In 1965, Buck Owens And His Buckaroos released a holiday album titled Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos. And then just three years later, they released a second Christmas record, this one titled Christmas Shopping. Both albums featured mostly original material, which means Buck Owens was writing a whole lot of holiday tunes at the time. In 1970, the two albums were released together as a double LP titled A Merry “Hee Haw” Christmas, because by then the television show Hee Haw was up and running. For some reason, two songs were cut from each album for this double LP. Now Omnivore Recordings has re-issued the double album on a single CD, reinstating the four missing tracks, and also including two bonus tracks that were originally issued on a promotional single. By the way, if that wasn’t enough Christmas music, the following year, Buck Owens re-recorded some of the songs from this double album with Susan Raye, releasing the results as Merry Christmas From Buck Owens And Susan Raye. So there. A Merry “Hee Haw” Christmas has been remastered for this special reissue.
Christmas Shopping
It’s interesting that this double album begins with the 1968 release, Christmas Shopping, rather than with the 1965 release. Anyway, that album opens with its title track, a song written by Casey Anderson, about that task that people look forward to each year, buying gifts for everyone in the family. “I read the kids’ letters to Santa Claus/I read ‘em over one by one/And I’d surely like to get my hands on the fellah that said Christmas shopping’s fun.” Well, don’t worry, because this song is a lot more fun than its subject. That’s followed by a sweeter number, “Christmas Time Is Near,” written by Don Rich and Buck Owens. This one features some really nice work on guitar. The pace then picks up with “The Jolly Christmas Polka,” a fun instrumental number composed by Buck Owens. “All I Want For Christmas Is My Daddy” is about a child missing his father during the holidays. It was written by Buck Owens and Jimmy Snyder. Check out these lines: “Too young to understand why Daddy said goodbye/Christmas time is almost here/And Daddy won’t be home this year/The little boy looked up at Mommy and he cried/All I want for Christmas is my Daddy.” This is one of the songs that were cut from the original issue of this double album. That’s followed by another sweet song, “Merry Christmas From Our House To Your House.” These songs are about the importance of family, and lines like “May all of your loved ones be near you/And may all of your spirits be bright” have a more somber vibe in this year of the pandemic when many of us will be unable to visit our families. This song is so pretty, and it nearly had me in tears because of those lines. This is going to be a tough holiday for a lot of folks.
“One Of Everything You Got” is a playful and totally enjoyable song about a boy’s Christmas list, sung from the perspective of the kid’s dad who has discovered the letter. “Just so there won’t be a mistake/Well, here’s a list of everything I’ll take/I want some of this and some of that/Some cowboy boots and a cowboy hat/A choo choo train and a baseball bat.” This one was written by Bob Morris and Buck Owens. My favorite lines are “Well, I’m gonna quit acting like a kid/I’m six years old, and it’s time I did.” Adorable, right? And speaking of adorable, you have to check out “Christmas Schottische,” another instrumental tune composed by Buck Owens. This is a lighthearted, enjoyable number. The second song cut from the original issue of this double album is “It’s Not What You Give,” which is a kind of charming song about family and about the spirit of the day, with the children giving their dad their favorite toys. “It’s not what you give that really matters/Or how much money you may pay/It’s that feeling of giving to others/That’s what makes Christmas such a pretty day.” Christmas Shopping concludes with “Tomorrow Is Christmas Day,” a kind of goofy but pleasant children’s song that mentions Santa Claus and Rudolph.
Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos
The 1965 album Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos begins with one of its best tracks, “Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy (Daddy Looked A Lot Like Him),” which was also included on the 2013 compilation Buck ‘Em: The Music Of Buck Owens (1955-1967). The subject is obviously similar to that of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” but this one is a lot more fun. It was written by Buck Owens and Don Rich. “Santa put his arm around Mama/And Mama put her arm around him/So if Santa Claus ain’t Daddy/Then I’m gonna tell on them.” That’s followed by “Blue Christmas Lights,” a song that is a play on the popular song “Blue Christmas,” and features some playful moments, particularly when he stops to deliver part of a line as spoken word. Then “Christmas Ain’t Christmas,” touches on the same subject, that being how the holiday just isn’t the same without that special someone. In this song, he ends up confiding in a snowman, so clearly things are not going well for him. “I talked to a snowman, and to my surprise/When I spoke of you, he started to cry/Now that’s pretty sad to see a snowman turn blue.” Indeed. I love that wonderfully sad work on pedal steel. We then get an instrumental rendition of “Jingle Bells.” When covering that song, instrumental is the best way to go, because the lyrics are terrible.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the first of two songs cut from Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos for the original release of this double album. It is a pretty song written by Buck Owens and Don Rich, and is not to be confused with the later song of the same title by Mariah Carey that was used in Love Actually. This one features some good work on fiddle. “Oh, how happy I would be/To find you underneath my tree/For all I want for Christmas, dear, is you.” This album gave us “Blue Christmas Lights,” and it also gives us “Blue Christmas Tree,” another wonderfully sad number, this one featuring some nice stuff on fiddle. “You took the happiness God gave you and me/And all you left for Christmas is a blue Christmas tree/Beneath it sits a package/Addressed to me from you/That I’m afraid to open/I know it contains the blues.” “Christmas Morning” is a delightful instrumental number written by Buck Owens and Don Rich. That’s followed by the second of the tracks from this LP to be cut from the original release of the double album, “It’s Christmas Time For Everyone But Me,” a beautifully sad song. “It’s the season of good cheer/How I wish that you were here/For it’s Christmas time for everyone but me.” Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos then concludes with “Because It’s Christmas Time,” written by Buck Owens and Red Simpson. “Now is the time to hang mistletoe/Now is the time to run through the snow.”
Bonus Tracks
This new edition includes two bonus tracks, both of which were included on a promotional single from 1972. They are two spots recorded by Buck Owens for the Toys For Tots campaign. The first is longer and includes more of the song. “You can bring Christmas joy/To some little girl and boy/If you’ll only give a toy for a tot.”
CD Track List
- Christmas Shopping
- Christmas Time Is Near
- The Jolly Christmas Polka
- All I Want For Christmas Is My Daddy
- Merry Christmas From Our House To Yours
- Good Old Fashioned Country Christmas
- One Of Everything You Got
- Home On Christmas Day
- Christmas Schottische
- A Very Merry Christmas
- It’s Not What You Give
- Tomorrow Is Christmas Day
- Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy (Daddy Looked A Lot Like Him)
- Blue Christmas Lights
- Christmas Ain’t Christmas
- Jingle Bells
- Al I Want For Christmas Is You
- Santa’s Gonna Come In A Stage Coach
- Christmas Time’s A-Comin’
- Blue Christmas Tree
- Here Comes Santa Claus Again
- Christmas Morning
- It’s Christmas Time For Everyone But Me
- Because It’s Christmas Time
- Toys For Tots (Version 1)
- Toys For Tots (Version 2)
This special re-issue of A Merry “Hee Haw” Christmas was released on CD on November 13, 2020 through Omnivore Recordings.
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