Every fall, it seems hundreds of new holiday records flood the market. It鈥檚 a lucrative move for established artists 鈥� fans love new material, and what could be better than your favorite singer performing their own version of 鈥淪ilver Bells鈥� even though there are literally thousands of versions of the holiday classic out there?
Many artists take a different tack, and will roll out a brand-new holiday song, hoping that over time it will join the ranks of 鈥淪ilver Bells鈥� and 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥� and become a holiday favorite 鈥� think Mariah Carey鈥檚 鈥淎ll I want for Christmas is You鈥� and Paul McCartney鈥檚 鈥淲onderful Christmastime鈥�.
Back in the late 1980鈥檚 黑料吃瓜网 Rock and Roll legends The Reducers decided to come out with their own twisted Christmas song. 鈥淣othing for Christmas鈥� became an instant hit with their fans, and is still highly regarded and played by disc jockeys across the country. The original pressing of 45-rpm version of the song is highly sought after by vinyl collectors.
鈥淣othing for Christmas鈥� was written by The Reducers鈥� Peter Detmold.
鈥淲e had been going for about 10 years at that point, and we were already pretty successful,鈥� said Detmold. Certain people kept telling us every year 鈥榶ou gotta have a Christmas song鈥�. It seemed like a pretty funny idea at the time to us and I thought 鈥榤aybe I鈥檒l write an anti-Christmas song,鈥� which I think that鈥檚 what 鈥楴othing for Christmas鈥� is.
The protagonist in the song is an abrasive family member who has been shunned by the rest of the clan.
I鈥檝e ticked off everyone in my family Now they鈥檝e got no time left for me My spirits start to sink every year When December 25th draws near And I鈥檓 faced with yet another Christmas without stocking stuffers Pretty gifts and mistletoe But there鈥檚 just one thing I know for sure. That I鈥檓 not getting nothing for Christmas
Detmold said the lyrics are tongue in cheek, and perhaps a reflection of his own disdain for holiday songs.
鈥淚 still feel the same way about holiday, Christmas songs - I鈥檓 just not into it. Like at a certain point radio stations start playing Christmas music, and I kinda hate it. I wish there was more stuff out there like our song,鈥� said Detmold.
Detmold introduced the song to the band in the fall of 1988, and they quickly jumped into the studio to record it.
鈥淲e recorded the song in a place we never used, and we鈥檝e never been back to. It was called 鈥楾he Fallout Shelter鈥� and basically it was a guy鈥檚 basement in Tolland,鈥� said Detmold. 鈥淲e recorded and mixed it in one day. I think it鈥檚 a great record. I wrote it quickly, we recorded it quickly, the whole thing was done quickly and it sounds like that. But that鈥檚 a good thing, it sounds the way we wanted it to sound.鈥�
鈥淣othing for Christmas鈥� quickly caught on -first by fans of the Reducers who bought up the 45-rpm, and later by radio DJs, who found the ironic and somewhat twisted lyrics refreshing. Detmold said that by 1989 the song was the climax of their live shows.
鈥淚t gave us a song to play whenever we played out around the holidays, and people loved it,鈥� said Detmold. 鈥淚 think everyone can relate to it in one way or another, 鈥淚鈥檓 not getting nothin鈥� for Christmas鈥� - I think everyone has that feeling once in a while. We sold out of our initial press which was 1,000 or 2,000. We sold them for one or two dollars apiece. And now they go for more than that on eBay.鈥�
鈥淣othing For Christmas鈥� is still played by radio stations nationwide this time of year.
In case you were wondering, the B-Side of 鈥淣othing for Christmas鈥� was The Reducers own take on the New Year鈥檚 class 鈥淎uld Lang Syne.鈥�
鈥淭hat was even more off the cuff than 鈥楴othing for Christmas鈥�. We just knew we had to have a B-side. We probably ran through 鈥楢uld Lang Syne鈥� 2 or 3 times and recorded it, and that鈥檚 what you hear on the record. We don鈥檛 do a great job on it, but once again it has that immediacy that I think gets it across to people. I鈥檓 really happy with how that record sounds all these years on,鈥� said Detmold.
