I år har vi invitert et knippe av våre favorittmusikere fra inn- og utland til å si noen ord om SIN favorittjulesang. Hver dag gjennom adventstiden vil vi presentere én låt, og artistenes personlige forhold til låten.
20. desember tilhører Bob Burns.
En av de mest julete personer jeg vet om, er Bob Burns. Det var derfor spesielt gledelig at han hadde tid til å bidra til vår lille adventskalender. Bob Burns er vokalist i bandet Big In Iowa, som ga ut to av mine all time favorittplater i 1998 og 2000. Bandet ga seg i 2001, men når vokalist Burns i fjor flyttet hjem til Ohio etter mange år i Washington, så har han ved flere anledninger samlet det gamle bandet sitt til uformelle spillejobber.
Vi er mange som har et håp om nye låter etterhvert. Men inntil videre så lever Big In Iowa stort sett på YouTube og på Spotify.
Asking me to name my favorite Christmas song is like asking me what my favorite Beatles Song is. It’s a tough nut to crack, and it was a real “nutcracker” trying to choose my favorite. So, I’ll give you the first song that popped into my head when I thought about Christmas.
Sleigh Ride
It’s funny I would pick one of the most widely covered holiday songs, because I make a Christmas mix of lesser known Christmas songs every year with the intention of not using the songs you hear all of the time.
Once I picked the song, I realized I had to choose a favorite version! I considered The Ventures, The Ronettes, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Caiola, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, and others, but the one I had to choose is the standard by which all other versions are measured.
The Boston Pops version (Arthur Fiedler)
First off, the song itself is so uplifting that many of the versions are simply great, but the Boston Pops version just screams “Christmas!!!” Upon hearing it, I always envision riding on a sleigh (the family car) on the way to my Grandparent’s house for Christmas Eve. The sleigh bells, the clippity-clopping woodblocks, the swirling brass and string swells, the whips… Well, the whips sound cool, but I can’t really say they sound Christmasy (Unless you’re into that kind of thing.)
The song is the complete Christmas package. Without the woodblocks, this song might not have been that special to me. Kind of like Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” without the cowbell intro. It just wouldn’t be as powerful. The woodblocks add that “live” feel to the song and it almost makes me feel like I’m in the crowd at a Christmas play.
To me, the song evokes all of those great memories of Christmas past and puts me in the holiday state of mind unlike any other song can.
Thanks for asking me what my favorite song is, and Merry Christmas & Happy New year to you and all of your readers!
