On November 27, 1982, David Bowie and Bing Crosby's "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" was released.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Let me know how this turns out. My grandmother liked "The Little Drummer Boy." Me? Not so much. The version she liked would have been by Ray Conniff or Andy Williams.

On this day in 1982, Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby was released as a single. The single had been recorded several years earlier in 1977.

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Darn it. Another video clip has been removed. I'll get on it.

Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy 1977
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Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy is a Christmas song with an added counterpoint performed by David Bowie and Bing Crosby. "Little Drummer Boy" is a Christmas song written in 1957, while the "Peace on Earth" tune and lyrics were added to the song especially for Bowie and Crosby's recording.

The song was recorded on 11 September for Crosby's 1977 television special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas. The pair exchanged dialogue about what they do for Christmas before singing "Little Drummer Boy" with a new counterpoint with original lyrics written for the special, "Peace on Earth". Bowie's appearance has been described as a "surreal" event, undertaken at a time that he was "actively trying to normalise his career" Crosby died on October 14, just over a month after recording the special. In the U.S., the show aired on 30 November 1977 on CBS.

More about the song at Wikipedia below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_on_Earth/Little_Drummer_Boy

Sun Nov 27, 2022: On November 27, 1982, David Bowie and Bing Crosby released "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy."

Sat Nov 28, 2020: On November 27, 1982, David Bowie and Bing Crosby released Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy.

[Shipwack]

1. Thank you for the reminder and background!

This is actually one of my favorite collaborations. I even have managed to get this clip saved into my personal collection.

It is a bit surreal, and the interaction is a bit awkward at first, but once they get into their groove it is beautiful.

For the younger folk, these Christmas specials were a staple in the '70s. They were variety shows with music and a few sketches held together by a tenuous (and extraneous) plotline.

Crosby did one every year. I don't know when he started but his family did one last one without him in '78. I remember John Denver, among others, also made a few. I think Dolly Parton is doing one this year. I'm looking forward to it.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Let us know when you've made it back safely.

List of United States Christmas television specials

Thanks for writing, and good morning to you.