Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Four: The 25th Day Of Last December by Roberta Flack

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Four: 

The 25th Day Of Last December by Roberta Flack 

 

 Four days to go!

Time to climb back into the Wonderland Burlesque time machine and countdown to the big day. This holiday season, the dial is set for the 1970's!

Oh, you are in for a treat, so grab a seat and buckle up.

The seventies was a decade of change, turbulence and sweetness. Nowhere is this more felt than in the breadth and depth of the music of the time. There were so many different genres being developed, evolving and seeking validation on the radio and the industry music charts, it was a virtual musical cornucopia.

So, get ready for another song of the season by one of our biggest (and not so big) stars, here, stateside, and across the pond, who made the seventies truly magical.

Next up... from 1977, the achingly soulful sound of the amazing Roberta Flack with the understated The 25th Day Of Last December.

Released by Atlantic Records on December 13, 1977, The 25th Day Of Last December served as the lead single from Flack's highly-anticipated Blue Lights In The Basement album. Written by Gene McDaniel, The 25th Day Of Last December perfectly captures the after tones of a love gone and the memories of holidays past. Billboard wrote: "Roberta's back in time for Christmas with a strong seasonal tune that could be a classic wrapped up in an LP containing nine other soft, warm ballads that are impeccably produced and arranged... Her voice shines through..."

The 25th Day Of Last December peaked at #58 on Billboard's R&B chart and #28 on the AC chart in the US. The album, which also contained her sensuously stirring duet with Donny Hathaway, The Closer I Get To You, was a huge success, peaking at #8 on the album charts, and remains a stellar moment in Flack's musical catalogue.

The 25th Day Of Last December - Roberta Flack

Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Five: When a Child is Born by Johnny Mathis

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Five: 

When a Child is Born by Johnny Mathis

 

We're over half-way there, folks! Just five days to go until the big day.

Time to climb back into the Wonderland Burlesque time machine and countdown to the big day. This holiday season, the dial is set for the 1970's!

Oh, you are in for a treat, so grab a seat and buckle up.

The seventies was a decade of change, turbulence and sweetness. Nowhere is this more felt than in the breadth and depth of the music of the time. There were so many different genres being developed, evolving and seeking validation on the radio and the industry music charts, it was a virtual musical cornucopia.

So, get ready for another song of the season by one of our biggest (and not so big) stars, here, stateside, and across the pond, who made the seventies truly magical.

Next up... the gentle, velveteen sounds of holiday favorite Johnny Mathis with 1976's #1 Christmas song in the UK, When A Child Is Born.

When a Child Is Born is a Christmas song, with a melody taken from Soleado, a tune from 1974 by Ciro Dammicco. The tune was based on Dammicco's earlier tune Le rose blu, published in 1972. The English lyrics were written by Austrian composer Fred Jay as a Christmas song - but never mentions the holiday itself. The first version with the English lyrics, a minor hit, was recorded by Michael Holm in 1974. However, the best known version of the song is by Johnny Mathis, whose version was the Christmas #1 in the UK in 1976.

Entitled When a Child Is Born (Soleado), it became Johnny Mathis' sole #1 single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in December of 1976, including the coveted Christmas #1 slot. In the US, it appeared in Record World during the Christmas seasons of 1976 and 1977. Later, in 1980, Mathis re-recorded the song as a duet with Gladys Knight & the Pips. This version appeared in Record World during the Christmas season of 1980, and peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #79.

Johnny Mathis - When a Child is Born

Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Six: A Spaceman Came Travelling by Chris de Burgh

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Six: 

A Spaceman Came Travelling by Chris de Burgh

We're over half-way there, folks! Just five days to go until the big day.

Time to climb back into the Wonderland Burlesque time machine and countdown to the big day. This holiday season, the dial is set for the 1970's!

Oh, you are in for a treat, so grab a seat and buckle up.

The seventies was a decade of change, turbulence and sweetness. Nowhere is this more felt than in the breadth and depth of the music of the time. There were so many different genres being developed, evolving and seeking validation on the radio and the industry music charts, it was a virtual musical cornucopia.

So, get ready for another song of the season by one of our biggest (and not so big) stars, here, stateside, and across the pond, who made the seventies truly magical.

Next up... storyteller Chris de Burgh's other-worldly take on the nativity, A Spaceman Came Travelling.  

A Spaceman Came Travelling first appeared on Chris de Burgh's second studio album, Spanish Train and Other Stories, which was released in 1975. Since that time it has been released numerous times as a single. After its first release in 1975, the song saw minimal success in the UK. However, it eventually hit #1 in Ireland, staying on the charts for 15 total weeks and climbed to #22 on the Canadian AC charts in 1978. Following de Burgh's inescapable hit The Lady in Red in 1986, A Spaceman Came Travelling was reworked with a re-recorded vocal and reissued as a double A-side with the song The Ballroom of Romance. The new version charted for the first time in the UK, reaching #40 and staying on the British charts for five weeks.

Regarding the song's inception, De Burgh, who had just signed his first recording contract with A&M Records, was broke and "staying at a friend's flat" when he read Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Däniken. The book made him think "what if the star of Bethlehem was a space craft and what if there is a benevolent being or entity in the universe keeping an eye on the world and our foolish things that we do to each other?" And though the song failed to chart when first released as a single, de Burgh says it's been "much better to have a regular recurring song than a hit for three weeks" - referring to the song's regular airplay on UK radio during the holiday season.

 

A Spaceman Came Travelling - Chris de Burgh

Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Seven: It's Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Christmas by Dana

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Seven: 

It's Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Christmas by Dana  

Time to climb back into the Wonderland Burlesque time machine and countdown to the big day. This holiday season, the dial is set for the 1970's!

Oh, you are in for a treat, so grab a seat and buckle up.

The seventies was a decade of change, turbulence and sweetness. Nowhere is this more felt than in the breadth and depth of the music of the time. There were so many different genres being developed, evolving and seeking validation on the radio and the industry music charts, it was a virtual musical cornucopia.

So, get ready for another song of the season by one of our biggest (and not so big) stars, here, stateside, and across the pond, who made the seventies truly magical.

Next up... the plaintive, gentle sweetness of the positively lovely Dana with her holiday hit, It's Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Christmas.

Dana Rosemary Scallon, known professionally as Dana, is an Irish singer, songwriter and politician. Her career as a singer took off when she won the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with All Kinds of Everything, which became a worldwide million-seller. After enjoying a string of hits, including six Top 40 hits in the UK and twelve in her native Ireland, she entered politics, eventually serving as an MEP for Connacht–Ulster in 1999.  She went on to serve as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004.

In 1975, she had three Top 40 hits in the UK, one of them being It's Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Christmas which peaked at #4 in the UK and #3 in Ireland. With it's lively lilting melody and sparkling vocals, the song serves up a perfect slice of pop for the holiday season.

It's Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Christmas - Dana