Songs & Singles: X-Y-Z

• X-M@$ (Corey Taylor of Slipknot, 2010)
• X-Mas (Chinkees, 2002)
• X-Mas Song (Maybe Next Year) (Meiko, 2007)
• Xmas At Our House (Information Society, 1986)
• Xmas At K-Mart (Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band, 1978) [close]

  Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band were a Washington D.C. group founded by Foster MacKenzie III, who adopted the stage name Root Boy Slim. They are best known for their 1978 song "Boogie 'Til You Puke," as well as their flamboyant stage act featuring a seemingly inebriated frontman. But, their debut recording was "Xmas At K-Mart," an independently-released 1978 single. Wal-Mart didn't exist yet, and K-Mart was the nexus for white trash culture and crass commercialism. Winos, shoplifters, and "locker room users" - codified language for homosexuals - are all hanging out, picking up mood rings, lingerie, cough syrup, and, of course, albums by Root Boy Slim. It certainly beats the alternative, though, because "hell is Christmas at the 7-11."

  Despite their presence on Rhino's New Wave Xmas, " Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band were more of a blues-based roots rock band, with noted critic Robert Christgau describing their music as "simplified Little Feat funk." While pretty obscure these days, the band recorded four gonzo albums over the years, including their Gary Katz-produced 1978 self-titled debut for Warner Brothers and their 1979 sophomore album for Illegal Records, an offshoot of Miles Copeland's IRS Records. Much later, they recorded two more albums for independent labels and, in the interim, Root Boy Slim recorded two more as a solo act.

  Not too surprisingly based on the recorded evidence, Foster MacKenzie was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his youth and remained on medication for the rest of his life. He died in 1993 at age 48.

• Xmas At The Drugstore (Drugstore, 1995)
• Xmas Bloody Xmas (TV Smith, 2004)
• Xmas Cake (Rilo Kiley, 2003)
• Xmas Has Been X'ed (NOFX, 2012)
  
• Xmas In The Artic Pole (Drugstore, 2002)
• Xmas It's Christmas (Wool, 1995)
• Xmas Lights Spin (Mark Eitzel, 1998)
• Xmas 101 (World News, 2021)
• Xmas Rap (aka Santa's Rap) (Treacherous Three featuring Kool Moe Dee, 1984) Top 100 Song
• Xmas Song (Andy McCoy of Hanoi Rocks, 2016)
• Xmas Swagger (Princess Superstar, 2011)
• Xmas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)
  • Dogmatics (1984)
  • Mighty Mighty Bosstones (1997)
• Xmas Tree Graveyard (Red Flag, 2000)
• Xmas Trips (Run On, 2006)
• Xmas Twist (Twistin' Kings, aka Funk Brothers, 1961) [close]

  After the invention of the compact disc in the 1980's, Motown Records began reissuing their rich catalog of vintage Christmas music - seven albums by six of their biggest acts, plus the fine 1973 compilation, A Motown Christmas, first reissued on CD in 1992 (read more). After that, the label unleashed a treasure trove of rare holiday music, most recorded during their "Golden Decade" from 1962 to 1971. The campaign began with a new compilation, Christmas In The City (1993), and would eventually give us rare and unreleased gems by Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston, Diana Ross, and others. None of it was more exciting than two tracks by the Funk Brothers, the label's legendary studio band, "Xmas Twist" and "Winter Wonderland."

  "Xmas Twist" came from the long-forgotten 1961 album, Twistin' Round The World, released under the banner of the Twistin' Kings. The project was the brainchild of Motown founder Berry Gordy and label president Barney Ales and, as you might guess, consisted of variations on the dance craze that swept the nation after Chubby Checker's 1960 single, "The Twist," hit #1 on the charts - twice, no less. On the original Motown LP, the song was titled "Christmas Twist," but when released as a single (b/w "White House Twist"), Motown shortened it to "Xmas Twist." It's a mostly instrumental dance record that includes a chorus of "everybody's doin' the Christmas twist" - and that's about as heady as it gets.

  "Xmas Twist" first popped back up on A Motown Christmas Vol. 2 (2001) in a previously unheard, unedited, seven-minute stereo mix. The original mono version (running less than three minutes) was later reissued on the first volume of the historic Complete Motown Singles series, and a stereo mix of that edit was included on The Ultimate Motown Christmas Collection (2009).

  During their heyday, the Funk Brothers never released any music under that name, and it's not really known how or when they got the name - only that image-conscious Berry Gordy wouldn't allow them to use it. Obviously, "funk" sounds like a well-known euphemism for sex. But, "funk" wouldn't become a particularly well-known term outside the Black community until it was popularized by hit songs like "Funky Broadway" (Wilson Pickett, 1967) and "Ain't It Funky Now" (James Brown, 1969). Anyway, most of the Funk Brothers' work was, by definition, behind the scenes, playing on just about every track ever recorded at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, aka Hitsville U.S.A. But, the Funk Brothers did release music under a variety of other names, often moonlighting for other record labels. At Motown, however, they released just two more albums, That Motown Sound (1965) as Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers, and another, The Earl Of Funk (1970), under Van Dyke's name alone.

  Earl Van Dyke was a keyboard player and, for a time, the Funk Brothers' bandleader. A lot of other people would circulate through their ranks during the Golden Decade, including Joe Hunter, who Van Dyke replaced in 1964. Most notably, bass player James Jamerson and drummer Benny Benjamin anchored the band and were most responsible for giving Motown its distinctive, propulsive sound. And, guitarists Dennis Coffey and Ray Parker, Jr. - both of whom joined in the late 60's - would go on to score their own hits. But, none of Motown's records during the Golden Decade gave the musicians any credit, so we don't know definitively who played what on countless Motown classics.

  Many years later, thanks to Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, a 1989 book about James Jamerson, and a 2002 documentary of the same name, the Funk Brothers would finally get their due - sadly, however, after many of them had passed away. Motown even released the first-ever recording to bear their name, The Best Of The Funk Brothers (2004), drawn mostly from the Van Dyke albums - and it includes neither of the Christmas songs. In reality, though, "The Best Of The Funk Brothers" is nearly every classic track that Motown ever released, and that'd be a helluva boxed set...

• Xmas Will Never... (Love Pushers, 1987)
• Xmas Wrap (Hot & Sassy, 1982) [close]
  
  listen / buy

  Kurtis Blow's popular 1980 single "Christmas Rappin'" kicked off a slew of imitators on both the East and West Coasts - all wholly unsuccessful at the time and now very, very obscure. Not counting the Waitresses' 1981 "Christmas Wrapping" - which didn't really reflect the burgeoning hip hop culture - we wouldn't see another genuine Christmas rap hit until 1987, when Run-DMC dropped "Christmas In Hollis" on A Very Special Christmas. It was rap's first holiday masterpiece, and it set a standard unsurpassed to this day.

  Hot & Sassy's "Christmas Strutt" (1980) was one of those post-Blow Christmas rap flops, but it's a pretty great record, all the same - similar in style to the prototypical Sugarhill Gang record "Rapper's Delight," released just one year prior, laying down straightforward rhymes over a disco beat. Hot & Sassy sets the stage with a brief chorus followed by three extended rap verses split between six girls - Jackii D, Shelly, Connie, Dottie, Ann, and Gidigg (that's how she spells it). It's a charming yet funky exercise that'll help you "moonwalk freak on Christmas day." (It's worth noting that this reference to the moonwalk comes three years before Michael Jackson's famous performance of the dance.)

  Anyway, Hot & Sassy managed just a couple of singles for Los Angeles rhythm 'n' blues label Magic Disc, plus "Xmap Wrap" (1982) - a mildly remixed and edited "Christmas Strutt," extending the instrumental breaks while removing the last half of the third verse. Who Hot & Sassy was, however, is largely lost to history, and what little evidence we have comes from the labels of their singles. Connie Harrison and Dottie Mitchell are credited with writing "Christmas Strutt," while Ann Mirrielees is also credited on "Xmap Wrap." I think we can assume that they are the Connie, Dottie, and Ann namechecked on the single, but Jackii D, Shelly, and "Gidigg" (I swear that's how she spells it) remain otherwise anonymous. Of the six, only Dottie Mitchell seems to have done much else, leading an all-female funk band called Sugahh that recorded a few singles, including "Heart Of The Matter" for Mercury in 1984.

  Happily, Germany's Tramp Records rescued "Christmas Strutt" on their 2022 compilation, Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party Vol. 4. The series consists mostly of meticulously restored, obscure vinyl records transferred to digital, but then Tramp reissued the vinyl single in 2024.

• Yah Das Ist Ein Christmas Tree (Mel Blanc, 1953)
• Year Ago This Christmas (Bill Haley & The Saddlemen, 1951)
• Yellin' At The Xmas Tree
  • Elle And The Fury (2012)
  • Billy Idol (2005)
• (Yes It's) Christmas (War, 2023)
• Yesterday's Christmas (Bobby Sherman, 1970)
• Yo Ho Ho (Klark Kent aka Stewart Copeland, circa 1980)
• You Ain't Getting Nothin' (Beebe Gallini featuring Cindy Lawson, 2021)
• You And Me Under The Christmas Tree (The Razorblades, 2011)
• You Are My Christmas (Bobby "Blue" Bland, 1984)
• You Better Be Good! (Marcella Detroit of Shakespeare's Sister, 2011)
• You Better Be Good, World (Shirley Ellis, 1965)
• You Can See Old Santa Claus (When You Find Him In Your Heart) (Gene Autry, 1956)
• You Deserve It All (John Legend, 2021)
• You Don't Have To Be A Santa Claus (When Christmas Comes Around) (Mills Brothers, 1955)
• You For Christmas (Kelly Clarkson, 2024)
• You Know It's Christmas (Dion with Joe Bonamassa, 2020)
• You Make Christmas Feel Like Heaven (Tommy Page, 1990)
• You Trashed My Christmas (The Primitives, 2012)
• You'll Know It's Christmas (Deacon Blue, 2013)
• (You'll Never Be) Alone On Christmas Day (Mike Love, 2015)
• You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch (aka Mr. Grinch, The Grinch)
  • D.I. (1994)
  • Aimee Mann (2006) 
  • Thurl Ravenscroft (1966) Top 100 Song
  • Sixpence None The Richer (1999)
  • Small Town Titans (2017)
  • Whirlees (1994)
  • Whirling Dervishes (1992)
• You're All I Want For Christmas (Brook Benton, 1963)
• You're All I Want For Christmas (Bing Crosby, 1949)
• You're Just Like Christmas (The Crookes, 2014)
• You're My Present (Smokey Robin with the Dap-Kings, 2017)
• You're The Angel On My Christmas Tree (Faron Young, 1953)
• You're The One I Miss (This Christmas) (MxPx, 2001)
• You're What I Want (For Christmas) (Chris Stamey & Cathy Harrington, 1986)
• You've Been A Bad Little Girl (Lonnie Hewitt, 1963)
• (You've Got To) Admit That It's Christmas (Zest Of Yore, 2003)
• Yuh Xmess (Gorehounds, 1987)
• Yulesville (aka Cool Yule) (Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, 1959) [close]

  Actor Edd Byrnes was a star of TV's 77 Sunset Strip, and he recorded "Yulesville" in 1959 essentially in character as "Kookie," an aspiring private investigator on the show. Kookie was a beatnik, basically, and "Yulesville" is a beatnik transliteration of "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" that concludes with the deathless lines, "He laid the jazz on me and fled from the gig wailin' 'Have a cool Yule, man, later, like, dig?'" The song was released as a Warner Brothers single and also appeared on the album We Wish You A Merry Christmas: 15 Great Christmas Favorites Sung By Warner Bros. Stars featuring mostly other actors, including fellow "Sunset Strip" star Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as well as Connie Stevens, Byrnes' duet partner on his hit single from earlier that year, "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)." "Yulesville" was reissued on LP and CD in Rhino's Cool Yule series and later showed up in Bear Family's Yulesville compilation.

  Someone named Tony Rodelle Larson recorded a way weirder version of the song in 1961 under the title "Cool Yule" (found on Christmas Party With Eddie G.). In 1964, a Canadian named Donny Burns recorded it as "Cool Yule," as well, using a "Peter Gunn" guitar-based backing track (found on Christmas Party, Christmas Up North, and A Christmas Gift To You From Norton Records Vol. 2).

• Yulesville U.S.A. (Rockin' Stockin' featuring Billy Lee Riley, 1960)
• Yuletide Ride (Blackball Bandits, 2019)
• Yuletide Throwdown (Blondie, 1982) [close]
  
  listen / buy

  "Yuletide Throwdown" is a funky Blondie track featuring Freddie - aka Fab 5 Freddy, the influential NYC rapper name-checked by Debbie Harry on the group's 1981 #1 hit single, "Rapture," first released in November 1980 on the album Autoamerican. And, "Yuletide Throwdown" is cut from the same cloth as "Rapture" - but more on that later.

  Initially, Deb is dubious, deeming Freddie "too skinny" to be Santa Claus, but she soon relents, joining him in a spirited rap anchored by the slinky "Rapture" backbeat. It's an amusing track - and a legendary rarity - though it lacks the pinpoint focus that made "Rapture" a worldwide smash.

  "Yuletide Throwdown" was originally released as "Yuletown Throw Down (Rapture)" on a flexidisc included with an early 1982 issue (#15) of Flexipop! Magazine, a short-lived British new wave rag most notable for its flamboyant, confectionary editorial style - and its flexidiscs featuring rare and esoteric recordings by some of the biggest names in alternative pop. The original issue (in red and blue) featured two additional original songs produced by Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, "The Christmas Song" by the Brattles and "Santa's Agent" by Snuky Tate. Dates vary, but the magazine's front cover jokingly refers to it as the "Early Christmas 1982 issue."

  Then, the song was reissued as "Yuletide Throw Down" with no additional tracks as a bonus flexidisc (this time in blue and green) for a late 1982 issue (#25) of Flexipop! The song was also compiled on the promotional 1982 LP, The Flexipop! Album, but wouldn't be issued commercially for nearly 40 years.

  In 2021, "Yuletide Throw Down" was finally issued as a 12-inch single and for download and streaming, including some new remixes, by which time the title had morphed into the concise "Yuletide Throwdown." The song resurfaced while Chris Stein was working on the band's mammoth archival project, Against The Odds 1974-1982, which would eventually be released in August 2022. The boxed set was reissued in a variety of formats and price points, and "Yuletide Throwdown" was included only on the largest, priciest vinyl and compact disc options.

  The 2021 reissue (and ensuing press coverage) refers to "Yuletide Throwdown" as the "1981 original recording," but that is misleading. That it was released in 1982 is well established (see above). But "Rapture" itself was first released in late 1980, and Chris Stein told both Rolling Stone and New Musical Express that "Yuletide Throwdown" was "the first version" of "Rapture" - meaning it, too, was started, at least, in 1980.

  "The first time we recorded the basic track for 'Rapture,' we decided it was too slow, so we sped it up and that’s the final version we released," Stein explained. "I had the master tapes and took a copy of the tape of the first version home, overdubbed on top of it, and put Debbie and Freddy's vocals on it." Putting all those tidbits together, we can conclude that "Yuletide Throwdown" was started in 1980, finished in 1981, and released in 1982 - clear as a bell!

  Somewhat infamously, "Rapture" became the first #1 single in the United States to feature rap vocals - even though Blondie was an all-white group. But, the story of "Yuletide Throwdown" proves that an African American was there at its inception - even if he didn't make the final cut. "Freddy took us to our first rap event in 1977 or 1978, which was very exciting," Stein recalled. "It was the first time I’d seen something like that."

  Fab 5 Freddy (real name Fred Brathwaite) was certainly an influential figure in the emerging hip hop culture, but he was better known as a graffiti artist than a rapper. He later hosted the popular TV show Yo! MTV Raps after MTV finally embraced rap - before ultimately abandoning music altogether. In the decades since, Freddy has conducted a long, distinguished career across a broad swath of arts and media.

  And by the way, Blondie cut another Christmas single, "We Three Kings," in 2009 as a free download and video. The official versions have disappeared into the online ether, but unofficial versions abound.

• 'Zat You Santa Claus?
  • Louis Armstrong & The Commanders (1953) Top 100 Song [close]
    
    listen / buy

    Louis Armstrong cut six Christmas sides for Decca Records in the 1950's as his career as a jazz innovator came to a close and his new status as an American icon came into focus. All the Decca sides are enjoyable, but "'Zat You Santa Claus" is the one that best captures Armstrong's affable but mischievous persona while preserving his musical integrity. Recasting Santa as a night prowler, Satch and his big, brassy combo, the Commanders, created perhaps the first Christmas-Halloween hybrid. It's a dark and stormy night, and Louis starts to imagine all sorts of ghosts, goblins, and malicious intent. "Are you bringing a present for me?" Louis asks Santa. "It's just what I've been waiting for - would you mind slipping it under the door?"

    'Zat You Santa Claus" was first released in 1953 backed with arguably Armstrong's second-best Decca Christmas side, "Cool Yule." All the Decca sides are included on the highly recommended What A Wonderful Christmas (1997), a collection of fine holiday jazz with Armstrong at the top of the bill. Much later, all six were included on Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule (2022), another fine collection, this time devoted mostly to New Orleans' favorite son. [back to list] [learn more]

  • Head East (2024)
  • Buster Poindexter (1987)
• Zoomah, The Santa Claus From Mars (Barry Gordon, 1956)

[top of page]