There
a lot of things that were huge on TV at one time that have vanished
over the years. Believe it or not there was a time when Westerns were
huge. When was the last time you saw on of those on TV? Another example
are the old variety Christmas specials. And to be honest, these are so
passe that even I barely got to see any of them. Except for Bob Hope I
never watched Bing or Perry Como or any of those others.
It’s hard to really discuss these without video clips but these specials were so awesome. They had celebrity guests, sketches, and lots of singing. Can you imagine a time when people performed rehearsed numbers? Good times. Were they corny? Oh my yes. But there was also something so great about them. It’s really hard to explain. Since it’s Christmas very shortly I thought it would be fun to dig through YouTube and share some clips from these specials.
Judy Garland
Man does this one go back a aways! I mean, black and white? I think this was her only special but thought it would be fun to mention it. It’s also funny to see Mel Torme so young. Here is a classic clip of him singing his biggest Christmas song along with Judy Garland
Bing Crosby
I need my older and wiser friend here because I imagine he grew up watching these. Sadly Bing Crosby passed away when I was very little and so I never knew these existed until I was much older. Thank you YouTube for having clips available. He did a bunch of these right through the 70’s, I really can’t believe how many he did. I imagine the specials were pretty much the same structure, his family hanging out and singing carols. Here is a famous clip of him singing with a very young David Bowie. The fact I never got to see these is a true tragedy for me.
Perry Como
I said that while growing up I had no idea Crosby had done so many specials. That was not the truth for Como. His specials were legendary. Why? Because he would do them from different exotic locations every year. From Austria to Mexico and wherever else. And I gotta be honest, I would have found that boring as a kid. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember seeing them even though he did them through the 80’s. But if Crosby was the Christmas ambassador if the 70’s it was Como in the early 80’s. The following is a clip with the beloved Karen Carpenter.
Bob Hope
This is the one I loved as a kid, even though he had been doing Christmas specials since way before I was born. But Bob Hope’s specials kept going after all the others had faded away. Maybe a little past the point he should have stopped, but that’s a different topic. The cool thing with Hope was that he did more sketches than the others. Which was nice, how many times can you see people singing for an hour? Hope was a true comedian and these shows were funny as hell. But the standard for almost every special was his singing Silver Bells. Hope introduced the song in the movie “The Lemondrop Kid” so why not?
Andy Williams
So I can’t lie, I was never the biggest fan of Williams. Oh he was talented and all, but wasn’t for me. He didn’t do nearly as many of these as the others above but he did a few. And of course always sang that big Christmas song that he’s synonymous with (unless you prefer the Johnny Mathis version anyway).
Dean Martin
Here’s another one I never knew existed. Actually he had a popular variety show for years on NBC that I didn’t realize existed either. He did a couple Christmas shows.
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
These two had a few specials scattered through the years. The one they did together was a favorite, the album of it was anyway. I used to always want to see the actual special but when I finally did I was disappointed. But still love the music. It felt more like a concert footage video than those old specials I loved.
Pee-Wee Herman
Yeah that one special he did in 1988 is pretty well remembered, it’s the kjind of of thing you just aren’t going to see ever again. I remember loving this when it was one….and then finding it a tad a sillier as an adult. But in many ways. this was one of the last of those classic Christmas specials and for that it will always have a special place in Christmas history. Anyway here the part I always loved, with Charo.
John Denver and The Muppets
Much like Kenny and Dolly, I listened to the record all the time but didn’t really see (or remember seeing) the special that spawned it. I avoided it for years too, because I was confusing it with that other John Denver and The Muppets special I talked about way back. I always wondered why there was a campfire scene in a Christmas special.
oh and by the way there was the “Muppet Family Christmas” in 1987 which is EXCELLENT. Just don’t watch the VHS version that was edited like crazy.
As the 90’s took over these vanished. Oh sure, you’d get the occasional one’s like the Kathie Lee Gifford specials or more recently the Michael Buble one’s but they always felt more like concerts than the spontaneous creativity of the classic days. I will always miss these specials, and wish I had been born earlier to truly experience them. One more clip before I go, from a 1987 Julie Andrews special.
They just do not make special’s like these anymore. And these clips dont even begin to do them justice. Watching them makes me feel like I missed something very special, that we will never see again. There a lot of these, clips and full episodes, on YouTube so hunt them down if your curious.
I’ll be back with one or two more articles before the end of the year. For now, MERRY CHRISTMAS my friends
It’s hard to really discuss these without video clips but these specials were so awesome. They had celebrity guests, sketches, and lots of singing. Can you imagine a time when people performed rehearsed numbers? Good times. Were they corny? Oh my yes. But there was also something so great about them. It’s really hard to explain. Since it’s Christmas very shortly I thought it would be fun to dig through YouTube and share some clips from these specials.
Judy Garland
Man does this one go back a aways! I mean, black and white? I think this was her only special but thought it would be fun to mention it. It’s also funny to see Mel Torme so young. Here is a classic clip of him singing his biggest Christmas song along with Judy Garland
Bing Crosby
I need my older and wiser friend here because I imagine he grew up watching these. Sadly Bing Crosby passed away when I was very little and so I never knew these existed until I was much older. Thank you YouTube for having clips available. He did a bunch of these right through the 70’s, I really can’t believe how many he did. I imagine the specials were pretty much the same structure, his family hanging out and singing carols. Here is a famous clip of him singing with a very young David Bowie. The fact I never got to see these is a true tragedy for me.
Perry Como
I said that while growing up I had no idea Crosby had done so many specials. That was not the truth for Como. His specials were legendary. Why? Because he would do them from different exotic locations every year. From Austria to Mexico and wherever else. And I gotta be honest, I would have found that boring as a kid. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember seeing them even though he did them through the 80’s. But if Crosby was the Christmas ambassador if the 70’s it was Como in the early 80’s. The following is a clip with the beloved Karen Carpenter.
Bob Hope
This is the one I loved as a kid, even though he had been doing Christmas specials since way before I was born. But Bob Hope’s specials kept going after all the others had faded away. Maybe a little past the point he should have stopped, but that’s a different topic. The cool thing with Hope was that he did more sketches than the others. Which was nice, how many times can you see people singing for an hour? Hope was a true comedian and these shows were funny as hell. But the standard for almost every special was his singing Silver Bells. Hope introduced the song in the movie “The Lemondrop Kid” so why not?
Andy Williams
So I can’t lie, I was never the biggest fan of Williams. Oh he was talented and all, but wasn’t for me. He didn’t do nearly as many of these as the others above but he did a few. And of course always sang that big Christmas song that he’s synonymous with (unless you prefer the Johnny Mathis version anyway).
Dean Martin
Here’s another one I never knew existed. Actually he had a popular variety show for years on NBC that I didn’t realize existed either. He did a couple Christmas shows.
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
These two had a few specials scattered through the years. The one they did together was a favorite, the album of it was anyway. I used to always want to see the actual special but when I finally did I was disappointed. But still love the music. It felt more like a concert footage video than those old specials I loved.
Pee-Wee Herman
Yeah that one special he did in 1988 is pretty well remembered, it’s the kjind of of thing you just aren’t going to see ever again. I remember loving this when it was one….and then finding it a tad a sillier as an adult. But in many ways. this was one of the last of those classic Christmas specials and for that it will always have a special place in Christmas history. Anyway here the part I always loved, with Charo.
John Denver and The Muppets
Much like Kenny and Dolly, I listened to the record all the time but didn’t really see (or remember seeing) the special that spawned it. I avoided it for years too, because I was confusing it with that other John Denver and The Muppets special I talked about way back. I always wondered why there was a campfire scene in a Christmas special.
oh and by the way there was the “Muppet Family Christmas” in 1987 which is EXCELLENT. Just don’t watch the VHS version that was edited like crazy.
As the 90’s took over these vanished. Oh sure, you’d get the occasional one’s like the Kathie Lee Gifford specials or more recently the Michael Buble one’s but they always felt more like concerts than the spontaneous creativity of the classic days. I will always miss these specials, and wish I had been born earlier to truly experience them. One more clip before I go, from a 1987 Julie Andrews special.
They just do not make special’s like these anymore. And these clips dont even begin to do them justice. Watching them makes me feel like I missed something very special, that we will never see again. There a lot of these, clips and full episodes, on YouTube so hunt them down if your curious.
I’ll be back with one or two more articles before the end of the year. For now, MERRY CHRISTMAS my friends
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