Christmas Day Playlist 2012
HOUR 1
John & Yoko – Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – Single `71/`72
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The Beatles first Christmas 7" flexi record distributed free to their fans through the fan club….
Once Beatles fans found out about a free flexi disc coming out from the fan-club, more and more people applied. Consequently, the Fan Club was unprepared, so in addition to the thousands of Christmas flexis it mailed out in December of 1963, they also made a complete extra run of the flexi-disks without the sleeves (to save time), which were mailed out in February 1964 with a letter of apology and an explanation from the Club. The total of 1963 Christmas flexis made, both with and without sleeves, was just over 30,000 copies.
*1st / Fan Club X Mass Single 1963 (5:02)
Scripted by Tony Barrow – NEMS Pub. Manager / who ran fan club
Recorded Oct. 17th/ Released Dec. 6th 1963 /@ Abbey Road – 1st day w/ Four Track Recording Sessions for “I Want to Hold You Hand”
Ringo Starr – Come On Christmas; Christmas Come On – I Wanna Be Santa Claus **The Fab Four – Blue Christmas (Revolution)- /A Fab-ulous XMAS
Ringo Starr – The Christmas Dance – I Wanna Be Santa Claus
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*Beatles 1964 – 2nd Christmas Message ‘Another Beatles Christmas Record” – (4:06)
Recorded Monday Oct. 25th 1964 / By the time of the release of this flexi the Fan Club membership had risen to 65,000 and Christmas flexi disks were made for every member. It came with a special sleeve and with a Fan Club newsletter. Notice on the label that the 1964 fan club flexi plays at 45 rpm, all the others play at 33 1/3.
Released Dec. 18th 1964
Another Beatles' Christmas Record was not sent to American fans. Rather, at Christmastime 1964, US fans received an edited version of The Beatles' Christmas Record, which was sent to British fan club members in 1963. Also, as opposed to using flexi-discs, the US fan club sent the message in a tri-fold cardboard mailer, with the "record" embedded in one of the flaps of cardboard
Three Blonde Mice - Ringo Bells (2:27)
Atco REC# 45-6324
The Fab Four –Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer– A Four Christmas (17)
Dora Bryan - All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle She also had a Top 20 hit in 1963,
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On today’s Beatle Menu of December releases will be the following LP’s:
The Beatles 65 Rubber Soul John’s Live Peace In Toronto & Plastic Ono Band WINGS – Wildlife - Band On The Run & Wings Over America From Beatle George The Concert For Bangla Desh & Dark Horse
And from our friend Ringo his 1973 Xmas favorite “RINGO” which came out the last week of Nov just like MMT….so they count too…
The Beatles - I Am The Walrus - Magical Mystery Tour Recorded 5th September 1967 flip of “Hello Goodbye“ John said the first line came from an acid trip one weekend; the second line came from an acid trip the following weekend. Musicians: John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, Mellotron; Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass guitar; George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar; Ringo Starr – drums; Sidney Sax, Jack Rothstein, Ralph Elman, Andrew McGee, Jack Greene, Louis Stevens, John Gizzard and Jack Richards – violins; Lionel Ross, Eldon Fox, Brim Martin and Terry Weil – cellos; Gordon Levin – clarinet; Neil Sanders, Tony Unstill and Morris Miller – horns; The Mike Semmes Singers (Peggy Allen, Wendy Horan, Pat Whitmore, Jill Cutting, June Day, Sylvia King, Irene King, G. Millen, Mike Red way, John O’Neill, F. Yachter, Allan Grant, D. Griffith, J. Smith and J. Fraser) – backing vocals
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour/Fool On The Hill - Magical Mystery Tour Recorded 25th April 1967 Written mainly by Paul directly after recording for Sgt. Pepper had finished. Lead vocal Paul McCartney .9 / Lennon .1 UK EP
The Beatles - The Word - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in three takes at a late night session starting on November 10, 1965 that ran until 4 a.m. the next morning. Overdubs include Paul on piano, George Martin on harmonium, and Ringo playing the maracas. The song is a full collaboration between Lennon and McCartney, and began as an attempt to write a song based around a single note. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP
The Beatles - Girl - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Written primarily by John, the song was completed in two takes on November 11, 1965. The song is notable for the naughty backing vocal (Paul and George repeating the word “tit”) and John’s heavy breathing during his vocal. John called this one of his best. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP
Ringo Starr – Have You Seen My Baby – RINGO RINGO LP Big XMAS item 1973
WINGS – Nineteen Hundred & Eighty Five - BAND ON THE RUN
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HOUR 2
RADIO SPOT
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*Beatles 1965 3rd Christmas Message – (6.26) Recorded Nov. 8th/Released Dec. 17th, 1965 Sessions for Think For Yourself – Rubber Soul
Several off-key, a cappella versions of "Yesterday" are dispersed throughout the record, alongside Lennon's "Happy Christmas to Ya List'nas," "Auld Lang Syne," a one-and-a-half-line version of the Four Tops' "It's the Same Old Song", which they quickly stop before they violate the copyright, and an original poem titled "Christmas Comes But Once a Year." A second version of Auld Land Syne segues messily into a cover of Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction
Members of the Beatles' U.S. fan club did not receive this (or any) Christmas flexi-disc in 1965. Rather, they received a black and white postcard, with a photo of the Fab Four and the message "Season's Greetings -- Paul, Ringo, George, John." The Beatle Bulletin, the publication of the U.S. fan club, explained in its April 1966 edition that the tape arrived too late to prepare the record in time for Christmas
The Fab Four – Good King Wenceslas – A FAB Four Christmas
Becky Lee Beck - “I Want A Beatle For Christmas,” – Single 1964 Challenge Records
There were also at least four records released in 1964 that were titled “I Want A Beatle For Christmas,” with versions released by Jackie & Jill, Patty Surby And The Canadian V.I.P’s, The Fans and Becky Lee Beck. The version released by Becky Lee Beck was written by legendary luthier John Suhr, who has built guitars and basses for such musicians as Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Lou Reed, and Victor Bailey. When discussing the record, John Suhr recalled: “In the fall of 1964, I took Becky Lee, and her brother Bobby, to Nashville to do two tracks for a single. We did ‘I Want a Beatle for Christmas.
The Fab Four –Let It Snow Let It Snow…– A FAB Four Christmas Ringo Starr – Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer –
Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime – Back To The Egg
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*Beatles 4th Christmas Record 1966 (6:40) Pantomime / Everywhere it’s Christmas
Recorded Nov. 25 in the basement of Dick James Music / The 1st double A sided Beatle Xmas disc
This time the free disc given to fans was in the form of a pantomime written by The four lads. It was ten separate items, together with the title song, which was mixed together at Abbey Road on 2nd December 1966 by the writer of the previous Christmas outings, Tony Barrow.
Pantomime sleeve design by Paul McCartney.
The Fab Four - Jingle Bells Tomorrow Never Knows 2.38
The Fab Four – Silent Night – Christmas A Go Go
Tom Petty – X Mass All Over Again – Single
Chuck Berry – Run Run Rudolph - Single The Ronnetts – I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus – A Phil Spector Chritmas LP (Apple)
Ringo Starr – Winter Wonderland - I Wanna Be Santa Claus
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*Beatles 1967 5th Christmas Record – Christmas Time Is Here Again (6:10)
Recorded Nov. 28th 1967 – EMI ABBEY ROAD
THE ORIGINAL BEATLES with special guest appearance by the feet and voice of VICTOR U. SPINETTI and Something Else by MALCOLM LIFT-EVANS.
Another little bite of the Apple: Produced by George (Is Here Again) Martin.
FUN Facts ABOUT 1967 Message
Last Record recorded as a group. / Front cover by Lennon & Ringo / Back cover by Julian Lennon Also mentions the then mysterious Apple ….. / Only song from any Xmas Message to be copy written
The accompanying sketches included, messages, jokes, tap-dancing by Ringo and Victor, the voices of Mal Evans and George Martin, and a snatch of an old song called "Plenty Of Jam Jars".
HOUR 3
The Fab Four – Winter Wonderland
Darlene Love – White Christmas - A Christmas Gift From Harvey Phil Spector
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SLADE – Merry Christmas Everybody – Single `73 #1 UK
Roy Wood/Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday #4 UK bumped off by SLADE…XMAS a GO GO George Harrison – Ding Dong – Dark Horse `74 Frank Sinatra – Jingle Bells `57
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* Beatles 1968 6th Christmas Message – (7:55)
Released Dec. 20th /
The 1968 and 1969 Christmas flexis are double-sided and while all of the previous flexi's had paper record labels, the 1968 and 1969 disks have the information printed on the black flexi disk with white ink
1st X Mass to be recorded individually by each Beatle~~~~
John – Weybridge, Surrey
Paul – St. John’s Wood
George – Southern Calf. (During Electronic Sounds recordings)
And Ringo – Home at Ascot
Cover Painting by Julian Lennon
Features / Tiny Tim – Nowhere Man / Compiled by friend and DJ Kenny Everett
The Fab Four – Joy To The World - HARK!
Ringo Starr – I Wanna Be Santa Claus - I Wanna Be Santa Claus
Voice Break Cheap Trick – Come On Christmas – XMAS EP
Elton John – Step Into Christmas – Single
The Lonely Hearts Club Band
*Beatles Last (7th) Christmas Message 1969 – (7:42)
Released Dec. 19th, 1969 /
Really a very John & Yoko X Mass Message
Ringo does get in a plug for his then current film project The Magic Christian The cover seen above was designed by Ringo and his son Zak.
It was edited together by Radio 1 disc-jockey Kenny Everett, but this time credited to his real name, Maurice Cole.
John & Yoko – Happy Xmas – Single `72