“I Lose It When I Hear “White Christmas” – The Story Behind The Song!

As a long time lover of pop music I’ve always been curious about the story behind the song. Knowing that many of you feel the same way, I’d like to share the story behind “I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”, A new song that I wrote with Toni Wine (”Groovy Kind of Love”, “Candida”) which is on the Tony Orlando and Dawn “Reunion” album.

In 1995, after 20 years of being in the music buisness as a singer, songwriter, producer, being an exec at April-Blackwood, Warner Brothers music, and running Irving/ Almo, I had become too weak to even hold a guitar. Finally, I could no longer work at Allan Rinde’s legendary Chinese restaurant in Hollywood, Genghis Cohen, (which I named and hosted off and on for ten years)

When I kept falling down in the street, I knew that something was seriously wrong with me! I was uninsured, and was facing this crisis all alone. My two closest friends, Allan Rinde, was spending more and more time in Nashville with his fiance, Toni Wine…and Patti Dahlstrom, had moved back to Houston, to teach music and critical thinking at the Art Institute of Houston. I had taken to wearing all black, as I stumbled around the back streets of Hollywood, hoping I wouldn’t see anybody that I knew. I felt, for the first time in my life, that I had reached the end of the road.

Fortunately, Patti was in town for a conference, and came over to visit. I didn’t want her to see me broke and broken…but now I’m glad I did. She convinced me to swallow my pride and seek help from social services…which saved my life! I went to the USC medical center for 2 days of tests, and they kept me for 3 weeks.

It was a few days before Christmas, I was in a ward with many who were far worse off than me…and we did our best to keep each others’ spirits up. Somehow, I lost my phone book, and the only numbers that I could remember was my Mothers’, who had moved to West Virginia, and that my long time friend Alan O’Day, who was on his way out of town.

It’s a policy of most hospitals to send as many patients home for the holidays to be with their family and friends. Soon, I was the only one left in the ward, since I had nowhere else to go. One lonely night, as I sat feeling sorry for myself, I heard a group down the hall, singing Christmas carols. I followed the voices to the the children’s ward…where I heard the joyous sounds of “Jingle Bells”. It was the Salvation Army, passing out toys and candy, and singing to the kids, who wereconfined to their beds. I joined in on “Silent Night”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, and “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”, but when they started singing “White Christmas”…tears started running down my face, and I had to sit in another room to compose myself. This song, written by Irving Berlin, always brings back memories of family and friends in a snow covered New York City…flooding me with emotions.

10 years later, I told Toni Wine (whom I’ve known since she was 14), and showed her some lyrics I had written that fateful night “I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”.

She loved it, but wanted to make the story more universal. Over two writing sessions, which we started on Irving Berlin’s piano, which was given to Toni many years ago, we came up with….

“I LOSE IT WHEN THEY HEAR “WHITE CHRISTMAS”
words and music by Toni Wine and Artie Wayne

They can play “Jingle Bells” all day
talk about Santa’s Sleigh
I’m alright on a very “Silent Night”
But then my tears begin
when they sing I can’t join in
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”

Bein’ without you just ain’t no fun
What kind of thrill is cookin’ for one?
Can’t deny I wanna’ cry myself out
Here’s to Holiday spirit
don’t wanna’ be anywhere near it
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”

And Baby I know…You needed to go
But why did you have to leave me now?

[instumental]

Don’t feel like spreading good cheer
Just wanna’ sleep in the New Year
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”

Copyright 2005-CasmoTwine

If you want to hear the Tony Orlando and Dawn recording click http://artiewayne.com/I_Lose_It.html

If you like it, please feel to share it with a friend…if you love it, however, feel free to share it with your entire address book!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka and best of holidays, from Artie Wayne On The Web…and Whoppy and Streaker on the couch! Enjoy to the world!

Copyright 2006 by Artie Wayne

If you’d like to see “Whoppy and Streaker Presents The Top Christmas Music Videos Of All Time!” Bing, Elvis, Band-Aid, Singing Reindeer, Bowie, Destiny’s Child, more! https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2006/12/15/whoppy-and-streaker-present-the-top-christmas-videos-of-all-time/

For “Nookie’s Top Christmas And Hanukka Videos!” Adam Sandler, “Hanukkah Song”, Neil Diamond, Jingle Cats, Mariah Carey, Charlie Brown Christmas, more! https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/nookies-top-holiday-video-picks/

If you’d like to see my custom pet paint sculptures called PETZROCK, created on quartz just click on http://artiewayne.com/petz1.html

For Toni Wine http://toniwine.com

For the Salvation Army http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf

Hank Medress – The Unsung Hero behind, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, “He’s So Fine”, And “Tie A Yellow Ribbon”!

l to r Hank Medress, Mitch Margo, Phil Margo, and Jay Siegal
The Tokens are inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame 2005

Hank Medress, the founder of the Tokens (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) and producer of the Chiffons (“He’s So Fine”), Dawn ( “Candida”, “Knock Three Times”) , Tony Orlando and Dawn ( “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ( On The Old Oak Tree “) talks about his career, challenges and aspirations.

In an exclusive interview that amounts to a couple of old friends talking, Hank shares stories and experiences that make you feel like you’re there in the moment with him! He also talks about the organzation that he represents, and the gratification he receives from finding recording artists who don’t even know they are owed money.

Artie Wayne On The Web and Spectropop proudly present The Hank Medress interview http://spectropop.com/HankMedress/index.htm

Looking Back With Whoppy And Streaker

Whoppy and Streaker in a reflective mood.

It’s been ten years since Alex, the lovely hostess at Genghis Cohen, gave her boss Allan Rinde, a little calico cat by the name of Streaker. I watched Allan, who had little experience with pets, proceed to spoil her over the next 6 months. I remember going to visit him once and he answered the door with Streaker dangling by her claws, casually, from the bottom of his shirt. That little booger would always manage to do something that would keep me in stiches. She knew how to use the remote control on the TV and would change channels just as a program was starting to get good. Allan thought he had the problem solved when he started using two remotes. Then I remember one night, we were all watching “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, just as Sarah Michelle Geller was about to drive her point across…Streaker changes the channel! I quickly change it back…and Streaker changes it again! This “duel” goes on for a while until I chase her into the other room where she ducks under the bed. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I could heard her laughing.

This was about the time that Allan and songwriter Toni Wine ( “Groovy Kind Of Love”, “Candida”), who I introduced, were starting to get serious about each other. Allan was spending more and more time in Nashville where Toni lived, so Alex suggested that he should consider getting another cat to keep Streaker company. That’s when she brought a chubby, but dashing little white tomcat over, recently rescued from a crack house fire, whose name was Whoppy.

Allan let me stay in his apartment, after my spinal operation, where I fed and looked after my two little friends. Whoppy, who was now tipping the scales at 25 pounds, would lie on my right hand which, was partially paralyzed until it opened up! Streaker remained aloof with me, but fell in love with “Whop”. When I moved into my own place in Silver Lake, Allan gave me Whoppy as a present. A few weeks later, when he and Toni decided to marry, he asked me if I would take Streaker as well, because Toni was allergic to cats!

It’s been almost four years since the three of us moved here to the desert. Although I hate air conditioning, I turn it on for my little pals when it hits a hundred degrees or when they start sweating…whichever comes first!

This morning I was in a reflective mood myself and I took a look at the guest book on my website. I was amazed at many of the old and new friends who signed and some of the incredible stories they tell! If you’d like to see it just click onto http://www.artiewayne.com/Guestbook/

“I LOSE IT WHEN I HEAR WHITE CHRISTMAS” BY TONI WINE AND ARTIE WAYNE

“As a long time lover of pop music I’ve always been curious about the story behind the song. Knowing that many of you feel the same way, I’d like to share the story behind “I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”, A new song that I wrote with Toni Wine (“Groovy Kind of Love”, “Candida”) which is on the Tony Orlando and Dawn “Reunion” album.

In 1995, after 20 years of being in the music business as a singer, songwriter, producer, being an exec at April-Blackwood, Warner Brothers music, and running Irving/ Almo, I had become too weak to even hold a guitar. Finally, I could no longer work at Allan Rinde’s legendary Chinese restaurant in Hollywood, Genghis Cohen, [which I named and hosted off and on for ten years].

When I kept falling down in the street, I knew that something was seriously wrong with me! I was uninsured, and was facing this crisis all alone. My two closest friends, Allan Rinde, was spending more and more time in Nashville with his fiance, Toni Wine…and Patti Dahlstrom, had moved back to Houston, to teach music and critical thinking at the Art Institute of Houston. I had taken to wearing all black, as I stumbled around the back streets of Hollywood, hoping I wouldn’t see anybody that I knew. I felt, for the first time in my life, that I had reached the end of the road.

Fortunately, Patti was in town for a conference, and came over to visit. I didn’t want her to see me broke and broken…but now I’m glad I did. She convinced me to swallow my pride, and seek help from social services, which saved my life! I went to the USC medical center for 2 days of tests, and they kept me for 3 weeks.

It was a few days before Christmas, I was in a ward with many who were far worse off than me…and we did our best to keep each others’ spirits up. Somehow, I lost my phone book, and the only numbers that I could remember was my Mothers’, who had moved to West Virginia, and that my long time friend Alan O’Day, who was on his way out of town.

It’s a policy of most hospitals to send as many patients home for the holidays to be with their family and friends. Soon, I was the only one left in the ward, since I had nowhere else to go. One lonely night, as I sat feeling sorry for myself, I heard a group down the hall, singing Christmas carols. I followed the voices to the children’s ward…where I heard the joyous sounds of “Jingle Bells”. It was the Salvation Army, passing out toys and candy, and singing to the kids, who were confined to their beds. I joined in on “Silent Night”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, and “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”, but when they started singing “White Christmas” tears started running down my face, and I had to sit in another room to compose myself. This song, written by Irving Berlin, always brings back memories of family and friends in a snow covered New York City blanketing me with emotions.

10 years later, I told Toni Wine (whom I’ve known since she was 14…and showed her some lyrics I had written that night “I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”.

She loved it, but wanted to make the story more universal. Over two writing sessions, which we started on Irving Berlin’s piano Toni bought many years ago, we came up with….”

“I LOSE IT WHEN THEY HEAR “WHITE CHRISTMAS”
words and music by Toni Wine and Artie Wayne

They can play “Jingle Bells” all day
talk about Santa’s Sleigh
I’m alright on a very “Silent Night”
But then my tears begin
when they sing I can’t join in
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”

Being’ without you just ain’t no fun
what kind of thrill is cookin’ for one?
Can’t deny I wanna’ cry myself out
Here’s to Holiday spirit
don’t wanna’ be anywhere near it
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”

And Baby I know…You needed to go
But why did you have to leave me now?

[Instrumental]

Don’t feel like spreading good cheer
Just wanna’ sleep in the New Year
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”
‘Cause I Lose it When I Hear “White Christmas”

Copyright 2005-CasmoTwine

 

If you like it, please feel to share it with a friend…if you love it, however,  feel free to share it with your entire address book!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and best of holidays, from Artie Wayne On The Web ENJOY TO THE WORLD!

Copyright 2012 by Artie Wayne

WHILE FIGHTING LARGE CORPORATIONS WHO ARE TRYING TO KEEP ROYALTIES AWAY ME AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER ARTISTS, SONGWRITERS AND PUBLISHERS, MY ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME IS FROM THE SALE OF MY BOOK. ” I DID IT FOR A SONG”, WITH OVER 100 STORIES FROM THE MUSIC BUSINESS OF THE ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. I HOPE YOU’LL CONSIDER BUYING ONE DIRECTLY FROM ME THROUGH PAYPAL FOR ONLY $9.99 AT  artiewayne@gmail.com OR BY CHECK TO…ARTIE WAYNE  P.O. BOX 1105, DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA 92240

THANKS AND REGARDS, ARTIE WAYNE https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/celebrating-two-million-views-today-on-artie-wayne-on-the-web/

 

Aldon Music At 1650 Broadway And A Historic Encounter With Carole King!

It was 1961…and it was my first day on the job at New York’s Lowe’s State Theater, yelling, “Immediate Seating for Gone With The Wind!” The most appealing part of the job was the location…it was only five blocks away from 1650 Broadway…the new Tin Pan Alley…the “hipper” Brill building! This was also the day that my Mother met me up at Aldon Music, where Al Nevins and Don Kirshner convinced her that I shouldn’t go to college but hang out in their offices , learn how to write songs and prepare myself to become a Rock and Roll Star!!!

Like Chuck Berry said, ” I studied hard hopin’to pass”. I took advantage of the chance to be around some up and coming talent who soon would become the most sucessful writers in music buisness history!

now As a wide-eyed 18 year old, I sat everyday in Aldon Music’s 1650 B’way office and became freindly with most of the writers who were signed…Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield (who helped me develop as a lyric writer), Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (who taught me how to sing harmony), Gerry Goffin and Carole King (who showed me how to make demos), Jack Keller (who helped me with my chords), Larry Kolber (one of my first lyric partners), Russ Teitleman, Brooks Arthur, Billy Michelle, Al Gorgoni, Charles Koppleman, Don Rubin and a 14 year old Toni Wine.

I’d occasionally babysit for Carole King, while she was in the studio doing demos. In return she would play keyboards, arrange, and sing background when I had to put down my songs on tape. I remember one day she came in to play Don Kirshner her new song but he was still out to lunch. She asked me if I’d like to hear it while she was going over it.

She sat down at the old upright piano in the music room and started playing, “Tonight you’re mine completely…You give your love so sweetly…” I was spellbound, until the very last note of, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”. I sat there as she played it a few more times, knowing I wouldn’t be able to write anything of my own for weeks!

Then she was summoned to Don’s office. I think he liked it too…I kept hearing him yelling through the door, “It’s a Smash!…It’s a Fuckin’ Smash!”

Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne- https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/

CLICK HERE TO READ SALLY STEVENS EXCELLENT REVIEW OF “TROUBADOURS” featuring CAROLE KING AND JAMES TAYLOR ON PBS!  http://rockphiles.typepad.com/a_life_in_the_day/2011/03/troubadours-the-movie-review.html

BACK TO ARTIE WAYNE ON THE WEB! https://artiewayne.wordpress.com