Saturday Night Live's Tradition Of Thanksgiving Songs

Hi again everyone,
We're big fans of Saturday Night Live, especially of the show's classic eras.

SNL has never had a "Thanksgiving episode", but the show has featured quite a few Thanksgiving-themed musical numbers over the years.

In 1976, host Paul Simon opened the show by singing "Still Crazy After All These Years"...in a turkey costume:


Sorry I couldn't find any video of this online.  Simon stops in the middle of the performance and calls it "one of the most humiliating experiences of my life!"

EDIT (2019):  Since we first published this post back in 2011, a Youtube video of the Paul Simon clip has become available, so here it is: 

Perhaps the most famous Thanksgiving song in the show's history was performed on November 21, 1992. Adam Sandler introduced "The Thanksgiving Song", a new song he'd written about eating turkey. It also contains a plethora 90s pop culture references that have nothing to do with Thanksgiving:

A year later (November 20,1993 to be exact), Sandler did an excellent impression of Bruce Springsteen performing a Thanksgiving song.
Here's a Springsteen Thanksgiving:

In 1996, we got a sketch featuring multiple singers auditioning new Thanksgiving songs for a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. This sketch includes the debut of Cinder Calhoun, played by Ana Gasteyer. "Cinder" would become a recurring character on the show for several years. Tim Meadows also stands out in this sketch performing a sultry, soulful and innuendo-filled Thanksgiving ballad.
Watch "Thanksgiving Song Auditions" here:

And speaking of Cinder Calhoun, she showed up the next year on Weekend Update to perform another Thanksgiving song. The song condemns the killing of turkeys on Thanksgiving and compares Butterball to Hitler and Stalin! She was joined by musical guest Sarah McLachlan on "Basted In Blood:
Here's a photo from the bit from 11/22/97:

EDIT (2019): And here's a link to an article with the video clip:  https://www.thecut.com/2015/11/basted-in-blood-your-lilith-fair-holiday-jam.html

And just last year, current cast member Jay Pharoah appeared on Weekend Update and wondered what a Thanksgiving rap written by Jay-Z or Biggie Smalls would sound like. Pharoh proceeded to rap about Thanksgiving and its trappings, from November 20, 2010:

So maybe if you're musically inclined, you'll find yourself leading your family in a singalong of one of these songs tonight after you've finished all the pumpkin pie. Okay, that probably won't happen (considering some of these songs contain outdated references George Wendt and Darryl Strawberry), but these songs are still lots of fun.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

J.A. Morris and RigbyMel

The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count

Since spring is the season of allergies here in Virginia, I've had this song stuck in my head on and off for the past several days (especially as I've been trying to rid my car of evil, yellow pollen dust ...).

So Holiday Film Reviews now presents a musical interlude linked for your listening/viewing pleasure: "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" by The Divine Comedy.



This is a fun pop song by the British band The Divine Comedy. It was originally released on their Liberation album in 1993, but the linked version is a re-recording that was done for their 1999 best of compilation entitled A Secret History ... The Best of the Divine Comedy. The single peaked at #17 in the UK charts.

Interestingly, the song points out a bit of a geographical difference as I tend to associate allergy season in Virginia with spring and autumn, but this song is about summer. Summer is generally more of a pollen-filled season in the U.K. than in the eastern U.S. actually, so this makes some sense.

Something to mull over with your U.S. (Virginia) allergies and congestion today.

TTFN

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Bet you thought I forgot about my Beatles-related Christmas song series, didn't you? Well I didn't.

Today's installment is going to feature and assortment of goodies (since the holindaze got a bit busy and I am behind).

First, an obvious one "Happy Christmas (War Is Over" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono



The song was released as a single by John and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band in 1971. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 on the UK charts.

The lyric is based on a campaign in late 1969 by Lennon and Ono, who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read: "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". The cities included New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Helsinki. At the time of the song's release, the US was deeply entrenched in the unpopular Vietnam War. The line "War is over, if you want it, war is over, now!", as sung by the background vocals, was taken directly from the billboards.

The childrens choir in the background consisted of kids from the Harlem Community Choir and they are credited on the single.

This song has (rightly) become a holiday standard and has been covered by everyone from Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan to Maroon 5, 'N Sync and Andy Williams (!) We even heard it as part of one of the Christmas shows at Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Christmas Town this year. That being said, it always bothers me a bit when people cover the song and leave the "War Is Over" portion of the lyrics out and replace them either with "ahhs" or instrumentals. Especially in times (as now) when the U.S. is engaged in 2 wars overseas. Still this is probably the best of the Beatles' solo Christmas songs and I am glad that others recognize that (even if they try to de-politicize it). I stand before you an unabashed peace-nik and think the song is better with its message intact.

On a much lighter note, here are 2 audio rarities. They feature tracks by Paul McCartney that only appeared as snippets on the Beatles Fan Club Christmas Records. They were originally released as flexi discs to members of the Beatles' UK fan club. Each year from 1963 to 1969, the Beatles had recorded a short Christmas message for their fans, composed of carols, skits, jokes, and thanks to the loyal "Beatle People".

Herewith, McCartney's contribution to the 1968 edition in its entirety:


It's basically an improvisation with guitar and for all that it is pretty catchy. Certainly not deep or anything or on a level with Lennon's 1971 Happy Xmas release but fun.

And here is McCartney's contribution to the 1969 edition (also the last Beatles Christmas Record made):


This is even MORE slight and improvisatory, but Paul's melodic talents make it worthwhile, I think.

More later this week ... !