Hall & Oates -- Jingle Bell Rock

 

And a Merry Christmas to you! If you're just dropping by for a little look at "Kayo Kyoku Plus" among the family hijinks at your place for the Yuletide, then I thank you very much. I'm hoping that you are enjoying your day wherever you are.

Since it is a holiday today, I thought that it would be nice to start off with what I think will be the final Christmas song for the KKP season as a Reminiscings of Youth session. I'm not sure when I first heard "Jingle Bell Rock" which was originally recorded by Bobby Helms back in 1957, but as a kid, I was a bit confused on hearing it, thinking "Wait! This doesn't sound like 'Jingle Bells' at all.". Well, duh. It's a totally different song by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe with its laidback country-style rockabilly.

The thing is that it's not Helms' original that I remember the most. I've always associated "Jingle Bell Rock" with the happy cover by Hall & Oates and its accompanying videos. The song and videos just seem to have been around forever although the guys' version came out in 1983 as a single with the video appearing around November of that year. Having grown up during the early age of MTV, whenever I think of the song, I will always remember the video with Hall & Oates and their band including guitarist G.E. Smith enjoying their Hallmark-friendly Christmas at home. 

Until recently, though, I'd had no idea that there were two video versions of "Jingle Bell Rock", one with Daryl Hall singing (above) and another with John Oates taking lead (below). May I finally say that Oates has a great voice (and a great cardigan)? I've always loved Daryl but I'm going to have to pay more attention to John. My other realization is that although I'd once assumed that the brief "goofy" videos starring Hall & Oates (with all of the band mugging for the camera) began with "Out of Touch" in 1984, I now believe that it all started with "Jingle Bell Rock". Not that I'm complaining, mind you; it's nice to see a big band showing off a self-deprecating sense of humour.

Well, what was hitting the top of the Oricon charts in November 1983? For Seiko-chan fans, I've got a twofer.

1. Seiko Matsuda -- Hitomi wa Diamond （瞳はダイアモンド）

2. Masahiko Kondo -- Royal Straight Flush（ロイヤル・ストレート・フラッシュ）

3. Seiko Matsuda -- Glass no Ringo （ガラスの林檎）