Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Eight: Beautiful Christmas by Harpo

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Eight: 

Beautiful Christmas by Harpo

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 oddly psychedelic poetic sounds of Sweden's Harpo, sharing his holiday offering, Beautiful Christmas. 

Jan Torsten Svensson, known professionally as Harpo, is a Swedish pop singer who was popular in Sweden and around Europe in the 1970s. He is best known for his worldwide hits Moviestar (1975) and Horoscope (1976). Originally signed by the management team behind ABBA, Harpo eventually moved to EMI, where he enjoyed a string of hits from 1973-1977. In 1975, he released Beautiful Christmas as the B-side to his hit Motorcycle Mama. His career hit a snag in 1977, when he served one month in prison for refusing to take part in the Swedish Military Service. After serving his sentence, he resumed his career, eventually signing with Mickey Most's RAK Records, but never attained the same level of success he'd previously experienced. 

Harpo perfectly captures the innocence and sweetness of both the era and the season during an appearance on Top Of The Pops. Amidst a trippy, fabric-covered landscape, wearing a crocheted vest and velveteen pants with matching cap, while handling a walking stick, he waxes on about all the things he would give his love (moon, spoon, etc.), accompanied by  harpsichord and strings. It all makes Beautiful Christmas an idiosyncratic way to ring in the holidays. 

Beautiful Christmas - Harpo