Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing a Christmas duet?
Crosby, the World War II-era crooner, was skeptical. What he knew of British rock didn’t exactly enchant him.
Bowie dragged his heels, especially when he found out they would be singing a song he couldn’t stand.
But Bowie’s mother was a huge Crosby fan. So as a favor to his mum he agreed, in September 1977, to join Crosby in singing The Little Drummer Boy for an upcoming holiday TV special.
The Little Drummer Boy came right out of Crosby’s era.
It was written in 1941 by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis, and was first recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family Singers. Yes, that would be the same Trapp family made famous by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music.
The song describes a poor young boy who joins the Magi in acknowledging Jesus’ birth.
Not having a gift to share, he plays his drum for the newborn Messiah. “I played my best for Him,” he sings. Jesus responds with a smile.
At the recording session, when it became obvious that Bowie (famous for adopting such off-the-wall stage personas as Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, and the Thin White Duke) was seriously unmotivated, a handful of songwriters saved the day.
They quickly penned a tune with simple lyrics called Peace on Earth that Bowie could sing as a counterpoint to Drummer Boy. The duet thus became an intertwining of two gentle songs.
Here’s the result: Bing Crosby, David Bowie - Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy
The first two minutes feature some predictably awkward inter-generational dialogue. But as soon as these two extraordinary voices of the 20th century begin to harmonize, it’s clear why the recording became a chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic.
In a sense, the song was Crosby’s final gift to the world. He died of a heart attack one month later – weeks before Peace on Earth / The Little Drummer Boy debuted at Christmas.
Here’s the chorus of Peace on Earth: “Every child must be made aware, every child must be made to care; care enough for his fellow man, to give all the love that he can.”
While Crosby chants pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Bowie sings:
I pray my wish will come true
For my child and your child, too
He’ll see the day of glory
See the day when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again
Peace on earth: can it be? Can it be?
Every word in that verse can be understood from a secular (non-religious) point of view – except for the word “glory.”
That’s because glory is a Bible word. It’s a translation of the Hebrew term that also means “weight.” It’s the centerpiece of the angels’ song in Luke 2:13-14:
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”
Giving glory to God means assigning him weight – allowing God to become the heaviest presence in our lives.
Unfortunately, America hums along as if God were weightless. Do we really need God to get through the next 24 hours – to do our investing, job-searching, cooking, lovemaking, shopping, or politicking?
One of the primary temptations of modern culture is to live, for all intents and purposes, as functional atheists. Even in our churches, there is all too often a spirit of casual familiarity with God, where the High King of Heaven is portrayed as our best friend, our co-pilot, or a smiling heavenly therapist who is here for us.
But that is not what the angels meant by giving God glory.
As David Bowie and Bing Crosby sing, we all dream that Earth might one day be overwhelmed with peace.
According to the angels, that’s a reality that will draw closer when our lives are anchored by the weightiness of God.
That is, when God receives the glory that God alone deserves.
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