So, a new holiday classic is born. This two hour Christmas episode of “Theme Time Radio Hour” will be the most widely disseminated of all of Bob’s shows to date, since XM Radio has kindly made it available for broadcast to not-for-profit radio stations. Hence, there’s even less reason than usual for me to follow my odd compulsion of describing the show. Nevertheless, I’ll take the time to single out a few things.

DJ Dylan didn’t go for the obvious classic Christmas recordings, but by and large took a road less traveled. For someone who, as we know, likes Bing Crosby, there was nevertheless no White Christmas, nor even a Christmas in Killarney. Bob did, however, talk about the writing of White Christmas by Irving Berlin, and mentioned Mel Tormé’s The Christmas Song too. He played just one actual hymn or carol, which was a rambunctious reading of Silent Night by Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & the Clowns. And there was plenty of other great music too.

He delivered a greeting to British listeners.

This week, we start being heard in England. So, we want to wish everybody a very merry Christmas, and for the duration of this show, anytime I use the word “humor,” “color” or “favor,” I’ll be adding an extra “u.”

Dylan read “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (aka “The Night Before Christmas”) with some gusto. He followed that up with this:

Y’know, a lot of people don’t celebrate Christmas. Like my buddy Dexter Quinn. He’s an atheist. You know what his favorite Christmas movie is? “Coincidence on 34th Street.”

In the course of the show, Dylan gave us his recipe for “Figgy Pudding” ( “I got a lot of letters askin’ about this”), explained what “myrrh” is, read “Christmas Bells” by Longfellow, explained the origin of the term “carols” (as in Christmas carols), explained the origin of “Xmas,” listed ways of giving Christmas greetings in various different languages, read from Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers and recited Robert Burns’ poem Auld Lang Syne. And so much more besides.

Dylan even took some time out for Fidel Castro.

Before Pope John Paul the Second’s January nineteen and ninety-eight visit, Fidel Castro, as a show of good will, gave Cubans the day off for Christmas, for the first time in nearly three decades. He had originally cancelled the holiday, hoping that an extra day of work would help bring in a record sugar harvest. It didn’t help enough, and he never brought Christmas back, for nearly three decades.

Right now we’d like to say “Feliz Navidad” to all of our Cuban friends.

What would Harry Belafonte say?

But I think that some of Bob’s most heartfelt remarks of the show, and perhaps of the series so far, were those that he delivered after playing Mabel Mafuga’s Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, and it would be fitting to close with them here.

The holiday season is a time for joy. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to talk about the holiday blues. It can be a time of loneliness and sadness, and let me tell ya, if you’ve got the holiday blues — if you’ve got any kind of blues — I feel for ya.

I know life is hard, but you don’t need anyone to tell you how to feel better. You don’t need Dr. Phil, you don’t need Tony Robbins, you don’t need any of those people on television, any of those people in magazines. You especially don’t need me. I’m gonna tell you the magic formula. What you’ve got to do is: Go out and help someone more unfortunate than you. Go to an orphanage, play football with the kids, go to retirement homes, go to soup kitchens, go into prisons, go see some people. There’s people everywhere who aren’t as well off as you. No matter how bad you have it, somebody got it worse. Instead of adding to the sadness in the world, why not lend a hand? Help somebody out, and not just on Christmas. Why don’t you give it a try year-round?

All right, that’s enough preaching …

Merry Christmas, Bob.

Playlist:

Tom Archia and Gene Ammons - Swinging for Christmas (Boppin’ for Santa)
Leadbelly - Christmas is a-Comin’
Lord Nelson - A Party for Santa
Bob Seger & the Last Heard - Sock it to Me Santa
The Staples Singers - Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas?
Charles Brown - Please Come Home for Christmas
Johnny Paycheck - Jingle Bells
Gerry Mulligan & Judy Holiday - It Must Be Christmas
Titus Turner - Christmas Morning
The Bellrays - Poor Old Rudolph
Bob Dorough & Miles Davis - Blue Xmas
Little Esther & Johnny Otis Orchestra - Far Away Christmas
Patsy Raye & the Beatniks - Beatniks Wish
(Dylan reads “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”)
The Sonics - Don’t Believe in Christmas
King Stitt - Christmas Tree
Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & the Clowns - Silent Night
Brave Combo - Must Be Santa
The Enchanters - Mambo Santa Mambo
Celia Cruz & La Senora Matancera - Fiesta De Navidad
Hop Wilson & his Buddies - Merry Christmas Darling
Alton Ellis & the Lipsticks - Merry Merry Christmas
June Christy - The Merriest
Red Simpson - Truckin’ Trees for Christmas
The Youngsters - Christmas in Jail
Kay Martin & her Body Guards - I Want a Casting Couch for Christmas
(Bob’s recipe for “figgy pudding”)
Sonny Boy Williamson - Santa Claus
Cool Breezers - Hello Mr. New Year
Mabel Mafuga - Happy Christmas, Happy New Year
The Larks - Christmas to New Year’s
Nancy Wilson - What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
(Bob talks about Auld Lang Syne and recites it)

Next theme (two weeks from now): WOMEN’S NAMES

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