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 Like their Hillbilly
Holiday and Blue Yule, Rhino
Records' Hipsters'
Holiday: Vocal Jazz And R&B Classics (1989) does a commendable job
of summarizing a large, delightful subgenre of Christmas music. With one
glaring exception (more below), none of these songs can be faulted as less
than representative of the form, and almost all rise to classic status. Most
notably, Hipsters'
Holiday contains some of Louis Armstrong's hippest
holiday offerings, three sides recorded for Decca Records during his creative
maturity in the 1950's. While Satchmo sides like "Cool Yule" and "Christmas
Night In Harlem" form the emotional core of Hipsters'
Holiday, the fun just begins there. The disc also includes two great
gold digger soliloquies, Eartha Kitt's salacious, celebrated "Santa
Baby" and Pearl Bailey's equally evil (if less renowned) "Five
Pound Of Money." This pair is juxtaposed with Miles Davis' "Blue
Xmas," featuring a venomous rant on commercialism from vocalist Bob
Dorough.
More often than not, though, these songs are nothing more (and nothing less)
than odes to a new kind of Santa Claus, one who "done got hip" and
proceeds to do the boogie woogie, dance the mambo, and live the crazy be-bop
lifestyle. Stir in the double entendres of Julia Lee and the blue tones of
Lionel Hampton, and we have a spicy, saucy recipe for a swinging Christmas.
Spanning over twenty years (1946 to 1966), Hipsters'
Holiday provides a vivid snapshot of American jive in the full flower of
health.
Disconcertingly, however, Rhino throws a wrench in the works with one remarkably
inferior contemporary selection. Tim Fuller, a now forgotten flavor-of-the-month,
virtually oozes condescension on his performance of "Silent Night," which
mixes cocktail jazz with purloined Beatle riffs (how droll). Fuller is described
in the liner notes as "the Tony Clifton of the 90's" - like that's
a compliment! In fact, he more closely resembles Bill Murray's Saturday
Night Live lounge singer - trying so hard to be hip, failing so miserably
to be anything more than pathetic. Perhaps Fuller's inclusion was intended
to make everything else sound wonderful in comparison (which it certainly does),
but it's another of Rhino's irksome missteps, very nearly spoiling an otherwise
brilliant collection. [top of page]
 Albums
Songs
- Be-Bop Santa Claus
(Babs Gonzales, 1955)
-
Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern) (Miles Davis, 1962)
-
Boogie Woogie Santa Claus (Mabel Scott, 1948)
-
Christmas Night In Harlem (Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars, 1955)
-
Christmas Spirit (Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends, 1947)
-
Cool Yule (Louis Armstrong & The Commanders 1953)
- Deck Us All With Boston Charlie (Lambert Hendricks & Ross, 1961)
-
Dig That Crazy Santa Claus (Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, 1954)
-
Five Pound Box Of Money (Pearl Bailey, 1959)
-
Hello Mr. New Year (Coolbreezers, 1957)
- Jingle Bells (Leo Watson, 1949)
-
Merry Christmas Baby (Lionel Hampton, 1950)
-
Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt, 1953)
-
Santa Done Got Hip (Marquees, 1959)
-
We Wanna See Santa Do The Mambo (Big John Greer, 1954)
-
'Zat You Santa Claus? (Louis Armstrong, 1953)  Top 100 Song [ close]
Satchmo cut six Christmas sides for Decca Records in the 1950's as his career as a jazz innovator came
to a close and his new status as American icon came into focus. All the Decca sides are enjoyable (and all are included on What
A Wonderful Christmas), but "'Zat You Santa Claus" is the one that best captures Armstrong's
affable but mischievous persona while preserving his musical integrity. Recasting Santa as night prowler,
Satch and his band created the first (only?) Christmas-Halloween hybrid.
Further
Listening
[top of page]
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