A new Classic Holiday Singles box set arrived for the season this year. It collects some of the most famous holiday songs ever recorded. And it also includes the B-sides of those classics as well, which got us thinking about those somewhat forgotten flip sides.
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With that in mind, we’re taking a look at some of the B-sides from the holiday favorites of four of the biggest acts in rock and roll history. We’re guessing that you might have missed a few of these the first time around. But they’re all fascinating in their own way.
“Listen, The Snow Is Falling” by Yoko Ono
It turns out that Yoko Ono was interested in making music even before she met John Lennon. The writing of this B-side to John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” dates back to shortly before she met her husband. If the musicians on the session were expecting a retiring flower of some sort, they were in for a rude awakening. Ono allegedly put some of the legends who helped record the song through their paces before she was happy. “Listen, The Snow Is Falling” features a lilting melody and some of Ono’s emotive wailing. While much of the song is like a travelogue listing all the places with a fresh coat of snow, she gives the song a bit of a melancholy feel with the line, “Listen, the snow is falling everywhere/Between your bed and mine.”
“Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reggae” by Paul McCartney
More than many of his peers, Paul McCartney always understood the value of a quirky B-side. He somehow innately intuited that years down the road, fans would be poring over his catalog looking for quirks. Songs like this would turn into the equivalent of audio collectors’ items. Needing a holiday-themed flip side to join “Wonderful Christmastime”, McCartney utilized this instrumental that he had first donated to a film about a karate tournament. “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reggae” features Macca playing every one of the instruments except violin, which was handled by Bob Loveday. And, surprisingly enough, that Christmas chestnut about the sleigh-leader works pretty well within reggae “riddims.”
“Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who’d Be A Turkey At Christmas)” by Elton John
The A-side here, “Step Into Christmas”, went more of the traditional route. That song lovingly mimicked some of the classic holiday tracks produced by Phil Spector in the 60s. But for the flip, Elton John decided to go with as irreverent an approach as possible. Of course, he was joined in this strategy by his lyricist Bernie Taupin. The narrator has had one too many brandies at his holiday get-together. John makes sure to play this up by sounding in his cups as he vocalizes. He doesn’t exactly sentimentalize good old Father Christmas, calling him “your fat and jolly friend” and “the bearded weirdy.” You’ll be singing along with the drunken chorus at song’s end, even the first time you hear it.
“Auld Lang Syne” by The Beach Boys
Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote “Little Saint Nick” as a kind of holiday version of The Beach Boys’ previous hit single “Little Deuce Coupe”. The original B-side of the song, which was first released in 1963, was “The Lord’s Prayer”. But the new Holiday Singles collection changes things around a bit. They’ve included “Auld Lang Syne” as the B-side this time around. After all, “Little Saint Nick” did appear on The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album in 1964, which was closed out by “Auld Lang Syne.” We’re OK with this change-up. After all, how pretty does it get when the Beach Boys drop their harmonies on that classic New Year’s Eve standard? Plus, you get a fun message from Dennis Wilson to boot.
Photo by Wood/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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