Johnny Bower Trivia
Posted: Dec 26th, 2017, 5:44 pm
'Honky the Christmas Goose’ was a Johnny Bower record that wasn't made to be broken.
Leafs legend found himself competing with The Beatles when he recorded "Honky the Christmas Goose."
<snip> CBC producer Chip Young had written a short Christmas story about a wild goose that ate so much that it couldn’t fly, but in the end, is able to save Santa Claus. He turned the story into a song with the help of composer Orville Hoover, and then, with the help of broadcaster and former Maple Leafs public relations manager Ed Fitkin, approached Toronto coach Punch Imlach to get permission for one of the Maple Leafs to record the song he had written.
Granted permission to try to recruit a singer, Young went out to the Tam O’Shanter rink in Scarborough where the Leafs practised at the time.
“He came into the dressing room and wanted to know if anybody on the team would be interested in singing these songs,” recalled Bower. “I’ve never seen so many guys undress and get into the shower so quickly in my life! I was the only one left sitting there. He said, ‘I guess you’re the only one left,’ and I said, ‘Look sir, I can’t sing.’ I thought he was nuts!” <snip>
https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/20 ... roken.html
Leafs legend found himself competing with The Beatles when he recorded "Honky the Christmas Goose."
<snip> CBC producer Chip Young had written a short Christmas story about a wild goose that ate so much that it couldn’t fly, but in the end, is able to save Santa Claus. He turned the story into a song with the help of composer Orville Hoover, and then, with the help of broadcaster and former Maple Leafs public relations manager Ed Fitkin, approached Toronto coach Punch Imlach to get permission for one of the Maple Leafs to record the song he had written.
Granted permission to try to recruit a singer, Young went out to the Tam O’Shanter rink in Scarborough where the Leafs practised at the time.
“He came into the dressing room and wanted to know if anybody on the team would be interested in singing these songs,” recalled Bower. “I’ve never seen so many guys undress and get into the shower so quickly in my life! I was the only one left sitting there. He said, ‘I guess you’re the only one left,’ and I said, ‘Look sir, I can’t sing.’ I thought he was nuts!” <snip>
https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/20 ... roken.html