Recording

Merry Christmas Tonight The Isles of Rhythm

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In 1947, with World War II behind us, the country was ready for a new Christmas song. Gene Autry, singing Cowboy in the movies and shrewd businessman, fulfilled that need with this song. Autry got the idea for the song when he was the Grand Marshal in the 1946 Los Angeles Christmas Parade and heard kids shouting “here comes Santa Claus”, seeing Santa on the float directly behind Autry’s. Autry wrote a few notes about this parade experience and gave them to the manager of his publishing company who put it to music. The writers cleverly blend secular and religious elements in this song, assuring children that Santa Claus loves them all the same, whether they’re rich or poor. Autry’s recording of the song was a huge hit in 1947. It has been recorded by many artists including Bing Crosby (1948) and Elvis Presley (1957). The success of Autry’s recording led to his next big Christmas hit, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1949).

This version is played using the clave rhythm, also known as the Bo Diddley rhythm, since he used it in practically every one of his songs. Another good example is Jimmy Buffet’s Volcano (1979). An interesting fact related to this CD is that Buffet was born on Christmas day. The clave is a distinct 3/2 over two bar rhythmic pattern developed in Cuba but derived from African rhythms. It shares the same name as the percussion instrument claves, which almost always plays this rhythm in Latin American music. The claves are a pair of wooden sticks struck together, with the palm of the hand cupped to resonate the sound.

— Kevin Sanders, April, 2009