Christmas Music Videos

 Music is a very important part of enjoying the holidays. I can't imagine a Christmas season without it! Just as enjoyable much of the time are Christmas music videos, which have really blossomed the past few years, even for music recordings that are decades old.

Here below are several Christmas music videos that have caught my eye in recent years. I may feature one or two I've blogged in the past, but write it off as being a Christmas tradition.

Enjoy!

Carole King - Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (BBC In Concert, February 10, 1...

Welcome to the 2024 Countdown to Halloween!

 

REJOICE, FOOLISH MORTALS! FEAST YOUR SENSES ONCE AGAIN TO THE ANNUAL RITE OF FUN AND SILLINESS, THE COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!

Dramatic much?

Welcome, everyone, to the 2024 Countdown to Halloween! I feel like we were just here 11 months ago! Surprising as it may be, it is indeed the Halloween season again, and it's time for all of the spooky shenanigans that come with it: movies, TV shows, music, commercials, comedy, horror, and all-around fun.

Thanks to Dex of AEIOU and Sometimes Why for organizing this year's Countdown. He's a one-man operation this year, so please give him several rounds of applause for holding down the haunted fort this year. Thank you very much, Dex!

Please also be sure to visit as many of the participating blogs as possible--this ain't just about me, you know. This wouldn't be nearly as much fun without the many and varied blogs and social media accounts adding their unique spin on the festivities. There's more than one correct way to celebrate the season, as all of the sites will show. Thank you, fellow participants!

Without further ado, let the 2024 Countdown to Halloween begin!

The Very First Episode of Solid Gold! September 13, 1980

 

Hello all! Today I'm sharing something I just found literally five minutes ago.

Today I present the very first episode of the hit syndicated 1980s music series Solid Gold. This series is mandatory viewing for learning 80s pop culture, especially music! Solid Gold captured the zeitgiest of the decade: music (of course), TV, movies, fashion, you name it, everything that was 80s was in this show.

Being the first episode from the first season in the fall of 1980, there's still some '70s influence here, but the episode lays the groundwork for the series' installments to come. Initially hosted by Dionne Warwick, later hosts would include Marilyn McCoo, Jose Feliciano, and Andy Gibb.

If you're the 80s fanatic that I am, you should find this to be a real treat--even the cringy parts. Enjoy below, or directly on YouTube here!

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve '86

 

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the Rockin' Eve production I featured earlier this week that welcomed 1982. Today, I feature the show that welcomed 1986. Enjoy below or on YouTube here.

I'll be back after the holiday. Happy New Year!

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve '82

 

Hello all! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas--I certainly did! I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family, great gifts, and great food. That's all you can ask for Christmas! Now it's time to look ahead to New Year's Day, and we do that with the full presentation of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve welcoming in 1982!

Every network has it's own New Year's Eve program these days, but back in the day, Dick Clark was the only game in town. Here he welcomes 1982 with performances by Alabama, Rick Springfield, Barry Manilow, and others. Hosted by Charlene Tilton and Tom Wopat (man, this really IS 1982!)

Enjoy the show below or directly on YouTube here. I hope to have another Dick Clark program this week. Thanks!

TV Commercials for Children's Christmas Music Albums

 

One of the joys of being a child in the '80s was being the target of many commercials for various products. It made us feel special to know that things were being made just for us. This was especially true around Christmas, and one of the things marketed heavily to us were christmas music albums.

They usually aired in the fall to allow plenty of time for delivery before the season, but it excited us to see them as a sign that Christmas was soon approaching. Here are a few examples.

Here are two commercials for Christmas albums created by Disney. I loved seeing these ads appear every year! Unfortunately, I never had either of these albums myself.

One I'm not sure I remember, but I find amusing nonetheless, is this commercial for a Christmas album recorded by...the Smurfs! This recording has nothing to do with the US TV cartoon, so don't expect the voices to sound like the cartoon, but if the Smurfs are your thing, this might be for you!

I'm sure the audio for these albums can be found on YouTube, so if you have the urge, I suggest you search there. I just might do the same myself.

Thanks!

Cher Variety Show Christmas Episode, December 21, 1975

 

Welcome to December 2023! Now we really get into the Christmas season full swing! I hope today's post gets you in the Christmas spirit.

Legendary artist Cher has released her first-ever Christmas album this year. However, this doesn't mean she hasn't performed Christmas numbers before. Back in the '70s, she had her own short-lived variety TV series after her divorce from Sonny Bono. Below is the series' Christmas episode, which aired on CBS December 21, 1975. She performs Christmas songs, appears in comedy sketches, and features guest stars The Lennon Sisters, The Hudson Brothers, and Redd Foxx--very '70s! See the embedded video below or watch directly on YouTube here.

Enjoy! Have a great December weekend! Roll out the holly, hang up those stockings, get some shopping done, be Christmasy!

The Beatles Performing Live on Blackpool Night Out, August 1st, 1965

 

Today is a big day for Beatles fans. Today sees the reissue of two popular compilations, The Beatles: 1962-1966, known commonly as The Red Album, and The Beatles: 1967-1970, known as The Blue Album. These were collections of Beatles hits first released in 1973. They are being re-released today with new mixes of many of the songs as well as songs that were not made available on the original 1973 releases. The most notable addition is the "brand new" song "Now And Then," made with a cassette demo from John Lennon's pesonal collection. As well as being released as a single, "Now and Then" is being made available on the 1967-1970 collection.

In celebration of these releases, I present a short television concert the Beatles performed on the British program Blackpool Night Out on August 1st, 1965. The band performs six songs, including "Help!" The Beatles were on the program to promote the release of the film of the same name. The footage here is in color, but I assume this was done in later years by computer rather than from the original broadcast.

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Happy September 1st!

Happy September 1st! Welcome to the best four months of the year! And I must start them off as I do every year. I must maintain the natural order of things. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Let's make it a great rest of the year!

The Rise of Female Music Artists in the '90s

Hello all. Here's a departure from my usual blog material, but I thought why not share it here? I've also posted this on some of my social media accounts.

Even before Sinead O' Connor's death, I was thinking this week about the rise of women music artists that made it during the '90s. They really defined much of the music landscape of that decade, and I don't think that's been realized and discussed nearly enough.

Think about it: Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Sinead O' Connor, Tracy Chapman, Alanis Morrisette, Liz Phair, Courtney Love and Hole, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, The Indigo Girls, k.d. lang, Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani in her No Doubt days, Natalie Merchant, Paula Cole, Britney Spears, Christine Aguilera, and I'm sure I'm missing some. Look at this list...wow! And I'm sure I'm missing several more.

I'm not sure any other decade has had that many female music stars before or since. And yet I don't think people think about this when they think about 90s music.

Sure, the decade is also defined by grunge and the evolution of hip hop, but wow, what a decade for female artists!

I don't know where else to go with this, but I thought it was worth sharing.

One last thing: I'm listening to Sarah McLachlin's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy album from 1993, an album thirty years old, as I write this.

My Yard Sales Finds from June 2023!

Hey everybody, I made a video! It's like I'm in the 21st century or something!

It's all about the stuff I bought at a neighborhood yard sale. Enjoy!

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve '79

Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah. But the holidays aren't over yet. We have one more celebration before we put a wrap on the holiday season--New Year's Day! And I can't think of a better way to celebrate the new year than by--celebrating an old year!

When I was growing up in my house in the '70s and '80s, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve was a yearly tradition. I wouldn't think of ringing in the new year without it! And here is an example of what made the broadcast so fun. Here is the one that welcomed 1979, and it's filled with late '70s goodness. Put on your platform shoes and dance along with everyone. Check it out embedded below or directly on YouTube here.

Enjoy! And stay tuned if you do enjoy it, because I think I'll post one or two more before 2022 is over.

Thanks!

A Rock 'N' Roll Christmas, 1988 TV Special

 

Welcome to the first "real" article for my 2022 Countdown to Christmas! And today we have a rockin' good way to kick off the holidays. Today I present the 1988 TV special A Rock 'N' Roll Christmas!

This special aired during the holiday season of 1988 on the Fox network, and features clips of famous rock artists performing holiday hits, including John Mellencamp, Pat Benatar, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, Little Richard, Eddie Money, Elton John, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, and more. It's a who's who of mainstream rock artists up to that point! Dennis Miller, who was a big star on Saturday Night Live at the time, is the host.

If you love rockin' Christmas tunes, this is the show for you. You can watch below or directly on YouTube at this link. Enjoy!

It's 100 Days Until Halloween! Time for a Halloween News Update!

Hello everyone! This is your yearly reminder that today is only 100 days until Halloween! Which also means it's only 69 days until the start of the Countdown to Halloween!

As slow as things may be at the blog the rest of the year, October here at Me and You is always bursting with Halloween goodness. And there's already so much amazing stuff to look forward to. Here are several awesome things coming our way this Halloween season!

First up, Twitter cereal news account Cerealously has determined that this year's Monster Cereals will be doing a promotion with art brand KAWS. I hadn't heard of KAWS until my son told me about them, but that isn't even the story. The real story: Fruit Brute is back! It hasn't been available since 2013, but it will make a grand appearance this Halloween season! 

A multipack is reportedly already available at Sam's Club wholesale stores, but you can expect this year's Monster Cereals to start shipping everywhere this August.

In other Halloween cereal news, toy expert James Zahn has discovered a Halloween cereal out in the wild right now! It's this year's edition of Halloween Fruity Pebbles. July seems awfully early to make a Halloween cereal available in stores, but if you look for it at your local supermarket, good luck!

On the beverage front, the king of Halloween, Matt from the always excellent Dinosaur Dracula site, revealed back in April that Mountain Dew VooDew will once again grace our grocery shelves this Halloween season. The soda has been a fun addition to Halloween since 2019, but 2022 will have an even greater addition, and one I've been wanting from the very beginning--a zero-calorie version! Yes!

Here's a BIG announcement regarding Halloween music. Record label Craft Recordings is releasing the full soundtrack to the legendary TV special It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! The soundtrack was first released in 2018, but it was not well received by fans. That version of the soundtrack was comprised of pieces edited directly from the TV special along with sound effects and not the original master tapes, which had been considered lost to the ages.  But the masters have now been found, including alternate takes not used in the special!

Craft will offer the soundtrack in severals formats; digital and streaming, CD, a 45-rpm vinyl record, a 33 and 1/3-rpm orange vinyl record shaped like a pumpkin, and a picture disc vinyl album with a unique splatter design, but that one has already sold out in pre-order.

But that's not all. A "single" from the album has already been made available digitally, an alternate take of "The Great Pumpkin Waltz." Listen below!

The soundtrack will drop on all music retail outlets on Friday, August 26th. For more information, click here, pre-order here, and look below!

And the Halloween hits just keep on comin'! September will ramp up the Halloween festivities with two new films, but featuring familiar faces. Rob Zombie's long-awaited Munsters film will appear on Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital on demand Tuesday, September 27th, with a Netflix debut later in the year (before Halloween I hope!).  Here is the latest trailer!

On Friday, September 30th, the witch is back! Witches plural, that is. Hocus Pocus 2 flies into Disney+ with more treacherous trickery than before! 

Folks, all of the above takes place before October even starts. And we STILL have more Halloween greatness to cover!

October will see the release of The Spirit Halloween Movie, a movie inspired by the number one Halloween costume and novelty retailer. In the movie, several teenagers enter a Spirit Halloween store on Halloween night as a prank, but the joke is on them. There is a ghost in the store possessing all of the animatronic figures and attacking the teens! If the kids don't escape, they'll become possessed too!

The movie stars Christopher Lloyd and Rachel Leigh Cook. There is no trailer yet, nor is there word on if the movie will be available in theaters or home video/streaming, but this sounds really cool!

Everyone's favorite homicial doll, Chucky, returns to SyFy and USA Network on Wednesday, October 5th! My son and I had a lot of fun with this series last season, and we're looking forward to to see what the little man does next!

Finally, the big one: Halloween Ends. 

Yes, the final showdown between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers takes to theaters (and maybe Peacock) Friday, October 14th. I wasn't too thrilled with Halloween Kills last year, but if it's Michael Myers and Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode in a movie together, I have to see it! It doesn't get more Halloween than that!

Simply judging from this list alone, this upcoming Halloween season looks to be fantastic! But I'm sure there will be plenty more fun surprises we don't see coming. Brace yourself, folks, it's gonna be one spooky hayride.

Thanks! The Countdown to Halloween begins Saturday, October 1st!

Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Face to Face," Batman Returns Soundtrack

 

My Batman Returns 30th Anniversary salute rolls on with a look at--and more importantly, listen to-- the song from the film's soundtrack, "Face to Face" by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

"Face to Face" has the distinction of being the only non-orchestral music featured in the movie; the rest of the soundtrack consisted solely of Danny Elfman's score. This is quite a departure from the first film in the series, which featured two soundtrack albums--the score by Elfman and a full song soundtrack by Prince. The two subsequent sequels, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, both featured soundtracks with several tunes from different artists.

Yet Returns has merely this one song from Siouxsie and the Banshees. The song's gothic, slightly eerie sound fits perfectly with the film; in fact, it would fit well with ANY Tim Burton-directed film!

Enjoy! And please note that, despite my original plan to close my celebration of the movie this week, I will be extending it into next week as well! Batman Returns fans rejoice!

Finally, this Sunday, June 19th is the EXACT date of the 30th anniversary! Be sure to watch it in honor of the occasion at some point this weekend, whether on HBO Max or the home video format of your choice.

OK, now here's the song. Have a great weekend! Happy Father's Day!

Garfield in Paradise (1986)

 

Aloha! Welcome to Summer 2022!

Well, it's summer depending on how you look at it. For a majority of Americans, summer starts with Memorial Day Weekend. For others, it's whenever they finish the school season. Still others wait until the calendar says so, this year stating June 21st. However you declare it, I hope you have a fantastic summer!

For the purposes of this blog, summer starts right now, and we begin with an animated treat: Garfield in Paradise!

First airing on this very day back in 1986, the special stars Garfield, Odie, and Jon Arbuckle booking themselves a Hawaiian vacation, only to find they've been sold a bill of goods. They instead go on their own looking for a Hawaiian adventure, and they find it with a bunch of rock 'n' rolling native habitants, including their leader, voiced by none other than the late great Wolfman Jack!

It's a rockin', rollin', good time with Garfield and friends. Enjoy!

Have a great, safe, wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation!

Happy Friday the 13th Birthday Stevie Wonder!

It's both Stevie Wonder's 72nd birthday and Friday the 13th, so this is perfect!

I've posted it before, but it's so awesome it's worth posting again!

Good luck! Have a great weekend!

Stocking Stuffers

 

Ho ho ho no! Christmas Day is just mere days away! I'm as busy as everyone else is during this home stretch to the holidays, so I'll keep this short. Consider these various short clips as "stocking stuffers" to enjoy until the big day arrives!

Here is a lovely rendition of "Frosty The Snowman" by the late great Leon Redbone and Dr. John!

It's The Brave and The Bold starring Batman & Robin and...Santa Claus!

One commercial I remember seeing frequently on TV when I was a kid was this commercial for Disneyland Records's collection of Christmas songs recording specifically for release by Disney. This instantly brings me back to my childhood Christmases!

A couple of weeks ago we lost actor Eddie Mekka, who played Carmine Ragusa, "The Big Ragu," on Laverne & Shirley. Here he is from a famous Christmas episode of the series singing and dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock!"

Finally, here is a wonderfully fun recording of "The Merry Old Philosopher," by comedian Eddie Lawrence. The Old Philosopher was a long-running act of Lawrence's that spawned many novelty records; this one may be my favorite!

This will likely be my last post before Christmas Day, but I hope to have my Christmas greeting on the day itself, followed by a couple articles during my annual Christmas vacation next week.

If you don't get a chance to stop by before Saturday, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Welcome to the Countdown to Christmas!

 

Happy Holidays! Welcome to the inaugural Countdown to Christmas at Me and You and a Blog Named Boo!

Of course, I've always posted Christmas content from the blog's inception--it's one of my main reasons for blogging! But I thought, why not simply call it what it is, a Countdown to Christmas! It works for Halloween!

There is no multi-site Christmas countdown that I'm aware of (if so, please let me know!), so I'm flying solo here. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are ready to move on to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

To kick things off, I'd like to feature videos of some classic Christmas songs with new animation created by the music companies. There have been several of these the past couple of years, and they're a great way to put a fresh coat of paint on these songs which, while wonderful, do get stale thanks to overplay on radio stations and streaming services.

Enjoy! And welcome once again to the Countdown to Christmas!