Bobby Darin --> "I Wanna Spend Xmas With Elvis" (1956)

The legendary Bobby Darin loved Elvis Presley.




Elvis and Bobby Darin, Sahara Hotel, July 1960


In fact, Bobby loved him so much, he wanted him for Christmas!


"You ain't nothin' but a reindeer, prancin' all the time."


Fortunately, the song Darin wrote (with future record producer Don Kirshner) about this holiday love was given to two young ladies.




Billboard - Dec 8, 1956

And they both topped the charts 50-odd years ago!

Well, almost.


Happy holidays, everyone!




Billboard - Dec 1, 1956
No doubt Santa really popped his top over Marlene...

Marlene Paula, "I Want To Spend Christmas With Elvis" (Regent 7606, 1956)*
With the Billy Ver Planck Orchestra. The track includes Kenny Burrell on guitar!





Billboard - Dec 8, 1956
What in the world is Elvis doing with that oversized instrument?

Little "Lambsie" Penn, "I Wanna Spend Xmas With Elvis" (Atco 6082, 1956)


Ho ho ho!

I Want To Spend Christmas With Elvis (Darin, Kirshner)

Ever since I heard you singin'
Ever since I saw you swingin'
My heart lit up like a Christmas tree
So please, please Elvis, spend Christmas with me

But if you won't
You ain't nothing but a reindeer, prancin' all the time
Well, if you ain't here for Christmas
Then you ain't no friend of mine

If only you could hear what I'm sayin'
If Santa Claus could hear me prayin'
There isn't anything that I wouldn't pay
If Elvis could be here on Christmas day

But if he won't
I'll be so lonely baby, I'll be so lonely
It's gonna be a great romance

So don't be cruel and love me tender
Don't give me those blue moon blues
So come on, baby, I wanna play house
And I promise not to step on your blue suede shoes

I want you, I need you, I love you
There ain't nobody above you
Won't you listen to my Yuletide plea
And please, please Elvis, spend Christmas with me

But if you won't
Well, be-bop-a-lula, she's my baby
A be-bopper, I don't mean maybe
Please, please Elvis, hear my plea
Won't you come and spend Christmas with me?

---

* This single was apparently reissued on the Savoy label, under name "Debbie Dabney," but I've never seen a copy. Many later CD reissues mistakenly credit Marlene Paula's recording to "Debbie Dabney."

Merry Christmas and have a happy holiday!

Nice prescription!

Thanks for this post.

Bobby Darin was a true artist.

Imagine Elvis and Bobby on a duet...

Cool topic.

Interestingly the lyrics contain direct references to "Be-Bop-a-Lula"! It's amazing how many people believed that was Presley on the record; some still do today!

What is Xmas? For Christ sakes its Christmas, Jeezus

SNG

Thanks! Very nice to read and hear.

There are a few words about Elvis and Darin (and even a small bit about 'I Wanna Spend Christmas With Elvis') in the liner notes of the incredible 48 pages booklet of the Bear Family release 'Bobby Rocks':

"Darin appeared on 'Stage Show' (...) the program had been the forum for Elvis Presley's national TV debut. Presley was taking a breather between multiple-week stands; Darin's 'Rock Island Line' was, so the speak, the intermission act. It didn't go well, nervous and unprepared, Darin can easily be seen glancing at his palms, where he'd written some of the song's lyrics; and he was following if by a week - the sensational Elvis Presley. Darin and the record went nowhere (Donegan had the US hit) though Decca released a few more singles before dropping him.
Directly after the Dorsey appearance though, Darin made some personal appearances (...) followed by a two-week stand at the Gay Haven nightclub in Detroit. While in Detroit Darin went to see Elvis do an afternoon show at the Fox Theater. It was an electrifying experience and Bobby was very jealous.
In november 1956, Little 'Lambsie' Penn recorded 'I Wanna Spend Christmas With Elvis' for Atca, a recently-formed subsidiary of Atlantic."

In the booklet we find this picture:




Elvis recorded or performed only a very few of Darin's brilliant songs, 'I'll Be There' comes to mind (from American Sound, while Darin recorded it himself 10 years earlier), and on stage he did 'You're The Reason I'm Livin' and a one-liner of 'More' (I always thought that was written by Darin as well, but this is not the case). Plus of course they both recorded a few of the same tunes, like 'I Want You With Me' and 'It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'.

I always wondered how Elvis would have sounded if he had recorded songs like 'Fire And Rain', 'If I Were A Carpenter' and 'The Girl Who Stood Beside Me' (the emotional live version) exactly how Darin did these. It would have been awesome!

DJC, since you are a Springsteen-fan as well, how do you like Darin's version of 'Mary Don't You Weep'? Totally different of course, but beautiful as well.




Darin rules, but damn, Elvis is megacool!

Last edited by Bob-Holland on Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Doc a real pleasure to read thank you.

One of my favorite Christmas songs ever is by Bobby Darin, "Christmas Auld Lang Syne"

What a voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC93T7e8voY

JosephC

Thanks for this post.

Bobby Darin was a true artist.

Imagine Elvis and Bobby on a duet...

Yeah, you got me thinking, wouldn't it have been cool had
Elvis did his back home from the army tv special with Darin
instead of Sinatra.

What is Xmas? For Christ sakes its Christmas, Jeezus

SNG

You know X is a symbol for Christ, correct?

What is Xmas? For Christ sakes its Christmas, Jeezus

SNG

You know X is a symbol for Christ, correct?

X is the way the world wants to take 'Christ' out of Christmas! so I can't stand it when people type or write Xmas.

SNG

There are people that get upset if you take Santa out of Christmas.

It is just an abbreviation.

Thanks! Very nice to read and hear.

There are a few words about Elvis and Darin (and even a small bit about 'I Wanna Spend Christmas With Elvis') in the liner notes of the incredible 48 pages booklet of the Bear Family release 'Bobby Rocks':

"Darin appeared on 'Stage Show' (...) the program had been the forum for Elvis Presley's national TV debut. Presley was taking a breather between multiple-week stands; Darin's 'Rock Island Line' was, so the speak, the intermission act. It didn't go well, nervous and unprepared, Darin can easily be seen glancing at his palms, where he'd written some of the song's lyrics; and he was following if by a week - the sensational Elvis Presley. Darin and the record went nowhere (Donegan had the US hit) though Decca released a few more singles before dropping him.
Directly after the Dorsey appearance though, Darin made some personal appearances (...) followed by a two-week stand at the Gay Haven nightclub in Detroit. While in Detroit Darin went to see Elvis do an afternoon show at the Fox Theater. It was an electrifying experience and Bobby was very jealous.
In november 1956, Little 'Lambsie' Penn recorded 'I Wanna Spend Christmas With Elvis' for Atca, a recently-formed subsidiary of Atlantic."

In the booklet we find this picture:




Elvis recorded or performed only a very few of Darin's brilliant songs, 'I'll Be There' comes to mind (from American Sound, while Darin recorded it himself 10 years earlier), and on stage he did 'You're The Reason I'm Livin' and a one-liner of 'More' (I always thought that was written by Darin as well, but this is not the case). Plus of course they both recorded a few of the same tunes, like 'I Want You With Me' and 'It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'.

I always wondered how Elvis would have sounded if he had recorded songs like 'Fire And Rain', 'If I Were A Carpenter' and 'The Girl Who Stood Beside Me' (the emotional live version) exactly how Darin did these. It would have been awesome!

DJC, since you are a Springsteen-fan as well, how do you like Darin's version of 'Mary Don't You Weep'? Totally different of course, but beautiful as well.




Darin rules, but damn, Elvis is megacool!

Beautiful reply, thank you!

Darin's version of "Mary Don't You Weep" is great, maybe better than Bruce's interpretation, although Bobby's was cut in the midst of the social upheavals of the early-to-mid sixties, and issued just a few weeks after President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, Texas.




Billboard - Dec 7, 1963

Last edited by drjohncarpenter on Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

What is Xmas? For Christ sakes its Christmas, Jeezus

SNG

You know X is a symbol for Christ, correct?

X is the way the world wants to take 'Christ' out of Christmas! so I can't stand it when people type or write Xmas.

SNG

No, it is an abbreviation for Christ. Look it up. Some of the earliest Christian art used X and Xt to represent Christ.

The best version of this song - as "I Want Elvis For Christmas" by Jonell & Glenell McQuaig (The Holly Twins) - with a young and unknown Eddie Cochran doing his best Elvis impersonation...

The best version of this song - as "I Want Elvis For Christmas" by Jonell & Glenell McQuaig (The Holly Twins) - with a young and unknown Eddie Cochran doing his best Elvis impersonation...

To my ears, this is the most pop, and thus the least compelling, version of the three recordings.

Both Paula and Penn nail their lead vocals, and the backings are far more aggressive. It is fun to hear Cochran doing "Buh-buh-buh-buh baby" a la Elvis.

When was the Holly Twins single issued?

Fair enough, Doc; what I meant to say was IMHO this is the most rockabilly-sounding of the versions I've heard, with Guybo's distinctive slapped bass, the drummer's "Hound Dog" like drumming and the sparse backing (along with Cochran's mumbles) being an obvious homage to Elvis' own recordings. The other two are obviously cut on the East Coast with studio session bands providing music that has little to do with Elvis' own style.

As with the other two, The Holly Twins' version on Liberty was issued for the Christmas 1956 market.

Incidentally, Good Time Charlie, rather than mistakenly linking the song "Be-Bop-a-Lula" to Elvis, the lyrics seem to suggest that if Elvis is unavailable, the singer would happily settle for the "Blue Jean Bopper" instead...

Fair enough, Doc; what I meant to say was IMHO this is the most rockabilly-sounding of the versions I've heard, with Guybo's distinctive slapped bass, the drummer's "Hound Dog" like drumming and the sparse backing (along with Cochran's mumbles) being an obvious homage to Elvis' own recordings. The other two are obviously cut on the East Coast with studio session bands providing music that has little to do with Elvis' own style.

As with the other two, The Holly Twins' version on Liberty was issued for the Christmas 1956 market.

Incidentally, Good Time Charlie, rather than mistakenly linking the song "Be-Bop-a-Lula" to Elvis, the lyrics seem to suggest that if Elvis is unavailable, the singer would happily settle for the "Blue Jean Bopper" instead...

You may be right about that!

Thanks for the excellent reply.

Darin's version of "Mary Don't You Weep" is great, maybe better than Bruce's interpretation, although Booby's was cut in the midst of the social upheavals of the early-to-mid sixties, and issued just a few weeks after President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, Texas.




Billboard - Dec 7, 1963

For some reason I missed the Double Feature CD the original album was released on, it must have gone OOP very fast. The only Darin version of this song I ever heard is the one on the 'Live From Las Vegas' CD, from that special series of CD's that also includes one by Presley. And this slow version, with the crowd singing along at Darin's request, is really beautiful.
This recordings on the live album are also from 1963 btw, so I assume it will probably be in the same style as the studio version.

This recordings on the live album are also from 1963 btw, so I assume it will probably be in the same style as the studio version.

Is it possible the cut on Golden Folk Hits is live?

Is it possible the cut on Golden Folk Hits is live?

Good question, it made me search real hard for some proof, and I managed to find these previews of the original album:
http://www.soundunwound.com/music/bobby ... ef=AMDP_RL

Pretty good album with an interesting choice of songs for this 27 year old singer. Many of the songs on this album are not yet released on any of the compilations. Next to the studio version of 'Mary Don't You Weep', I also never heard him do 'Green, Green' (sounds great!) and 'Abilene'. Yes, it's about time I put some more energy into tracking that deleted 2-on-1 CD on eBay!

According to darin.net James Burton (as well as Glen Campbell and Roger McGuinn) was part of the sessions for this album.

Is it possible the cut on Golden Folk Hits is live?

Good question, it made me search real hard for some proof, and I managed to find these previews of the original album:

http://www.soundunwound.com/music/bobby-darin/golden-folk-hits/16774749?ref=AMDP_RL

Pretty good album with an interesting choice of songs for this 27 year old singer. Many of the songs on this album are not yet released on any of the compilations. Next to the studio version of 'Mary Don't You Weep', I also never heard him do 'Green, Green' (sounds great!) and 'Abilene'. Yes, it's about time I put some more energy into tracking that deleted 2-on-1 CD on eBay!

According to darin.net James Burton (as well as Glen Campbell and Roger McGuinn) was part of the sessions for this album.

Although I question the validity of all three being on this session, let alone even one, it's clear the album is a studio creation. Thanks for finding the preview page!

Oh, and Off-Topic a touch: where did you find that 1969 image for your avatar?

Oh, and Off-Topic a touch: where did you find that 1969 image for your avatar?

Elvis on top of the world, looking cool and totally in control of everything. Next to the 50s, my absolute favourite phase in the Presley career.
Many fans who never saw him live (like me), wish they could have attended one of his his shows. But I would trade all of the Elvis I had/will have for 15 minutes at American Sound!

It's on the backcover of 'Memphis - A Little Place In The Wilderness':

I agree about the magic of 1969. Thanks for the information on your avatar. As you may note, mine is also from 1969.

great thread i really enjoyed it doc,and great post from you too Bob-Holland great stuff lads


how cool do elvis & bobby look back stage awesome !