped and shopped and shopped. They've cemented themselves into the holiday lexicon.
“Bless the everyday people who answered the call, bless those who gave some and those who gave all… it's Christmas in New York… again…” -Shilelagh Law “Christmas in New York”
Another decade of Christmases came and went before there was enough music in the genre, and a good enough reason for radio stations to give “All Christmas, All the Time” a chance to turn a profit. After 9/11, as a way of comforting the afflicted city, a station in New York began the trend. Soon, battles broke out across the nation between stations hoping to become the holiday station in their town. Dave Herold of The X remembers it as “… a mad dash to get to the Christmas music, you know? As soon as Thanksgiving was over…POW! ... All Christmas all the Time on 3 stations… it was amazing how it cut both ways, some listeners ate it up, others ran away like it was the plague”. The smooth Jazz station is his radio group was one of the combatants.
Bill Schulz, who's Sunny 106.9 won the battle and is now known as Reno's “Home for the Holidays” radio station, explains the winning strategy this way, “…we prevailed because we are consistent with it…
Christmas songs are like comfort food, they bring back happy, joyous times and help us remember what it's all about, home and family. We're in the business of making our listeners feel happy every day of the year with the music they love so, it fits with what Sunny is about already. We don't pay attention to what other stations do, we stay focused on our listeners and families”.
KOZZ's Jim McClain, who watched the battle rage but who's stations did not participate shares that, in the shadow of 9/11 “… people had very mixed views about the commercial aspects of Christmas and we're careful not to be perceived as over-doing it. We want to help our listeners find that 'holiday spirit' but we don't want to beat them over the head with it”. He added, “… stations do that (All Christmas, All the Time) to influence ratings with the allimportant “at work” listener because many companies put those stations on in their store or office to create a holiday atmosphere for their customers”.
All three programmers admit that there's a profit motive driving at least part of the holiday music decision-making process. When asked if the smooth jazz station profited from the experiment, Dave says, “I don't think it had that much impact… but it didn't run any advertisers off.” So, why stop doing it? “The War On Christmas (laughs), no… it just wasn't important enough to our listeners to put that much into it”.
So, is the boomer generation's contribution to Christmas music one of crass over-commercialization, to the extreme point of selling out the music that drives our holiday joy? Yeah, but that's just a function of our anythingfor- a-buck society at large. But Bill points out that, “Sure, the industry wants to make a buck… but look at the artists who contribute to albums like “A Very Special Christmas”. They generate so much money for good causes like Special Olympics and many others, and that's beneficial for everyone”.
Does the industry redeem itself with projects like Band- Aid's “Do They Know Its Christmas”, where many artists performed together for African Hunger Relief? According to Bill, “…the artists redeem themselves, yes… but remember, the industry still makes the buck on the distribution”.
Yes. Boomers have taken the commercialization of Christmas to previously unknown heights. But in the bargain, we've also created a pantheon of memorable holiday music that will last for generations beyond ours. We've also found the true meaning of Christmas, of giving before receiving, of action for good causes that have alleviated the struggles of the oppressed and less fortunate. On top of that, we have our own musical benchmarks for our memories of Christmases past, present and those “yet to come”. Not such a bad bargain, really.
“We wish you everything you wish for yourselves this Christmas. Happy Crimble everybody and a Very New Year… (pause) especially to those who've paid their subscription (laughs and whistling goofiness out)! - The Beatles
KRNO Sunny 106.9 “Home for the Holidays” Top Christmas Classics
- Wonderful Christmas Time- Paul McCartney
- White Christmas- Bing Crosby
- Rudolf the red-Nosed Reindeer- Burl Ives
- Frosty the Snowman- Burl Ives
- Brenda Lee- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
- Hall & Oates- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
- Nat King Cole- The Christmas Song
- Sleigh Ride- The Boston Pops
KOZZ 105.7 - Eternal Christmas Classics
- John Lennon/ Yoko Ono "Happy Christmas (War is Over)"
- Emerson Lake & Palmer- "(I Believe in) Father Christmas"
- Bruce Springsteen- "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
- The Kinks- "Father Christmas" 5. Jethro Tull- "A Christmas Song"
KTHX 100/1 The X recommends for the holidays…
- Robert Earl Keen: Merry Christmas from the Family Sarah Taylor & Bill Mumy: I've Got Some Presents for Santa
- Leon Redbone: Baby It's Cold Outside
- John McCutcheon: Christmas in the Trenches
- James Brown: Santa Go Straight to the Ghetto
Steve Funk has been stirring Northern Nevada's musical melting pot since 1967, is a musician, a musicologist and recovering DJ. Comments are appreciated at scfunk@charter.net.