Hey Julia,
What are yours, and Poydras’, favorite locally created Christmas season songs?
– Ralph Goeing, Prairieville
Ralph you managed to ask the only question that Poydras and I totally agree on the answer. There are three:
“All I want for Christmas is the Saints in the Superbowl”
Most memorable among the lines in this Kermit Ruffins song released in 2009 on the Basin Street recording label was, “All I want for Christmas Is the Saints in the Superbowl.” The video featured Ruffins wearing a jacket, shirt and fedora that were all black and a gold tie. He also contributed a vocal solo and a lively trumpet. The song was prophetic. On Feb. 7, 2010 the Saints would win the Superbowl. The Quarterback for the rival Indianapolis Colts was New Orleanian Peyton Manning who, except for that year, had probably wished for many Saints Superbowls.
“All I want for Christmas is You”
Recorded by New Orleans based Vince Vance and the Valiants, and written by group leader Andy Stone, he’s the one with the pointy headed wig, and band member Troy Powers. Performed by band singer Lisa Lane, the song is a very moody reflection on Christmas Desire:
You are the angel on top my tree
You are my dream come true
Santa can’t bring me what I need
‘Cause all I want for Christmas is you
New Orleans in origin, the song was recorded in Nashville with studio musicians whose performance is as good as Lane’s, especially part way through the song with their funky sax solo.
Be aware, Mariah Carey would record a song with the same name but otherwise different. Carey’s version is lively, but the Valiants’ is the best.
“Christmas Time in New Orleans”
This song is a fun romp as a tribute to the city, but its greatest asset is not so much its lyrics, which are ok, but a chance to hear Louis Armstrong, perhaps the greatest jazz musician of all time, take off on his cornet and sing with that famous gravelly voice, Satchmo’s performance is the real present.
Your cares will disappear when you here, Hallelujah St. Nicholas is here. When it’s Christmas time in New Orleans.
Hi Julia,
Do you ever go to Reveillon?
– Janita Rodriguez, New Orleans
Yes Janita, though Reveillon today is different from the original concept. In earlier times a Reveillon was a meal served at a home, mostly by Catholic Creole families, after returning from Christmas Eve midnight mass. The Catholic tradition of fasting before going to communion made churchgoers pretty hungry by the time they left mass. A typical Reveillon might include egg dishes, oysters, puddings, turtle soup, and, perhaps, a buche de noel—a rich mostly chocolate cake shaped like a “yule log.” (In France a real log would traditionally be burned at Christmas.)
That tradition eventually went away, however in the ’80s some preservationists got the idea of reviving the word and getting restaurants to serve pre-set holiday dinners during the days before Christmas. Many restaurants advertise their Reveillon menu. Often the dishes might include seasonal items such as roast duck, sweet potatoes and maybe a hearty soup,
It is a great tradition however Poydras insists that one year he went to one of the restaurants and that a place card on the table said: “We do not serve Reveillon meals to parrots.” Poydras left, of course, vowing to never return, although he teases that he has connections and is trying to borrow the New Orleans Pelicans’ mascot costume.
FOND FAREWELL
Julia and Poydras are planning to fly the coop in January for some much-needed R&R and some globe-trotting adventures.
Maybe you’ll catch them on the next flight to St. Tropez; or on board a cruise bound for Fiji; or maybe a mysterious train ride on the Orient Express. No telling where the intrepid duo will land next!
