"Uncle Mistletoe" - Eddy Howard and his Orchestra (1949)

"Uncle Mistletoe"(1949)

Eddy Howard and his Orchestra

Mercury Records

So, as mentioned, the song "Scrooge" recorded by Roye Goodrich made me think of the song "Ebenezer Scrooge" recorded by Eddy Howard. And this in turn made me think of "Uncle Mistletoe," also recorded by Eddy Howard!

Uncle Mistletoe is not a Scrooge-like character, but doesn't he totally look like a reformed Scrooge?

Here he is keeping the Santa line moving along:

I don't have any firsthand Uncle Mistletoe experience, but apparently he was well-known in the Chicago area as the holiday mascot for Marshall Field's department store.

He was created in response to Montgomery Ward's Christmas mascot, a young fellow known as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Uncle M's song from 1949 obviously was nowhere near as popular as Rudolph's from the same year, but they did get it recorded by the Three Suns on RCA Victor and Owen Bradley on Coral in addition to Eddy Howard on Mercury.

Here's Eddy's record:

Also non-Scroogey for Uncle Mistletoe is that he avoided a Belle situation by marrying Aunt Holly!

"Ebenezer Scrooge" (1953)

"Ebenezer Scrooge" (1953)
Song by Danny DiMinno, Rick French, Dick Stutz

While discussing the merits of the songs from "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" and the 1970 "Scrooge," my mind naturally wandered to songs about Scrooge in general.

Not that there are a ton, but there is this cute novelty number from the 1953 holiday season.

Context, please! 1953 is in that nether region of popular music that stretches from the mid/late 1940s to the early/mid 1950s, after the big band era and before the rock & roll boom. Singers like Perry Como and Patti Page ruled the charts.

It was also the heyday of novelty Christmas songs with "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy Boyd having topped the charts the previous holiday season. 1953 saw, among others, Gayla Peevey's "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," which gives an idea of what was going on then!

Since everyone was looking for the next big Christmas song, why not try making Ebenezer Scrooge into a wacky novelty character a la "Frosty the Snowman" and "Suzy Snowflake," both recent hits?

Once you had the song, you needed to get it recorded. So, they lined up Teresa Brewer and Eddy Howard, both popular recording artists of the time.

"Cash Box" likes it!

Eddy Howard was a bandleader, but his popularity actually soared around the unofficial end of the big band era, with his 1946 smash "To Each His Own." He maintained his popularity through the early 1950s, long after most bandleaders, because as a vocalist (and a really good one), he fit in with the other popular singers. He and his band could handle all sorts of material, so they do a good job with this tune. He charted over 40 Billboard chart hits, up through 1955, so no slouch!

You can hear his version below:

Teresa Brewer was part of the new wave of singers, having burst on the scene as a 19-year old with her huge hit "Music! Music! Music!" in 1950. She could sing in a  range of styles as well, but she could really deliver a novelty song, so this little ditty is totally in her wheelhouse. She was at her peak in 1953, having had two major hits, "Til I Waltz Again With You" and "Ricochet" earlier in the year.

Here's her take:

And dig that crazy artwork:

Love it!

The song itself is about the shortest condensation of "A Christmas Carol" you'll ever hear, but it does get in a couple of story elements.

Eartha Kitt "won" the 1953 holiday season with "Santa Baby":

So, "Ebenezer Scrooge" is a fun little relic of Christmas Past!

But, you know, "Tennessee Wig-Walk" is also pretty snappy:

Fun!