When you think about Christmas songs, many classics come to mind. For more than 40 years, there’s one song that has become a holiday favorite.
Have you heard “The Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth)” duet by Bing Crosby and David Bowie?
You may recognize it when you hear it and maybe never realized who was singing it. After all, it’s an unlikely duo. Perhaps that’s what makes this song so great.
While you may have heard the song, you may have never seen the video where the two sing it.
The video is part of “Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas”. The narrative film has Bing Crosby spending Christmas in England when a distant relative, Sir Percival Crosby, invites him and his family for the holiday.
The video starts with David Bowie knocking on Crosby’s door.
Their first exchange goes like this…
Bowie- “Hello, are you the new butler?”
Crosby- “It’s been a long time since I’ve been the new anything.”
Bowie- “Are you related to Sir Percival?
Crosby- “Well distantly.”
Bowie- “Oh you’re not the poor relation from America?”
Crosby- “Gee news sure travels fast, doesn’t it? I’m Bing.”
Bowie then asks if Crosby is “the one who sings”. Crosby responds, “Well, right or wrong, I sing either way.”
The two then start talking about Christmas. Bowie starts mentioning how his 6-year-old son loves Christmas.
After a quick exchange, the two start singing what has become a Christmas classic.
They begin singing these lyrics that have become so well-known…
“Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A newborn king to see
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum,”
Here’s a fun fact about the collaboration- Bowie did not like the song “The Little Drummer Boy”.
According to UltimateClassicRock.com, Bowie walked into the taping and asked if there was something else he could sing.
When that wasn’t an option, the two worked on the song and perfected it in less than one hour.
“It was the most bizarre experience. I didn’t know anything about him. I just knew my mother liked him.”
While this video has been viewed by millions of people in the more than 40 years since it was released, Crosby himself never got to see the finished recording.
See it for yourself in the video below!
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