In 1977, just a short 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. An older, crusty Crosby had no real familiarity with the younger, androgynous Bowie, and Bowie wasn’t crazy about singing The Little Drummer Boy. So, shortly before the show’s taping, a team of writers had to frantically retool the song, blending the traditional Christmas song with a newly-written tune called Peace on Earth. After one hour of rehearsal, the two singers recorded The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth and made an instant little chestnut. The Washington Post has the backstory on the strange Bing-Bowie meeting. We hope you enjoy revisiting this classic clip with us. Happy holidays to you all.
And, oh, by the way, let’s throw in a little semi-comic remake by Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly:
This is a little gem from Open Culture. Merry Christmas