Among the lengthy list of odd and eccentric musical duets of the last 150 years, the Christmas collaboration between David Bowie and Bing Crosby in 1977 is certainly one of the most festively strange. Bowie had lived a thousand artistic lives by the time he joined the sound stage at ATV Elstree Studios, and Crosby was a bona fide legacy act, three decades past the release of “White Christmas”.
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The two singers from entirely different worlds sang a mash-up of “Little Drummer Boy”, sung by Crosby, and “Peace on Earth”, sung by Bowie. The latter counterpart was added after Bowie said he disliked the song “Little Drummer Boy”. And by that point in his career, Bowie had more than enough star power to make those demands, even beside Crosby.
The 2025 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live touched on this odd pairing, juxtaposing it with other made-up collabs like Katy Perry and Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and Bad Bunny (the latter of which seems far more likely than the former). The sketch was a riot, but it left a lot of unanswered questions about Crosby and Bowie.
How the David Bowie and Bing Crosby Duet Came To Be
Bing Crosby’s 1977 Christmas special, Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, happened to come at a time when David Bowie was in need of more promotion for his October 1977 album, Heroes. When the opportunity to perform on Crosby’s special arose, Bowie took it. But as one might expect when putting ex-Ziggy Stardust and an ex-1940s crooner in the same room, there were some obstacles to overcome before it could happen.
Crosby’s children, Mary and Nathaniel, recalled the moment the 30-year-old Bowie arrived on set. “David walked in with his wife,” Mary remembered, per Billboard. “[He and his wife] were both wearing full-length mink coats, they had matching full makeup, and their hair was bright red.” Nathaniel added, “It almost didn’t happen. I think the producers told [Bowie] to take the lipstick off and take the earring out. It was just incredible to see the contrast.”
History would show that whatever needed to happen to bring the duet to fruition, happened. Bowie and Crosby acted out an admittedly awkward sketch in which Bowie drops by a historic British home where Crosby, an American traveler, is staying. The two “realize” they’re both musicians and decide to sing a song together (Christmas magic and all that). But as Crosby’s daughter recalled, the moment the music started happening really did feel like a bit of holiday cheer.
“They sat at the piano, and David was a little nervous,” Mary said. “Dad realized David was this amazing musician, and David realized Dad was an amazing musician. You could see them both collectively relax, and then magic was made.”
Tragedy Struck Shortly After the Taping
In the years that followed the unlikely duet between David Bowie and Bing Crosby, the narrative around the event shifted from something Bowie felt grateful to do to something that he only did out of obligation to his mother, who was a Crosby fan. We’d chalk the changing stories up to Bowie’s mood and disposition at any given moment that he was recalling the odd cultural moment. And in either case, the duet remains immortalized in footage from Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, which is all we need to continue to enjoy it today.
Tragically, Crosby would die of a heart attack on October 14, 1977, just one month after he taped his Christmas special, making his duet with Bowie one of the last in his prolific career. Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas aired in late November of that year. “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” came out as a single in November 1982, and it became one of the best-selling singles of Bowie’s entire catalogue.
Photo by TV Times via Getty Images
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