GR8 AL Music - Kumbaya

Topic: Holiday Versions
The holiday songs mentioned in the post for 24 December 2021 were sold to adults who earned paychecks, and were played by them or their children.  Elvis Presley marked the entry of a youthful audience who had enough cash to buy 45 rpm records that typically sold for .89. [1]

Adolescents not only had their own music, but their own television show, American Bandstand, to publicize their music.  It was 1958 when Brenda Lee recorded her generation’s first Christmas song.  While it did not become popular until 1960, [2] “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” [3] is still the favorite of the Adult Contemporary music audience. [4]

Like most teen-age genres “Rockin’” was slightly subversive.  It announced the holiday season was still important, but that they had outgrown “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”  They wanted something that represented them by them.  Lee was thirteen-years-old when she made the recording. [5]

Since then, each generation has created its own.  One survey says The Jackson 5’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” [6] is the favorite of Hip Hop audiences. [7]  Among Amazon’s top holiday sellers [8] are ones by Mariah Carey in second place, [9] Taylor Swift in tenth, [10] The Beach Boys in seventeenth, [11] and the Eagles in thirty-second. [12]

In 2012, a German niche-recording company produced a version of “Kumbaya” for the Lounge-music market.  It begins with the sound of rushing water, then an electronic instrument plays the melody five times with small variations in key.  The primary sound is that of strings with an occasional brass flourish.  The beat is pronounced both in the melody and, sometimes, from a drum set and triangle.

Lounges are a natural market for niche companies.  They need music when they cannot afford live musicians and do not have much cash to spend.  The Lounge genre probably dates back as far as clubs in Berlin and Paris in the 1930s.  It came to this country in the 1950s when casinos opened in Las Vegas. [13]

New forms developed in Frankfurt, Germany, after Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti experimented with electronic dance music in 1989. [14]  Their work coincided with raves in England, and blossomed in Germany after the Berlin wall fell in November. [15]

The same year, 1989, a dance club in London opened a quiet room.  This gave Lounge music a new name, “Chill Out.”  Some noted its similarity to Brian Eno’s work and classed it as ambient. [16]  The genre has been described as “dance-ready, nostalgia-inducing” by one writer. [17]  Another “focuses on the relaxing, mellow, soothing, sometimes hypnotic aspects of a style.” [18]  The person who copyrighted this version of “Kumbaya” called his company “AL Music” which may stand for the German term “ambiente lounge.” [19]

The humor of “Kumbaya” was not in the performance, but in the presentation.  I bought four copies on Amazon in 2019, only to find they were the same.  As mentioned in the post for 23 January 2018, it is not unusual for niche recording companies to repackage recordings.  These were straight forward presentations: Jarno Emilian’s version was described as “lounge and chill out,” while Templin Starchild was listed as “chill lounge” and Kemuel Javan as “lounge.”  Mirza Abbas was called “X-Mas Chill Out and Lounge Essentials.”

The only clue to their genre, other than keywords was their names.  Camael is the archangel of war [20] and appeared on Super Nintendo’s Shin Megami Tensei II. [21]  Javan appears in the apocalyptic Book of Daniel, [22] while Mirza Abbas happens to coincide with the name of a corrupt Bangladesh politician. [23]

Little may be required to submit an MP3 tape to a streaming service, but in 2012 Amazon still assumed songs were taken from CDs.  Whoever did the uploads created Potemkin profiles [24] with album names and covers that featured artwork found on inexpensive Christmas cards.  The record company names varied, because all that mattered to the computer was that the blank be filled and a bank account be provided.

The niche company produced four more listings that disguised their genre to reach a broader audience.  The albums had titles like Christmas Sleigh Ride and Zauberhafte Weihnachtshits.  The only clues were keywords like “edit” in the first and “mix” in the latter.

The company then went farther, and presented five versions with words like “traditional.”  One by The Holy Lords was advertised for “kids only.”  These crossed the line: instead of in-group humor, they were stealth attacks on consumers of holiday music that were more in the vein of “Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer.” [25]  One man complained:

“The title is misleading; ‘Traditional X-MAS Songs’ has nothing to do with any of the songs on this album except for the titles being those of traditional Christmas songs.  That and the Album cover with the gift, ornament and Santa hat and ‘Merry Christmas’ indicate Christmas Music.” [26]

The company’s humor began morphing from parody into deliberate misrepresentation with the version by Adad Kumbaya.  The album used the name of the Band-Aid song for Ethiopian relief. [27]  “Kumbaya (Africa Africa)” supposedly was on Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The line may have crossed into fraud when the computer expert found a way to attache his tape to the covers of popular collections.  Fittingly, they featured songs by Big Band and Las Vegas artists like Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra.  While it did not exactly say “Kumbaya” came from I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas, [28] the Amazon listing had all positive comments of readers to fool the buyer.  One woman who bought Traditional Christmas Classics [29] warned: “What it says the songs are is incorrect.” [30]

There are some who claim humor is not humor unless it tests boundaries and reveals taboos.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none

Instrumental Soloist: electronic instrument that sounds like strings and brass

Rhythm Accompaniment: drum-set effects with occasional sounds of triangles

Credits
© GR8 AL Music

Notes on Lyrics
There are none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5 introduced by CRS
Time Signature: Xxx
Tempo: slow
Rhythm: pronounced

Basic Structure: strophic repetition with variations in key and dynamics for five iterations

Notes on Performance
Covers feature scenes found on Christmas cards

Audience Perceptions
The man quoted above did say:

“This is a Euro-‘Chill’ compilation.  It is electronica, and is fine chill compositions, but should be packaged as ‘Winter Euro Chill’ but not as a Christmas Music.  If one prefers Holiday ‘mood’ music divorced from the actual Christmas holiday and any tradition at all, this is a fine chill compilation.” [31]

Notes on Performers
Niche companies hide behind pseudonyms for a number of reasons.  In 2013, whoever uploaded copies of the “Kumbaya” tape said it was copyrighted by GR8 AL Music.  This does not mean this is the entity that produced the 2012 tape, but may represent who controlled it in 2013.

The name associated with the company also may be an alias.  Faris AL-Hassoni describes himself as a producer and distributor.  He does not list any musical skills. [32]

The mailing address is in Friedberg, Hesse, but, earlier this year, a press release said GR8 AL Music Management is located in Frankfurt-am-Main. [33]  Friedberg is sixteen miles north of Frankfurt by a rapid rail line. [34]  It is best known as the site of the army base where Presley was stationed in the 1950s.  The base closed in 2007, [35] but by then Frankfurt was expanding. [36]

Frankfort was becoming a city of immigrants, especially from Turkey and Morocco. [37]  The names of some of the artists used in 2012 would have appealed to young men interested in gaming.  Pomelion was a term for the part of a cannon that anchored a rope on ships. [38]  Lebuin Hereweald combined the names of an Anglo-Saxon saint [39] and a military leader. [40]  Lord Helmchen was borrowed from Mel Brooks Space Trek parody.  Dark Helmet [41] is on the side of evil in Spaceballs. [42]

In 2013, Al-Hassoni changed the focus for promotions of “Kumbaya.”  They still were packaged as traditional Christmas offerings, but the names he chose to feature were the ones associated with gaming: Lord Helmchen, Lord Kumbaya, and the Holy Lords.  The one new name was Damiel, a character in a 1987 film about angels hovering over Berlin. [43]

Availability
Within each year, they are listed by the first word of the performers’ names.  All were advertised by Amazon in 2019.  Some still are available there or on other streaming services.

2012
Adad Kumbaya.  “Kumbaya (Africa Africa).”  Do They Know It’s Christmas? Traditional Xmas Songs.  Holy Days Music, 2012.

Adam Bros.  “Kumbaya.”  Reach for the Stars, Xmas Special.  Heaven and stars music, 2012.

Cagatay Nadir.  “Kumbaya My Lord (Joyeux Noël Buddah Mix).”  Zauberhafte Weihnachtshits, Vol. 2.  Xmas Greatest Hits Recordings, 2012.

Clara Helene.  “Kumbaya My Lord.”  Klassische Weihnachten, Merry Christmas.  Traditional Classic Christmas, 2012.

Jarno Emilian.  “Kumbaya My Lord.”  Frosty Hits Merry Christmas.  Holiday Xmas Eve, 2012.

Kemuel Javan.  “Kumbaya My Lord (Relax Mix).”  Christmas Holidays Deluxe.  Santa Claus Music, 2012.

Lebuin Hereweald.  “Kumbaya (feat. My Lord).”  Tonight Traditional Christmas Hits.  Christmas Sweets Rec., 2012.

Lord Helmchen.  “Kumbaya (Come By Here).”  Traditional Christmas Classics.  Sound of Xmas, 2012.

Lord Kumbaya.  “Cumbaya My Lord.”  Delicious Christmas Songs, Vol. 1.  Christmas Greatest, 2012.

Mirza Abbas.  “Kumbaya My Lord.”  Jingle Bells and the Reindeer Sleigh Ride.  Greeting Christmas Prod., 2012.

Pomelion.  “Come By Here, Kumbaya My Lord.”  Deluxe Merry Christmas.  Christmas Eve Recordings, 2012.

Santah Jackson.  “Kumbaya My Lord (Best of Collection Mix).”  I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.  Christmas Biscuits Music, 2012.

Templin Starchild.  “Kumbaya my Lord (Deluxe Bonus Edit).”  Dreams Winter Xmas.  Christmas In Love, 2012.

The Holy Lords.  “Kumbaya My Lord (Come By Here).”  The Reindeer Xmas Collection.  Xmas Greatest Hit Recordings, 2012.

Turkey Sampson.  “Kumbaya My Lord (Born in the Usa Edit).”  Christmas Sleigh Ride.  Traditional Christmas Songs, 2012.

2013
Damiel.  “Cumbaya My Lord (Come By Here).”  Best Of Frohe Weihnachten Merry Xmas.  Sound of Xmas, 2013.  © GR8 AL Music.

Damiel.  “Cumbaya My Lord (Come By Here).”  Merry Christmas Gifts and Happy New Year.  Sound Of Xmas, 2013.

Lord Helmchen.  “Kumbaya (Come By Here).”  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Coffee and Cookie Christmas Production, 2013.  © GR8 AL Music [also 2012].

The Holy Lords.  “Kumbaya My Lord (Come By Here).”  Xmas Winter Parade.  Christmas In Love, 2013.  © GR8 AL Music [also 2012].

2014
Lord Kumbaya.  “Cumbaya My Lord (Home for Christmas Edit).”  Traditional Merry Christmas.  Christmas Eve Recordings, 2014 [also 2012].

2016
Adad Kumbaya.  “Kumbaya (Africa Africa).”  Merry Christmas, das Weihnachtskonzert.  GR8 AL Music, 2016 [also 2012].

End Notes
1.  Billboard, 8 January 1955 and 15 January 1955.  The record companies announced price changes in January 1955.  At that time, the retail price for a 45 rpm record remained .89.

2.  “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”  Wikipedia website.

3.  Brenda Lee.  “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.”  Decca 9-30776.  Released 1958.  45 rpm.  [Discogs entry.]

4.  Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey. [44]  That it is the best seller on Amazon this year [45] may say more about Amazon’s customers than the song.
 
5.  Wikipedia, Rockin’.

6.  The Jackson 5.  “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town.”  Motown M-1174.  Released 25 November 1970.  45 rpm.  [Discogs entry.]

7.  Pinnacle Media.

8.  “The Top 100 Most Played: Holiday.”  Amazon website, accessed 10 December 2021.

9.  Mariah Carey.  “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”  Merry Christmas.  Columbia CK 64222.  Released 1994.  CD.  [Discogs entry.]

10.  Taylor Swift.  “Christmas Tree Farm.”  Republic Records.  Released 6 December 2019.  Digital tape.  [Discogs entry.]

11.  The Beach Boys.  “Little Saint Nick.”  The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album.  Capitol Records ST-2164.  Released October 1964.  [Discogs entry.]

12.  Eagles.  “Please Come Home For Christmas.”  Asylum Records E-45555.  Released November 1978.  45 rpm.  [Discogs entry.]

13.  Artists like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Louis Prima became associated with the casinos. [46]  The musical styles became better known sfter the brother-in-law of one of Sinatra’s friends became president in 1961. [47]

14.  “Frankfurt.”  Wikipedia website.
15.  “Eurodance.”  Wikipedia website.
16.  “Chill-Out Music.”  Wikipedia website.

17.  Bryan Hood.  “Vulture’s Brief History of Chillwave.”  Vulture website, 14 July 2011.

18.  “What Is Chill Indie Music?”  We Are the Guard website.
19.  Google Translation of “Ambient Lounge” from English to German.
20.  “Camael.”  Wikipedia website.  German often uses “k” in place of “c.”

21.  Ben Chard.  “Camael.”  Gamer Guides website.  Chard says the character was introduced on II in 1994, [48] and reappeared in V in 2021. [50]

22.  “Javan.”  Wikipedia website.

23.  “Mirza Abbas.”  Wikipedia website.  He was elected to Parliament in 2001 and arrested for corruption in 2007.

24.  None of the artists or albums appear in Discogs.  They only appear in Google searches for streaming services advertising these versions.

25.  The song’s history began in a Lake Tahoe casino, where Elmo and Patsy Shropshire sang it. [52]  In 1979, a privately-produced recording was played by disc jockeys who received such material. [53]  By 1984, it had become so popular, Epic released it. [54] Today, “Grandma” is among the most loved and most hated songs on polls conducted by Edison Media Research [55] and Pinnacle Media Worldwide. [56]

26.  killjoy714.  Comment added 28 November 2015 to Amazon listing for Merry Christmas Gifts and Happy New Year associated with Damiel.

27.  Band Aid.  “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”  Columbia 44-05157.  Recorded 25 November 1984; released 1984.  EP.  [Discogs entry.]

28.  Various Artists.  I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas.  Noël NL 25292.  Released 1999.  [Discogs entry.]

29.  Various Artists.  Traditional Christmas Classics.  MCA Records MCAD-25988.  Columbia House CD.  Released 1989.  [Discogs entry.]

30.  Karen Atencio.  Comment added 6 December 2016 to Traditional Christmas Classics associated with Lord Helmchen.

31.  killjoy714.
32.  “Faris Al-Hassoni.”  Radaris website.

33.  “GR8 AL Music Has Signed New Album of Luke Mornay (Grammy Nominated Remixer).”  Press release, 1 March 2021, posted on Open PR website.  It said the company was organized in 2010.

34.  “Rhine-Main S-Bahn.”  Wikipedia website.
35.  “Friedberg, Hesse.”  Wikipedia website.
36.  “Frankfurt Population 2021.”  World Population Review website.

37.  World Population Review.  In 2015, immigrants outnumbered natives, especially among the young.

38.  “Cascabel (Artillery).”  Wikipedia website.  The proper spelling is “pommelion.”
39.  “Lebuinus.”  Wikipedia website.  His enemies ascribed his powers to witchcraft.
40.  “Hereweald.”  Name Doctor website.
41.  “Helmet” is “helmchen” in German.

42.  Spaceballs.  Directed by Mel Brooks.  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 24 June 1987. [57]

43.  Wings of Desire.  Directed by Wim Wenders.  Basis-Film-Verleih GmbH, 29 October 1987.  It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 1987. [58]

44.  Cited by “Christmas Music.”  Wikipedia website.
45.  Amazon, Top 100.
46.  “Lounge Music.”  Wikipedia website.
47.  “Peter Lawford.”  Wikipedia website.  Lawford married Patricia Kennedy.

48.  Shin Megami Tensei II.  Atlus, 1994, for Super Famicom and later “ported to multiple platforms.” [49]

49.  "Shin Megami Tensei II.”  Wikipedia website.
50.  Shin Megami Tensei V.  Atlus, November 2021, for Nintendo Switch. [51]
51.  “Shin Megami Tensei V.”  Wikipedia website.
52.  “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”  Wikipedia website.

53.  Elmo And Patsy.  “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.”  Oink Records KP-2984.  Released 1979.  45 rpm.  [Discogs entry.]  I heard it that year on a country music station in Detroit where it was played by such a DJ.

54.  Elmo & Patsy.  “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.”  Epic 15-05479.  Released 1984.  45  rpm.  [Discogs entry.]

55.  Cited by Wikipedia, Grandma.  47% love it and 17% hate it.
56.  Cited by Wikipedia, Grandma.  32% love it and 22% hate it.
57.  “Spaceballs.”  Wikipedia website.
58.  “Wings of Desire.”  Wikipedia website.