Huey "Piano" Smith And The Clowns

Like a personification of New Orleans itself, Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns sound as if they could withstand a hurricane with their irrepressible good humor intact. So, when they grafted their trademark Crescent City sound to the wonderful world of Christmas, the results were merry indeed. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (1962) includes ten songs that seem to flow from one to the next with nary a break in the fun. Smith's rollicking keyboards, Curly Moore's mischievous vocals, and the band's incessant rhythms propel the listener through an amusing series of holiday mishaps, none of which dampen the party spirit - the raison d'tre of any good New Orleans record. In "Rock 'N' Roll Santa Claus," old St. Nick has slimmed down and moved away from the North Pole (in a rocket ship, no less) because "people down there don't rock 'n' roll." "I Wrote To Santa Claus" finds the singer so desperate to win his baby back that he appeals to a higher, jollier power - Santa Claus!

By "All I Want For Christmas," however, our hero has given up on love, simply requesting that Santa bring him "a little bit of music." No beggar, though, he demands that it be records to which he can dance the Twist and Hully Gully! Then, on traditional songs like "Silent Night" and "White Christmas," Smith and the Clowns render the least pious, most joyful vision of the holidays ever waxed. Huey even slaps the word "Blues" onto the latter song's title - and steals the writer's credit from Irving Berlin!

Smith and his band were a little past their peak when they recorded 'Twas The Night Before Christmas for Mississippi's Ace Records - with an assist from Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John. While the songs do sound a bit alike - and bear a suspicious resemblance to several previous Clowns hits - it is one of the most infectious, unusual Christmas albums I've ever heard. It was so unusual, in fact, that rumors circulated among collectors (fueled by the record's scarcity) that Ace had withdrawn it from the market when enraged listeners condemned it as sacrilegious. True, the record was quickly relegated to obscurity, but it was the victim of a bad distribution deal rather than controversy.

Thankfully, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas was reissued on CD in 1998, rescued by Westside Records, an English label specializing in rhythm & blues. Westside's mastering is pristine, and they appended bonus material consisting of instrumental backing tracks to eight of the songs ("Christmas karaoke," they call it). Sadly, the CD is out-of-print and has grown difficult - though not impossible - to find, though it became easy to download and stream when Westside put their Ace catalog online. Easier to locate - though also out-of-print - is the Ace Records compilation A Rock 'n' Roll Christmas (1989), which containing all ten original tracks from the Clowns' classic LP, plus some other cool rarities. [top of page]