RECALCITRANT RADIO 26A

Joseph Spence - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (mid 1970s)

From Joseph Spence - Living On the Hallelujah Side (Rounder 1987) First posted December 22, 2011

Hello everybody, it's time for another Christmas tune. Joseph Spence is mostly known as an excellent guitarist with a unique style. Ry Cooder made an album called "Jazz" that is pretty much a tribute to Spence. He is also known because he wrote "I Bid You Goodnight" which the Grateful Dead played and recorded many times during their most psychedelic (best) days. I have seen some odd discussions over who wrote this. One source says that Spence credited it to the Incredible String Band. That seems unlikely to me - I'll have to investigate one of these days.

Anyway, this is a great Christmas tune and it's because of Spence's exuberant singing. My copy of this is in a place not known to me right now. So I'm referring everybody to You Tube where there is a pretty good sounding clip. No video but I like the picture of Spence you can watch during the song. He does a similar version of Coming In On a Wing and a Prayer but that's not a Christmas carol. Not yet, anyway.

March 2023 - Most of the references to I Bid You Goodnight I could find credited to Joseph Spence and the Pindar Family (the song appears on an album by the Pindar Family & Spence recorded in 1965). A couple cited it as an arrangement by Spence and the Pindars and it does sound like a real folksong, made up by who knows who, who knows when.

And I recommend hearing more of his guitar playing. It’s really something.

Ho Ho Ho.