The Overlooked First Punk Rock Christmas Song (The Kinks "Father Christmas") | New Christmas Canon
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
- The 1970s was a significant decade for Christmas songs. There’s the glam rock monoliths, the novelty songs, songs by singer-songwriters and prog rock artists, disco songs, and even two songs from former Beatles of drastically varying quality. But one 70s associated genre that didn’t make many Christmas songs is punk. But while young scamps the Sex Pistols and Clash were raging on about having no future and a nuclear war, the first notable punk rock Christmas song was written by a band over a decade into their career. This is New Christmas Canon, and this is the story of The Kinks’ “Father Christmas.”
#christmassongs #thekinks #musicdocumentary
Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.
00:00 Introduction
00:40 A Short History of The Kinks 1964-77
05:59 Punk Rock & The Kinks
09:47 "Father Christmas"
13:51 The Release of "Father Christmas"
Bibliography
The Story of The Kinks: You Really Got Me by Nick Hasted, 2011, Omnibus Press
Americana: The Kinks, the Road and the Perfect Riff by Ray Davies, 2013, Virgin Books
Living on a Thin Line by Dave Davies, 2022 Headline
Ray Davies: A Complicated Life by Johnny Rogan, 2016, Vintage
The Kinks - My Generation (1996) Without Walls ( • The Kinks - My Generat... )
Brothers in Arms BBC Documentary (2005) dir. Will Bryant
Echoes of a World: The Making of "The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society" (2018) pro. Andrew Winter
Misfits Liner Notes, John Swenson, 2013
"Ray Davies - Interview" Radio Station KSWD FM, date unknown
"Ray Davies & The Kinks at 13" Barbara Charone, Phonograph Record, Dec 1976
"Ray Davies of the fashion-defying Kinks" Robin Denselow, The Guardian, Dec 1977
"Dave Davies: He Ain't Heavy, He's Ray's Brother" Jim Green, Trouser Press, Jun 1978
"The Once and Future Kinks" Fred Scruers, Rolling Stone, Nov 1978
"The Rise And Decline Of The Kinks" Charles Shaar Murray, NME, Oct 1979
"The Kinks : Remembrance Of Kinks Past" David Dalton, Gadfly, Mar 1999
"The Kinks: Preservation Act 2" Keith Phipps, AV Club, Mar 2002
"The Kinks’ “Father Christmas” Is The Holiday Song You Never Knew You Needed" Morgana Mercedes, Dec 2015
"The Kinks' 50 Greatest Songs" Dave Thompson, Goldmine, Mar 2016
"When The Kinks Got Deceptively Festive on 'Father Christmas'" Annie Zaleski, Ultimate Classic Rock, Nov 2017
"The Kinks' Dave Davies says band's classic holiday song "Father Christmas" is "very special to me" Steve Hockstein, ABC News Radio, Dec 2018
"The Kinks Album Guide" Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, Jun 2019
Soundtrack
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Dave: beats up Ray in a Santa suit while filming a video
Dave: makes Ray sing You Really Got Me in a Santa suit
Oh Davies brothers, you are the gift that keeps on giving.
I didn't know about this song! Thanks for a fantastic analysis once again
This is my favorite Christmas song. Beyond the irony of the lyrics and cuteness of sleighbells, it's actually a really sad song about the working class and loss of innocence. This song often makes me cry lol
The Kinks are perhaps the most dysfunctional band in music history, but I think there was something about that love/hate relationship between Ray and Dave that helped give them an edge that a lot of bands didn't have. It is incredible really that they lasted as long as they did given the amount of time they spent at each other's throats. It's also heartwarming to hear that they're on better terms these days, even talking about making new music together and possibly even touring. I'd personally love to see that happen, for them to go on 1 final tour before walking off into the sunset with their heads held high being remembered as one of the all time great bands. It may be different in England, but they kinda get overlooked to a large degree when compared to some of their contemporaries, yet they were just as influential as any of them. Punk, Metal and Britpop basically wouldn't exist without The Kinks.
Sadly, Dave had a devastating stroke in 2004, Ray knows this and wisely lets the group's history and dignity remain intact. I saw them many times thru the years, and consider Ray and Dave both musical geniuses.
Never thought that there would ever be a 'Kitchen Sink Christmas Drama', but here we are with one of the coolest Christmas songs ever written and by no other than 'The Kinks'
Thank you! I’ve been saying this for years and the response I usually get is “The Kinks?! But the Kinks aren’t a punk band.”
I sniggered on learning how Ray's attitude was "oh no I only like real New York punk you probably haven't heard of it" like a big hipster whereas Dave recognized the obvious sound similarities between early Kinks and UK punk, and the similarities of themes. More and more I find myself liking Dave best, as a person. When he's on, Ray's a genius songwriter though.
This is a fantastic video. The Kinks deserve more accolades like this. I’m just discovering them apart from You Really Got me and All the Day and All of the Night. The early UK punks liked to sneer at bands like the Kinks but they owed a lot to them.
I've never realised before how many of the best xmas songs were written in the Glam 70s...wow
Well, it makes sense, since it was a big deal in the UK to have the #1 for the last two weeks of the year. 🙂
We play a game at work around this time of year: name the last good Christmas song. It's kind of depressing how many of them are covers of songs that are actually older than any of us.
@@harbl99 I wrote one a couple of years ago, and I think it's pretty damn good. I tried to go for a mix of classic pop/rock meets classic Phil Spector and Motown. I don't know if it sounds exactly like that, but it's pretty good! I hope you can check it out! czcams.com/video/XCfcZcNVdic/video.html
@@harbl99 There ARE actually good new Christmas songs by major artists - They just usually don't get any traction because of the old stuff being constantly recycled and regurgitated at the expense of everything else.
@@glennpagemusic Yeah. Cliff Richard was always mad for it. The bloody Christmas #1!
"Forgotten?" I grew up with this song on local Philly radio stations in the 80's and 90's! I love the Kinks far more than the Beatles (who I also grew up loving). The Kinks shown brilliance in every era. I love their contribution to prog with The Preservation Act LPs. Then I clearly remember dancing around to the "Come Dancing" video playing on VH1 as a kid.
I don't understand how it's "forgotten". Rock stations have been playing it on the radio every December I can remember.
Hardly forgotten. Still played widely every year.
The post-Lola Kinks albums are supremely underrated, in my opinion. The B-side of 'Father Christmas' is also a great example of The Kinks' punk attitude. A diss track calling another musician a fake punk in a plucky, nearly '50s bop rock style.
The Kinks are so underrated. They're popular, but they deserve much more hoopla
British Invasion royalty, along with the Beatles, Who and Stones.
Love this new holiday tradition: New Christmas Canon
The kinks just kept on giving
I love this song! They even used it in my favorite Christmas episode of Bob's Burgers.
Excellent! The Kinks are the most under-rated group in rock history! Thanks and Merry Xmas!
Absolutely stellar editing on the cover version compilation.
Never forgot this song had to buy the 45 to get a copy of it. It wasn't till a greatest hits album did I have true copy to play. This came out when I was around 16 and became one of favorite kinks song along with attitude.
Yes, Father Christmas is a BANGER. Always let out a yell when this song or Slade comes on during holiday parties.
I have a Christmas playlist on my phone which includes:
*"2,000 Miles"* by The Pretenders (because it's a decent song which emphasises winter in general over the actual day);
*"Stop The Cavalry"* by Jona Lewie (a nice anti-war anthem hiding in a santa suit);
*"Christmas Wrapping"* by The Waitresses (because it's a damn good song which just happens to mention Christmas, rather than a 'good Christmas song');
*"Fairytale Of New York"* by The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl (because it doesn't sugar-coat life at Christmastime);
*"Walk This Sleigh"* by Robbie Wiliams (because it's just funny, and reminds me of the time before he resigned to "Angels" being the basis of all his paycheques for the rest of his career);
*"Christmas Day"* by Squeeze (because I love Squeeze, and it's a good reminder that even your favourite band can't always be perfect);
*"Ring Out Solstice Bells"* by Jethro Tull (because it just amuses me that it got in the charts and is considered a Christmas classic, while being all about the previous British traditions which were subsumed and assimilated by Christianity and never mentioning Christmas once in the whole song).
I make sure to put it on my headphones every December 1st on the way into work, just to get myself in the proper headspace for retail in the Christmas season. I'm of the opinion that these punk Christmas songs of the late Seventies and early Eighties were a good thing in that they paved the way for new original material - until then, it was all centuries-old carols or 1950s American suburban-bliss stuff by crooners like Bing Crosby, and nothing seemed to have been written in the previous couple of decades besides inferior cover-versions or disposable pop songs with sleigh-bells and superficial Christmas-themed lyrics... a phase we seem to have slumped back into since the Nineties.
Here's hoping for a worthwhile _original_ Christmas song again in the next few years...
The Pretenders' 2,000 miles was written by Chrissy Hyndes about the same time she was having Ray Davies' daughter, breaking up with Ray Davies, and getting together with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds. Plus, pretty soon before her first child was born, her two bandmates jus OD'd and died... So, there's a lot going on with that song.
The best Christmas song I know is Merry Xmas Blues by the Celibate Rifles
I'm a huge kinks fan. I never knew the existence of this song. Bonkers.
Thank you.
I went looking for this song to show my kids this year, and only then did I realize it was the Kinks lmao. How I missed that all these years I'll never know...
Another brilliant video. Keep up the good work.
Fear's "Fuck Christmas" is the go-to holiday punk classic
The Kinks 60s albums are fantastic! The beginning of the 70s were great too. The concept era was solid, but the hard rock albums were awesome!
The concept albums as a whole are not awesome, but they have some amazing songs!
It's amazing how The Kinks are still so overlooked.
If it is any consolation, Sir Ray Davies was knighted on the 50th anniversary of the release of Waterloo sunset. But Dave got nuthin.
@@Dave_Sisson Knighted means nothing to me
@@laladoopsy ♪ "That means nothing to me"... Oh Vienna. ♪ Sorry about that, your post gave me an Ultravox flashback. How very un-Kinks like of me. In relation to your original post, you said The Kinks were overlooked, I pointed out that Ray Davies was now Sir Ray. Overlooked people don't get knighted.
@@Dave_Sisson That just means someone rich likes them, its meaningless.. I'm talking in the grand scheme of things. They should be regarded as well as Stones, Pink Floyd and Beatles.
By the public. But so many musicians says they're a huge influence! No Britpop with the Davies brothers
i literally discovered this song this year !! i've been listening to it nonstop !!!
You managed to check off almost all my favorite Christmas songs as someone who doesn't really like Christmas songs. But this one has always been at the top of my list.
The Village Green Preservation Society is one of the best songs of that era. Grossly under appreciated.
So is the entire Village Green Preservation Society album.
My favorite Christmas song as well, since I can remember, as a kid this was my jam.
i've always been surprised the Kinks dont get more credit for being an early punk inspiration. good video!
My favorite Christmas song of all time. God Save The Kinks!
This doc saved my Christmas. And you didn't even mention they are the only band to have a top ten hit about gardening; "Autumn Almanac."
Love the Kinks' music! Very often overlooked.
My favourite Christmas song has become more MOR as the years go by, but I have to say A Merry Jingle (1979) by The Greedies (Thin Lizzy and Sex Pistols) is my favourite punk Christmas song and it would've passed me by if it weren't for Kenny Everett's end of year/decade show. Thanks Kenny.
Yep. It's a great song and that performance of it on the Kenny Everett show is one of my favourite TV moments of that era.
@@noworldorderforme It's not the song I hear often at this time of year, so imagine my surprise when I get into the car just after 3pm on Sunday and Radio Two comes on and the tune playing is this, courtesy of Johnny Walker! I thought is this coincidence, there is a God or maybe the spirits of the season? 😏
A lot of punk bands have covered this song, including Bad Religion! Not only that, but Bad Religion also did a Christmas EP in 2013! Awesome stuff!
You just made me, nostalgically happy.
This song will always take me back to the winter of 1991.
And we all know what was happening around that time,...
The second coming of Punk Rock.
My mothers first piece of purchased music was a kinks 45.
This is the end all be all of Xmas tunes for me. From the bells in the beginning to the very end, it doesn’t get any better than this
Who couldn't love the Kinks? 🥰
@@MrMarketingGuy I have always [controversially] seen that as similar to the Specials and the Specials AKA, as same meat different gravy... 🤷🏻♂️
Oh boy, The Yobs!! That takes me back... Thanks for your awesome, entertaining and informative videos. Keep up the fantaatic job! Merry Xmas!
Great video about a great song. This one always made the holiday party playlist back when I was in school, along with the nearly unanimously favored (by my friends that is) Fairytale of New York and just about everything on A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector. It might seem odd, but everyone into the punk/metal/hardcore scene where I grew up (Rust Belt, U.S.A.) also loved soul, reggae, and hip-hop.
Great summary. Ray's song "Postcard from London" is another wonderful holiday song, which almost nobody knows! It's with Chrissie Hynde and it's beautiful.
My favorite Christmas song by the most underrated rock band in history!
WOO! Always excited for people covering the kinks :)
Among my favorite songs of the season, and the one I look forward to the most, yet never pops up on the radio. The world could use some more bitter, sarcastic Christmas tunes like this!
I don't think the song is forgotten here in the US, it might not have charted but it's still a staple around christmas time on rock/classic rock radio stations. I feel like it's had more of a life after the fact. Also, to be honest I'm not surprised that it didn't chart in the US, maybe I'm wrong, I'd have to look it hard data to be sure, but at least it feels like Christmas ALBUMS have always been more popular than Christmas singles here.
It’s NOT as forgotten as you think! Especially as The Kinks just re-released not only the song but the video as well.
Hi Trash Theory, PLEASE do a video on one of the best British bands to ever have existed. The Pogues. Even without Fairy-tale of NY they are just awesome! If I Should Fall.. is one of Britain's greatest albums ever crafted, and I would love to hear your take on it.
Greg Lake's 'I believe in Father Christmas' isn't really a happy jolly Christmas holiday song. ''And I saw him and through his disguise.'' Quite the opposite.
"Hallelujah, Noel be it heaven or hell
The Christmas we get we deserve..."
😒
@@stephenwalker2924 Indeed. I always thought it the Christmas single that snuck through. Casual listeners missing the meaning. Like ''Born in the USA.''
@@Severinate The original promo video ends with stock footage of war and death and horror. Top of the Pops in the UK always used to cut away from these last few horrifiying minutes when they played it.
Absolutely. It’s a cynical screed about deception, loss of innocence, loss of faith and man’s inhumanity as the author of his own destruction.
If The Kinks’ Father Christmas is the street level vision of the human condition, Greg Lake’s is the view from 20,000 feet.
Wow you're on FIRE this month. Thank you so much for all your hard work!!!!
My favorite Christmas song!!!
One of my favorite Xmas songs. Now you gotta add Fairytale of New York to the canon.
That prank had me howling with laughter. Had never heard that story.
Anytime I stumble onto a Kinks doc it makes my day… thx!
Loved this. I play this song every year.
My holiday season doesn't get underway until I hear this song, Christmas in Hollis, Christmas Wrapping, Another Lonely Christmas, and even Wham's Last Christmas. I don't seek them out but count them down as I encounter them.
I'm a big fan of the sadly rare "hey, Christmas isn't just sunshine and Saint Nick, you should help people in need!" subgenre of holiday music.
Oh damn that's nice.
edit: probably the best history channel on some of this stuff so far.
The best punk Christmas song will always be Fuck Christmas by Fear. Excellent video like always!!
Good ass video, shame the next one might be a whole year later
"(...) and even two songs from former Beatles of DRASTICALLY varying quality." Goddamn, the shade. 😂
great Video! very interesting and another reason to adore The Kinks!
Such an underrated classic
I think I'm gonna make a hardcore punk christmas song
Totally unexpected and a banger as always‼️🎩‼️
This and "Things Fall Apart" by Christina are my favorite Christmas songs of all time.
X-Mas Time for the Skins. Greatest punk rock Christmas song.
wow a ramones version of this song would be truly amazing!
I loved this vodeo. Among the punk Christmas albums, you can't forget Die Roten Rosen's 'Never Mind the Hosen' (1987)
My favorite is the UK's favorite - the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York". It will always be my absolute favorite "It was Christmas eve, babe, in the drunk tank" - how can you beat that for edgy seasonal edge?
I don't know if it's out there but B'z - Itsuka no Merry Christmas is my favorite xmas song! But I would love to see a video about Killing Joke or Godflesh, two extremely underrated and extremely influential British bands
Serendipitously, Lauran Hibberd just released a cover of this exact track today on CZcams. Well worth a look.
The best Christmas song !
An excellent look at a great record. You've nailed it with this one! Happy Holidays! Rock on!
Sparks "Thank God It's Not Christmas" would be so sweet for Gullgutten.
Great vid. Love your work and love The Kinks. So many song snippies in this one, how did you get around the copyrights of all these?
Thank you for this loving tribute to the only really good Christmas rock song!
Incredible work as always! Christmas is Awesome by Reuben continues to by my favourite "out there" Christmas song
God I love the kinks, listen to this song every christmas lmao
Yes! One of my favorite Chrismas songs ever!
Back in the day, (when radio DJs could play whatever they wanted play) South Florida's K102 played the shit out of this song each December. Another punk rock Christmas tune that's worth seeking out is "My Last Christmas" by The Dirtbombs, as is the New Bomb Turks' take on the old Phil Spector girl-group classic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
Yes! This was a story I’ve been waiting to hear.
New Christmas canon!
Been watching a few vids about the Kinks lately. Finally figured out what my attraction to the band thats lasted 40 plus years. Basically they were just a FUN band. The music and the shows were just good times. I finally get it, that's why they are my favorite of the original British Invasion.
This one became a December staple of my local classic rock station in the early 2000s. Early Punk / New Wave artists didn't have the same chart success with Christmas songs that Glam bands had enjoyed earlier in the decade (anyone remember Squeeze's 1979 flop?) but there's some real hidden gems in there.
Father Christmas is so goated thanks for this video
I was gonna say "Forgotten? I have this and at least two cover versions of it in my Christmas playlist..". Luckily I've watched the whole video - would've been embarrassing :P
The Birthday Party - Dead Joe
John Spencer Blues Explosion - High Gear
Sultans Of Ping FC - Xmas Bubblegum Machine
Zig and Zag - Christmas no.1
Carlene Davis - Santa Claus (Do you ever come to the ghetto?)
I like how The Kinks playfully make fun of anything 😊
I like alternative Christmas songs. Adds a richness to what we usually hear. I would add Jesus and Mary Chains ‘birthday’, the shoe gaze Christmas song
My life will never be complete until he makes an episode on the KLF
Not forgotten - always been one of my favourite Christmas songs
Conny Plank's obscure German single "Aamok - Deutsches Weihnachts-Potpourri" from 1973 might be the first proto-punk Christmas song.
My absolute favorite band, ever, bar none. I'll take Ray's wry poignancy over the Beatles, Stones, Who, etc. any day and every day.
This is one of my favourite holiday songs. Another is Jingle Jangle by The Blue Hawaiians, that whole album just makes me happy.
The one song that I protest against being a Xmas song is Joni Mitchell's River. It, for me, is a song that takes place in Winter, and has that long nights melancholy, but it not a Xmas song that should be put away on Boxing Day. I will die on this hill!
The sound reminds me so much of emo and pop punk bands from the 90s
What up, fam
My favorite "out there Christmas song" is either "I'll be Home This Christmas" done by Carl from Aqua Teen, or "Get Behind Me, Santa" by Sufjan Stevens
My favorite out there christmas song has to be Hey Lord by Suicide, the fact that they made a christmas song at all is still baffling
Christmas In Hollis by Run DMC!! All day at every xmas get together, this song will be played haha