Christmas Card Day

By this date in 1843, the custom of writing notes to friends at Christmas had been around for many years, but Henry Cole of London had procrastinated too long during that holiday season, and had to think of something fast. So, Cole hired an artist and printer to make copies of his message, which he sent to his friends and family, thereby creating the first Christmas cards.  And here it is…

Many people love the tradition but some don’t like the bother.  Same for Christmas music.  Many listeners can’t wait to hear the favorites played on 101 Gold.  But some don’t.  Here is the list of the most HATED Christmas songs according to a recent survey.  Some of them might be among your favorites.  What do you think?

1) Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.  (Elmo & Patsy)

2) Jingle Bells. (Barking Dogs)

3) I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas. (Gayla Peavey)

4) Twelve Days of Christmas. (any version, presumably)

and a tie for fifth…

5) I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. (Jimmy Boyd)

5) Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey. (Lou Monte)

And for those of us (like us) who are not familiar enough with that last one to hate it, here it is -

This was the date in 1963 that the last American-made Studebaker automobile rolled off the assembly line in South Bend, Indiana -- the Studebaker Company had been in existence since the US Civil War when it made covered wagons.

Music History 101: A new kind of opera opened to an enthusiastic crowd in London 42 years ago tonight -- in the orchestra pit Keith Moon, Roger Daltry and Rod Stewart. The Who's rock opera "Tommy"

The 101 number one song of the day reached the top of the charts twice and the original version – sung by a group calling themselves the Casinyets is the one you’ll hear next. That name, by the way, stood for something that most struggling artists would not want you to know.

It stood for Can’t Sing Yet. That’s what the four girls from Michigan thought of themselves when they formed the group in High School. They performed in a local talent show and that led to an audition in front of the head of a fledgling record label in Detroit. He thought they sang pretty good but he wanted to hear some original material. One of the members asked a songwriter friend if he had anything that might work for them and he offered the song you’re about to hear. Actually not, because the group member stayed up all night and totally rewrote the song keeping only the title. The head of the record company agreed to sign them to a contract and it would lead to his label’s first number one song. His name is Berry Gordy, Jr. and Motown was on its way. The song was number one this week in December, 1961. And since everyone involved agreed that by this time the girls could sing – and pretty well – they came up with a new name: the Marvelettes. (Please Mr. Postman)

Listen for the replay and win!