December 17: The Beatles’ Third Christmas Record 1965

Several off-key, a cappella versions of Yesterday are dispersed throughout the record, alongside Lennon’s Happy Christmas to Ya List’nas, Auld Lang Syne, a one-and-a-half-line version of the Four Tops’ It’s the Same Old Song, which they quickly stop before they violate the copyright, and an original poem titled Christmas Comes But Once a Year. A second version of Auld Lang Syne segues messily into a cover of Barry McGuire’s Eve of Destruction. I find this both funny and interesting and my favorite among the Christmas records.

Members of the Beatles’ U.S. fan club did not receive this (or any) Christmas flexi-disc in 1965. Rather, they received a black and white postcard, with a photo of the Fab Four and the message “Season’s Greetings — Paul, Ringo, George, John.” The Beatle Bulletin, the publication of the U.S. fan club, explained in its April 1966 edition that the tape arrived too late to prepare the record in time for Christmas.

Recorded: 8 November 1965 Location: Dick James Music Writer: Tony Barrow, The Beatles Producer: Tony Barrow

Issued: 17 December 1965 Label: Lyntone, LYN 948 Flexi disc: 7″, 1 side, 33⅓ RPM Total time: 6:20

– Hallgeir