Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Richard Crouse Kicks Out the Christmas Jams: Toronto Mike'd #971

Episode Date: December 20, 2021

Mike gets into the festive spirit by listening to Richard Crouse's top ten Christmas jams and hearing why he loves them.

I'm a little rusty at this. I've never done it before, but may I? Yes. To all of us everywhere. A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us, everyone. What up, Miami? Toronto. Welcome to episode 971 of Toronto Mic'd, proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer.

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Pillars of the community since 1921. I'm Mike from TorontoMike.com and joining me this week to kick out the festive jams is FOTM Richard Krause Merry Christmas Richard Hey Merry Christmas to you Mike

nice to see you and I like the hat thank you I break it out for one week a year and this happens to be that week Richard I firstly thank you for returning so quickly to kick out the festive jams. It's always a pleasure to have you on Toronto Mic'd. Yeah, listen, it's always fun

to do it and I get to do something I don't get to do very often, which is talk about music, which I love to do. On that note, I recently learned you have an enormous collection of unusual Christmas music. Please elaborate. Yeah, well I do. So it goes back a long elaborate. Yeah, well, I do. So it goes back a long way.

I used to work at Mr. Green Jeans in the Eaton Center when it was the busiest restaurant in the country. So we would get there. I used to work the front bar quite often as a bartender. And you'd get there at 10.15 to start setting up the bar, put out the bottles, do all the stuff you have to do. And at 10.15, there'd be three people waiting out front of the restaurant. 1030, there'd be 30 people waiting outside the restaurant.

By the time 11 o'clock rolled around and the host opened the doors, there'd be 400 people waiting outside. And then the restaurant, which seated, I think 400 people filled up like that and stayed that way until midnight. There'd be an hour or two wait to get tables. It was absolute bedlam there all the time. And over the holidays, starting probably in mid-November, they played Christmas music. And so not only do you have just an insane level of business coming your way, making chocolate monkeys and strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas and all that kind of stuff. But then you're being tortured by the worst Christmas music

in the entire world for an eight hour shift. So I thought there's got to be better Christmas music out there than this. And it took a little while, but I started finding, you know, old Chuck Berry records. And then I'd hear about something, and this was pre-internet, long before the internet. And so I'd hear about a James Brown Christmas record, but I couldn't lay my hands on it. So I'd start writing letters to people. And it was super fun. It was the thrill of collecting and finding things and really working it. And I found music from all these artists that I love that had Christmas themes to it that didn't sound like the aversion therapy Christmas music

that I was listening to at work for eight or nine hours a day. And today we're going to kick out 10 of your favorites. Yeah, we're going to kick out 10. And again, I made up this list a while ago. If I was to do it again today, who knows what would be on it. But right now, this is a pretty good looking over the list here. It's a pretty good list. All right.

Before we get to that, you have a new podcast. The Last Call with Richard Krause. Yeah, this is new. It is. Well, I mean, I was going to say we don't really need it anymore because bars and restaurants are now wide open again, but that's all changed in the last week or so. So it was made while bars and restaurants were at very low capacity or closed completely. And I wanted to do a thing where you could feel if you were sitting at home feeling lonely or feeling like you'd love to go to the local bar for a drink, but you can't do it.

So I made a podcast that you can listen to instead. And it's all about the great bars around the world. So Harry's New York Bar in Paris, where they invented the Bloody Mary and everyone from Humphrey Bogart to Ernest Hemingway to Coco Chanel used to drink at that bar. And it's still open. They just celebrated the 111th birthday of the or the 110th birthday of the bloody mary there a couple of weeks ago uh the tonga room from san francisco's in there mcsorley's bar where abraham lincoln used to drink uh is in there and it's still open you can still go there and visit it uh every time i go to new y, I make sure I go there. And so I take you, I tell you about the history of the places. I interview someone for the McSorley's episode. I found a sports writer from the U.S. called Rafe Barthelsen and his father

bartended there for 40 years. And he kind of grew up in the apartment above the bar. So he told me all about what it was like being, you know, in and around McSorley is one of the most legendary bars in the United States. You know, as an eight, nine, 10 year old, he used to help his dad out on the weekends. Oh, good for you, Richard. This sounds amazing. So. It's a cool little web cast or a podcast, and you can find it on Apple and spotify and wherever you wherever you listen

to your um your your fine fine podcast well anyone hearing us right now has probably figured out the whole podcast thing uh otherwise how the heck did they find us but hey since you mentioned last call if it's okay with you i'm glad we're recording in the uh the afternoon here i'm gonna just crack open a fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. So right on the mic here. Oh, that is a sweet sound. Cheers. And now cheers to you, Richard.

Looking forward to this. But you have another great story I'm hoping you'll share. Dr. John gave you a private Christmas concert. Yeah. So Dr. John, legendary New Orleans piano player. you'll share uh dr john gave you a private christmas concert yeah so dr john you know legendary new orleans piano player you know i was in the right place must have been the wrong time was a huge hit but he was just an absolute character and he played with everybody uh and was a legend when i uh booked him uh to play in a club that i was managing in Victoria, BC. And it was a jazz and blues club. And Dr.

John shows up and he, unlike so many of the other musicians we had had come through there, he didn't have a big entourage. There was nobody much with him. It was just, he showed up and he said, you know, where's the piano? And I said, it's right in here. And so we take him down to the club, but he wanted to get a feel for it first and uh he's noodling around on the piano and you notice a couple of things about him uh first of all uh one of those is that his fingers were giant not long like you imagine that piano players have long kind of slender fingers this guy had short stubby little sausages for fingers but man could he play like. And so he sits down at the piano and it was in December and he said, well, is there, you know, well, I'm sound checking.

Is there anything you want to hear? And I said, well, yeah, Dr. John, I'd love to hear some new Orleans style Christmas music. And he played like five songs for me, front to back Christmas songs, you know, songs that, you know, he grew up with playing in New Orleans around the holidays. And it truly I was the only one in the club. And it was me, this legend on stage. And at the time, I used to smoke in my ever present pack of camels sitting there in this jazz club.

Having Dr. John do a little private concert for me is honestly one of my greatest musical memories ever. Well, that's an amazing story. I'm just glad we're doing this, kicking out these Christmas jams for no other reason so I could capture that story and save it for posterity. Now, another great story, Peter Zowski. Tell us about one of your first radio gigs with Peter. Yeah. So my first radio gig in Toronto was on Morningside. At the time, it was the most popular radio show in the country. CBC Radio went coast to coast. And Peter Zosky was the host of it and the legendary host of it. I'd grown up hearing him on the radio watching 90 Minutes Live with Peter Zosky. I don't know if you remember that show.

I was kind of young-ish when it was on, but I used to stay home on Friday nights to watch it because I always had bands on. And that's where I saw Iggy Pop for the first time. That's where I saw Robin Williams for the first time. And I remember Robin Williams still. I had never, this must have been before Mork and Mindy was on. And he came out and did this wild set.

And I still remember he was wearing a beret and he took the beret off. And of course, it just flops down over his hand. And he goes, this is my Frisbee on acid. And I don't know why for 40 years, I've remembered that joke, but it's stuck in my head. Yeah, when it comes to Robin Williams, I always ask, is this pre-Happy Days or post-Happy Days?

I think it must be just pre you know because i hadn't heard of him so uh it was he was new to me uh but they used to have all sorts of interesting bands on cut to many years later um i was desperately trying to break in somewhere here uh on the radio and i faxed in those days, story pitches to Morningside every week, and sometimes two or three times a week, just until I figured they'd get sick of me eventually and then give me a gig of some sort. And it was Christmas music that broke through. I sent in a pitch on unusual Christmas music, and Peter really liked a song that we'll hear a little bit later on, Clyde McFadder and the Drifters doing White Christmas. And it was just one of those things that got me in the door. And I ended up being on that show for a few years and then being on

another show called Later That Same Day with Catherine O'Hara as a direct result of being on that, on being on with Peter. And, you know, again, you get to work and sit in the same studio with an absolute legend and watch him work. And I'll tell you, I learned more just from watching Peter Zosky tell a story than, you know, you can ever learn in a book reading about how to tell a story on the radio. He was a genius. And it was just a really cool way. I thought anyway, to kick off my radio career. I mean, what a career arc for you, Richard,

going from Morningside to Toronto Mike in the span of only a few decades. I feel. All right. Now an FOTM. I want to say hi to Mike Gregotsky because when he heard you were returning, he said, excellent. He said,

can you ask him his favorite and worst film pick from 2021? Well, this year has actually been pretty good in terms of really good movies. So I would say Belfast is one of my favorites. The Kenneth Branagh film is an absolute little gem of a movie that is set in Belfast in 1969. And it's about the troubles. It's about cars blowing up on the street. It starts with a very dramatic scene of violence, but it's not really about that. That is the backdrop to tell the story of a nine-year-old boy who is just really trying

to make sense of why things are changing in the neighborhood that he lives in. And it's fantastic. Brunner, this is his best film in years. I loved every second of that one. Licorice Pizza isn't open here in Canada yet. It will be, I think, on Christmas Day. This is fantastic stuff. This is Paul Thomas Anderson working really at the peak of his form in a movie that isn't really story driven.

It is about two young people, although there's an age gap. The boy played by Philip Seymour Hoffman's son, Connor, is, I think, 15 or 16 when the movie starts. And he falls in love with an older girl played by Alana Haim, the guitar player of the band Haim. And it's platonic, but they certainly care for one another. And the movie spans a few years. And it's just kind of a hangout movie about being young, kind of, sort of in love in LA in the 1970s. And it's worth the money to see Bradley Cooper play John Peters, the mega producer who, you know, was a notorious figure in Hollywood history. Cooper brings him alive in a very vivid performance. So those are my favorites.

I'd throw the tragedy of Macbeth in there as well. Denzel Washington. I mean, if you are afraid of Shakespeare and a lot of people tell me, the language, it doesn't work for me. I don't understand it. I will say, go see Denzel Washington say those words. And if you find the language dense or difficult to get through, you will still understand exactly what he's saying because he's such a good actor. And just emotionally, you will understand it. So those are three of my favorites. And then on the worst, I hate to dwell on the worst stuff, but there's a movie called The Ice Road dwell on the worst stuff. But there's a movie called The Ice Road that is just, you know, one of the biggest wastes of time that's out there. It's a Liam Neeson film. And, you know, I try hard to be a Liam Neeson fan, but sometimes he makes it hard for me. And The Ice Road is one of those movies. I think a movie called Primal with Nicolas Cage. Nick Cage has one of my favorite movies of the year, Pig, but he also has this one called Primal, which is just the very example.

I think this is the movie when people look back in a hundred years and they go, well, why did people think that Nicolas Cage was such an extreme actor? They'll watch Primal and they'll understand why. Quick question. Obviously, I haven't seen Licorice Pizza yet, but I'm dying to. But is there any Amy Mann on the soundtrack? There might be. It's filled with needle drops. But you know what?

If there is, you know what? I can't tell you definitively because I don't remember exactly, but it's set in the 1970 1970s so it's just before that right so only because love it when PTA stick some Amy Mann on the soundtrack okay so my friend I've already cracked open my Great Lakes beer so big

thank you to Great Lakes wonderful local craft brewery while I'm thanking people before we get to your holiday jams your Christmas jams I want to thank Palma Pasta, palmapasta.com. Uh, they're catering my,

uh, my little Christmas Eve party with the family and delicious as you know, sticker you, I want to thank sticker you.com for their tremendous support in 2021. Go to sticker you.com to get all your stickers and decals and badges, et cetera. Ridley funeral home, Richard,

I can't wait till I see you again, like in person, because I have some great swag for you from Ridley Funeral Home. And last but not least, I want to thank the Moneris podcast, Yes, We Are Open, which is hosted by FOTM Al Grego. You can go to yesweareopenpodcast.com to subscribe. Al's been telling the story of small Canadian businesses, their origin, their struggle, their future outlook. And if you're a small business owner or entrepreneur like myself,

you're going to find it helpful and motivational. So thank you, Manaris. Thank you, Richard. Are you ready, my friend, to kick out the Christmas jams?

I'm ready to entertain your ears, to make your eardrums dance. Let's make this Christmas mean something Means a thing This year Let's Make this Christmas Means a thing

This year Hi, everybody. I'm here this year a wonderful year. Not only to you, God, number one. To you, number two. And for all the wonderful things. You know, when I look at a beautiful day, I say, let God is nice.

Let God is next. Make this Christmas mean something this year. Let's make Christmas mean something this year, Richard. So great. This is James Brown. And this is when I knew I was on the right track when I started uncovering stuff like this after the horror of having to listen to the Mr. Green Jeans Christmas music. This is when I knew that there was stuff out there that was really cool and stuff that didn't get played on the radio all the time. And this is kind of, for my money anyway, the stairway to heaven of Christmas songs. kind of, for my money anyway, the stairway to heaven of Christmas songs.

I don't know if you can tell me exactly how long it is there, but we're looking at a very solid five minutes, I bet, at least. Oh, yeah, no, it's longer than that here. So it's about six and a half minutes, approximately. Yeah, and it is James Brown just riffing, talking, and generally speaking, just lighting the place on fire. It's so good. And James Brown, I think, is probably one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, certainly influenced so many people.

And those records are unique. Listen to that thing, man. There is not another Christmas record that sounds like the James Brown Christmas record. I'm glad you picked this jam. So when the internet showed up in my life, I discovered this album and it has a jam on it called Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto. And that's my,

like it's on every Christmas playlist I've made over the last 15 years, I'd say. I love it. Yeah. Also just an absolutely fantastic song. And, you know, James Brown, man, those records, you go back and listen to those records, they hold up pretty well.

Night Train is still probably the greatest song ever recorded. You know, Richard, I'm a titch, like a titch younger than you, and true story, and as shameful as this will sound to you, I don't discover the great james the hardest working man in showbiz i don't discover james brown until rocky four right right yeah living in america right that song comes out yeah right and he performs it in the movie and that song was big and then you go backwards right you're like what is this and then you start to discover the uh the classic stuff but that's sort sort of my entrance was living in America.

out to Ontario Place on the streetcar. It's probably 25 or 35 cents or something to get out there. And then it may be five bucks to get in the door. And then there was a free concert and it was always unbelievable lineups, James Brown, B.B. King, you know, all those people. And, you know, so I got to see and lucky enough to be able to see all those performers perform live. And James Brown, you know, at the end of the show, he'd be exhausted. And his hype guy would come out and put the cape on his back. And the audience would go crazy. And he'd start to walk to the exit. And then he'd throw the cape off and come back.

And he just couldn't stop himself from performing more. Fantastic showbiz-y stuff. Loved every minute of those shows. And then I recently learned from a Toronto my guest I learned about this roller rink I didn't know it existed but it turns out I've literally been biking by the strip mall where it would have been located

it was called the Mimicombo it was in Mimico the Mimicombo and the very first Canadian concert by James Brown took place at the Mimicombo and yeah so there's like yeah you can I think it's you could the Flyer Vault that's who I want to credit by James Brown took place at the Mimicombo. Really? Yeah. So there's like, yeah, you can, I think it's, you can, the Flyer Vault,

that's who I want to credit with this. And they sold reprints of the posters. So if you were at the Mimicombo back whenever that was, I'm not even certain what year that was, but first James Brown concert in Canada. Wow. I had no idea. Yeah.

Bring back the Mimicombo. Apparently there's a cool spot here. All right. You're right. So 629 is the official count on that, but we're going to kick out another jam for a recent birthday boy. Here we go. Here we go. We'll be right back. ¶¶

¶¶ Keith Richards. Yeah, you know, and Chuck Berry, of course, wrote the song, released it in 1958, and his version is fantastic, too. But I love Keith's version of it you can almost smell the cigarette breath as he's singing here in this one it is just so vivid and and uh it rocks really hard and one of the things i love about it as a you know just a pure blues inspired rock song uh the band is so loose they feel like they're just about to fall apart almost any second, but they just

barely keep it together. It's fantastic tension that keeps that song rocking along and I love it. That is one that gets played around here a lot over the holidays. And remind us, Richard, you're a proud Maritimer, right? I am, yeah.

So a fellow Maritimer is Tish Eyston. I don't know if you know this name, but she does a lot of voiceover work, but she was actually doing weekend shifts on CHFI for 17 years. You're probably not listening to a lot of CHFI. But Tish Eyston, so where I'm going with this is that she dropped by last week. Really interesting episode. She was rocking the Keith Richards for President t-shirt. So I think you'd like her.

I love that. Yeah, no. Well, A, I'm a maritimer, so of course, you know, I would like her. And the Keith Richards shirt, absolutely. I approve wholeheartedly. And 75, I think he turned 75 last week. So if you were betting the, like anyone who took the over i think is making some good money on this one this is quite the uh the impressive uh you know well if you if you've ever read his book he wrote a book called life and it's so great it's

well written it's interesting all the way i don't know if he actually wrote it or not, but his name's on the front. But near the end, he just starts sort of musing about life, talking about life. And he actually includes the recipe for his mother's shepherd's pie in there at the end. Probably the least rock and roll thing you can do, but we tried it and it's fantastic. So maybe that's the secret to his longevity, I think. That's right yeah mom's shepherd's pie all right richard i love it my friend love it uh that's jam number two let's rock on with number three

they call me back, though, Santa I make my runs about to break a day They call me back, though, Santa I make my runs about to break a day Oh, oh, oh I make all the little girls happy While the boys are out to play I ain't like old St. Nick

Clarence Carter. Yeah, Clarence Carter. And just he made a career out of making really filthy records, but was just so entertaining. So great. Backdoor Santa. You probably recognize the riff from that one. This is Run DMC.

Christmas in Hollis. Yeah. Run DMC borrowed that sample. But, you know, it really is just Clarence Carter saying like, you know, if you leave your girlfriend at home, I'm going to dress like Santa and come over and visit. That's all the song's about, but it's fantastic.

The horns are awesome. And it puts the X in X-mas, as I always like to say. You got the horns and you got the horny. That's right. It all works together somehow. No, fantastic. You know, one of my great thrills and uh previous generations wouldn't have had this joy i think but is when you in the wild i'm not talking about you know seeking out you know what's

this sample i need to you know in the wild hearing a jam like usually it's a 70s jam but who knows and then saying wow there it is there is the sample that was you know i heard in this very popular hip-hop song well and we and we were talking about James Brown earlier. Listen to James Brown's original records and you're going to hear the basis of so much hip-hop and R&B. Funky Drummer has been sampled literally thousands of times and thousands of songs. Well, Richard, as an FOTM, you're in the esteemed company

that you're alongside Mr. Chuck D. You can't listen to those public enemy jams without hearing as Chuck would say, James Brown, one of his grunts was like a lyric and they would sample the hell out of it. The bomb squad would take that and run with it. Amazing, my friend.

Alright, we're cooking with gas here. Okay, you know what? This jam might be my favorite Christmas song of all time. so i'm gonna probably let this one brew about 90 seconds before we get to you but let's enjoy i was christmas Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me Won't see another one And then he sang a song

The rare old mountain dew I turned my face away And dreamed about you Got on a lucky one Came in eighteen to one I've got a feeling This that's years from making you, so happy Christmas I can see a better time When all our dreams come true They got cars big as bars, they got rivers of gold But the windows right through you, it's no place for the old

When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas Eve You promised me Broadway was waiting for me You were handsome, you were pretty, queen of New York City When the band finished playing, they held on for more Sinatra was swinging, all the drunk they were singing We kissed on the corner, then danced through the night The boys of the NYPD choir were singing Love it, Richard. Fairytale of New York.

Yeah, by the Pogues. That song came around or came about because of a bet. Elvis Costello, who was producing the post at the time, bet Shane McGowan that he couldn't write a Christmas song. And Shane McGowan said, it took a couple of years and they finally got it done. And, you know, you could write a book about the imagery that is in the lyrics in this song. It's just so beautiful. It's evocative. Like so many great Christmas songs,

it's kind of an anti-Christmas song in some ways. It's about loss and failure and things not working out. But if you really look at a lot of Christmas songs, that's not an uncommon theme or loss and longing. I'll be home for Christmas if only my dreams work. Melancholy, right? It's a lot of melancholy. Yeah, there's a real kind of melancholy that goes along with a lot of these. It's funny, though, because of the language in this song that it has been banned by some places and there are

occasionally you'll hear it with a bleep or an edit in it somewhere. But when it first was released, the BBC requested that they change the language, but they wanted the word arse taken out. And so Christy McCall re-recorded it with the word ass instead, which they considered less offensive. Yeah, it's all backwards over there. But yeah, the F slur that you're referring to, it's interesting because another big backwards over there but yeah that the uh the the the f slur that you're referring to uh it's interesting because another big jam from my youth of course was money

for nothing by dire straits which has the same slur in there it was uh yeah they didn't quite age uh very well you know that hasn't aged well but uh in in when the pogues play it now they've got another singer i mean when they play, which is not very often. But there's a singer named Katie Mula who sings it. And she sings it with a different rhyme. She uses the word haggard for the slur. Yeah, on that note, we did lose Christy McCall far too early and tragically. And she's just stellar on this song.

She's amazing. She is so good in this. And she was killed in just such a terrible, meaningless way. It was a boating accident. And it was a terrible thing. Oh, yeah. Just when you read into the details, it's a complete nightmare. Because this part of the ocean or lake, I don't know what body of water. It was roped off from,

so boats weren't allowed there. It was for families to swim safely and some boatist did not follow the rules and it was tragic. And she was saving her child, as I understand. She literally sacrificed herself for her child. Oh my goodness, what a loss.

Okay, great jam though. Love it. And I will just tell you, I don't know if you've ever shared a pint or two with Edward Keenan over the years i know ed yep i could just see you two at a bar at some point but the uh forget christmas songs we kicked out his as you did we kicked out his 10 favorite songs of all time anytime and that jam made the list he can listen to that in july wow well it's it's the most listened to christmas song in the uk ever and Well, it's the most listened to Christmas song in the UK ever.

And yeah, it's a song I think that people are listening to, not just in December. Yeah, eat your heart out, Bing Crosby. Come, they told me, ba-rum-pa-bum-bum A newborn king to see, ba-rum-pa-bum-bum Our finest gifts we bring Pa rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum

Peace on earth Can it be That years from now Perhaps we'll see. See the day of glory. See the day of glory. Living peace. Peace on earth

Bing Crosby and David Bowie Yeah, I mean, this one is a lot of people's favorite Christmas song. It's not a surprise that it ends up on mine, because if I was to take you through a video walking tour of my home, it's essentially a shrine to David Bowie. There's a lot of Bowie memorabilia and artifacts sprinkled around here. So this one always, of course, has to make the list. But it's interesting when you listen to it in the way that we just did, you hear that the mix isn't very good. And I could never really understand why

it doesn't sound better. And the reason it doesn't sound better is that after they recorded it, is that after they recorded it, the show went to air. Bing died shortly afterwards. And it was considered unreleasable. They had a master tape, which they had recorded, and they got rid of it. They trashed it. And years later, somebody found the boom mic mix, which was what we're hearing here. So that's why when David Bowie starts singing, Bing kind of disappears a little bit. It's not mixed particularly well.

I had no idea. Yeah. And David Bowie, the reason the song exists at all is because David Bowie's mother was a huge Bing Crosby fan. And so when he got the offer to be on the show, he told her about it. And she goes, oh, David, you got to do it. You got to get out there. You got to play with Durbingle. You have to do this. So he does it, but he hates the song Little Drummer Boy, and that's what they wanted them to play. And he got on the set and he said, no, it's a stupid, stupid song and I won't record it. So one of Bing's musicians went downstairs,

found a piano somewhere and wrote peace on earth in about an hour and then made the arrangement and put the two together, taught it to them. They recorded it live off the floor. And that's what we're here today. I'm not sure I ever knew that peace on earth was written for that live performance there. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, it's it's a it's it sounds traditional it sounds like it sounds like some standard i just you know that had been around for a while but that's wild my friend yeah and and uh and bowie liked to do things quickly he most of if

you listen to uh bowie as obsessively as i do a 90 i don't know if that's true but a huge percentage of his vocals are first takes. He would sit there and just when the time was right, he knew how to do it. And that's what you hear there. It's just this beautiful vocal as a great counterpoint to one of the legendary singers of the 20th century, Bing Crosby. Great choice. I only recently learned that, you know, fellow FOTM M Griner dated David's son when she was, uh, singing backup for him.

I don't know if you heard that. Uh, I didn't, I know him. I didn't know that. Yeah. Zoe Bowie. Yeah,

correct. Uh, I guess she put it in a book recently and, uh, there you go. So there you go. Duncan Jones. He's now a,

he's now a really good film director. So yes, he's, uh, he lost the name, uh, Bowie Zoe. Is that the Bowie Zowie?

Zoe Bowie, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, my friend. Love these jams. Just a little different, although I feel like that one you're going to still hear, that one you'll still hear on CHFI. So just so you know.

But here's your sixth jam. Christmas Dear Christmas Christmas Dear Ed Sparks Christmas Everybody's got a Christmas ball Yeah Hey baby Let me know

Yeah Christmas time Is drawing near Get out your Self jeans And your space shoes I got this Sweet white Day by day To you Christmas Get out your silk jeans and your space shoes I got the sweet white, yeah, that's baby, you

Christmas We'll call the song T-Rex, Christmas Bop. I was worried I'm missing a part of this song, but this is a shorter jam. Is that possible? Yeah, no, you might be missing a little bit of it. There's a few cuts of this around.

It was just kind of a jam session in the studio, and it was supposed to be the B-side of a single. right and it was supposed to be the b-side of a single i think it was supposed to be the b-side of metal guru uh and it didn't make it on but it it's it's quite something i love the like get out your silk jeans and your space or your silk jeans and your uh space shoes or whatever is it just such a song of its moment you know and uh you can hear the sort of the glam rock guitar which apparently and i haven't confirmed this 100 but apparently it's jeff lynn from elo playing guitar on this along of course it is richard of course it is and uh so but you hear the the glam rock thing, but also he was dating, Mark Bolin was dating

Gloria Jones, who was a disco singer. And you start, you can feel that disco influence coming in there in the drums and things. So it's just this weird little bit of Christmas ephemera, you know, Christmas bop by T-Rex. And I mean, Gloria Jones, she sang the original Tainted Love, right? I think so. Yeah. I think that's where it all comes. And then of course, yeah, with Soft Cell I think so, yeah. I think that's where it all comes. And then, of course, yeah, with Soft Cell.

I think that's how it all connects. Yeah, interesting. Okay, great jam, T-Rex, Christmas bop. And we're going to mosey on over to number seven here. When I was small I believed in Santa Claus Though I knew it was my dad. And I would hang up my stocking at Christmas, open my presents and I'd be glad. But the last time I played Father Christmas, I stood outside a department store. A gang of kids came over and bugged me And knocked my reindeer to the floor

They said, Father Christmas, give us some money Don't mess around with our silly toys We'll beat you up if you don't hand it over We want your bread, so don't make us annoyed Give all the toys to the little rich boys Woo! Go and hear that on CHFI. Give all the toys to the little rich boys. Woo! Go and hear that on CHFI.

They're missing out, man, because that is a jam. Yeah, that is the Kinks' Father Christmas. And what I love about this, I mean, Ray Davies is such an interesting songwriter, and the lyrics are amazing. It's about, you about you know like don't give us toys santa we don't want your toys uh we want money you got to give us money because we we need that or give my dog my dad a job uh it's it's you know social commentary wrapped up in a just a rocking little thing that you know still to me feels like a christmas song sounds like a christmas song uh but it it certainly has a message

that it's trying to make. And similarly to Tooth Fairy Tale of New York, it's sort of a, yeah, it's a Christmas song, but it's a standalone good jam. Like I always think of like the Pretenders,

2000 Miles or something. Like it stands alone as a good song, regardless of the season. Yeah, no, and the guitar on it is just like rock and roll at it's so great it just it's got such a propulsive feel to it uh that you know whatever christmas or not it's a still

a great jam almost ahead of his time really when you listen it sounds uh far more recent because this is what year approximately i won't hold you to this specific it It's, it's mid to late seventies. Like it's new wave era Kings, I think. Well, then I will say that era does fool me. Cause every once in a while, I'll listen to like speaking to the pretenders.

I'll listen to a mystery achievement or something. And I'll think, Oh damn, that sounds so like modern and good. Like it doesn't, it doesn't sound like it's from the 1980 or whatever. Yeah, Mystery Achievement, if that was a Christmas song, we'd be

playing it today because I love that song. I rediscovered that song as a theme song for one of the seasons of The Deuce, which is from David Simon who did The Wire. Honestly, ask my wife. I spin Mystery Ach mystery achievement all the

damn time it's that good original lineup there with the pretenders but shout out to Chrissy Hynde if she's listening but speaking of speaking of the kinks see it all yeah see it all connects my friend yeah it sure does

all right we're gonna ride the end of father Christmas into your anti-penultimate jam. All right. Dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know Where those streets are Listen and children listen To hear sleigh bells in the snow Children listen to hear

Sleigh bells in the snow The snow Then I am dreaming Of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write May your days, may your days, may your days Be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white

Richard, if I had a voice like this gentleman... Oh, listen to this. Oh. I'm dreaming of Hawaii That's. Listen to this. Oh. That's how I sound, I think. That's Clyde McFatter, the voice that you love. Isn't that great? Love it.

So this is The Drifters. This is The Drifters. The song White Christmas is the biggest selling single of all time. Bing Crosby's version of it sold 50 million copies. And if you put all the versions of it together, it's upwards of 100 million copies of this song that were sold as singles. And it's been recorded by a lot of different people. And people love the Bing Crosby version,

but this, I think, Clyde McFatter's voice, unbelievable. And it's the song that you know it stays on my Christmas list because that's the song that got me the job on Morningside. Okay love it my friend you know Mark Weisblatt was here the other day and we do a very deep dive my friend you need three hours of time for these

but they're well worth it very nourishing but he was mentioned you know he made a good point which is like Christmas time or December if you will is really the only time of the year where these modern, all these new hits, these top 40 stations will play a song that was recorded in the 40s. Yeah, that is true. I mean, I think Christmas music really resonates with people in a way that brings back memories, things you haven't thought of for a long time. And for bands, I mean, it's like an annuity. You know, you have a big selling Christmas record and every year it's going to continue to sell.

And I know that every year now it might be a little bit different in the age of Spotify. But, you know, every year these old records from the 50s, 60 and 70s um get this massive pop in sales because people you know want to sort of get in touch with that that nostalgic feeling of christmas again without a doubt uh shout out to uh darlene love okay my friend oh yeah it's a great jam and by way mariah carey's song i think she she put it out in 95 and that's like your most recent of the classics, if you will. And you know what? That song, that Mariah Carey song, which for a lot of people, when they hear it, that means that Christmas has begun. That song sounds like it was recorded for the Phil Spector Christmas album.

It's got the same kind of production. She's got a great vocal layered on top of it but it sounds like it wouldn't be that out of place on that merry christmas uh to you uh phil specter album you're absolutely right richard and that is the gift uh that keeps on giving but let's kick out here this is now your i'm sad to see this coming to an end uh this is your penultimate jam here we go. Teksting av Nicolai Winther All right, you can start telling us about Harry Connick Jr.'s We Three Kings and why you love this version, but I think a little later I'll be turning it up

because it kind of has a tempo change. Yeah, it does have a tempo change a little bit later. But this is, I just, I love this version of it because it sounds like something you'd hear, you know, on the street in New Orleans as you're walking around. It's one of those cities that just resonates with the sound of music wherever you go. that just resonates with the sound of music wherever you go. And I remember in spending time there, I researched a cookbook down there one time and we were so lucky. We got to go around to restaurants and say,

please bring us the left side of the menu, please. And they'd bring the left side of the menu, taste everything. If there's something you like, you talk to the chef. And it was a fascinating way to spend some time down there. But you'd get home at three o'clock in the morning and I'd sit in my room, the windows would be cranked open and you'd hear like a saxophone player

just playing on a street corner somewhere or wherever you went, there was always music. And this song reminds me of that. It reminds me of Christmas time down there. You would hear someone playing something that sounded like this radical reinvention of a song that was written in 1857. And because there's no vocal on it, every time I hear it, I always think, you know, we three kings of Orient are tried to smoke a rubber cigar. It was loaded.

It exploded. That's what goes through my head every time I hear this song. But I love the piano work on it. Harry Connick Jr., you know, because he's been around for a long time, because he's made some movies, some good, some not so good, hosted a talk show. I think you forget what a talented musician he is and just how deep his roots go into New Orleans music and into jazz.

I mean, you listen to that thing and tell me that is a beautiful version of that song. Without a doubt, I'll turn it up as it will take us into the final jam. But this kind of comes full circle on the David Simon catalog too, because of course we mentioned David Simon did the wire. And then I talked about the deuce with a mystery achievement and an Elvis Costello jam, which they made into a duet, which was unbelievable.

And I know you're huge Costello guy, but of course, David Simon also made a Treme and a whole bunch of new Orleans, uh, singers and artists. That Anthony Bourdain wrote on as well. Yes. So it all comes full circle.

Harry Connick Jr., again, my first time he came on my radar was Indubitably We Are In Love. You remember this? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, he told me, I interviewed him a while ago, and he told me that he had made a few records before the soundtrack too when Harry met Sally, and they had all sold 3,000 copies. And it was to the point where he would go into record stores and say,

hey, do you have that record by that very talented piano player, Harry Connick Jr.? And just to try and get them to at least order it or to front rack it in some way, you know. And so he's got a bunch of these records. And then when Harry Met Sally record came out and sold 5 million copies, 10 million, whatever it was, it changed everything for him. And I said to him, you know, how do you handle that kind of overnight success? And he said to me, not very well. Christmas is the time to say I love you

Share the joys and laughter and the tears Christmas is the time to say I love you And I feel like the last hope through the years On the corner carolers are singing There's a touch of magic in the air From grown-up to minor, no one could be finer Time's too hard, but no one seems to care Christmas Eve and all the world is watching

Santa guides his reindeer through the dark From rooftop to chimney, from Harlem to Bimney They will find their way into your heart Christmas is the time to say I love you. Share the joy, the laughter, and good cheer. Christmas is the time to say I love you. And I feel that last hope for the year. Christmas is the time to say I love you.

I put this one on last because it's the earworm. It's the one that you're going to remember. If you haven't heard it before, it will stick in there and you'll find yourself looking for it on Spotify. You'll try and find this to listen to over the next few days because it's just insanely catchy. And I like how he rhymes Bimini with chimney. It kind of forces it a little bit, but it works for me.

And it's just, you know, everyone remembers Billy Squire from the song The Stroke. And this one, though, I think is his greatest record. The Stroke gave us the lyric, let your backbone slide, which Maestro Fresh West then borrowed for his first big hit. Yep. Yep. And Billy Squire.

I saw Billy Squire open for Queen at Maple Leaf Gardens in about 1982, I think, maybe 82 or 83. And he was great. It was a great live show. And then I can't remember exactly. He put out a video, and I can't remember the jam, but there was a video that was so, like, detested and trashed. It sort of killed his career.

It ruined his career. And I can't remember what the song was called, but it was sort of trying to, I think, stretch him as an artist, do something a little different as an artist. And instead of that, if fans rejected it wholeheart to Billy Squire for 355 days of the year. But for the last 10 days of the year, generally speaking, he gets played a little bit around the house. So if people are like noodling on, on YouTube and want to hear the video that killed Billy Squire's career,

it's called rock me tonight is this song that you got to Google there. But Richard, my friend, this was tremendous. Like, thanks so much for kicking out your 10 favorite there. But Richard, my friend, this was tremendous. Thanks so much for kicking out your 10 favorite Christmas jams. And my friend, would you have any big plans? Did Omicron kill any of your festive plans this holiday? Not really.

We, generally speaking, keep it fairly low-key around here at Christmas. The Christmas tree is up, and it's been decorated. around here at christmas the christmas tree is up and uh it's been decorated uh and every year each sort of section of the christmas tree is a different theme and i'll be posting them on facebook and twitter and stuff so yesterday i posted the little shop of horrors uh section of the christmas tree that has like skeletons and devils and and frankenstein's and things uh soon we'll get into the vice section that's all like cigarettes and beer and things. Soon we'll get into the vice section. That's all like cigarettes and beer and things. And then we'll move on from there.

But over the next few days, I'll be posting some of that. It's a fun tree and I have a feeling that the supervillain Omicron is just what it needs. It's just going to be sitting around here staring at the tree. Well, Merry Christmas, Richard. To you and yours. Yeah, Merry Christmas, Richard. To you and yours.

Yeah, Merry Christmas to you guys too, Mike. Thanks for having me. This was fun. And that brings us to the end of our 971st show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Richard is at Richard Krause. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer.

Chef Drop is at Get Chef Drop. Mineris is at Mineris. McKay CEO Forums are at McKay CEO Forums. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. And Ridley Funeral Home is at Ridley FH. See you all tomorrow when my special guest is Retro Ontario for Christmas Crackers Volume 4. Well, I want to take a streetcar downtown Read Andrew Miller and wander around

And drink some Guin goodness from a tin Cause my UI check has just come in Ah, where you been? Because everything is kind of rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold but but the snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and green. Well, you've been under my skin for more than eight years.

It's been eight years of laughter And eight years of tears And I don't know what the future can hold Or will do for me and you But I'm a much better man For having known you Oh, you know that's true Because everything is coming up rosy and gray.

Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and gray. Cause everything is rosy and green Well, I've been told that there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize there's a thousand shades of green Cause I know that's true Yes I do

I know it's true Yeah I know it's true How about you? Are they picking up trash and they're putting down roads? And they're brokering stocks the class struggle explodes

And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn because Everything is coming up rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow Everything is coming up rosy and gray. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms me today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and gray.

Well, I've kissed you in France, and I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain. And I've kissed you in places I better not name. And I've seen the sun go down on Chaclacour. But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true Because everything is coming up Rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Warms us today

And your smile is fine And it's just like mine And it won't go away Because everything is rosy now Everything is rosy and Everything is rosy and gray Thank you.