Originally posted December 25, 2009:
In his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, Dave Marsh places “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono at No. 784.
Marsh writes:
“John Lennon was always rock’s most Dickensian character, and here, he emulates ‘A Christmas Carol’ to a tee, stopping just short of pronouncing ‘God bless us, every one!’ Well, Christmas is the season of sentimentality and if there were greater sentimentalists in rock history than Lennon (at least in one of his guises) and [co-producer] Phil Spector, I’ve never heard of them. Let’s remember, then, that Dickens is remembered in part because of, not despite, his warm and open emotionalism and that ‘A Christmas Carol’ is the best-loved of all his stories not only because it fits the season’s hopes, but because, like the best records of the Beatles and Phil Spector, the love it inspires it equal to the love it creates.”
However you celebrate, may your day be sweet, and may your road be straight and clear.
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
By John & Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Commnunity Choir [1971]
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