Honey Dreamers Christmas Single

How about starting the Christmas shares off with another Honey Dreamers record? This one is a kiddie record from 1956 celebrating the latest helper of Santa, one Rootie Tootie Tootie, who is also identified as a "kewtee bear". He is the fellow at the right in the picture sleeve. Just so there is no mistake, his beanie denotes him as "Santa's Helper". It's not clear why he has belt and suspenders, having no trousers to hold up.

The back story of this scene is that Santa has been loading up with cookies and has become too fat to get down the chimney. So Rootie has become the designated toy dispenser. Unfortunately, Santa and Rootie did not discuss their respective roles before getting to this house, and the appropriately porcine-looking Santa has become stuck, to Rootie's amusement.

I gather that the children of 1956 found this tale appealing, although I was a child in good standing at the time and have no recollection of it. (I like to think I would have rejected it out of hand, but that's probably just me imputing my fabulous adult taste to my preferences as a six-year-old.) There was a children's book, two different records, and a toy bear. Unfortunately for the promoters, Rootie did not become as popular as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

If you can handle kiddie records, you will find this to be is a good example of the genre, with a catchy melody well presented by the versatile Honey Dreamers. The flip side is "The Little Bell," a simple you-can-do-it anthem for the junior set. I have included the "Story of Santa's Kewtee Bear" in the download, for those who want the full experience. I haven't listened, myself, but I believe it features Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flintstone) and May Questel (the voice of Betty Boop). It would have been more interesting if Santa had taken Fred and Betty along with him and left the bear at home.