Why David Bowie sang with Bing Crosby on Little Drummer Boy

23 December 2023, 10:00

Bing Crosby, David Bowie - Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy

Why did the Think White Duke appear with the veteran crooner on TV in the 70s... and how did it become a hit?

By Martin O'Gorman

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You’ll recall with either fondness or the odd cringe the moment when David Bowie appeared alongside old time crooner Bing Crosby to sing the festive ditty The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth.

The song was recorded in 1977 and has gone on to become a festive favourite, with both singers representing two very different areas of the music industry in the 20th Century.

But how did this collaboration come about?

David Bowie and Bing Crosby in the 1977 TV special Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas. Picture: Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas was to be the veteran entertainer's final Christmas special - he'd made a festive TV programme every year since 1961, but the tradition dated back to the radio years in the 30s. For many, Crosby was the voice of the season with his recording of White Christmas remaining the best-selling physical single in history since its release in 1942.

The 1977 Bing Christmas special not only featured Bowie, however. In somewhat contrived plot, the Crosby family discover they've inherited a country mansion in England, with all the servants played by comedian Stanley Baxter. Also along for the ride are model and actress Twiggy, who sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas with Bing and Oliver star Ron Moody as the ghost of Charles Dickens.

David Bowie wonders what he's got himself into; on the set of Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, Elstree Studios. 11th September 1977. Picture: TV Times/Getty Images

Bowie was fresh from recording his album “Heroes” in Berlin and was an odd figure for the normally staid Bing Crosby to be associated with, but apparently his children were fans of the Thin White Duke. In Britain to promote the new album, Bowie also appeared on his old sparring partner Marc Bolan's TV series and spotted an opportunity to crossover to another audience.

"That old man knew everything about everything. He knew rock and roll backwards, even if he did't know the music," Bowie said the following year. The special was recorded on 11th September 19777 at ATV's Elstree Studios, later the home of EastEnders and at the time pressed into service for another transatlantic production, The Muppet Show.

Bowie was scripted to sing the 1940s carol The Little Drummer Boy, but the musician complained that the melody didn't suit his voice. Composers Ian Fraser and Larry Grossman leapt into action with scriptwriter Buz Kohan and quickly came up with a counterpoint melody, entitled Peace On Earth.

🎅 White Christmas - Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas (1977)

Crosby was impressed by the youngster (Bowie was 30 compared to Bing's age of 74), saying "He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well."

The recording was created live in the studio and the tapes were not kept. Five years later, when Bowie was coming to the end of his contract with his old label RCA, the company snuck the track out as a single alongside a new cash-in compilation, Bowie Rare.

Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy was one of Bowie's most successful singles in the UK whether he liked it or not: it made Number 3 in the charts in the UK. For Bing Crosby, it would be the veteran entertainer's final appearance on the UK chart. He died on 14th October 1977, before the TV special was even aired.

Bing Crobsy's Merrie Olde Christmas appeared on TV in the US on 30th November (catching the post-Thanksgiving crowd) and on ITV in the UK on Christmas Eve 1977. In a scathing review of the show, TV critic Clive James wrote in The Observer: "Through no fault of Bing's, the show turned out to be a load of olde rubbish. Bing looked as tired as the gags."

While the medley has gone on to become a Christmas favourite across the world - witness Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly's affectional parody below - for Bowie it was something of an embarrassment in his later years. In 1999, he told Q magazine the true reason he'd done the duet with Bing Crosby: "I didn't know anything about him - I just know my mother liked him."

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy with Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly

While we’ve seen the Little Drummer Boy clip a million times, we didn’t realise that Bowie also performed the title track of his new album on the show, too… in a specially recorded version. Crank up the volume and enjoy this slice of prime Bowie.