David Bowie and Bing Crosby Sing “The Little Drummer Boy”

I like to bring this one back during the holidays. In 1977, just a month before Bing Crosby died, the 40s crooner hosted David Bowie, the glam rocker, on his Christmas show. The awkwardness of the meeting is palpable. (Crosby had no real familiarity with Bowie, and Bowie wasn’t crazy about singing The Little Drummer Boy, so they frantically retooled the song to his liking, as you will see). But, after one hour of rehearsal, Bing and Bowie recorded the song and made a little chestnut. The Washington Post has the whole backstory on the Bing-Bowie meeting here. And you can find this clip among our YouTube Favorites.

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by Dan Colman | Permalink | Comments (1) |

Comments (1)
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  1. visitor says . . . | December 14, 2009 / 12:15 pm

    I like this version better with an angel. :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc9M3sS7yuo

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    Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.

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