Here are a couple of Latin takes on a pop classic.
You may recall that Clement C. Moore created a lot of the Santa mythology in his 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” He invented the image of Santa as the jolly fat man who came down the chimney and left the kids presents and made up the notion of the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, including those crazy names.
Jump ahead a century and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created by Robert L. May in 1939 for Montgomery Ward as a promotional story. Years later, in debt, May persuaded the company to let him have the copyright. The story was sold commercially in book form and a cartoon version was made. Then Mays’ brother-in-law Johnny Marks wrote a song which was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 and became a smash hit.
In 1988, Los Lobos recorded a version of the song called “Rudolph The Manic Reindeer” for the Winter Warnerland promotional comp. The L.A.-based band has always blended different genres, such as blues, rock and norteño. On this song, they mix a little traditional Mexican with a manic-depressive touch of Jimi Hendrix. I’m terrible at remembering the differences between different Mexican styles — is this conjunto?
I first saw Los Straitjackets in the summer of 1995, on their first tour. It was a random thing that I ended up seeing them, but they blew me away. They play surf & rockabilly-influenced rock instrumentals, while wearing Mexican wrestling masks, like a luchador. They are unbelievably tight and energetic onstage.
This cut from their 2002 holiday album Tis The Season For Los Straitjackets adds a cha-cha beat.
Los Lobos – Rudolph The Manic Reindeer — BUY
Los Straitjackets – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer — BUY
Tags: Christmas music, Los Lobos, Los Straitjackets, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer