THERE’S STILL CHRISTMAS’ Clarence Clemons’ Christmas Song and the story behind it. AND Clarence Clemons 3rd Annual Birthday Party Jan 10, 2015 By Calvin Schwartz November 28th 2014

Firstly  A QUICK REMINDER: THE 3rd ANNUAL “BIG MAN’s” BIRTHDAY BASH

A Clarence Clemons Birthday Celebration to Benefit Hometown Heroes

January 10th 2015  at BAR ANTICIPATION, Belmar, New Jersey
Doors Open 1:30pm Show Starts 2pm
Tickets $25 for Show
$50 VIP Dinner,Show,Meet & Greet.

FOR MORE INFO:

https://www.facebook.com/events/741748815903741/permalink/754339011311388/

Two years ago and last year I published the essence of this article on my blog (vichywater.net) and here at NJ Discover; some things at holiday time are timeless and classic; movies and songs that fill your spirit with warmth and sentimentality.  The story of this Christmas song richly recorded by the legendary Clarence Clemons is special and enduring and on its way to joining such classic holiday offerings as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the history of the movie reminds me of how “There’s Still Christmas” is evolving. This Christmas song becomes part of Clarence’s legacy; that audio gift at holiday time.

Two years through the magic of synchronicity and holiday spirit I came to interview Dennis Bourke(melody) and Jim Nuzzo (arranger) who helped  bring the Clarence Clemons Christmas song “There’s Still  Christmas” to our radar screens and Youtube etc. Yes, Clarence Clemons recorded this amazing song back in 1981. So a few years after he passed, he is still giving magic and his ‘bigness’ to us; the makings of another holiday classic; just like all the holiday Christmas movies I’ve talked about. Here is my article telling the story of this song. And please check out the link to listen to “There’s Still Christmas.”

A long time ago in another state, in another city (which has alternate side of the street parking), I was aimlessly flicking television channels with an antiquated remote when I caught the black and white beginning of a movie that I’d never seen, “It’s A Wonderful Life.”  It was early autumn. Within a few minutes, I was drawn into the mystique and charm of this movie; throw an angel into storyline and I’m hooked for the long haul. I loved the movie’s message; about friends, family and dreams. The movie became a Christmas classic but not for many years after it was made in 1946. It was actually released in the summer that year and bombed at the box office.

When I finished watching the movie, I wondered why this wasn’t a classic with its timeless message of Christmas spirit, incredible cast and storytelling. Over the next few years, Ronald Reagan became President and the movie began surfacing on television during the holiday season with uncanny frequency. I said to myself, “I knew it would find itself holiday time;” and did it ever. Back in the Garden State, in the early eighties, a few weeks before Christmas on a Saturday afternoon, I was flicking channels again with a more modern remote and stumbled upon “It’s A Wonderful Life” on  six different channels at the same time, staggered so that you could see the ending if you were so moved; six times. “Atta boy Clarence,” Jimmy Stewart (George Bailey) says near the end; witness to the multi decade birth of a Christmas classic movie. Television stations today conspire to only do one showing per season; but it’s still a certifiable classic.  Segue to the title of this article, ‘Eyewitness to a new classic Christmas song.’ By the way, I find it particularly haunting in my microcosmic synchronistic world that the angel in this movie is Clarence, and I’m writing about Clarence (Clemons). Hmmm!!

I told the story of this movie because in our crazy mixed-up, digital, smart-phone, fast food world, we’re likely to be witnessing the birth of yet another classic; this time an incredible Christmas song with such a moving emotional voice, the late ‘Big Man,’ Clarence Clemons. If you want to get in the mood before reading on, here’s the You Tube link to ‘There’s Still Christmas.’ Go listen and come back here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NZ__QNFP5U

I love angels and synchronicity. A few years ago, I came to know Jim Nuzzo and Dennis Bourke (and the late Stevie Betts, lyrics) who created this song with Clarence Clemons back in 1981. I’m a story teller so here goes.

Back in 1981, Stevie Betts (lyricist) and Dennis Bourke (melody) wrote this song, ‘There’s Still Christmas’ and teamed up with Jim Nuzzo (arranger, producer) and got manager Matty Breuer (assistant tour manager for Springsteen back then) to approach Clarence Clemons. They all met at Clarence’s Sea Bright, New Jersey home, had some wine and presented the words of the song to the ‘Big Man.’ Being on hiatus from touring with Springsteen, Clarence wanted to do it. He loved the message of the song; when things look down, there’s still Christmas; simple yet poignant. And Clarence’s rich baritone voice that is silenced now; propels this to classic status.  At the first recording session in October 1981, Clarence arrived wearing a cowboy hat. The next day he was wearing a Santa Claus hat and red vest exposing a chubby belly. He had Christmas lights put on the music stand; he was so in the mood to do this song. They rehearsed the song at ‘Big Man’s West’ in Red Bank; Clarence’s club. Jim and Dennis both told me about getting chills being in the same room with him when he performed. “He was a gentle down to earth guy,” Jim said.  To relax during the recording sessions, they played video games. To prepare for record company submission, Clarence recorded the other side on solo sax another Christmas classic “The Christmas Song.” The record company never picked up the song so it’s been sleeping all these years waiting for classic beams of particulate historic energy. Last year the song was released but like the movie, so few of us knew it existed. I listened and was blown away; his voice and persona holds me in a suspended state; like I’ve known him all these years; like it’s a special legacy to all of us to have him back in our lives at Christmas this year.

Imagine, after all these years; this song comes to us from Clarence at this holiday time of year; part of his enduring legacy.

Here’s some links to this wonderful life song/info:

Available for purchase on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, and Backstreets.com http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/theres-still-christmas-single/id474038459?uo=4http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/clarenceclemons

You can also find ‘There’s Still Christmas’ on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Theres-Still-Christmas-Clarence-Clemons/286246628066619?fref=ts

Bottom line. Please go listen and fall in love with the song. Purchase it. Sit by the fire place with a glass of wine or egg nog. Enjoy the Happy Holidays. Listen to his wondrous voice.

Thanks again to Jim Nuzzo and Dennis Bourke for their passion and time. And to Stevie Betts for his wonderful lyrics and words.

And Clarence.

Calvin Schwartz

PLEASE VISIT BLOG www.vichywater.net

and book trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj2ko9gcC_M

N.J. Environmental Federation Annual Conference. Rutgers Law School. Newark.  By Calvin Schwartz. (“I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired”)

I wonder why more citizens here in New Jersey don’t make the time to attend the New Jersey Environmental Federation Conference; an annual event held at Rutgers Law School in Newark. At very least, it’s an exercise in expanding the mind, by learning, listening, growing; it’s just a better thing to do than sleeping to 10 AM on a Saturday, watching television for an hour and making two passes around Costco’s bakery department. One summer back in 1967, I worked in an industrial bakery in Newark and I fell in love with the bakery smell; so that’s why occasionally I make two passes through Costco’s; it’s a close enough smell and it takes me back to the days of the  ‘Lone Ranger.’

So where does this expression come from? “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” One of my heroes, Fannie Lou Hamer said this. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and later became the Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, attending the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  She believed fervently in the righteousness of the cause of civil rights. This past Saturday, I attended the New Jersey Environmental Federation Conference in Newark at Rutgers Law School. I’ve been going for years, especially looking forward to Dr. Nicky Sheats talk about environmental justice; one of the causes that mean so much. For me, being in college during the decade of civil rights in the 1960’s and then attending the very first Earth Day on April 22nd 1970 and now seeing civil rights and environment become concentric circles of commonality is painfully relevant in 2012.

After breakfast and introductory speeches, the conference separated into workshops. I circled the ‘Enough is Enough’ workshop;  needed to learn how the cumulative effect of pollution in water, air and food is making people sick and what we can do about it. The speakers were amazingly credentialed; Dr. Nicky Sheats, Phd, Center of Urban Development, Steve Anderson, Research Scientist, Peter Montague, PhD, Environmental Research Foundation(I love listening to his rational dire global warming warning words) and Henry Rose, State Coordinator, NJ Environmental Justice Alliance. Henry was passionate and right on when he uttered “environmental apartheid.”   I learned that Hess (Oil) Corporation plans to build a 655-megawatt natural gas power plant in the East Ward (Ironbound) section of Newark, a city and a section dangerously overburdened by an onslaught of environmental affronts, degradation and pollutants.  By a 7-1 vote, the Newark board approved a measure last Thursday night and despite grass roots opposition, the board gave the project the go-ahead in a 15-minute meeting. When I heard this, I raised my hand and suggested that the title of this workshop should be changed to “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

My using Fannie Lou Hamer’s words simply mean I’m sick and tired of hearing year after year about blatant examples of environmental injustice. There are enough graphs and statistics which clearly show the amount of pollution is related to the color of skin and how much money someone has in their pocket.  People’s health around this new Hess energy center is going to be impacted again. Since the 19th century, Newark Ironbound has been a manufacturing hub, producing everything from iron to beer to paint. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ironbound’s Diamond Alkali/Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Corp. produced Agent Orange, a carcinogenic chemical weapon used extensively in the Vietnam War.

Last year at the Conference, I was outraged when PurGen wanted to build a coal firing plant in Linden and the reason officials gave me was that Linden(already off the charts in asthmatic rates) had the infra-structure in place to support a plant which needed an ocean to dump waste into and railroad tracks to move coal. I raised my hand and pointed out that exactly the same railroad tracks and ocean run up and down the rest of the east coast. There was silence; always silence

Environmentally our time is running out. I voiced this to one of my favorite PhD speakers after his talk.  Global warming and climate change is so here. The Pentagon even knows this and is beginning to project huge population shifts from coastlines and how it impacts our future security. I’ve been observing attitudes that if we put a man on the moon so fast, we can do anything but maybe once we can’t.  Then I got cute. I told the PhD scientist about the movie ‘The Graduate’ when Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin Braddock hears the word “plastics” at his graduation party.  I’ve done the same thing to a myriad of graduates over the years. Most graduates never know what I’m talking about when I whisper, “plastics.” I recently whispered, “water” to my son instead.  “America will get out of debt with China one day when we start shipping them water,” I said semi-seriously. But then the PhD smiled at me.

I was pleased later in the day at the second workshop when I heard NJ State Senator Jennifer Beck mention how she voted against her Republican Party and Governor on certain environmental issues. We need more courage and commitment like that. I keep looking at big picture of things; the planet and how we keep ignoring, violating and nothing changes.

Amy Goldsmith, State Director, was honored for her amazing dedicated years of service and unlimited energy. Lisa Plevin, Chief of Staff USEPA, Gray Russell (a former rocker too) Environmental Coordinator, Montclair, John Weber, Northeast Regional Manager, Surfrider Foundation and Robert Westreich, Esq. (he never lost a case with First Amendment right to canvass neighborhoods throughout the state for over 20 years) all received Conference Awards. By the way, the luncheons are worth the price of admission alone.

In the keynote address, Retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson electrified with his candor and passion for environmental change. Here’s a few of his quotes rapid fire. “We’ve got to get off oil. We won’t exist.”  “The increased competition for oil is a threat to our security.”  “Green economy is where the money is.” “President Obama was absolutely right when he stopped the Keystone pipeline.”  General Anderson made a point as soon as he started to speak, saying he was a Republican.  Sometimes he fooled me and other audience members.  He just cares.  “It’s a 20 year process to get off oil. We need to do it under our terms.”  “1000 Americans died moving oil around over there. We spend $20 billion a year on oil. The Pentagon is the world’s largest consumer of energy.”  “We are funding both sides of war. We buy oil and the money ends up in Iran.”  “What troops need is renewable energy.  Afghanistan has 340 days of sun; so harness solar. And wind, geothermal and waste to energy systems.” “How do we help?  Pressure the Department of Defense (DOD).”

At the birthday party after the conference for the 40th year of ‘Clean Water Action,’ General Anderson was quite accessible. I managed to pay him my highest compliment, when I said, “Listening to you, I don’t think anyone could tell what political party you’re in which means you care about doing the right things for people.” He smiled and we took a picture together.  Finally my exhortation to all those within earshot of me; “Get thee to the NJ Environmental Federation conference next year. And join the organization in the meantime.” I’ve heard it through the grapevine that both actions increases cerebral vascular circulation which makes you smarter.

Calvin Schwartz

NJ Discover TV covered the world premiere of ‘Nothing For Christmas’ on December 1st in Red Bank by interviewing the director/writer Sean Guess, movie actors and singer Danny White who performed a song for the movie. It was a stirring, emotional and surprisingly well-acted movie along the lines of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’

During tough economic times, when working class families struggle during the holiday season, the Perry family struggle more than most. Jerry Perry’s hardware sales job has been phased out and he is facing eviction from his home. His daughter Betsy, who had vandalized neighbors Christmas decorations, now seeks guidance from a Rabbi to help her change her hatred of the holidays. His hope is to show his friends the true meaning of the holidays and make them realize sometimes, nothing is all you need.