| "Snoopy's Christmas" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the Australian single | ||||
| Single by The Royal Guardsmen | ||||
| from the album Snoopy and His Friends | ||||
| B-side | "It Kinda Looks Like Christmas" | |||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Laurie (LR 3416) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| The Royal Guardsmen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Snoopy's Christmas" is a song by The Royal Guardsmen which appears on the album Snoopy and His Friends (1967).
A followup to their earlier hit "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", the song is a fictional account of how Snoopy was directed to go out and fight the Red Baron on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve. The Baron has Snoopy at his mercy after a long dogfight, but instead of shooting him down he forces Snoopy to land and offers Snoopy a chivalrous holiday toast. Afterward, Snoopy and the Red Baron fly their separate ways, "each knowing they'd meet on some other day". [1]
The release begins with a chorus singing "O Tannenbaum" ("O Christmas Tree"). The middle of the song is bridged by chimes ringing out a phrase from "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". The chimes can also can be heard during the fade-out at the end of the song. The album version of the song has a simulated radio news report of failed efforts at a Christmas truce, leading to Snoopy being sent out to hunt his sworn foe.
The song references the 1914 "Christmas truce" of World War I which was initiated not by German and British commanders, but by the soldiers themselves. [2] The length of the cease-fire varied by location, and was reported to have been as brief as Christmas Day or as long as the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Trench-bound combatants exchanged small gifts across the lines, with Germans giving beer to the British, who sent tobacco and tinned meat back in return. No Man's Land was cleared of dead bodies, trenches were repaired and drained, and troops from both sides shared pictures of their families and, in some places, used No Man's Land for friendly games of football. [3] The song even has the initiator correct as it was generally the German soldiers who called over to the British and initiated the truce and, in the song, it is the Red Baron—a German WWI hero—who extends the hand of Christmas friendship to Snoopy.
"Snoopy's Christmas" reached the No. 1 position in the New Zealand and Australia [4] singles charts in 1967, and remains a popular Christmas song in those countries. The song was the fastest-selling single at the time it was originally released and is estimated to be the biggest selling overseas single sold in New Zealand in the 20th century. [5] The song frequently reenters the New Zealand singles chart, charting in December 1987, 1988, 1989, and 2013. [6] "Snoopy's Christmas" was also voted "the worst Christmas song of all time" by readers of the New Zealand Herald in 2007. [7]
In Canada, the song reached No. 39, January 6, 1968. [8]
The Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christmas 1914.
The Royal Guardsmen are an American rock band, best known for their 1966 hit singles "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", "The Return of The Red Baron", "Snoopy For President", and the Christmas follow up "Snoopy's Christmas".
"Pipes of Peace" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney, released as the title track on his 1983 album of the same name. It was also released as a single in December 1983 and reached number 1 on the UK singles charts for two weeks. The song also reached number 1 on the Irish singles chart.
American singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson has released nine studio albums, seven extended plays, one compilation album, one remix album, and 53 singles. In 2002, she won the inaugural season of the television competition American Idol and was immediately signed to a recording deal with 19 Recordings, and RCA Records. She made her chart debut in September 2002 with the double A-side single "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This", latter of which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and eventually became the year's best-selling single in the United States. Her debut album, Thankful, was released in April 2003 and entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number one. Thankful produced the hit lead single "Miss Independent" and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 25 million copies around the world with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single.
"Stop the Cavalry" is an anti-war song written and performed by English musician Jona Lewie, released in 1980. The song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart in December 1980, at one point being kept from number one by two re-issued songs by John Lennon, who had been murdered on 8 December that year. Initially a stand-alone single, the song was included on Lewie's album Heart Skips Beat which was released nearly two years later.
Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the "Red Baron", was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I and one of the most famous aviators in history, as well as the subject of many books, films and other media. The following is a list of mentions of him in popular culture.
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and most famously performed by Burl Ives. The song has since become one of the top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by ASCAP members, for the first five years of the 21st century.
"Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" is a novelty song written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler and recorded in 1966 by the Florida-based pop group The Royal Guardsmen. The song was recorded at the Charles Fuller Productions studio in Tampa, Florida, and was released as a single on Laurie Records. Debuting at #122 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 on December 10, 1966, the single skyrocketed to #30 on December 17, 1966, shot up again to #7 on December 24, 1966, and peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 during the week of December 31, 1966 ; made #6 on the Record Retailer (UK) chart in February 1967; was #1 in Australia for 5 weeks from February 1967; and #1 for 3 weeks in Canada. On the Hot 100, "Believer" at #1 kept "Snoopy" at #2 from reaching the Hot 100 summit from December 31, 1966, through January 21, 1967, after which "Snoopy" fell off while "Believer" stayed at the top for another 3 weeks. The song sold close to three million copies.
Snoopy and His Friends is the third album by the Ocala, Florida group The Royal Guardsmen.
Vince Harder is a New Zealand R&B/pop recording artist and producer. He is most notable for the 2008 song "Everything" with P-Money, which reached number one in New Zealand on the New Zealand Singles Chart in 2008. In May 2010, he released the single "Say This With Me" which peaked at number 39 on the singles chart.
Stan Walker is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. In December 2009, Walker released his debut studio album, Introducing Stan Walker, which included the hit single, "Black Box". The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It also appeared on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
"Mistletoe" is a Christmas song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was written by Bieber and his producers, Nasri Atweh and Adam Messinger. The song was released on October 17, 2011, as the lead single from his second studio album and first Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe (2011). "Mistletoe" is a pop and R&B song, that has reggae influences. "Mistletoe" received generally positive reviews from most music critics. The song reached the top ten in Canada, Denmark and Norway, and slightly missed the top 10 in the US, peaking at 11, while also reaching the top forty in nine other countries. It set the record for the highest debut for a Christmas song in Billboard Hot 100 history. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Roman White. It features the singer singing on a snowy, lit-up street.
"Sweater Weather" is a song by American alternative band the Neighbourhood. The song was written by group members Jesse Rutherford, Zach Abels and Jeremy Freedman, and was produced by Justyn Pilbrow. It serves as the lead single from their debut studio album, I Love You (2013). "Sweater Weather" reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in June 2013, logging eleven non-consecutive weeks at the summit of the chart. Pentatonix covered the song for their 2018 album Christmas Is Here! with an accompanying music video. The song was also covered by Kurt Hugo Schneider, Alyson Stoner, and Max S in 2014. In mid-to-late 2020, the song experienced a resurgence in popularity due to it being used on the social media platform TikTok. The song gained over 5 million on-demand streams on Spotify within the month of November 2020. As of January 5, 2022, the song is ranked in the top 100 of the most streamed songs on Spotify.
"Royals" is the debut single by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, included in her debut extended play (EP) The Love Club EP (2012) and debut studio album Pure Heroine (2013). Lorde wrote the song with producer Joel Little. "Royals" is a minimalist art pop and electropop song with influences of hip hop, R&B, and indie pop. The track's lyrics express disapproval with the sumptuous lifestyle presented in songs and music videos by pop and hip hop-influenced artists, making them appear like modern-day royalty.
New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde has released three studio albums, four extended plays, 11 singles and nine music videos. At the age of 13, she was signed to Universal Music Group (UMG) and started to write music. In November 2012, when she was 16 years old, she self-released The Love Club EP via SoundCloud. It was released for sale by UMG in March 2013; a song from the EP, "Royals", topped numerous single charts internationally, including the US Billboard Hot 100. The track sold over 10 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all-time.
Snoopy for President is an album by The Royal Guardsmen, released by Laurie Records in 1968.
"The Jolly Green Giant" is a song written by Lynn Easton, Don Harris, and Dewey Terry and performed by The Kingsmen. It reached #1 on the Canadian chart, #4 on the U.S. pop chart, and #25 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1965. It was featured on their 1965 album The Kingsmen Volume 3. The song was based on Green Giant's mascot the Jolly Green Giant. The single originally only credited Easton as the writer, but Harris and Terry were later added when it was determined the song was a re-write of The Olympics song "Big Boy Pete".
Phillip Arnold Gernhard was an American record producer, record label executive, and songwriter. He is best known for his successful collaborations in the 1960s and 1970s with Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, The Royal Guardsmen, Dion, Lobo, Jim Stafford, and the Bellamy Brothers.
Maisey Rika is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and composer, performing in both English and Māori. Her five original albums have each reached the Top 40 in the Official New Zealand Music Chart. She was named an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2021, has received awards at the Waiata Māori Music Awards and APRA Awards, including APRA Best Māori Songwriter in 2010 and 2013, and has twice won Best Māori Language Album at the NZ Music Awards.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)