← Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
No Schmaltz, Just Rock 'n' Roll: The Story Behind Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again"
00:08:06
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Tim
Welcome to the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes. Here's your host, Janda when it comes.
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Janda
To Christmas songs, a lot of the big ones we hear every year around the yuletide season are covers. There's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, which goes back to the 1930s and was covered by Bruce Springsteen along with about 200 other artists. Or Please Come Home for Christmas, which was written in the 60s and covered by both the Eagles and Bon Jovi and a ton of country artists too. And then there's the Christmas songs that are 100% originals, songs that reflect the humor and the spirit of the writer. The late Tom Petty wrote exactly one Christmas song in his career in 1992, written on a ukulele, a gift from his friend George Harrison, a tune that ended up with a full Wall of Sound style treatment reminiscent of Phil Spector's style in the 60s under the production supervision of his friend Jeff Lynn. And it's about as Tom Petty a Christmas song as you can get.
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Let's get into the story of Christmas All Over Again in this episode of the behind the Song podcast and if you like it hit subscribe and let us know in the comments. Christmas All Over Again was written and recorded for the album A very special Christmas 2, the second in a Christmas themed compilation of songs by different artists to benefit the Special Olympics, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released in October of 1992. Iovine, who of course went way back to the late 70s with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, beginning with the Damn the Torpedoes album in 79, had produced the first A Very Special Christmas album in 1987, and the always relentless Iovine had Petty in mind for the second album in the series. In the liner notes for the Playback box set, Petty said that Iovine had been after him to write a Christmas song, but he didn't want to do somebody else's song. He said that to him and Mike Campbell. There's only one Christmas album in the pop field and that's fantastic. Phil Spector's the only one that they could relate to. That was the hugely popular compilation produced by Spector In 1963, a Christmas gift for you from Phil Spector, which contains the holiday classic Christmas Baby Please Come Home performed by Darlene Love.
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Guest or Co-host
Baby Please Come Home.
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Janda
Petty and Campbell talked about it and decided that if they were going to do a Christmas song, it would sound like the that record it all live with a couple of dozen players on different instruments to give it that wall of sound feel. Funny enough, George Harrison had just given Tom Petty a ukulele and taught him how to play the chords on it over an afternoon. So Petty had the zeal of a recent convert when it came to the instrument and he took it with him to Florida in the middle of summer and wrote Christmas All Over Again on that ukulele. Then he called Iovine and told him what he wanted to do with the song, make that wall of sound behind it. And Iovine got busy booking the musicians into the studio at A and M Records in Los Angeles. Jeff Lynn of elo, a fellow Traveling Wilbury who had also just produced Petty's Full Moon Fever and into the great Wide Open albums, was also brought on to co produce and he ended up playing several instruments on the song, bass bells, timpani drums and singing background vocals. Heartbreaker's Mike Campbell, Benmont Tinch and Stan lynch performed on the song along with 18 other musicians on a range of instruments, including a full on harp. It was the first time Lynn was involved with the Christmas record and Petty credits him with really tightening up all those instruments on the recording. The song itself stands out as one of the most sound successful attempts by a major rock artist to contribute an original song to the holiday canon without compromising their identity. That was the goal and Petty achieved it. It isn't sappy or overly sweet. It acknowledges how crazy the Christmas season can be while ultimately celebrating the comfort of the whole holiday. There's no manufactured cheer in the song, no overuse of minor keys. It's up tempo rock and roll that focuses on the almost frantic energy, the excitement and the last minute chaos of the Christmas rush. The lyrics start like well, it's Christmas time again Decorations Pearl hung by the fire Everybody's singing All the bells are ringing out and it's Christmas all over again. The next verse doesn't sugarcoat anything about how we feel about certain kinfolk around the holidays. Long distance relatives. Haven't seen him in a long, long time. Yeah, I kind of missed him. I just don't want to kiss him. And it's Christmas all over again. And in the next part, the fun parts of Christmas make an appearance. The joy it brings to kids, the mistletoe and all that jazz when he sings all over town Little kids gonna get down and Christmas is a rockin time Put your body next to mine Underneath the mistletoe we go Everybody's singing All the bells are ringing out and it's Christmas all over again. Petty sings another verse similar to this one with little kids rockin down the block and more mistletoe and then a simple wish for Christmas sweet and real that includes a nod to all the work it takes to get all that holiday shopping done for those who create the magic, the season Merry Christmas time Come and find you happy in there by your fire I hope you have a good one I hope mama gets her shopping done and it's Christmas all over again. And then Petty goes down his list for Santa as the song fades. Now let's see. I want a new Rickenbacker guitar, two Fender basements and Chuck Berry's songbook xylophone. On the recording you can hear Jeff Lynn comment that he'll have one of them when Petty mentions that Chuck Berry songbook. And of course, Tom Petty did often play Rickenbacker guitars and he did use Fender basement amps. In a testament to Tom Petty, the song was covered by none other than Darlene Love in 2007, the singer on Phil Spector's classic tune that sounded like Christmas to Petty, and it was famously included on the soundtrack for the movie Home Alone 2, which was released in theaters in 92 around the same time as the A Very Special Christmas 2 album. Christmas All Over Again has earned its place on holiday playlists because it allows rock fans to celebrate the season without resorting to schmaltz. For his part, Tom Petty said that he liked the song and that it made him happy to hear it on the radio every Christmas. It's a classic that is both a great Tom Petty song and a great Christmas song, and it ensures that his unique voice echoes on through every holiday season all over again. So what rock songs make it to your holiday playlist? What songs really help you celebrate or get through the season? Something to think about until next time. I'm Janda and this has been behind the song. If you like this episode, give it a like and subscribe to the channel. Special thanks as always to Christian Lane for the music you hear on these podcast episodes. You can find me on the air at 97.1fm the drive in Chicago and at wdrv.com on the way. Much more Classic rock and roll.