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.
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“Peace on Earth” was not very peaceful; it absolutely destroyed “The Little Drummer Boy”.
I wonder who allowed such disastrous arrangement…
My God, what genius! If Bowie hadn’t bulked at singing “the little drummer boy” we would never have heard this duet between them.
I love this duet…the harmony is beautiful! Such an unlikely pair, but an awesome creation.