National Treasure and Rock & Soul machine Gary "U.S." Bonds is officially on the schedule for a Christmas album release on September 11. "Christmas Is On!" will be the veteran performer's first full-length Christmas effort. Did I say "veteran performer"? Oh, hell, yeah! Gary's first Top Ten smash was "New Orleans" which flew to #6 in 1960. That's not a misprint, it really was 52 years ago. And Gary then eclipsed that single in 1961 with the colossal #1 monster hit "Quarter To Three". The hits stopped coming after 1962. But Gary kept on working it. His original Christmas single, "Call Me For Christmas", was released to great apathy in 1967 (but has since become an oldies staple and can be found on an out-of-print CD compilation or two). In the 70s, Gary excelled with his songwriting--penning, among others, "She's All I Got"--a big hit for Johnny Paycheck and a nominee for CMA Song Of The Year in 1972.
In 1981, Gary found himself rediscovered and back in demand. Working with Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven, and other stars of the Asbury Park scene, Gary scored two hit albums and another string of singles that included "This Little Girl" (a #11 hit in 1981) and "Out Of Work". While Gary hasn't scored any Top 40 hits in the last 30 years, he remains one of the hardest working performers in the business and is a familiar face along the Jersey Shore. His most recent album was 2009's "Let Them Talk". In December 2011, Gary participated in the annual Hope Concert in Red Bank, New Jersey (yay, Red Bank! I miss you much), joining Southside Johnny, Jon Bon Jovi, and others on stage for a group sing of "Blue Christmas". Back in January of this year, Gary was among the many legends who rocked the house(s) in a pair of Norfolk shows honoring the late Clarence Clemons. And, in June, Gary put on a two and a half hour show at B.B. King's in New York. The occasion? Gary's 73rd birthday! And lest you think that's ALL he's been up to you, I promise I'm just mentioning a few highlights. There is no stopping Gary "U.S." Bonds. You can't even slow him down.
I'd love to be able to tell you more about "Christmas Is On!", but there has been absolutely NO talk about it on the Internets. Gary briefly mentioned that he was working on a Christmas album during a college radio appearance in May, but that's it. What we do know is that the title track was written by Paul Zunno for Gary to perform in the 2007 holiday film "A Merry Little Christmas". (Paul, who toured as Wilson Pickett's lead guitarist for years, had his own holiday single in 2010. "Tis The Season To Be Loving You" is well worth checking out, too, though I'm kind of hoping Gary covers that one as well). Also in that film was the track featured above, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" (performed in a style that pays homage to both of Gary's hit making eras), which Gary gave away as a free download on his web site when the movie (retitled "The Town That Banned Christmas") was released on DVD the following year. Now, the movie was widely panned, but that Gary U.S. Bonds track is a joyous thing to behold. There was supposed to be a soundtrack, and I looked, but I never saw it. And one could conclude that Gary's purpose in releasing a Christmas album now is to get those songs out where people can find them. And, if so (and even if not), I say "Thank you, Mr. Bonds! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I almost don't even care what's on the rest of the album. Well, OK, I care, but that track is pretty awesome, doncha think?
And the one thing that we do know for sure... We won't have to wait very long. "Christmas Is On!" hits your on-line retailers September 11.