Friday, 16 December 2022

Christmas Cavalcade 2022: Part Two

Ho! Ho! Ho! Everybody: who is up for another selection of Christmas-related catastrophes? Two singles, four tracks, and all of them worthy of inclusion on your own Christmas playlist

 

First out of the snow-covered barn door is (or, rather, are) Dick and Richard, and both sides of their 1963 seasonal offering Santa Caught A Cold On Christmas Eve and the even sillier Stinky The Little Reindeer. The A-side song was written by Dave Barbour, first husband of the singer Peggy Lee (the couple were married for eight years between 1943–1951), her son-in-law Dick Foster (husband of Lee and Barbour’s only child, Nicki Lee Foster) and Richard Addrisi, Dick and Richard being the son-in-law and Mr Addrisi.

 

Jack Marshall, who produced the disc, wrote the flip side; Richard Addrisi also performed with his brother, Don, as the Addrisi Brothers, and as Dick and Don. Previous to that, the brothers had been part of a traveling trapeze act, The Flying Addrisis, with their parents. The brothers were successful songwriters through the 60s and 70s, and in 1972 scored a minor Billboard hit with their song We’ve Got To Get It On Again, but this particular clunker failed to chart.

 

Next up is a coupling from our old friend Red River Dave, with both sides of his 1980 single, the atonal horror that is Santa's Watchdog Archibald (featuring the dulcet tones of Gloria May), backed with the political polemic The Night Ronald Reagan Rode With Santa Claus. I featured Red River Dave on the blog back in August, and you can read more about his career HERE.

 

Apparently, The Night Ronald Reagan Rode With Santa Claus was penned by Dave 'Red River McEnery 'in the spirit of Christmas forgiveness’. The song features then-president Reagan issuing a pardon to striking air traffic controllers, with Santa telling the Pres that 'Santa Claus counts on air controllers all over the world. He's counting on a safe sky as he flies round the world with Christmas greetings and toys for good little girls and boys.'

 

Enjoy these, and I’ll be back before the Big Day with the third installment of this year’s Christmas Cavalcade.

 

Download Santa HERE

Download Stinky HERE

Download Archibald HERE

Download Ronald HERE

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this, especially the Red River Dave, I was hoping it would show up at some point after you mentioned it earlier in the year. I'm guessing it's the same guy as this earlier Christmas single I shared. https://ernienotbert.blogspot.com/2022/12/on-old-red-river.html

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