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Happy holidays, esteemed listeners!
‘Tis the season, and while I rushed out the last podcast episode on Beatles ’64 to get it before you while interest in the doc was high, the follow-up is taking a little longer, with a variety of attention-diverters before me, including the pending issue of my book with Jerry Hammack. All of what I’ve been working on – new show and book – should be out by Christmas Day, but allowing for unexpected contingencies, I guess we’ll have to see.
But in the meantime and with the holiday season fully underway, I wanted to share some appropriate sounds. For anyone who needs it, here’s the Beatles Christmas album collection in its entirety. For those who don’t know what this is, beginning in 1963 at the end of the year and through 1969, members of The Beatles’ Fan Club were sent out annual flexi-discs containing the group’s “special message.” The first few years represented more or less spontaneous goofing around, but the ’66 and ’67 ones were fully scripted and produced offerings, very much in the style of their beloved Goon Show. The final two, for 1968 and 1969 genuinely reflected the post-Brian “doldrums” within the ranks, while 1970 saw all the messages scooped up and presented as a long player, their final offering.
While that album has been bootlegged a ton, there still has not been a real effort to put them out officially, beyond that 2017 picture disc money grab limited edition set. Something augmented with full audio upgrades, contextual liner notes and all available outtakes as bonus material is what’s called for, but maybe it’ll just have to wait in line until they’ve exhausted all the current cross-promotional possibilities before them.
Can’t believe it’s been a couple of years now, but 2022 was when Gary Wenstrup and I convened to do a deep dive into the Beatles Christmas messages. The show still holds up, I think, and now’s about the right time to revisit for those so inclined.
For those wishing to go a little deeper, this folder contains (in mp3 format) a ton of holiday-themed Christmas music from the Fabs, together and separately, including Tom Teeley’s Beatles Christmas Super Mashup. (If you haven’t heard it before, here it is.) If you haven’t yet heard it and are not inclined to plow through everything else, trust me – at least check that out.
Finally, here’s a fond fan favorite from those of us who recall the joyous days of the early digitalization of this stuff: The Beatles Christmas Collection, which includes all kinds of outtakes and remixes. (It’s in flac format)
We are fast upon the 300th episode of SATB and for that, as mentioned previously, I wanted to give you guys the chance to weigh in and be a part of the show. There are a couple of ways to go about this: first, I am genuinely interested in your favorite moments of the show. Think back to all the guests and subjects SATB has presented through the years, and of those, what moments stuck with you the most, or blew your mind at the time. Put another way: if you wanted to turn someone on to the show who’d never heard it before, what would you want them to hear first?
Second: there are loads of ways one can record oneself these days through a smartphone. How about recording yourself directly describing what you like about the show and a favorite moment (or two)? Either way – written or recorded – please provide your input to me via this email, subject line “300.” I can’t conceive of anything you would think to submit that I wouldn’t use. (If you don’t know how to share a file via email, LMK and I’ll provide a Whatsapp #.)
Since we will be going to Spotify soon, I see this show as a gateway drug to Beatle people who haven’t yet heard SATB. So be as smart and creative as I know you to be!