Real Christmas

Just as the stores are getting ready to display their Christmas goods, it is time to celebrate the 151st anniversary of the publishing of Jingle Bells. What you might not know it was written by a Georgia man, James Pierpont of Savannah, Ga. To understand why a Georgian, who rarely sees snow at Christmas time, would write such a wintry worded tune, let’s take a look back at its author.

James Pierpont was born in 1822 in Boston, Mass. His father, the Rev. John Pierpont, was a staunch abolitionist and somewhat noted poet of his day. At the age of 10, James wrote a letter to his mother which contained a poem about riding in a sleigh. As James grew older he became discontented with his life and ran away to sea. After nine years aboard sailing ships, James returned home to New York, where his father was serving a Unitarian church in Troy. Restless and determined to travel, Pierpont left his wife and family to get in on the California Gold Rush of 1849. His business failed and he returned home to his family, who were then in Medford, Mass.

In 1853, James, at the age of 31, made a life altering decision. He decided to join his brother, John Pierpont, Jr., who had accepted the call to serve a Unitarian church in Savannah. Once again his family remained in New England while James went off on another adventure. To earn his keep, James served as the organist and choir director of the church. He taught music and singing lessons on the side as well.

Following the death of his first wife in 1856, Pierpont married Eliza Purse, daughter of Savannah mayor Thomas Purse.

Soon after his marriage, James Pierpont published the song, “One Horse Open Sleigh”, Sept. 16, 1857 . The instantly popular song, published by Oliver Ditson and Company of Boston, was re-released in 1859 with its new and permanent title of “Jingle Bells”. Legend has it that “Jingle Bells” was first performed by a children’s choir during a Thanksgiving program in Savannah and later it was requested to be performed during a Christmas program.

Tensions began to mount between the Unitarians, who were in favor of the abolition of slavery, and local residents, Pierpont’s church closed its doors. His brother moved back home, but James remained in Savannah.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Pierpont, a true-blue Yankee, enlisted in the Isle of Hope Volunteers, a company of the First Georgia (later the Fifth) Cavalry. As the company clerk, Pierpont saw little action. He did however, continue to compose patriotic songs, which included “Our Battle Flag” and “Strike For the South”.

After the war, Pierpont, his wife and their four children moved to Valdosta. In 1869, the Pierponts moved once again, this time to Quitman, Fla. Pierpont taught music at the local academy as the head of the music department.

In 1893, James Pierpont died at his home in Winter Haven, Fla., in a land far far away from the snowy land of his birth. At his request, his body was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery next to his brother-in-law, Thomas Purse, who had been killed in Manassas, Va., at the Battle of Bull Run, the first battle of the Civil War.

And now you know the origin of the world’s most famous non-secular Christmas song. What you might not know is that “Jingle Bells” was the first song to be sung in outer space. On Dec. 16, 1965, astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra played and sang. They reported observing a command module with a red suited pilot and eight smaller modules in front as they orbited the North Pole.

The name Pierpont may also be familiar to you. Pierpont’s father, the Rev. John Pierpont, was the grandfather of John Pierpont Morgan, known simply as “J.P. Morgan,” who was one of the richest men in America in the 19th Century. James Pierpont never made much money on the song which has been played and performed millions and millions of times. His family had to struggle just to keep his name as the writer of this timeless classic.

But wait a minute, the story doesn’t end here. The people of Savannah were right proud of Pierpont and his famous song. In 1985, they erected a marker under the water oaks of Troup Square commemorating Pierpont’s serving as music director of the Unitarian Church which fronts on the square, but which originally fronted on Oglethorpe Square.

The marker actually does not claim that Pierpont actually wrote the song while he was in Savannah, but many Savannahians do, and some adamantly so. It is without issue that the song was copyrighted while Pierpont lived in Savannah.

But the folks in Medford, Mass., are just as adamant that the song was first written in Simpson’s Tavern in their town and not way down in the South. Their argument has some merit in that snowfall in Savannah is extremely rare. However, Pierpont was in California in 1850 and could not have written the song as the Medford residents so say. A second “War Between the States,” still simmers. Recently some historians, probably of the northern variety, have proffered evidence that the song was actually written and performed in Bedford in the 1840s. It also seems reasonable to believe that the song, published by the Savannah resident, most likely underwent final revisions in the four years while James Pierpont was residing in the City of Savannah.

Coming soon, to a city near you. Maybe. It’s the famed Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s plan to launch a touring arena version of its Radio City Christmas Spectacular is the latest move in an increasingly aggressive strategy that will see the company launch other tours in the next few years.

The Spectacular tour marks the most ambitious national project for MSGE, a division of Cablevision that owns and operates New York’s Madison Square Garden, the WaMu Theatre at MSG, the Beacon Theatre and Radio City Music Hall — and which recently completed a transaction to acquire the Chicago Theatre.

The Spectacular production will play 18 cities across the Midwest and South, beginning November 8-9 at the Brown County Arena in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The plan is to hit more than 60 markets in the next three years and then repeat the cycle. Marciano projects that between 650,000 and 700,000 tickets will be sold the first year.

The touring Spectacular will boast all the elements of the much-heralded 75th edition of the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City in 2007, when MSGE simultaneously launched “Wintuk.” In a 10-week span, the two shows were attended by more than 2.4 million people and grossed more than $150 million.

The Spectacular has enjoyed theater residencies in some 30 markets since 1994 (including as many as nine in 2008), the upcoming tour is unique in that it is a multimillion-dollar production conceived specifically to travel to venues in the 7,000-12,000 capacity range.

“If we’re successful in the U.S., we’ll start to think about it in the context of international opportunities,” Marciano says.

The arena tour has been in the works for two years, he says, with the 75th production serving as a springboard for the idea to take the Spectacular on the road. “The limitations of most theaters didn’t allow for presenting the Christmas Spectacular on a scale that we do at Radio City,” he says. “We turned to the arenas, which allowed us to provide a family show the size of which has never been seen outside of Radio City Music Hall.”

The production is bigger than many major rock tours, involving 30 trucks and 16 buses, a massive LED screen, with a cast of 56, including the famous Rockettes.

The top ticket price will be $65-$75, with the average in the low $50s, according to Marciano. That ticket price is higher than most family shows, but well below Broadway show tickets, Marciano notes.

“A Christmas Story,” the beloved 1983 movie comedy about holiday hopes in a Midwest American setting in the mid-20th century, is being developed into a traditional stage musical by producers Gerald Goehring and Douglas C. Evans.

Goehring and Evans were behind Off-Broadway’s recent Frankenstein, the pop-rock musical, which will start its licensing life in the coming year, and is being developed for a tour in 2009. They told Playbill.com that they’ve been in discussions with theatres to get a production of their musical, A Christmas Story, on its feet as early as the holiday season of 2008.

The project’s collaborators — a lyricist, a librettist and a composer — will be announced shortly. The producers said the script and score can be delivered in five months, in time for rehearsals.

Goehring and Evans exclusively optioned the musical rights — for a first-class, large-cast musical — from the Dramatic Publishing Company, Inc.

A Christmas Story already exists as a non-musical stage show that has been popular in regional markets.

The musical will be based upon the motion picture, “A Christmas Story,” which was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Turner Entertainment Co. and is currently distributed by Warner Bros. The movie was written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and (director) Bob Clark, and was based on “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash,” a novel by late humorist Shepherd (1921-99), who narrated the movie.

The producers characterize the musical project this way: “A Christmas Story is a whimsical, slightly-twisted and beloved tribute to an all-American, nostalgic view of Christmastime. Set in Indiana during the 1940s, a young Ralphie dreams of his ideal gift for Christmas and is waging an all-out campaign to convince his reluctant parents. Ralphie mounts a full-scale, hint-dropping, Santa-begging campaign. He also endures all kids of childhood calamities from his brother’s snowsuit paralysis to the yellow-eyed Scotty Farkus affair to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen-flagpole stunt. A triple-dog-dare Christmas classic for the American stage.”

Of all the films, shows, concerts people want to see put on DVD, I somehow doubt “Captain and Tennille: The Christmas Show” ranks high on the wishlist. So why are several Captain and Tennille DVDs being released? Your guess is as good as mine.

The 1976 50 minute Christmas Show consists of performances by the Pointer Sisters, Tennille’s 3 sisters, and Captain and Tennille (obviously), with a few sketches featuring Don Knotts (how could you Don?) and “Happy Days” star Tom Bosley. The songs featured in the program are: “Jingle Bells,” “Little Saint Nick,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/White Christmas/March Of The Wooden Soldiers,” “I’m Saved/Amen,” “Wedding Song,” “Count Basie Medley,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “How Can I Be Sure?,” “O Holy Night,” and “We Never Really Say Goodbye.”

The Captain and Tennille special is, to put it simply, a disaster. In the opening number, Toni Tennille comes out in a hideous dress and sings “Jingle Bells” with a Spanish accent. Keep in mind Toni Tennille is a white southern woman. Not only is using the accent pointless, but I’d wager it’s a bit offensive too. From there on out the special only gets worse. The 4 Tennille sisters murder the classic Beach Boys version of “Little Saint Nick,” Toni Tennille sings a jazzed up/operatic version of “O Holy Night,” Don Knotts appears in several unfunny sketches and looks depressed, and Daryl Dragon (AKA The Captain) acts like a robot as he attempts to act and read cue cards. Throughout the whole special I kept wishing I’d hear a gong to stop the show followed by Chuck Barris walking out on stage escorting Captain and Tennille off stage. Speaking of which, “The Gong Show” is a TV classic that really needs to be put out on DVD, unlike this “special.”

Overall, Captain and Tennille should refrain from playing Christmas songs. I implore everyone to continue listening to the pros instead (like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, etc).

(Excerpt from DVDTalk.com – Click here to read the full review)

Now even the cast-offs from American Idol are making Christmas music— in May!

Antonella Barba on her own MySpace has sought to completely bury her bad girl image, adding the completely off season “Christmas Song” to her play list.  People out and about have been offering up positive comparisons to Amanda, but personally it sounds like Antonella is at least singing without digital pitch correction as her guide, even though she needs it.  Still, when you’re resorting to Christmas songs at this stage of your career, it’s not exactly a sign that things are going well.

So what’s the difference between Antonella Barba warbling The Christmas Song and Twisted Sister belting out Oh Come All Ye Faithful?

I’ll tell you what the difference is: Christmas spirit.

In the world of music, it is what made Herb Alpert’s Christmas album a classic. It is what makes Gary Hoey a cult favorite year after year. It is what makes Michael Caine performing with the Muppets plausible.

At this point in her career, Antonella Barba has two options: sign on as the new host of Girls Gone Wild or sell Christmas music in the dog days of late spring.

Christmas music deserves better than that. It is, after all, mostly sacred stuff. (And the rest is designed for kids). They should license people before they start crooning about roasting chestnuts. It is serious business.

There ought to be a law.