Episode 85: Christmas Special 2024

Episode 85: Christmas Special 2024

Author: Mark Roback December 21, 2024 Duration: 1:54:49

Hark; the herald angels sing, “Do you hear what I hear”? I think it’s the most wonderful time of year again. Do you have a favorite that you consider to be the Christmas song? I looked out the window this morning, and it looked like a winter wonderland. I can’t deny that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. This week we take a sleigh ride through the AT10 from December 24th, 2005, the top 29 Christmas songs based on airplay. We promise to have you rockin’ around the Tannenbaum.


Link to a listing of the songs in this week’s episode: http://www.american-top-40.bplaced.net/AT_10,_All-time_Top_60_Christmas_Songs,_2005.pdf


Data Sources: Billboard Magazine, where the charts came from and on what the countdown was based.

Websites: allmusic.com, songfacts.com, wikipedia.com (because Mark’s lazy)

Books: “Ranking the 70’s” by Dann Isbell, and Bill Carroll

“American Top 40 With Casey Kasem (The 1970’s)" by Pete Battistini.


Rejected Episode Titles:


Have a Holly Jolly Sleigh Ride


Rockin’ Around the Tannenbaum


Rudolph the Little Drummer Boy



Things we talked about in the episode:


Christmastime For The Jews – SNL: https://youtu.be/BGzO1ghRKp4?si=BqDdssQKDo4yP106


The Narrator That Ruined Christmas – SNL: https://youtu.be/UihZm6T2T5g?si=p17LjvzlI2aRJ6by


SNL TV Funhouse Charlie Brown Christmas: https://youtu.be/R_Ejc3N9JKU?si=LIUtLWfUqe1KM8Hg


Daryl Hall & John Oates - Jingle Bell Rock: https://youtu.be/5vyMuxxLsD0?si=uIex0hhwwLwOXDo1


Beavis and Butt-Head - Do 'Hall & Oates - Jingle Bell Rock': https://youtu.be/vPjLNOUH7uw?si=V5jEd6dJj3WU12Me


Sonny & Cher Christmas Show 1972 Excerpts (William Conrad, and Oh Holy Night): https://youtu.be/GZCkI-hGzPg?si=p3AoMf3-zGVmGROu


Paul Shaffer’s Impression of Cher Singing "O Holy Night" Promo | Letterman: https://youtu.be/BGNjJ8WwJCY?si=uwf9buQzPY4XvFL3


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Every week, Mark Roback and his friend Pete dust off a random episode of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from the 1970s. 70s Weekly Countdown with Mark and Pete is more than just a nostalgic trip through the charts. Each song in that week's lineup gets a thoughtful rating and a deep dive-they unpack the stories behind the music, the artists' trajectories, and what made those particular tracks resonate. But the context is just as important as the countdown. The conversation naturally expands to include the major headlines, the TV shows everyone was watching, and the cultural moments that defined that specific week in history. Woven into the analysis are personal anecdotes from Mark and Pete, connecting the music to their own coming-of-age experiences during that era. This podcast is a layered exploration of a decade, using the pop chart as a starting point to examine the sound, the spirit, and the surprising details of the 1970s. You'll hear passionate debates, learn obscure facts, and get a feel for what it was like to live through that time, all through the shared lens of two friends who genuinely love the material.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

70s Weekly Countdown with Mark and Pete
Podcast Episodes
Episode 59: The Week Ending September 25, 1971 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:23:05
In the ‘70s there were signs that crime was on the uptick. Did you surrender any money as the victim of a stick up? After you were scammed, did you vow I won’t get fooled again? At times it seemed like there was a breakd…
Episode 58: The Week Ending September 2, 1972 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:22:41
It was Labor Day weekend 1972. Saturday in the park, did you ask your daddy not to walk so fast, and on the beautiful Sunday did you go for a ride with your motorcycle mama? When you say love, does it make you think of a…
Episode 57: The Week Ending August 15, 1970 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:10:21
O-o-h child, in the summertime in the ‘70s, it was a groovy situation. Maybe you were just a solitary man hitchin’ a ride because you missed that big yellow taxi trying to escape the summertime blues. Well hi-de-ho, are…
Episode 56: The Week Ending August 3, 1974 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:25:43
How good was the music back in 1974? Well you might be afraid that I’m leaving it all up to you to tell me something good about it. Even if you talk in your sleep, that’s not my thang. This week as sure as I’m sitting he…
Episode 55: The Week Ending July 9th, 1977 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:12:31
It looks like we made it to episode 55! However, this week, the task is not easy, and it may be necessary to have an angel in your arms or even an undercover angel, to do battle with the devils gun. In the ‘70s, pre-cell…
Episode 54: The Week Ending June 26th, 1976 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:25:10
We have to apologize for the long break we took between episodes. Although it might have seemed that we decided to take the money and run, the truth is we just had quite a bit of a love hangover after season 1. Have no f…
Episode 53: The Week Ending May 6th 1978 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:13:59
I guess it’s a heart ache to say that this is the last episode of Season 1 and yet in reality, it really feels so good. At this point we’ve been stayin’ alive for 53 episodes, but since we feel like we are running on emp…
Episode 52: Our One Year Anniversary Spectacular [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:17:53
Tonight’s the night for our one year anniversary show. It’s a family affair as we welcome and are reunited with our special guests Nathan Beaudry and John Mottola from The Deep Purple Podcast. My sweet lord, as green as…
Episode 51: The Week Ending April 20th, 1974 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:51:55
In the ‘70s it was easy to have an identity crisis. Would you have said I’m a train, a piano man, or a dancing machine? Perhaps you remember doing the jungle boogie with the dark lady after midnight at the oasis? She sai…
Episode 50: The Week Ending April 29st, 1972 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:45
I’ll never forget the day I found myself in the doctor’s office and he said “Mister can’t you see? My response was “doctor my eyes, last night I didn’t get to sleep at all, can you just five me something to help me make…