Candy-Colored Christmas -- Randy Rainbow talks his new holiday album in an exclusive interview.
Look out, Mariah Carey, Randy Rainbow has released a Christmas album that rivals yours! Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas! (Broadway Records) has everything you want to unwrap in a Randy Rainbow holiday recording. The title track, co-written by Rainbow and Marc Shaiman, combines a seasonally sassy sense of humor with the spirit of the holidays. Rainbow’s take on “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” features Kathy Griffin and Alan Cumming playing his shrinks. Norm Lewis joins Rainbow for the more straightforward “Merry Christmas Darling/What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” medley, which is followed by the hilarious “Trump’s Favorite Things,” a parody on the Julie Andrews classic featuring Trump impersonator John Di Domenico. And all of this is before Rainbow is joined by Lorna Luft on “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Randy was kind enough to chat with OutSmart and answer a few questions in advance of the album’s release.
Gregg Shapiro: Randy, what would you say are the challenges and rewards of writing a new Christmas song like the title track of your new holiday album, Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas?
Randy Rainbow: I found limited challenges. It was only rewarding. It was exciting for me because I got to work with Marc Shaiman, who is a great idol of mine. We sat in the room where he wrote Hairspray and Smash and Mary Poppins Returns, among other amazing things. It was really exciting. If there was a challenge, it was that I originally set out to write the gayest Christmas song we possibly could, as I told Marc. But then I realized as I was writing the lyrics that I wanted to add some substance and some kind of angle to it. I ended up gearing it more towards my specific audience, which is, like so many people, consumed with news and social media. It became my musical prescription to dial it back for the holidays and [just enjoy it] a little bit.
Being a Jewish songwriter yourself, why do you think so many of the best and most enduring Christmas songs, such as “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” “Silver Bells,” “Winter Wonderland,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” were written by Jewish composers?
Because we know we’re going to get paid at the end! [Laughs] It’s an interesting thing. As a Jewish writer person, I don’t know if I can be objective about that. For some reason it’s in our DNA that we write good Christmas music. Maybe it’s because there’s no pressure. We’re kind of removed from it enough to just have a good time and write something that’s creatively satisfying. We’re not thinking about all of the other mishegas.
The Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas! album has a marvelous lineup of guest artists including Lorna Luft, Kathy Griffin, Alan Cumming, Norm Lewis, and Trump impersonator John Di Domenico. What does it mean to you to have that kind of artistic support?
It’s amazing! One of the most thrilling parts of getting some notoriety is getting to connect with so many of my heroes. This was my first opportunity to present that in a concrete sort of way, in that I got to collaborate with them. The fact that they all said yes as soon as I asked them was mind-boggling to me. These are people who have been heroes of mine for many years, so to be associated with them on any level is a thrill.
Read more: http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2019/12/candy-colored-christmas/
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