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Post by Kapitan on Aug 6, 2023 12:11:00 GMT
Why can't you sing along to the original? Well it's bit high, isn't it. Of course, you might get there wearing the right pants. I guess the bridge, otherwise in the verses it only goes to an F#. I guess I figured falsetto or octave transpositions can be our friends. Beach Boys fans have plenty of similar examples, don't they?
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Post by B.E. on Aug 6, 2023 12:25:08 GMT
There's also the lyrical differences.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 6, 2023 12:28:36 GMT
I like the song quite a bit; every version I've heard. My favorite was recorded by John Lennon, produced by Phil Spector, in 1973:
I love the scream at about 90 seconds in. What a crazy version.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 6, 2023 12:30:10 GMT
There's also the lyrical differences. But those don't forbid a person from singing them! Relating to them quite so directly, I suppose.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 6, 2023 12:34:42 GMT
There's also the lyrical differences. But those don't forbid a person from singing them! Relating to them quite so directly, I suppose. Not forbid, but I can see preferring to sing one version over another. I've been obsessed with Tapestry for about a year now, but I'll admit feeling a little weird singing along to "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". 
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 6, 2023 12:50:34 GMT
I'm a little surprised Phil Spector didn't record a version of "To Know Him Is To Love Him" during his heyday with Darlene Love, The Crystals, The Ronettes, and others. Or did he? I never researched the entire discography from that Wall Of Sound era.
Back to The Teddy Bears...Wasn't that around the time (1959?) when Bruce Johnston was lurking or actually in a band with Spector and Sandy Nelson? It's funny but when you think of Phil Spector and The Beach Boys, you automatically go to Brian Wilson, but Bruce was before that! I never read it anywhere but I'm curious if Brian "pumped" Bruce for any info or stories about those early Spector days. He probably did.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 6, 2023 13:35:12 GMT
Back to The Teddy Bears...Wasn't that around the time (1959?) when Bruce Johnston was lurking or actually in a band with Spector and Sandy Nelson? It's funny but when you think of Phil Spector and The Beach Boys, you automatically go to Brian Wilson, but Bruce was before that!
I'm not sure they were in any serious or organized group together, but they were definitely all in the same social circles right from high school onward. So I'm sure they at least played together in some configurations for various parties, dances, small-time gigs, etc. However, after the Teddy Bears broke up, I don't know that Phil ever really returned to being the artist--I think he went directly to being the auteur producer. Glad to be corrected, though.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 6, 2023 13:46:38 GMT
Here are two interesting articles/links on Bruce's time with Phil Spector and Sandy Nelson:
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 6, 2023 13:59:29 GMT
Here are two interesting articles/links on Bruce's time with Phil Spector and Sandy Nelson:
Funny that in the first one, Bruce is quoted telling the story how he had to turn down the opportunity to perform on "To Know Him Is To Love Him" because he had a date. The second one says he played bass on the recording.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 6, 2023 14:11:53 GMT
Here are two interesting articles/links on Bruce's time with Phil Spector and Sandy Nelson:
Funny that in the first one, Bruce is quoted telling the story how he had to turn down the opportunity to perform on "To Know Him Is To Love Him" because he had a date. The second one says he played bass on the recording. Yeah, I'm curious about Bruce actually playing bass on the record - not that it would've been unheard of. Assuming "To Know Him Is To Love Him" was recorded in mid-1958, Bruce would've just turned 16 years-old. As mentioned in the article, he was a sophomore going into his junior year in high school. But, we know how very young Carl Wilson and David Marks were when recording/touring with The Beach Boys. So, who knows? Different times indeed. I'm also curious what "date" Bruce had that he would've turned down Spector? Maybe Kip Tyler?
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Post by jk on Aug 6, 2023 14:34:56 GMT
I'm a little surprised Phil Spector didn't record a version of "To Know Him Is To Love Him" during his heyday with Darlene Love, The Crystals, The Ronettes, and others. Or did he? I never researched the entire discography from that Wall Of Sound era.
Not that I'm aware of. I also think it would have been a well-known fact had it happened ("Tycoon of Teen revisits first hit").
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2023 13:38:44 GMT
"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," David Seville & the Chipmunks
Dec. 12 & 29, 1958, and Jan. 5 & 12, 1959This one has to be for Sheriff John Stone, who for all I know might have this on a summer playlist. 'Tis (always) the season, isn't it? Ross Bagdasarian was born in Fresno, California, in 1919 to an Armenian-American family. After graduating high school, he moved with his cousin, William Saroyan, to New York to try to start a career as an actor. (Saroyan was already a published writer, and went on to a very successful literary career.) It worked, as he landed a role on Broadway in 1939, when he was just 20. His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he joined the Army and rose to the rank of staff sergeant in the Army Air Forces. He was stationed in England, France, and, notably for his future, Seville, Spain. Returning to the U.S., Bagdasarian moved back to Fresno, was married, and for a time tried to enter the family's traditional business of grape growing, but soon moved to Los Angeles to try his hand again at show business--specifically, songwriting. In 1939, Bagdasarian and Saroyan co-wrote a pop song based on an Armenian folk song, "Come On-a My House" for a musical, The Son that was finally staged in 1950. That song went on to be the first hit for Rosemary Clooney. In the mid-50s, Bagdasarian took a stage name based on a city he'd been fond of during the war, David Seville, and continued releasing music. In 1958, Seville spent $200 on a tape recorder and experimented with adjusting its speed. The efforts changed his career forever. In spring 1958, his "Witch Doctor" was released on Liberty Records, and it topped the (pre-Hot 100) Billboard and Cash Box charts. Later that same year, Seville created the concept of a fictional band, The Chipmunks, whose voices were created by similar tape-speed manipulation. He named the characters after three executives at Liberty Records: Alvin (Alvin Bennett), Simon (Simon Waronker, father of Lenny), and Theodore (Theodore Keep). On Nov. 17, 1958, Liberty released "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)." It topped the charts about one month later, and kept that top spot for four consecutive weeks. The song also won three Grammys at the 1st annual Grammy Awards. Shana Alexander wrote in Life magazine in 1959 that Seville marked the first time in the "annals of popular music that one man has served as writer, composer, publisher, conductor and multiple vocalist of a hit record, thereby directing all possible revenues from the song back into his pocket." Seville went on to record and release numerous other songs and albums as David Seville and the Chipmunks, some of which were hits: The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles Hits, released in 1964, peaked at #14 on the Billboard album charts. However, he never again topped the charts. However, Seville expanded the idea into a multifaceted franchise including toys and cartoons, creating characters that have lasted through to the present. Seville/Bagdasarian died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 52. His son Ross Jr. and his wife took over the franchise in the late 1970s, and bought the full rights from Ross Jr.'s siblings in the mid-90s. "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" was the only Christmas song to top Billboard's Hot 100 until Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" repeated the feat in 2019. The song also re-entered the Hot 100 several times, has gone more than 12x platinum, and is considered the third-highest selling Christmas song of all time (after Carey's aforementioned hit and the Trans Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24").
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Post by kds on Aug 7, 2023 14:09:13 GMT
Here's another one that I've been familiar with since early childhood. I had the record "Christmas with the Chipmunks" as a kid. I had the (somewhat forgotten) animated Christmas special "A Chipmunk Christmas" recorded on a VHS tape (I wound up upgrading to DVD in the early 00s), which featured the song. The song was also used at least a couple times in the Saturday Morning Cartoon show Alvin and the Chipmunks that aired in the 1980s.
I have to admit, it's not one of my favorite Christmas classics, but I do make time for it at least once or twice each December.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2023 18:29:50 GMT
I knew this one my whole life, too. As a kid, I really, really loved it. I'm not sure why, exactly, but specifically I loved Alvin singing he wanted a hula-hoop. I just think there was something funny in the sound of the word: hula-hoop. I also loved the little fictional slice of reality as Dave yells at Alvin, which of course was a theme throughout Chipmunks material.
That said, I can't say I particularly like the song now. Nothing against it, either. It's just not on my mind and I don't seek it out.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 7, 2023 18:50:50 GMT
Great introductory post, Kapitan! Very informative.
The late 1950s and early 1960s were part of an era known as The Golden Age Of Christmas Music. Many of the great voices of popular music turned their attention to Christmas music and the radio and record stores were graced with some of the greatest holiday music of all-time. Many of the albums released in that era became Christmas classics including:
1956 - Mario Lanza - Lanza Sings Christmas Carols 1957 - Frank Sinatra - A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra 1958 - Johnny Mathis - Merry Christmas 1959 - Dean Martin - A Winter Romance 1959 - Perry Como - Season's Greetings From Perry Como 1960 - Nat King Cole - The Magic Of Christmas 1962 - Bing Crosby - I Wish You A Merry Christmas 1963 - Andy Williams - The Andy Williams Christmas Album
And, with all of that timeless holiday music listed above, as noted, what was the first and only (other than "All I Want For Christmas Is You") Christmas song to top the Billboard Hot 100 and - AND - enter that chart several times, go 12x platinum, and become the third highest-selling Christmas song of all-time? Well, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by David Seville & The Chipmunks of course! The power of Christmas music. The Great Uniter. It reaches all.
As I mentioned above, Kapitan's introductory post was very eye-opening. I didn't realize that "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" was released as early as 1958, probably because I remember watching The Chipmunk's TV show in the early 1960s. I also did not realize that the song was such a huge commercial success. I didn't know it hit #1 and I had no idea how many singles it sold. Astounding! A novelty song no less. And, like I alluded to, succeeding right in the middle of all of the other traditional Christmas music from those legendary artists.
I have another confession to make. I'm not a fan of the song. I never really liked it. Now, I will say that "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" is definitely a part of the Christmas music season. No question about it. Yes, it wouldn't be the same without hearing the song on the car radio, in the malls, and in the home at least a couple of times each year - for sentimental reasons if nothing else. We need Christmas novelty tunes, songs for children, fun(ny) Christmas music. And this song covers all of those bases. Again, personally, it never moved the holiday needle for me. I never found it very "Christmasey", I didn't find it particularly humorous, and while the melody does stick with you, it's not much of a song. Still, I'm glad we have it.
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Sept 30, 2024 19:53:42 GMT
Sept 30, 2024 19:53:42 GMT
