Web Page  No 2330

24th December 2016

Top Picture: Christmas was not Christmas without David Nixon.

Second Picture: Christmas matches

 Third Picture: Christmas at Woolworths

Forth Picture: The Queen’s Christmas speech 1960

This from Maureen:

To all the year of '62' and those whose paths have crossed then or since, Congratulations, we have made another year and a very good reason to celebrate our Three Score years and ten.  We have got to an age when reflecting is easier than living in the present and we have to thank Peter for all the nudges he has given us over the years to keep the memories alive. Thanks Peter with all good wishes to you, your family and your extended family of followers. Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.

First of all a very Happy Christmas to you all and a Prosperous New Year, but as you all know it is Christmas time which means it is time for the Christmas Quiz.

Here we go

1. What year was Prince Charles invested as Prince Of Wales?

2. Which Pop Group’s original name was Pete Novak and the Heartbeats??

3. By what name did Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore become known in 1963?

4. Which model was voted the face of 1966?

5. Which country singer was killed in a plane crash in 1964?

6. Benjamin Britten’s war Requiem was first performed at the consecration of which Cathedral in 1962?

7. Which Lord led the inquiry into the 1963 Profumo affair?

8. On 23rd April 1964, who became the first commoner to appear on a Royal Mail presentation stamp pack?

9. What year did the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion by US-backed troops take place?

10. Which brand of toothpaste was advertised on television as having a ring of confidence?

11. Who defeated Richard Nixon to become US president in 1960?

12. In what year did Marilyn Monroe die?

13. Who became leader of the Labour Party in 1963?

14. Which model was know as The Shrimp??

15. What type of animal was Goldie who made the headlines by escaping from London Zoo?

16. Ian Smith declared independence for which country in the sixties?

17. Who led The Family in the Sharon Tate murder?

18. Which politician was involved in a famous road accident at Chappaquidick?

19. Who became the first Woman Prime Minister of Israel?

20. In which country did soviet tanks crush the Dubchek reforms in the Sixties?

21. What book, written in the 1920s was the subject of an obscenity trial when finally published in 1960?

22. The largest liner was launched in 1960 what was its name?

23. How did spurs player John White die in 1963?

24. Which UK channel started broadcasting in 1964?

25. Who first walked the streets in 1960?

26. What city was Martin Luther King killed in?

27. How die Rocky Marciano die in 1969?

28. Which London landmark was cleaned in 1968 for the first time since 1864?

29. What became Britain's tallest building in October 1965?

30. Who became Governor of California in 1966?

ANSWERS  

1. 1969

2. Herman’s Hermits

3. Malaysia

4. Twiggy

5. Jim Reeves

6. Coventry

7. Lord Denning

8. William Shakespeare

9. 1961

10. Colgate

11. John F Kennedy

12. 1962

13. Harold Wilson

14. Jean Shrimpton

15. Eagle

16. Rhodesia

17. Charles Manson

18. Edward Kennedy

19. Golda Meir

20. Chezoslovakia

21. Lady Chatterley's Lover

22. SS France (Norway)

23. Struck by lightning

24. BBC2

25. Traffic Wardens

26. Memphis

27. Plane Crash

28. Nelson's Column

29. The Post Office Tower

30. Ronald Reagan

Keep in touch

Peter

gsseditor@gmail.com

Instead of the On this Day section take a look at these which must be some of the  oddest Christmas hits... ever!

Spike Jones and His City Slickers All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) (RCA Victor, 1948)

One of the first recorded odd Christmas songs. This was an obscure 1940s tune until Spike and his boys played it, adding bells, whistles and sound effects. The song has been covered by everyone from Nat King Cole to Dread Zeppelin, a 1990s rock band fronted by an Elvis impersonator. Mystifyingly, it hasn't been revisited by Christmas hitmaker Shane MacGowan, who has been minus his front teeth for some time.

Gayla Peevey  I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas  (Columbia, 1953) 

Possibly the strangest and most charming Christmas single title ever. Gayla Peevey was an American child star from Oklahoma, and this song (written in 1950 by John Fox) had very serious intentions. It had been brought to Miss Peevey's attention that the city zoo had no hippopotamus and so someone at Columbia records had the bright idea of putting together a campaign aimed at "buying Gayla" a hippo for Christmas. The song was recorded to accompany the campaign and after raising several thousand dollars, a baby hippo was bought and presented by Miss Peevey to the zoo.

The Singing Dogs Jingle Bells (RCA Victor, 1955) 

The famous tune was recorded using an entire choir of real-life "singing" - or, to be precise, barking - dogs. These were the days before samplers and fancy modern technology, so the studio process involved recording hundreds of hours of dogs, feeding the barks through a variable frequency oscillator, then editing them together to fit a backing track. The modern era has seen the Singing Dogs concept revived with albums by the likes of Jingle Dogs (Christmas Unleashed).

David Seville and the Chipmunks  The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) (Liberty, 1959) 

Californian Ross Bagdasarian (who sensibly changed his name to David Seville) was fooling around with tapes when he accidentally played one at the wrong speed. The result was that the speeded-up vocals sounded just like "chipmunks". Fired by this discovery, he made various records, including this Christmas one that spawned many soundalikes. The Chipmunks paved the way for some of pop's most famous sonic experiments, from the Beatles' use of backwards tapes to the Bee Gees' very high voices. In 2000, satirist Bob Rivers tapped into the growing wave of anti-Chipmunk feeling with the hardly festive-spirited Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire.

The Singing Nun Dominique (Phillips, 1963) 

Jeanine Deckers was a Belgian Dominican nun. In December 1963 she became one of the unlikeliest pop stars in history when Dominique - a song originally recorded as a present for her Mother Superior - topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite the royalties being donated to the holy order, the sisterhood was uncomfortable with her success. She left the order and her life went into a tailspin after she recorded songs praising God for birth control. She was pursued by the Belgian government for tax evasion, had problems with drugs and died in 1985 in a suicide pact with her ex-nun female lover.

The Staple Singers  Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas?
(Stax, 1970)

As none of us should ever forget, Christmas can be a lonely, depressing time for the less fortunate. Countless pop records have tapped into the darker side of festive cheer, remember Mud's Lonely This Christmas. This Staple Singers had a long career in gospel, the band had just started to dabble in pop-soul and were perhaps suffering from guilt. The song uses thumping church-style singing over an inappropriately funky backdrop to moan about the loss of Christmas's true meaning.

George Harrison Ding Dong, Ding Dong  (Apple, 1974) 

When George Harrison passed on none of the obituaries mentioned this obscure Christmas record.

Elmo and Pats Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (Stiff, 1980) 

In 1979, a San Francisco veterinarian called Elmo Shropshire was moonlighting in a bluegrass band when he came across a song written by his friend Randy Brooks. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer tells the tale of festive excess that any drink-driving campaign would be proud of. It details how Grandma falls over in the snow after too much eggnog and is found with "hoof-prints on her forehead."