Father Christmas (song)
| "Father Christmas" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Kinks | ||||
| B-side | "Prince of the Punks" | |||
| Released | 25 November 1977 | |||
| Recorded | Begun 1976, completed October 1977 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, Christmas, power pop | |||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Arista 153 (UK) Arista AS 0296 (US) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Father Christmas" is a 1977 single by the English group The Kinks.[1][2]
It tells of a department store Father Christmas who is beaten up by a gang of poor kids who tell him to give them money instead of toys, as toys are impractical; and asks that the toys be given "to the little rich boys."[3]
Release
The single was released in November of 1977. It was accompanied by a music video featuring Ray Davies dressed as the titular character.[4]
"Prince of the Punks"
The B-side to the single was another Ray Davies composition, "Prince of the Punks". It was written in the bitter aftermath of Davies' troubled stint as the co-producer for Café Society's debut album,[2] which was issued in 1975.[5] Davies wrote as part of the lyrics, "Tried to be gay/But it didn’t pay/So he bought a motorbike instead", in direct reference to Tom Robinson, one of the band members of the short-lived Cafe Society.[2]
Legacy
The song has been covered a number of times by bands including the Gigolo Aunts, Dispatch, Green Day, Man Overboard, Bad Religion, Warrant, Lit, Bowling For Soup, Save Ferris, Letters to Cleo, Smash Mouth, Cary Brothers, Action Action, Everything, Deer Tick, OK Go, The Unlikely Candidates,[6] Cheap Trick, and Chris Jericho.
The track appeared in a TV spot for Unaccompanied Minors and in episodes of the TV series That '70s Show and Bob's Burgers.[7] The song also appeared in the 2008 comedy film Step Brothers.
The track was included on the Arista compilation Come Dancing with The Kinks and is also available as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the Kinks' 1978 album Misfits. Warrant's cover was featured on a hair metal Christmas tribute record called We Wish You a Hairy Christmas, where it was the opening track.
References
- ^ "The Kinks - Father Christmas (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ a b c "Café Society | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ Ellis, Iain (30 June 2012). Brit Wits: A History of British Rock Humor. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1-84150-671-5.
- ^ Rogan, Johnny (5 March 2015). Ray Davies: A Complicated Life. Random House. ISBN 978-1-84792-331-8.
- ^ "Cafe Society (4) - Cafe Society (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-fzpJ_396E&list=OLAK5uy_nFYEWyV1y2ZU6pBtLOVCjM2xEShUv4hWY
- ^ Dyanamaria Leifsson (17 December 2012). "Bob's Burgers Season 3 Review "God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins"". tv equals. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
 | This 1970s song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |