It's Veterans Day Thursday which, next to Christmas, is probably the most important holiday on the American calendar. Originally known as Armistice Day, the holiday is intended to mark the end of World War I (which formally ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918). Please take a moment, this year, to reflect on the service of those who fight our wars--are fighting now--to protect our freedoms. Thank a veteran and remember the fallen.
Every war that goes on for awhile will have its music. And, if there be music, there must be holiday music. "Christmas In The Trenches" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" are among the more obvious choices. But I hate being obvious.
Every war that goes on for awhile will have its music. And, if there be music, there must be holiday music. "Christmas In The Trenches" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" are among the more obvious choices. But I hate being obvious.
JULIE SANDERSON/CHRISTMAS 1864 (HOLIDAY FEAST: CREME DE LA CREME)
Julie Sanderson is first up with our Civil War Christmas song. Julie wrote and recorded this song in 1997 for the Hungry For Music Holiday Feast series. It was later included on this 2-disc "Best of" Holiday Feast collection. The instrumentation on this track instantly transports me to the Civil War era, but the lyrics could apply to any conflict.
No one's going home again this Christmas
Though everyone's grown tired of this war.
Nuff said.
Visit Julie Sanderson's MySpace page to hear more from her.
No one's going home again this Christmas
Though everyone's grown tired of this war.
Nuff said.
Visit Julie Sanderson's MySpace page to hear more from her.
CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE FRONT (Not available on CD)
Representing WWI we have an actual 78 from the era which, as best as I can determine, dates somewhere between 1914 and 1917. Sorry I can't be more precise. The purpose of this 78, and others like it, was to reassure those at home that their loved ones were in good spirits and doing well--to portray those in the trenches as those at home would like to imagine, rather than to allow the truth of the horrors of war to be known. Actors were hired to read the rather upbeat script. It's all just jolly good fun, this business of war. It was propaganda, pure and simple.
World War II had plenty of songs. Classics like "I'll Be Home For Christmas" were directly related to the war. Frequently, though, the Christmas songs of the era alluded to the war, or reflected the sentiments, without actually referring to the conflict directly.
This 2006 song from North Carolina's Kenny Roby has become a favorite of mine. Kenny Roby is known primarily as a specialist in Americana. Because this track is told from the perspective of a child, we once again have an idealized view of war. But this isn't a Rah-Rah piece, like our 78; this is just a slice of life, tinged with sadness and irony. Visit Kenny Roby's web site for more.
This 2006 song from North Carolina's Kenny Roby has become a favorite of mine. Kenny Roby is known primarily as a specialist in Americana. Because this track is told from the perspective of a child, we once again have an idealized view of war. But this isn't a Rah-Rah piece, like our 78; this is just a slice of life, tinged with sadness and irony. Visit Kenny Roby's web site for more.
The SOUL SEARCHERS/CHRISTMAS IN VIET NAM (Not available on CD)
The Vietnam War certainly inspired more than its share of music, including holiday music. Most famously, John Lennon's "Happy Xmas" has become a seasonal standard over the years; it's been covered by everyone from REO Speedwagon to Sarah McLaughlin and beyond. But the war in Southeast Asia also gave us such classics as Johnny & Jon's "Christmas In Vietnam" and Marvin Gaye's "I Want To Come Home For Christmas." Most of the Vietnam Christmas records, though, remain lost in the sands of time on obscure vinyl 45s...like this one. Not to be confused with The Soul Stirrers, The Soul Searchers provided a soulful/gospel song about the holiday in a far off land with their 1967 lament "Christmas In Viet Nam". Sadly, there's not enough info on this record to determine who these Souls Searchers were. Soul Searchers is an all too common name in music--ranging from the early 60s Garage Rock band to the nostalgia act that currently uses the moniker. And, of course, there is the "Godfather of Go-Go", Chuck Brown. I'm guessing there's no connection to Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, but I don't know that for a fact. The song has its own little bit of controversy with some claiming it's a straight up rip-off of the Johnny & Jon song. Maybe, I'm nuts, but I don't hear that. They have many similarities, but I don't think it's a rip-off. Anyway, this record has yet to be released on CD. If you want to read more about Christmas music related to the Viet Nam war, check out the essay at Hip Christmas.
Outside of a song about a dead skunk, Loudon Wainwright III has mostly made a living writing and recording topical songs, in the tradition of Woody Guthrie (among others). In 1989 or 1990, if I recall correctly, he was hired by NPR to contribute such compositions to a program based on the legendary "That Was The Week That Was" (which featured Tom Lehrer). On December 23, 1990, Loudon appeared on Vin Scelsa's New York radio program, Idiot's Delight, where he debuted one such song--"Christmas Morning". I know there were other Christmas songs that came out of the first Gulf war. But this is the one I remember. The song eventually found its way to 1999's "Social Studies". But, for several years there, I was one of the few among my Christmas music collecting friends who had the song on tape. Loudon's still at it, by the way. His latest is "Songs For The New Depression" and it's brilliant as ever. Stop by Loudon Wainwright's web site some time and let him know you still care.
BRETT DENNEN/The HOLIDAYS ARE HERE (AND WE'RE STILL AT WAR) (CD Single, out of print)
This song, which was originally a free download on Brett Dennen's web site in 2005, will stand, I think, as the definitive holiday song to come out of the second Iraq war. Like Viet Nam, the second Gulf War has been responsible for, probably, hundreds of songs, including dozens of Christmas tracks. Most have gone virtually unnoticed and will remain on the trash heap of time until and unless rescued by some musical historian. A few will get the occasional spin. But, thanks largely to the Internet, Bruce Dennen's song will live on, I believe. Even the title sums of the ever growing frustration of a public that, by and large, already realized they'd been duped less than a year into the fighting. The California Folk singer released this on a limited CD single in 2006. It was included on a label sampler a short time later. But, at this point, the easiest way to pick it up is as an iTunes download.
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