Battle of the Bands

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree #BOTB showdown

December 14, 2015 /

Merry Christmas, kittens & dawgs! I’m in a par-tay mood. What song makes you want to party to when the season is all festive like it is now? The first tune that comes to mind is Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree written by  Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee. What came as a bit of shock to me is Miss Lee was only 13 years old when she made this song. She sounds so grown up delivering this fun sock hop tune. Here’s the original for your enjoyment and isn’t included in this BoTB installment.

 

Now for the rivals doing their best to win you over with Brenda Lee’s 1958 popular Christmas single. Kindly lend your ear to contender #1 Home Free!


Now, let’s jingle in contender #2…. Kim Wilde (feat.Nik Kershaw)!

 

Are you in a boogie mood? I am! Which version of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree cover did you like best, Home Free or Kim Wilde? If you have time and want to share why your pick is the “best” of the two, then I’d love to hear about it.

The party isn’t over and there’s a whole lot more rockin’ around the Christmas tree to be done. I invite you to visit and cast your votes in these amazing Battle of the Battles that are in full swing (technically most BoTB will post tomorrow)!

?Far Away Series (Meme Creator) ?STMcC Presents ‘Battle of the Bands’(Hop Coordinator) ❆Tossing It Out ❆Your Daily Dose ❆Book Lover ❆Mike’s Ramblings ❆The Sound of One Hand Typing ❆dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands ❆Alex J. Cavanaugh ❆Shady Dell Music & Memories ❆The Doglady’s Den  ❆Cherdo on the Flipside  ❆Angels Barks  ❆JingleJangleJungle  ❆Janie Junebug Righting & Editing  ❆J.A. Scott ❆NovelBrews  ❆Holli’s Hoots and Hollers  ❆Quiet Laughter

Don’t forget, the polls close midnight on the 20th and I’ll share the results of this competition the next day, so mark your calendar and stop by to see if your artist gets named! Thanks for joining in on the fun. This is Curious as a Cathy signing off with frosty’s famous words….

 


I give you one guess whose birthday it is today? Thanks to Pinterest my own inner child was happy to find a coloring page of Frosty saying Happy Birthday. Click here to print off a copy for you, your kids, or grand-kids. I’m dancing with the 4M crew today and you’re welcome to tag along.  Have a bandtastic day!

Check out Daily Blog Hops (at the top) for more music memes.

44 Comments

  • Robin

    December 20, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    As you can see, I’m playing catch up with life (and that includes BoTB). I can’t believe it’s the 20th and I’m just getting here!!!! Yikes.

    Brenda Lee was amazing. It is shocking to know she recorded that at 13 years of age. Just blows me away.

    I really liked what Home Free did with the song. I thought Kim and Nick were okay, but they didn’t make me want to get up and dance. So, put me down for Home Free.

    Oh… and, most important, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 21, 2015 at 9:06 pm

      Robin, thank you for the birthday wishes. 🙂 No worries with running late. I’ve been jumping hoops this month; some things get done and others get pushed off. This is why I’ve decided to take a short recess from blogging. Yeah, I’m with you on being blown away to find out Brenda Lee was only 13 when she recorded this song. I honestly mean she sounds more grown up at 13 then I do at….*whisper* 54. I have one of those voices that makes every person who ever called our house asking, “May I speak with your mother?” Okay, they haven’t done that in a loooong time, but when I was in early 20s that was an very common. Anyway, thanks for casting your vote and breaking the tie!

  • Far Away Eyes

    December 20, 2015 at 12:53 am

    Thought I left a comment, but when I came back to check…I don’t see it. Maybe it was me. Sorry to be so late, but that seems to be my current MO. a very Happy Belated Birthday and give my vote to Home Free

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 20, 2015 at 4:20 pm

      Fae, no worries. It’s especially difficult to keep track with what’s going on this time of the year. I have to keep a list of who votes and where I voted, if I don’t see a note beside someone’s name then I hop over to see what I’ve done or haven’t done. Anywho, your vote ties things up. There are a few folks who haven’t voted yet, maybe they’ll get here in time to cast theirs before I’m forced to determine the outcome. Thank you for the bday wishes and again don’t worry with running late. I find I’m doing a lot of that, too. 😀

  • Kim @ be ReInVintaged

    December 19, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    Ooh. This is really tough. I loved the Home Free version, and hated everything about the first 20 seconds or so of the Kim Wilde version, but then I LOVED it once they “plugged in”. It really is close, but my vote is for Kim Wilde.

  • dolorah

    December 18, 2015 at 12:37 am

    Happy Happy Birthday Cathy Darling!!

    Brenda is hard to beat on this song. Lucky she is not in the voting 🙂

    These were both good, but I liked the change ups of Home Free. Soo not Brenda, but did an excellent job. It was fun to listen to. Kim Wilde, eh, not so much. She’s just adequate.

    Go forth and enjoy the rest of the year!!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 18, 2015 at 7:22 pm

      Donna, thanks for the birthday wishes. Yes Brenda is hard to beat. I knew better to NOT put her against anyone else because it would be a run away victory for her. I gotcha down for Home Free.

  • madilynquinn01

    December 17, 2015 at 8:18 pm

    The second one sounds good, I suppose, but there’s something that strikes me as off with the first one, so I enjoyed it better! So there’s my vote: Home Free.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 17, 2015 at 5:13 pm

      Okay, gotcha for Home Free, Mike. Thanks for making it over. I know Christmas has everyone doing other things and I certainly can’t blame anyone, if they don’t get to join in. I’m struggling to make my rounds as it is, so I understand. Now to hop over to listen to your BoTB cover choice!

  • greyzoned/angelsbark

    December 16, 2015 at 10:14 am

    Happy Birthday Cathy!! I hope you had a fabulous day!
    When I first heard Home Free’s version begin, I immediately thought I’d be voting for them but then Kim Wilde’s voice grabbed me and I liked their musical version better. So my vote goes to Kim.
    Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season! See you on the 21st…

    Michele at Angels Bark

  • Birgit

    December 15, 2015 at 9:46 pm

    I enjoyed Home Free more. I like their more homey style with the rockin vibe as compared to the other one so Home Free gets my vote…oh and Happy Birthday!

  • dcrelief

    December 15, 2015 at 7:27 pm

    Happy Belated Birthday! Brenda Lee still rocks to me. I’ll vote for Kim here. She had lots of rocking energy!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 16, 2015 at 8:03 pm

      Dixie, thank you for the birthday wishes. Yes, Brenda really rocks the house down with her version. I have your vote recorded. Now to hop over to your place. 😉

  • Guilie Castillo

    December 15, 2015 at 12:37 pm

    I love this song, Cathy! It’s on all my Christmas playlists—several times, haha. And these two versions are awesome… Would happily listen to them, back to back. But, since I absolutely must choose one… I’m going with Home Free. They got me out of my chair to boogie (and no, I wasn’t in a boogie mood already). I do love Kim’s version, too, though, and I love the video… So cheery. The “quiet coach” made me laugh out loud. Sorry, Kim.

    Merry Christmas!
    Guilie @ Quiet Laughter

  • Janie Junebug

    December 14, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    Happy Birthday! I choose Kim Wilde’s rockin’ version. I’m shocked that Brenda Lee was so young when she recorded this Christmas classic. I don’t think I’ve ever told you that it makes me smile every time I see your kittens and dawgs greeting.

    Love,
    Janie

  • XmasDolly

    December 14, 2015 at 4:33 pm

    Very cool. Great minds think alike. I had the song of Brenda Lee, but a little girl that was singin’ sounds just like her. I love every one of your tunes you have chosen my dearest friend. I hope all is well with you. May Santa be very generous with you this Christmas.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 14, 2015 at 6:34 pm

      Marie, thank you for hopping over to dance. I’ll be over tomorrow to boogie with you. I linked up, but got pulled away to tend to some cookie baking. ? At least you can say I have my priorities straight. Lol

  • stevebethere

    December 14, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    Nice selections Brenda Lee’s always brings back my childhood and I always love Kim Wilde & Nik Kershaw’s version 🙂

    Have a festivetastic week Cathy 🙂

  • Arlee Bird

    December 14, 2015 at 11:45 am

    This is kind of a tough one–not a huge fan of either version, but the song is not one of my biggest favorites either. The Kim Wilde version is happily energetic. The Home Free version is fun though maybe a bit fake in it’s slick production. Boogie riffs are a musical cliche that I find a bit boring–the Wilde version does it well, but I don’t know.

    Guess I’ll opt for Home Free since they have other songs in the mix and some musical surprises in the arrangement.. Yeah, Home Free for me.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

      • Stephen T. McCarthy

        December 15, 2015 at 1:14 am

        Yep! I’m sticking with my BRENDA LEE vote.

        OK, OK, I’ll play by the rules, even though Brenda OWNS her own song.

        The Kim Wilde version was OK. Not bad, but certainly she didn’t do anything to make me forget about Brenda Lee (and that gay guy – whoever he is – was a bit hard to watch and listen to).

        However, the HOME FREE version was really good! They really changed it up, rearranged it in a neat way, and presented it in a manner that was quite different from the classic Brenda original. Not gonna beat Brenda on this song, but it was definitely the SECOND BEST version I’ve ever heard.

        HOME FREE for the win!

        I’ve told this story a couple times before, but I’ll tell it again because it’s true…

        The first time I ever heard BRENDA LEE’s ‘ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE’ on the radio, it was probably about 1984. I had no idea who Brenda was, and I thought it was the WORST CHRISTMAS SONG I’d ever heard!

        It came over my car radio a second time about a week later, and I remember thinking: “Oh, this is that song I hate, again!”

        The third time I heard it on my car radio (maybe a couple weeks later), I thought: “Well, it’s not quite THAT bad.”

        And the fourth time I heard it, I thought: “I gotta find out who does this because I need to buy a copy for my record collection!”

        That was the ONLY TIME in my entire life when I HATED a song the first couple times I heard it and eventually grew to ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

        About a decade later I saw Brenda Lee perform live in concert in Los Angeles and she was great. She walked through the audience, posing with fans, while a roadie took photographs with an Instamatic camera and gave the developing pictures to the fans she’d posed with. I NEVER saw a performer do something like that before! What a classy lady! I only wish I had gotten my picture taken with her. My girlfriend was gesturing wildly for Brenda to pose with me but “Little Miss Dynamite” didn’t see it.

        ~ D-FensDogG
        ‘Loyal American Underground’

        • Cathy Kennedy

          December 16, 2015 at 2:37 pm

          Stephen, I’m so glad you decided to play by the rules. I thought I was gonna have to disqualify your first vote. lol Brenda Lee didn’t win me over the first few times I heard her, either. In fact, when it comes to Christmas music I use to be a fairly traditional Christmas song listener and thought everything else was too modern. Now days, I like the variety as long as the words aren’t lost by the music. I still have to feel what the song is conveying. Gotcha down for Home Free.

  • Thomas Anderson

    December 14, 2015 at 12:39 am

    Good morning, dear Cathy!

    You caught me just before bedtime and I’m glad I stayed up to listen to the seasonal sounds you picked for your mid December band battle. I too am amazed at the maturity in Brenda Lee’s voice at that tender age. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is one of my favorite holiday songs and both two competitors offered fine covers. I thoroughly enjoyed the version by Home Free with its bouncy beat and multi-part harmony. When I worked at that MTV station in the mid 80s, our jocks played Kim Wilde ‘s videos. In 1987 Kim and Mel Smith released a version of this song as a single, credited to Mel and Kim. I haven’t seen Kim in decades and it was great to watch and listen to this 2013 video with Kim and Nik Kershaw performing a new rendition. They won me over, Cathy. Maybe the visual element swayed me – all the smiling musicians with antlers on their heads rocking out to the song in a train car. I tried not to watch the vid but I couldn’t help myself. It was pure fun and I give my vote to Kim and Nik!

    If today is your birthday, then happy birthday to you, my dear friend!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      December 14, 2015 at 11:10 am

      Tom, I’m glad I caught before bedtime. My goodness you’re a late owl. I happened to be up then, too. But, I prefer going to bed earlier. This post was scheduled to go live at midnight. Anywho, thanks for playing along and I’m happy to tap into one of your favorite Christmas tunes. Brenda sounds more grown up at 13 than I do now and it’s my 54th bday today. How did that happen? Well, I have your vote recorded for Kim and Nik, my friend. Thanks for the birthday wishes and for the visit. Oh yeah, that’s okay if the vid swayed you just a teeny bit. Sometimes it’s hard to not be influenced by all the visual fun going on.

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