Chip:
Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley
Elvis in full “elvisy” swagger, Jordanaires with that “ahoo ah oo oo”, and a crack band playing it dirty – they don’t even care that its Christmas.
Bob:
Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt
Sometimes I think I was born 30 years too late. I really dig the whole Rat Pack, forties and fifties era. The whole look, feel and attitude is evoked by Eartha Kitt’s über-sexy performance. Man, if this doesn’t put a kink in your candy cane, nothing will.
You might think after listening to Off White Christmas that Chip and Bob hate Christmas. Not true! In fact, just to show there’s no hard feelings, the boys have decided to list their all-time favorite Christmas songs. We’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. Wait a sec…today’s the 21st already? Cripes! We’d better get a move on! Here are the first bunch of Chip and Bob’s respective Top Ten lists:
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We’ll post Chip and Bob’s absolute favorite Christmas songs of all time!
Chip:
10. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
9. Jingle Bells by the Brian Setzer Orchestera
8. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by U2 and Darlene Love
7. Merry Christmas Baby by Bruce Springsteen
6. Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me by Elvis Presley
5. White Christmas by Bing Crosby “Bing’s voice is amazing.”
4. Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry
3. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms “Great guitar riffing.”
2. Santa Claus Is Back In Town Elvis again.
Bob:
10. Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry. “Who the hell is Randolph?”
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by Lou Rawls. “More soul than James Brown. Yeah, I said it.”
8. Santa Claus and His Old Lady by Cheech and Chong. “Magic dust. Gets me every time.”
7. Twelve Days of Christmas by Bob and Doug “Where’d you learn to sing like that? Albums.”
6. Santa Lost a Ho by the Christmas Jug Band. “It’s hilarious and it swings!”
5. The Christmas Song by Mel Torme. “For my money, the definitive version of the song.”
4. Rock and Roll Christmas by George Thorogood (especially the video)
3. Blue Christmas by Elvis
2. Santa Claus Is Back in Town by Elvis
Feel free to comment!
The making of Off White Christmas was a headlong, intense, slapstick, wildly creative journey that all began over a mammoth hamburger at Waddell’s in Spokane. Read all about it here at Bob Wire Has a Point (It’s Under His Cowboy Hat):
http://www.makeitmissoula.com/2011/12/behind-the-music-off-white-christmas/
Bob, left, banging out arrangement ideas and honing lyrics with Chip, right, at Chip's kitchen table in September 2011. Photo by Jace Whitson.
Yeah, my name is bigger than Chip’s on the CD cover, even though we each wrote exactly 5-1/2 songs. Why? Probably because I was in charge of the art design. Nyuk nyuk.
Most listeners can probably discern between the two of us, but I thought it might be helpful to lay it out for you here.
Credit Card Christmas: written and sung by Bob.
Santa’s Getting Bigger: written and sung by Bob.
My Ex Miss Carol: written and sung by Chip.
The Great Christmas Decoration Tragedy of 1981: written and sung by Bob.
I’d Rather Be Alone: written and sung by Chip.
Last Minute Shopper: written by Bob. First part sung by Chip, second part sung by Bob.
Sha La La La (Don’t Come Home This Christmas): written and sung by Chip.
My Birthday’s on Christmas: written and sung by Bob.
Santa’s Got a Sharkskin Suit: written and sung by Chip.
You Ain’t Gettin’ Shit for Christmas: written and sung by Chip.
I Can’t Believe It’s Christmastime Again: written by Chip and Bob, and sung by Bob and Barb Wire.
One last thing: in the liner notes I listed the Mwah Men, but forgot to include my bud Jims Pool. Nice mwah, Jims. Sorry for the omission.
Lots of time in the public eye this week, promoting Off White Christmas. This morning I’ll be on the air on the Ann and Teresa and Ann show, at KBGA 89.9. You can stream it! These two women have an off-the-hook weekly comedy show, and they’ve invited me on to talk about the album, maybe play a song or two live in the studio. They’ll also play a couple of cuts off the album. Yeah, it’s early, but they are funny as hell.
Next, I’ll be on the Live and Local Lunch segment at noon at the Trail 103.3 in Missoula stream it here! http://trail1033.com/ Chip Whitson is scheduled to call in to the studio from Spokane during the show, and share some of his thoughts and stories about the making of Off White Christmas.
And of course there’s the Christmas Musical Show at Downtown Dance Collective Saturday night in Missoula. Busy week, and it’s just going to get crazier as Christmas draws near. Bundle up!
"The new CD's here! The new CD's here!"
They arrived from the North Pole manufacturing plant yesterday, the first thousand shiny, snappy, beautiful CDs. And they are a sight to behold. Downloads will be available sometime next week via iTunes, but if you go that route you’ll be missing out on the beautiful packaging and all the humor injected into the CD and jacket. It looks like a miniature double-LP jacket, and the CD itself even looks like a vinyl album! Too cool for school, I tell you.
Order today and you’ll have it in just a few days. If you’re in Missoula, you can pick up a stocking full at Rockin’ Rudy’s or Hastings. More locations on the way…
The leadoff song on Off White Christmas has made it to the semi-finals of The Indie Reviewer’s Christmas song contest! Follow this link, and you can vote for our song. There’s some pretty stiff competition, pretty good material from other artists. So please help us get “Credit Card Christmas” the fame it deserves!
We’re still in the dark green days before the Christmas season gets us all in a chokehold. The CD will start being distributed around Dec. 2, and individual songs should be available from iTunes about a week after that. Meantime, you can always beat the rush and pre-order your copy by clicking the “Buy It” link above.
Keep checking back here for more news, and lots more photos, videos, and other Off White Christmas goodness!
