Boy Dog Little Picture
Boy Dog Little Picture
" Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy " is a Christmas song with an added counterpoint performed by David Bowie and Bing Crosby. "Little Drummer Boy" is a traditional Christmas song written in 1957, while the "Peace on Earth" tune and lyrics were added to the song especially for Bowie and Crosby's recording.
Recording
The track was originally recorded on 11 September 1977 for Crosby's 1977 television special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas . The pair exchanged dialogue about what they do for Christmas before singing the traditional song, "Little Drummer Boy", with a new counterpoint with original lyrics written for the special, "Peace on Earth". Bowie's appearance has been described as a "surreal" event, undertaken at a time that he was "actively trying to normalise his career". He has since recalled that he only appeared on the show because "I just knew my mother liked him." Crosby died on October 14, just over a month after recording the special. The show aired on 30 November 1977.
According to co-writer Ian Fraser, Bowie balked at singing "Little Drummer Boy". "I hate this song. Is there something else I could sing?" Fraser recalls Bowie telling him. Fraser, along with songwriter Larry Grossman and the special's scriptwriter, Buz Kohan, then wrote "Peace on Earth" as a counterpoint to "Little Drummer Boy". Crosby performed "Little Drummer Boy", while Bowie sang the new tune "Peace on Earth".
Release
The song was available for some years as a bootleg single backed with "Heroes", which Bowie had also performed on the TV special. In 1982, RCA issued the recording as an official single, complete with the dialogue, arbitrarily placing "Fantastic Voyage" from the Lodger album on the B-side. Bowie was unhappy with this move, which further soured his strained relationship with RCA, and he left the label soon after. The single climbed to number three on the UK charts, boosted by a 12" picture disc release, and has since become a perennial on British Christmas compilation albums, with the TV sequence also a regular on UK nostalgia shows.
In the United States, Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy has become a staple on radio stations during the Christmas season.
Track listing
7": RCA / BOW 12 (UK)
- "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" (Larry Grossman, Ian Fraser, Buz Kohan / Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) – 4:23
- "Fantastic Voyage" (David Bowie) – 2:55
Production credits
- David Bowie
- Tony Visconti
- David Bowie: Vocals, Piano on “Fantastic Voyage”
- Bing Crosby: Vocals
- Uncredited session players on “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy”
- Adrian Belew: Mandolin on “Fantastic Voyage”
- Dennis Davis: Percussion on “Fantastic Voyage”
- Tony Visconti: Backing vocals, Mandolin on “Fantastic Voyage”
- Brian Eno: Ambient drone on “Fantastic Voyage”
- Simon House: Mandolin on “Fantastic Voyage”
- Sean Mayes: Piano on “Fantastic Voyage”
Appearances in popular culture
- Craig Kilborn and Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü performed a parody of it on Comedy Central, aired as a short piece between shows during the Christmas season. The words were changed, with Kilborn replacing Bowie's opening lines with, "Why the hell / am I doing this?".
- A parody version was released on the internet as a Christmas present, sung by The Monarch (Jackson Publick) and Doctor Girlfriend (Doc Hammer), from the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros. The song stars The Monarch as David Bowie and Doctor Girlfriend as Bing Crosby.
- Aled Jones and Terry Wogan recorded a version for a CD entitled BandAged , which was released as part of the BBC Children in Need Appeal 2008. Warner Home Music released it as a single on 8 December 2008, and it reached a high of number three in the UK Singles Chart.
- A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! parodied this duet with a song sung by Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson.
A 2009 episode of the show SuperNews! parodied this song with Barack Obama and Joe Biden singing as Bing Crosby and David Bowie respectively.
Notes
- ^ a b Paul Farhi (20 December 2006). "Bing and Bowie: An Odd Story of Holiday Harmony", The Washington Post . Retrieved 21 December 2006.
- ^ David Buckley (1999) Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story : pp.327-328
- ^ a b Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie : p.161
- ^ Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record : p.117
References
Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie , Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
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