Why David Bowie Didn’t Want to Sing with Bing Crosby
It was one of music’s most unlikely and unusual pairings: the straight-laced, WWII-era crooner Bing Crosby collaborating with rock’s androgynous “thin white Duke,” David Bowie. Yet their duet of “Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy” is still beloved today as a classic Christmas song. And it probably wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for some quick thinking on the part of a few songwriters.
The story of how the song came about is included in a new PBS documentary about Crosby, American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered, airing on PBS stations on December 26 at 9pm.
The two musicians met and performed the song in September 1977 for Crosby’s A Merrie Olde Christmas special that aired later that year. As Crosby was touring at the time in Great Britain and the theme of the special was celebrating Christmas in England, the producers felt it made logical sense to ask British stars to make appearances on the show. Two of them who gladly accepted were the model Twiggy and actor Ron Moody, who was starring in Oliver! at the time. But Bowie was a tough sell. He admitted that he was only participating because his mother was a fan of Bing Crosby.
The picky rock star didn’t like the show’s writers’ choice of the song he was to sing with the legend — “Little Drummer Boy.” In fact, he declared that he hated it and asked if there was something else (ah, ego). Luckily, the producers/songwriters of the program — Buz Kohan, Larry Grossman, and Ian Fraser — decided that the best way to save this portion of the show would be to compose counterpart lyrics and a new bridge for Bowie to sing alongside Crosby. They found the nearest piano and banged out “Peace on Earth,” the second component of the duet, in about an hour.
Probably the oddest thing about the performance is the preceding setup of how the two musicians meet. Bowie rings Crosby’s door, then insults him by asking if he’s the new butler! Bowie’s idea of “older fellas” at the time is John Lennon and Harry Nilsson. I suppose the banter between the two of them is as light and humorous as humanly possible. Picture someone like Paul Anka trying to have a conversation with Marilyn Manson, and you’ll see what I mean. At least Ziggy Stardust left his makeup and costumes at home for this performance. It’s actually unclear to this day if Crosby even knew who Bowie was, although one of the song’s writers says that Crosby was no slouch when it came to modern musicians and that his children surely would’ve filled him in. After the show’s recording, Crosby spoke highly of Bowie as a “clean-cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice, and reads lines well.”
Bowie also performed “Heroes” on the program and, for a few years, both songs were available as a bootleg single. In 1982, RCA released “Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy” as an official single — much to Bowie’s chagrin (he must really dislike the song!) — and it became a hit in the UK and eventually a staple on US radio stations during the holiday season.
To this day, the added-on lyrics never fail to give me a lump in my throat: “every child must be made aware / every child must be made to care / care enough for his fellow man / to give all the love that he can.” Sniff. Pass the tissues. Also bittersweet about the song’s legacy is that Crosby died only a month later of a heart attack. Since then, the duet has been parodied a few times, most notably in a strange manner by John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell who copied it including the introductory banter, word for word. I prefer the original, of course. Pretty thing, isn’t it?
