merrie old christmas (12. 969)

As our faithful chronicler reminds on this day in 1977, the last Christmas special of Bing Crosby aired on CBS on this day in 1977, the most memorable segment recorded 11 September of that year in Elstree Studios outside of London as part of his promotion campaign for his album Heroes, having arranged to sing a duet with Crosby. Bowie arrived with his then wife Mary Angela Barnett (who contributed to the definition of glam rock costuming his Ziggy Stardust persona) both appearing in matching outfits—the recording almost did not take place until Bowie agreed to doff the shocking red wig, earring and makeup. Afterwards Bowie balked at the idea of performing the traditional carol, with producer Marc Bolan coming up with an improvised counterpoint to Crosby’s “Little Drummer Boy” within an hour. The two ad-libbed a shorty dialogue before the song. Both Crosby and Bolan died a month later, of a car-crash and heart attack respectively. Never expecting to revisit this surreal collaboration (see also) again, the performance was not remastered for release as a single and not available until November of 1982, which despite all reservations garnered Bowie his most successful and an enduring holiday classic. Me and my drum.