Howdy, Xmas DogGs and DogGettes.
Welcome to my traditional Christmas / Holiday Battle Of The Bands installment!
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How many of you remember this really old television commercial?
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When I was a kid, that Andre Champagne TV commercial always merrily reminded me that Christmas (my very favorite Holiday) was right around the corner. I've never particularly liked champagne, but I still love that commercial in a very heartwarming, nostalgic kind of way. It probably wasn't until I was about 21 years old that I learned the music used in that Andre commercial was a real, genuine Christmas song titled 'Carol Of The Bells'. Today, that is amongst my all-time favorite Christmas songs. And I really appreciate that it's about "The Reason For The Season":
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How many of you remember this really old television commercial?
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When I was a kid, that Andre Champagne TV commercial always merrily reminded me that Christmas (my very favorite Holiday) was right around the corner. I've never particularly liked champagne, but I still love that commercial in a very heartwarming, nostalgic kind of way. It probably wasn't until I was about 21 years old that I learned the music used in that Andre commercial was a real, genuine Christmas song titled 'Carol Of The Bells'. Today, that is amongst my all-time favorite Christmas songs. And I really appreciate that it's about "The Reason For The Season":
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| Photo credit: 'I Love L.A.' music video by Randy Newman |
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So, I've chosen two versions of 'CAROL OF THE BELLS' to share with you in this December BOTB contest. One is instrumental-ish and the other is a song with singing and harmonizing and stuffs like that. I like them both. (It'd be difficult to really mess up this great carole.)
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Pour yerself a glass of champagne (or Revel Stoke Roasted Pecan Whisky & ekker nog) and vote for your preferred rendition in the comment section below. And then please be sure to visit all of the other BOTBers (links in the column over there somewheres ---->) and vote in their Battles also.
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I intend to return here on or about December 8th to cast my own vote and announce the winner.
Pour yerself a glass of champagne (or Revel Stoke Roasted Pecan Whisky & ekker nog) and vote for your preferred rendition in the comment section below. And then please be sure to visit all of the other BOTBers (links in the column over there somewheres ---->) and vote in their Battles also.
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I intend to return here on or about December 8th to cast my own vote and announce the winner.
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Alright, let's get on it.
Alright, let's get on it.
Let's get ON this thing!
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CAROL OF THE BELLS --
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CAROL OF THE BELLS --
Mannheim Steamroller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8405nEFJXpk
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CAROL OF THE BELLS --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8405nEFJXpk
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| Santa signals the "BEEE!" sign. (Some of you Al K. O'Holics know what that means. 😉) |
CAROL OF THE BELLS --
Lawrence Welk Orchestra & Chorus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIntt9md7ok
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We'll yak again soon.
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May you all...
Bless & Be Blessed!!
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~ Stephen T. McClaus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIntt9md7ok
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We'll yak again soon.
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May you all...
Bless & Be Blessed!!
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~ Stephen T. McClaus
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POSTSCRIPT:
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Stephen -
ReplyDeleteMany Years ago I lived in Sun Valley Idaho. Every year, there was a group of students from Utah State that would visit. I don't recall the name of their group, but we always referred to them as the bell ringers. They would perform at various locations around the resort.
This was always a favorite of mine that they played, using bells and a capella.
I've also always enjoyed Manheim Steamrollers, so you've made this a tough battle.
When it comes right down to it, the Lawrence Welk version reminds me so much about my time at the resort. I love the stripped down version, and Christmas is a great time for nostalgia.
I'm giving my vote to Larry and the girls for taking me on a trip down memory lane.
Hope you and Judge Al have a Merry Christmas this year.
-MMQE
MMQE ~
DeleteGreetings of the Season! Uhm... Season's Greetings. (Why must I always be so verbose?)
"Larry and the girls" thank you for your support.
I gotta admit, I'm quite surprised by how badly the 'Fuddy-Duddy Orchestra & Chorus' are wiping out the 'Modern-Techno' band in this Battle. But as you mentioned, "Nostalgia" appears to be the deciding factor at Christmastime.
All Best Wishes For You This Season & In The Year To Appear!
~ D-FensDogG
No, I don't remember that old commercial. From the seventies I'm guessing? I didn't watch much TV during those years and I tend to shut out most commercials or get up to do something more constructive like getting food or peeing. I get what you're saying about it though.
ReplyDeleteThis is also one of my favorite Christmas tunes. I really like Mannheim, but when it got a little too brassy and percussive it lost me some.
Give my vote to tradition. Welk and company brings back the best memories for me so they get my vote.
Lee
LEE ~
DeleteYeah, bingo on the 70s.
I remember this commercial being reused year after year, and it was so unique that I figured it had become iconic for folks of a certain age. I'm surprised to find that not everyone remembers it as vividly as I do.
Ordinarily I don't pay any attention to commercials either, but through the decades there has been a small handful of them that really got lodged in my mind for either unusual cleverness or some unique image or music.
~ D-FensDogG
I vaguely remember that champagne commercial, but it did not make a strong impression at the time. I love this Christmas carol, just like you do.
ReplyDeleteI am voting traditional, as have both people I can see posted so far. Mannheim is fine. I like them. Have a couple of albums of theirs. But it is not the sound of my far away yout. LW brings that olde tyme sound.
My uncle always called them "Lawrence Puke and the Harmony Belchers." My mom was scandalized because "puke" was considered almost a curse word in those days (at least by that crowd.) I thought it was funny and repeated it often. I call them that to this day. So my vote goes to Lawrence Puke and the Harmony Belchers.
Feliz Navidad, mi hermano de otra madre. Juan Wayne.
Sixgun McItchyfinger
MR. SIXGUN OF SHEBOYGAN TOWN ~
DeleteThere ain't much that sounds more "olde tyme" than Lawrence Puke & The Harmony Belchers. But I like them. At least well enough to own on CD the one Christmas album that includes this version of 'Carol Of The Bells'. Not everything old is bad... take me, for example. ;^D
>>... My mom was scandalized because "puke" was considered almost a curse word in those days (at least by that crowd.)
That reminded me of the time (probably 1989) when I was attending a Dodger game with my girlfriend, the Countess. At one point between innings I said to her, "I'll be right back. I gotta go pee."
When I returned, she whispered to me that right after I left, she overheard someone in the seats behind us say, "Can you believe the way that guy talks? He just said 'pee'."
If I knew then what I know now, I would have turned around in my seat and told that person this:
"Go pisseth against a wall!
First Kings 14:10 and First Kings 16:11 from God's Holy Bible, King James translation."
HA!-HA!
I love ya, mang!
(Juan Wayne! Juan Wayne!)
~ D-FensDogG
Hi Stephen! I'm happy to use any excuse for a glass of extra dry champagne! 🥂 (None of that Cold Duck or other cheap crap, though. 😉) I was digging the Mannheim Steamroller until the voices popped up. That kind of ruined it for me, so I'm going with the more traditional version by Larry and company.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Judge Al have a wonderful Christmas! 🌟
DEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
DeleteMerry Christmas, Season's Greetings, and Happy Hollerdays to you, my friend!
Unfortunately, I seem to have a mild allergic reaction to champagne. And although I tried cold duck once, about a hunnert years ago, I came to realize that I much prefer my duck hot... like my women. ;-D
But I'll say this for Andre Champagne: It comes straight out of Modesto, California. Just like Night Train and Thunderbird, my two all-time favorite fine wines. So, if not for this slight allergic reaction to champagne, Andre would surely be my brand of choice. When it comes to vino, I'll select a Modesto winery every time!
~ D-FensDogG
Hi, Stephen,
ReplyDeleteNice picture. Love the golden hues.
Good thing I decided against posting a special BOTB for the 15th. It would have included Mannheim ;-) Instead, I get to vote for them here. And I do - vote for Mannheim.
Merry Christmas, maestro!
dIEDRE ~
Delete"Maestro"? Aw shucks, you're too kind and embarrass me. (Say it again!)
To my mind, that golden hued picture illustrates "Goldenshadow". Granted, goldenshadow is really a feeling (or perhaps an emotion), but if it were a picture, *that* would be it.
Thanks for your Mannheim vote! That Mann needs all the help he can get in this contest.
Your Friend,
~ D-FensDogG
Hi-Ho, Steverino!
ReplyDeleteI'm quite fond of Andre champagne, which brings back memories of my Mom, my stepfather who we affectionately called Tex, my brothers, and the "Lavender Hill Mob," Grandma Holton and her sister Florence and Mom's dear Aunt Cash, and I think just about everyone else in the family that needed a place to go for the holidays. And I remember the times sitting with my grandmother watching The Lawrence Welk Show. To make a long story short, I'm voting for Lawrence and his Champagne Singers. Mannheim Steamroller is good, but I don't get the same vibe from them.
BROTHER JOHN ~
Delete>>... "I'm quite fond of Andre champagne"
Ah-ha! A Modesto man after my own heart! As I always say, "If it ain't straight outta Modesto, it ain't really wine!" (OK, maybe I've never really said that before, but I'll "always say" it from now on, you can bet on *that*!)
'The Lavender Hill Mob' -- Ha! I knew that was a movie, but I don't remember having seen it. Guess I otter. However, having looked it up just now and finding that Alec Guinness is in it, I'm compelled to say that within the next week or two I will be seeing Alec in the role of Jacob Marley. ('SCROOGE', a 1970 musical starring Albert Finney. It's so good that I literally can't decide which Christmas movie I love more, that one or 'It's A Wonderful Life'!)
~ D-FensDogG
I've always enjoyed Mannheim Steamrollers and clearly I love their version. I was set to give them my vote but I bowled over how much Lawrence Welk's rendition touched on my nostalgia heart strings. Please give my vote to Lawrence Welk! Enjoy this most precious holy season, dear friend!
ReplyDeleteCAACthy!
DeleteThanks for checking in with a "bote" in my juicy Christmas Extravaganza! (The only thing missing is mistletoe hung over the head of Porky Pig while stuttering his rendition of 'Blue Christmas'.)
I am already enjoying the precious Holy season, and I still get 3 more weeks to play in. Wooh-weee!
~ D-FensDogG
Well, the Lawrence Welk version seems more traditional but it could also be fitting for a super creepy scary movie! I really love the crisp sound of the Mannheim Steamrollers so I vote for them!
ReplyDeleteCHRISTINE ~
DeleteHA!-HA! I've got a pretty top-notch imagination (I think someone out there got less because I got some of theirs, too!)
However, even I couldn't imagine the music of Lawrence Welk being the soundtrack in a "super creepy scary movie!" Dang, where is Ed Wood now, when we *really* need him?!
;^D
Thanks for your Mannheim vote. They are getting clobbered like a piñata at a mafia party! But you and dEAR dIEDRE have saved me from the dreaded shutout monster. I owes ya!
~ D-FensDogG
I love Mannheim Steamroller for originality, creativity and intensity, but I have to go with Lawrence Welk. It instantly brings me back to almost physically fighting with you over who gets to hang the house ornament. But in the end I won and you know it!!!!
ReplyDeleteBONEHEA-- erm... My Dear Sister, Sherrie...
Delete>>... "It instantly brings me back to almost physically fighting with you over who gets to hang the house ornament. But in the end I won and you know it!!!!"
Actually, in the end (for you) I hanged you from the back porch that Judge Al climbed up in a drunken stupor and then - after getting caught - said to Ma, "Well, let's see *YOU* climb up to the back porch!" [I hanged ye from the back porch until ye olde body was dead! What the hell are ye doin' here? Yer dead! Why can't ye obey yer king? Ye ain't no better'n yer bruhthuh, Al! Get back in yer grave an' staye thee there, you ol' witch!]
Is [Link> THIS the old house ornament yer bellerin' 'bout? Why, helck 'n' high water, shee-it, I been hangin' that house ornament on my Xmas trees lie onto twenty years!
Yeah, I admit that *ONE* year you faked me out and got the draw on me, by picking up the house ornament and then re-hanging it on the same branch what I done chose. (Only a conniving, devil-like deceivin' female could-a thunk up a devious design like that one was... you "Eve" you!)
Yeah, you bested me on that *one* demonic Christmas mournin'. But you ain't never beat me since --- the reformed Grinch as my witness!
See if I ever let you vote in my BOTB contests ever again, you wicked one from the East!
Much Love, yer brother...
~ D-FensDogG
And Stephen,
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh, Christmas! Memories of Hot Buttered Rum followed by deep regret. And of course a Christmas Morning on Christmas Morning was always the goal but it could be a Christmas Mourning if Christmas Eve was taken too far in the libations department.
Good battle my friend. I'm voting for Lawrence Welk because it reminds me of my parents watching the show and the Steamroller was a bit too contemporary. I suppose it is nostalgia, wanting to be taken back to the Christmas mornings of our youth and the magic the season always brought. That reminds me of my parents and siblings and opening presents in my pajamas and the subsequent debris of boxes and wrapping paper all over the place along with memories the smiles of my parents and the joy the day always brought.
I remember the Andre commercial too and YES it did signal the season, that along with Charlie Brown's Christmas, Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade. Glad I'm still around to remember that. Merry Christmas my friend! May you have a Christmas Morning on Christmas Morning.
JW,
Pooooooooooh!
...AND, POOOOOOOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
DeleteWhy how come that whenever I read a comment from you I feel hungover all over again? Why how come that?
;^)
I have not had a hot buttered rum in years! I never see that batter in stores anymore. No wonder I haven't had a merry Christmas in recent memory!
I was always pretty good about making sure I had a Christmas Morning on Christmas Morning. That was the one day of the year that I really didn't want to screw up.
I thank you for taking time out from lying on the floor of the Silver Dollar Saloon and submitting a vote in my Yuletide festivities. Not every friend would do that, my friend.
But I must admit that your vote for Fuddy-Duddy over Mannheim Tractor surprises me a tad. I thought you were too cool for that. You see what sobriety has wrought?
>>... "That reminds me of my parents and siblings and opening presents in my pajamas and the subsequent debris of boxes and wrapping paper all over the place..."
And don't forget the new socks that always got tossed over your shoulder.
For me it was Cardigan sweaters. My paternal Grandma always seemed to give us kids Cardigans. And I remember one year when my Aunt gave me a copy of a Bible for children, which made me cry. (I was expecting a pony... or at least a toy gun.)
I am heartened to find at least one other person who strongly remembers that Andre champagne commercial and gets the same nostalgic feeling from it that I do. And great call on the Hollywood Lane Christmas Parade! I loved it and used to watch it every year. I was so young that it felt like it was happening at a very enchanted place far, far away. When I got older I realized that I was only about 30 minutes away from the Parade site. Uhp! I was an idiot!
Thanks so much for your comment and vote, Pooh. Have fun but stay safe out there in the Southland.
~ D-FensDogG
That champagne commercial was before my time, but my cherished champagne commercial will always be Paul Masson, with such superb flavor that just one taste can make a man go, "MuaaAAaahhhh."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFevH5vP32s
As a child of the 80s, I love Mannheim Steamroller and that version of Carol of Bells. That build up, the way that grungy bass synth contrasts so nicely with the tinkling keys. It's epic.
And yet... it doesn't FEEL like Christmas. It sounds like something out of a Christmas action movie. I'm expecting Bruce Willis to kick down the door in a Santa hat and a wifebeater with a stogy flopping out of the corner of his mouth while he's cocking a 12 gauge. Now, as boring and as safe as he might be, ol' Lawrence Welk (whose variety show was somehow ALWAYS playing at my Grandma's house 24/7) sounds like Christmas to me. That's the kind of thing I'd want to hear as I was gathering around the tree to open presents.
So give my bote to Lawrence. And get me a gun and a bandolier full of shells if we're going to turn that Mannheim Steamroller up to 11.
~Chief Julio (locked y loaded)
JULIO SEIS-ABEJA ~
Delete>>... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFevH5vP32s
I don't recall having ever seen that before, but clearly it was the 'Citizen Kane' of champagne commercials!
>>... "...in a Santa hat and a wifebeater..."
I don't like that, Raymond!
As I've said often, it's the surprises - the never-really-knowing-anything-for-certain - that has kept BOTB interesting to me for over ten years now. When I put this Battle together, there was a lot of uncertainty about it in my mind. I really couldn't guess who would win. But I did think it was a fairly safe bet that you, Pooh, and Debbie would likely vote for Mannheim Steamroller. Beyond that, it was pretty much a mystery to me. There was NO WAY I could have predicted a blowout of this Biblical proportion!
I'm amazed that A) I came so dangerously close to a Christmas shutout, and B) that it was Lawrence Welk who nearly shut out Mannheim Steamroller!! If I *had* to guess who might get shut out in this Battle, I would have guessed Larry & His Champagne Babes. smh!
>>... ~Chief Julio (locked y loaded)
Zis iz KAOS! Ve don't Chief here! Go to Control.
Thanks for coming by to "bote". Your participation is always appreciated.
~ D-FensDogG
Honestly, if you had just texted me and asked me blindly, "Who do you prefer, Mannheim Steamroller or Lawrence Welk?" I would have said MS without a second thought. Sometimes my battle preferences even surprise myself.
DeleteAlso, I'm surprised you hadn't heard about that old commercial, especially the outtakes. If you can believe it, they actually managed to cobble together all of his takes and make this. I hope the editor got a raise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb1KndrrXsY
~Chief Julio (will bote in no battle before his time)
MuaaAAaahhhh, I now recall the commercial itself, but only vaguely. The finished, sobered-up production isn't so merrily memorable, like that Andre Champagne spot is.
DeleteIn fact, the Andre commercial even gets mentioned on the Wackypedia page for the song 'Carol Of The Bells'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_of_the_Bells
>>... "The song gained further popularity when an instrumental was featured in television advertisements for Andre champagne in the 1970s."
However, that having been said, that tag line, "We will sell no wine before its time" was extremely famous and popular. I remember *that* well. Except I always thought it was about Thunderbird -- my favorite of all fine white wines. Seriously, many people (myself included) used to adapt that tag line to lots of different situations (just as you did at the bottom of your comment). It had universal appeal.
I can easily imagine my ol' pal Pooh saying something like, "I will pass out on no floor before it's time."
The possibilities are endless.
And I'm heartened to know that you always listen before "boting". Because... because... one never really knows for sure. The pudding *must* be tested by tasting. In fact, if we're all still here for BOTB at this time next year, I plan to use a Tiny Tim Christmas song in my Battle, and I think it's going to surprise a whole lotta boters! Possibly even you, if you can believe it-uh.
~ D-FensDogG
The Christmas Canine
Al Bondigas here. I was hoping to be able to help you out with this blow out youse done got goin on, but, I'm afraid I'm gonna be rulin' fer lawrence Welk along with the cool kids. How do you like me now? Finally fittin in. Maybe I'll even be a rebel and get some tattoos like all the other fitting in rebels. Ok. I'm straying here. Both renditions were great, but, I be rulin' fer LW. That's it. That's muh rulin'. Ohh, by the way. I can't believe there are so many people who don't remember the Andre champagne commercial. I bet they don't remember Rosie Greer doing needlepoint while pitching Sports Illustrated either.
ReplyDeleteJUDGE AL ~
DeleteHoot Gibson! "Lawrence Welk" and "cool kids" in the same sentence. Why... why... it's a Christmas miracle!!!
>>>... "I bet they don't remember Rosie Greer doing needlepoint while pitching Sports Illustrated either."
I remember his TV commercials. I could never decide if I liked him because he tasted great or was less filling. Hmmm.... Come to think of it, maybe I'm confusing him with Billy Martin.
Thanks fer yer rulin', Judgey. (I was starting to worry about having another BOTB tie.)
~ D-FensDogG