Happy Holidays! Since it’s the first year of my blog, and since it’s the last year for my Annual Holiday Show on my little 20-year-old 80s radio program, STUCK IN THE 80s (on WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine), I wanted to present to you THE 31 DAYS OF 80s XMAS SONGS, or, 31 of my favorite 80s holiday musical treats.
The song for Day 12 of the 31 DAYS OF 80s XMAS SONGS is a kick-ass rockin’ version of the Xmas classic, “Little Drummer Boy,” and a song that appeared on early editions of I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL, the huge 1981 album by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. It’s been a staple on my STUCK IN THE 80s holiday shows every year.
On an album with an even mix of original songs and cover versions of songs by Arrows (“I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”), Tommy James & The Shondells (“Crimson And Clover”), The Dave Clark Five (“Bits And Pieces”), and a song that was both a cover and a Joan Jett-penned song for her previous band, The Runaways (“You’re Too Possessive”), “Little Drummer Boy” (whose history dates back to 1941) seemed to fit right in.
After the 1981 / 1982 holiday season, “Little Drummer Boy” was replaced with “Oh Woe Is Me,” what would become the B-side to “Crimson And Clover and an original Joan Jett composition. Not to worry, though – both songs were represented in the 1998 CD reissue and the 2009 vinyl reissue. Rum pa pum pum 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5_gk-1OGXU
FOREVER YOUNG 