• Writers: Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simone (“Little Drummer Boy”); Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman, and Alan Kohan (“Peace On Earth”)
• Recorded: September 11th, 1977, in Los Angeles
• Appears On:
  Bowie: The Singles Collection (Rykodisc, 1993)
  Martha Stewart Living: Home For the Holidays (Rhino, 2001)
  Now That’s What I Call Christmas (Universal, 2001)
  VH1 The Big ’80s Christmas (Rhino, 2001)
  and many compilations
• In one of the strangest duets in pop music history, the androgynous David Bowie teamed with cardigan-wearing crooner Bing Crosby on a medley of these two holiday standards for Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas TV special in 1977.
• Bowie’s appearance featured a brief, stiff chat between the two singers followed by their performance.
• The performance wasn’t officially released until 1982, when it came out as a single in the U.K. and reached Number Three on the pop chart there.
• “Little Drummer Boy”/”Peace On Earth” didn’t appear on a Bowie album until 1993’s Bowie: The Singles Collection, on which it was featured as a bonus disc.
• Crosby had recorded “Little Drummer Boy” for his 1962 album I Wish You A Merry Christmas and again in 1964 on his 12 Songs Of Christmas collaboration with Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring.

FAST FORWARD:

• Crosby, whose version of “White Christmas” is one of the most successful singles of all time, died of a heart attack on October 14th, 1977 — less than five weeks after the duet with Bowie. The TV special aired posthumously.
• Bowie married the fashion model Iman on April 24th, 1992.
• Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 but did not attend the ceremony.
• In 1997, Bowie offered “shares” — or “Bowie Bonds,” as they came to be known — backed by his projected future income for past projects. The move, which was the first of its kind in rock, was a huge success.
• Bowie’s latest album, which is called Reality, came out in 2003, and he toured the world to support it. He canceled the last couple of shows on the tour after having an emergency angioplasty to repair a blocked artery, which the U.K. tabloid The Sun reported as a heart attack. He has since made a full recovery.
• Bowie is said to be working on a new studio album.