Merry Beat-Mas

For those of you looking for tracks for an annual X-mas CD/mixtape, let me point you towards The Beatles Christmas Records. These were on the first Beatles bootleg I ever bought and I still think they’re one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever heard. Released to fanclub members every year between 1963 and 1969, these records started out as a nice little “year in review” / “thank you” gift. As the band members began drifting away from each other, they got weirder and weirder. They reached their peak with the 1968 record that features Tiny Tim singing “Nowhere Man”, Ringo performing a bizarre phone call skit, Paul singing a repetitive “Happy Christmas” song that sounds like it was edited down from a three-hour runtime, and John reciting a poem that, in retrospect, serves as a thinly-veiled “fuck you” to the rest of the band for mistreating Yoko. Merry Crimble, everybody!


posted by greg on December 14, 2004 @ 1:18 pm

3 comments

  1. Paul singing a repetitive “Happy Christmas” song that sounds like it was edited down from a three-hour runtime

    Probably a part of the infamous 45-minute “Helter Skelter” from the same year. Hehehe.

    serves as a thinly-veiled “fuck you” to the rest of the band for mistreating Yoko.

    Mistreating Yoko? You’ve GOT to be kidding. She had a bed in the Abbey Road #2 while they were working on Get Back! I guess I’d find here a bit irritating, as well.

    But, of course, he was in love. And when Paul hooked up with Linda, well, that was pretty much it.

    Speaking of which, ask Tom about Flung Doo and her effect on a certain band called The Button-Toast…

    As for Beat-Xmas, there are of course the well-known Happy Xmas (War is Over) by Dr. Winston O’Boogie and the Plastic Onos, as well as Wonderful Christmastime by Sir Macca and Wings. I would encourage you, however, to check out Ringo’s “I Wanna Be Santa Claus”. Ringo’s so damn cute he makes you want to just squeeze his cheeks!

    Comment by keith — December 14, 2004 @ 3:51 pm

  2. There’s also the Ventures’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” constructed almost cut-and-paste from “Please Please Me.” It’s on their bitchin’ Christmas Album.

    Comment by dAnimal — December 14, 2004 @ 5:46 pm

  3. “… I’d like to wish everyone a merry christmas … this year of 1960- … eight …. going on 69 …”

    Their best work this side of “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”.

    Comment by Briantologist — December 15, 2004 @ 11:49 am

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