Songs & Singles: D

• Daddy Drank Our Xmas Money (TVTV$, 1995)
• Daddy Won't Be Home Again For Christmas (Merle Haggard, 1973)
• Daddy's Christmas (Albert Brooks, 1974) [close]

  Once upon a time, Albert Brooks was the younger, hipper, West Coast edition of Woody Allen. Brooks never got that famous, and he's certainly not been as prolific (six films in forty-or-so years, not counting his more frequent acting gigs), but then, he never married his stepdaughter, either. Nearly lost to history, sadly, are the comedy records Brooks made early in his career. Both were brilliant, and neither has ever been reissued. "Daddy's Christmas," released only on 45, is even more obscure - and more twisted. Every holiday season, one of my favorite moments is hearing Brooks invoke this deathless bit of wisdom during his bedtime dialogue with an unsuspecting child actor, "Honey, sometimes I wonder if through sheer stupidity children aren't just as smart as any grownup."

• Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas
  • Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen (1973)
  • Diesel Doug & The Long Haul Truckers (1997)
• Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas (Tommy Hester, circa 1968)
• Dan Aykroyd Santa Claus (Proton Packs, 2023)
• Dance Mr. Snowman Dance (Crew Cuts, 1954)
• Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (from "The Nutcracker")
  • Duke Ellington (1960)
  • Gary Hoey (2023)
• Dancin' With Santa (Trashmen, 1964)
• Dark Christmas (Freedom Fry, 2012)
• The Day Before Boxing Day (Robyn Hitchcock, 2015)
• Dead By Christmas (Hanoi Rocks, 1981)
• Dead Christmas (Monster Magnet, 1995)
• Dear Father Christmas (Neil Innes, 1984)
• Dear Mister Santa Claus (Red Sovine, 1950)
• Dear Mr. Claus (Paul Revere & The Raiders, 1967)
• Dear Mr. Kringle (Kelly King, 2010)
• Dear Santa (Jackknife Stiletto, 2014)
• Dear Santa (Mr Little Jeans, 2014)
• Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas) (Weather Girls, 1983) Top 100 Song
• Dear Santa Have You Had The Measles? (Lael Calloway, 1956)
• Dearest Santa (Alphabet Backwards, 2012)
• December (MxPx, 2018)
• December Mourning (Crocodile Shop, 1987)
• December Skies (Steven Wilson, 2024)
• December Sky (Dawn Richard of Danity Kane, 2011)
• December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas) (George Michael, 2009)
• December Will Be Magic Again (Kate Bush, 1980)
• Deck Five (Saturday's Children, 1966)
• Deck The Halls (I Hate Christmas) (Zebrahead, 1999)
• Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Holly)
  • Geolyn (1997)
  • Jewel (2013)
    
  • Lumineers (2023)
  • Jacob Miller and Ray I (1978)
  • REM (1988)
  • Stetsasonic featuring Kaskade (2023)
  • Bobby Timmons (1964)
  • Tiny Lights (1991)
  • Jackie Wilson (1963)
• Deck Us All With Boston Charlie (Lambert Hendricks & Ross, 1962)
• Decorate The Night (Brook Benton, 1983)
• Department Store Santa (Howard Morris, 1960)
• Depressed Christmas (Culturcide, 1986)
• Detroit Christmas (Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, 2001)
• Dig That Crazy Santa Claus (Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, 1954) [close]

  After enjoying "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" for a few decades, I realized I didn't know much about Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, who waxed about 10 sides for legendary Los Angeles indie Modern Records between 1953 and 1955. Reportedly, the band was a hit in Las Vegas in 1955 after a two-week booking at the Riviera Hotel was extended to nine months. And, they supposedly appeared on a 1955 TV show hosted by popular Los Angeles disc jockey Hunter Hancock. Regardless, their recording career ground to a halt soon after.

  The interwebs yielded few clues, but I discovered an Ace reissue of McLollie's Modern sides called Hey! Lollie Lollie (2003), which included a brief but detailed essay by Billy Vera, and that filled in a lot of history. That Ace compilation uses an alternate take of "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus," by the way.

  Oscar McLollie - whose real last name was Lollie - was born in 1924 in Louisiana and moved to Los Angeles after serving in the army during WWII. He was recorded very briefly for Mercury in the early 50's, then signed up with upstart Class Records (more on them below). According to a brief item in Billboard, Modern purchased eight masters from Class in early 1953, including several by McLollie, and then took over his contract. The ballad "God Gave Us Christmas" was recorded later that year and released as b-side of his single "Lolly Pop" (Modern 920). The uptempo jump blues "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" followed in 1954 (Modern 943) with "God Gave Us Christmas" on the flip, and this pairing was reissued in 1955 (Modern 976).

  Upon release, "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" was quickly covered by white bandleader Ralph Marterie for Mercury Records (found on Yule B' Swingin'), but neither version charted. McLollie's holiday chestnut gathered dust in the Modern vaults for 30 years until it was reissued by Rhino Records, first on the vinyl LP Rockin' Christmas: The 50's (1984) and then on the compact disc Hipsters' Holiday (1989). In 2006, Ace included it on their Rhythm & Blues Christmas - this time in the original master take - along with "God Gave Us Christmas."

  

  

  

  After McLollie's tenure at Modern, he fitfully recorded singles for a variety of small labels through the early 70's. This included three singles for Class Records, who snapped him back up after Modern dropped him. One of these, a duet with Jeanette Baker called "Hey Girl - Hey Boy," eked out McLollie's only chart appearance (#61 Pop) in 1958.

  In his 20-plus year recording career, however, Oscar McLollie only released one album, a self-titled effort recorded in Vancouver in 1973 during a sojourn in Canada. Weird fact: Some of the musicians who played on the album also played on Terry Jacks' super 70's hit "Seasons In The Sun"... McLollie had married a Canadian woman in Los Angeles, and they moved to British Columbia. After they divorced, Oscar returned to California. He died in Oakland in 2008.

  If Oscar McLollie is an obscure figure, the writers of "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" - Albert Johnston, Leon René, and Googie René - are a different story, For his part, Albert Johnston wrote little else except "God Gave Us Christmas," also cowritten with Leon René.

  But, Leon and Googie René were part of a prominent family in West Coast rhythm 'n' blues. Leon René was owner of Exclusive Records (1944-1950), and his brother Otis owned Excelsior Records (1944-1951). Leon was also a prolific songwriter, with standards in his portfolio as notable as "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" (1931), cowritten with brother Otis and Clarence Muse, and "When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano" (1940). Later, he wrote "Gloria" (1946, revived in 1954 by the Cadillacs), "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman" (1946, revived in 1962 by Patti LaBelle & Her Blue Belles), and Mabel Scott's Christmas classic "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" (1947) - one of my Top 100 Songs.

  Rafael "Googie" René was Leon's son. He was a musician and, later, bandleader who scored a few minor hits in the late 50's and early 60's. After Exclusive went under, Leon founded Class Records in 1951 with Googie and saxophonist Preston Love. The label's greatest success came in 1958 with Bobby Day's smash hit "Rockin' Robin" (1958) written by - wait for it - Leon René.

• Ding Dong Bell (Ethiopians, 1968)
• Ding Dong Ding Dong (George Harrison, 1974)
• Dirt Sledding (The Killers, 2015)
• Disco Bells (Walter Murphy Orchestra, 1975)
• Disgrunted Christmas (Local H, 1994)
• DJ Play A Christmas Song
  • Cher (2023)
  • Cher & Kelly Clarkson (2024)
• Do The Christmas Rush (Bentley Rhythm Ace, 2000)
• Do They Know It's Christmas? [close]

  With "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Bob Geldof (late of the Boomtown Rats) invented the charity single: all-star cast, overblown production, worthy cause. Geldof's aim was to alleviate famine in Ethiopia, and, while I'm not sure how many bellies were filled, the song spawned an industry. Geldof cowrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with Midge Ure (Ultravox) based on an unused Boomtown Rats track called "It's My World." The pair then enlisted help from the cream of British pop, including members of Duran Duran, Genesis, the Beatles, and Wham! Calling themselved Band Aid (nice bit of irony, that), their single (issued in both 7- and 12-inch formats) entered the UK charts at #1 in late 1984, reached #13 in the US, and sold millions in both countries. Though scarce for many years, the song began to show up with regularity on compilations like The Best Christmas Album In The World... Ever! and Now That's What I Call Christmas and, later, became available to download or stream.

  Next spring came "We Are The World" by an even larger and more famous American conglomeration dubbed USA For Africa (Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, and many more). That song peaked at #1 nearly everywhere and set the stage for Live Aid, a massive series of concerts in 1985 that spanned the globe.

  But, if more is better, then too much must be wonderful. Three different groups of mostly British pop stars subsequently recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - first in 1989 as Band Aid II (with only Bananarama repeating from the original crew), next in 2004 as Band Aid 20 (with U2's Bono being the only orginal cast member, reprising his semi-infamous line, "Thank God it's them instead of you."), and 10 years after that as Band Aid 30 (with Bono and Bono wannabe Chris Martin returning from the previous version). All four versions, by the way, reached #1 on the UK singles chart, with the first three earning the coveted "Christmas #1" spot.

  Then-trendy producers Stock Aitken Waterman helmed the Band Aid II effort, and they dragged their biggest artists (including Kylie Minogue) along with them. While I retain a certain fondness for the original production - at least it's not as bloated as "We Are The World" - the SAW recording is, quite frankly, horrible. Musically bankrupt and devoid of nearly all human emotion, Band Aid II makes the pain of all those hungry Africans seem very, very real. The song was issued on 45-rpm record, cassette single, and CD single - but not in America. None are too common, and the CD single, in particular, can be tough to find - try Amazon, or, even better, Amazon UK.

  Bob Geldof had a direct hand in organizing Band Aid 20, and it's better - though hardly the equal of the 1984 original. For me, the high point (of sorts) comes when The Darkness' cheesy guitars insert themselves incongrously just before some awkward rap the middle eight. Had to be there, I guess. At the time, Geldof seemed to have made peace with his legacy, telling the BBC, "I feel absolutely proud, not because it's a profound song at all, but because I've contributed something to popular culture which has really embedded itself into the nation's consciousness." Band Aid 20 was issued primarily as a CD single which also included the original 1984 studio version plus a 1985 version recorded at Live Aid.

  Band Aid 30 was, largely, more of the same, with the singers featuring a number of first-timers both young (Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran) and not-so-young (Sinéad O'Connor, Seal). It's notable mainly for the fact that its proceeds went to a different cause - combatting an Ebola outbreak in Western Africa - and because it was the first Band Aid effort released after downloading and, eventually, streaming became the dominant musical format (but before vinyl made its comeback). It was, in fact, issued as a CD single (including all three previous versions), but fans predominantly purchased it as a digital download. Over time, Band Aid II and Band Aid 20 would also be reissued for digital consumption, with the latter including the original 1984 version as a b-side. Oddly, that version has never been reissued on its own, with its iconic cover art depicting starving Ethiopian children amidst a lavish, Dickensian Christmas.

  No new recording was made for the 40th anniversary in 2024, but the first-ever compilation album was issued - albeit incomplete and in haphazard fashion. Do They Know It’s Christmas? amounted to just an EP, with the 1984, 2004, and 2014 versions of the song, plus a new "ultimate mix" and a 1985 live performance at Wembley Stadium from the much ballyhooed 1985 Live Aid concerts. That means the 1989 version was missing altogether, and none of the b-sides or mixes from the original singles were accounted for, either. It was primarily released as a digital album, though limited compact disc and vinyl editions were offered in some countries.

  • Band Aid (1984)
  • Band Aid II (1989)
  • Band Aid 20 (2004)
  • Band Aid 30 (2014)
• Do You Believe In Santa Claus? (Billy May, 1950)
• Do You Hear What I Hear?
  • Belinda Carlisle (2015)
  • The Carpenters (1984)
  • Bing Crosby (1963)
  • Josh Groban & The War And Treaty (2024)
  • Hangnail (2001)
  • Gladys Knight & The Pips (1974)
  • Native Tongue (1983)
  • Polyphonic Spree (2012)
  • Jordin Sparks (2012)
• Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?
  • Jackie DeShannon (1969)
  • Cecilia Lund (2015)
• Does It Feel Like Christmas (Nathen Maxwell & The Original Bunny Gang, 2010)
• A Dog Is For Life (Not Just For Christmas) (Vice Squad, 2013)
• Doggy Dogg Christmas (Snoop Dogg, 2020)
• The Dollyrots Do Christmas (medley) (Dollyrots, 2018)
• Dominick The Donkey (Lou Monte, 1960)
• Don't Be A Dick At Christmas (Niagra Balls, 2014)
• Don't Be A Jerk (It's Christmas) (SpongeBob Squarepants, 2008) [close]

  I've included "Don't Be A Jerk (It's Christmas)" on my website not because I like it. In fact, I find it profoundly annoying - just like almost anything else associated with SpongeBob and his cast of underwater idiots, whose Nickelodeon cartoon began airing in 1999. I think I am simply not young enough - or high enough - to appreciate the humor. Rather, I had to include the song on my website because I think it's one of the classic titles of all time. I mean, what a universal sentiment!

  "Don't Be A Jerk (It's Christmas)" first aired in the episode It's A SpongeBob Christmas! (2008) and was first released on SpongeBob's Greatest Hits (2009). In 2012, it showed up on both It's A SpongeBob Christmas! Album and Merry Nickmas! Now, given my opinion of the song, it would seem to be ripe for interpretation. But, as of 2012, only one artist had covered it - the pop singer Amiena. Well, A-for-effort, but I find her version only slightly less annoying than Spongebob's. How some punk, metal, or rap act hasn't taken a shot at it remains a mystery - so stay tuned.

• Don't Believe In Christmas
  • Pearl Jam (2002)
  • Sonics (1965) Top 100 Song [close]

    Almost since the dawn of recorded Christmas music, a favorite topic of songwriters has been how much the holidays suck for them. Never mind that it's the "most wonderful time of the year" - dude, I am bummed! Here, the Sonics' ferocious lead singer, Gerry Roslie, expresses his disbelief in the "Happy Holiday" and his displeasure with Santa Claus, declaiming "I didn't get nothin' last year!" Not only did the "fat boy" not show, but Roslie got shot down at the dance. "You jerk," sneers his date, "mistletoe doesn't work!" "Don't Believe In Christmas" was featured on Merry Christmas From The Sonics, Wailers, Galaxies, a compilation of garage bands from the Pacific Northwest; the LP also includes another of my Top 100 picks, the Wailer's "Christmas Spirit??" Both songs are also on Rhino's Bummed Out Christmas. [back to list]

• Don't Cry For Me This Christmas (Marcels, 1961)
• Don't Make Her Christmas Wish Come True (Rosie Flores & Grey Delisle, 2023)
• Don't Shoot Me Santa (Killers, 2007)
• (Don't Wait Till) The Night Before Christmas (Eddy Duchin, 1938)
• Dónde Está Santa Claus?
  • Charo (1978)
  • Guster (2003)
  • Los Lobos (2019)
  • Augie Rios (1958)
  • Salas Brothers with The Jaguars (1966) [close]

    One of the coolest records to have never been officially reissued in the digital age is the Salas Brothers' single "Dónde Está Santa Claus," released on little Los Angeles-based label Faro Records in 1966 b/w "One Like Mine," with instrumental backing by the Jaguars. It's a soulful performance very consistent with the "East Side Sound" that included such groups as the Premiers ("Farmer John"), Cannibal & The Headhunters ("Land Of 1000 Dances"), and the Blendells ("La La La La La"). Certainly, "Dónde Está Santa Claus" transcends its origins as an annoying (if charming) kiddie song, first recorded in 1958 by child actor Augie Rios - even though Rudy and Steve Salas were just teenagers themselves at the time. Quite notably, the Salas Brothers later played in the groups El Chicano and Tierra, best known for their respective hits "Tell Her She's Lovely" (1973) and "Together" (1980).

• Donna & Blitzen (Badly Drawn Boy, 1998)
• Dragging A Tree (Mac McCaughan, 2022)
• Dreidels Of Fire (Adam Green, 2019)
• Drinking Alone On Christmas
  • Crystal Furs (2020)
  • Diabolical Machines (2013)
• Driving Home For Christmas
  • Chris Rea (1986 and 1988)
  • Saint Etienne (1995)
• Driving Under Stars (Marika Hackman, 2016)
• Droopy Little Christmas Tree (Benny Martin, 1963)
• Drummer Boy (Titus Andronicus, 2022)
• Drunk On Christmas (Jimmy Fallon, 2009)
• Dude, It's Christmas! (4lgernon, 2014)

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