David Bowie’s mother ordered him to duet with Bing Crosby.
The pair collaborated on the Christmas classic ‘Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy’ together in 1977 but Bing’s daughter Mary Crosby has revealed that the duet would never have happened if Bowie’s mother Peggy hadn’t gotten involved.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, she said: "David wasn’t going to do the show and his mum said, ‘No, you HAVE to work with Bing Crosby!’She was a fan. She was like, ‘You have do this’."
However, Mary, 60, admitted she and her brother Harry – who were in the studio for the recording – were also apprehensive about the partnership.
She explained: "When David walked into the studio with his wife, they were both wearing full-length mink coats, full make-up and had short, bright-red hair. Harry and I looked at each other and we were like, ‘Oh wow! How is this going to work?’"
Mary was just 18 when her father died of a heart attack in Spain one month after recording his duet with Bowie and she revealed that Christmas with the ‘White Christmas’ crooner was always a special time.
Mary – whose mother is Kathryn Grant – said: "I would say more quietly joyous than excited and loud. We had a really huge Christmas tree in this big, beautiful home where I got to spend my whole childhood — and where my mother still lives.
"But Dad didn’t stand around singing Christmas carols. Other people got that. It’s not what we got. We were not spoiled as children. There wasn’t excess in terms of presents.
"We lazed around all afternoon and Dad watched sport on TV, as he had seen all the movies. We had to watch them without him."
David Bowie’s mother ordered him to duet with Bing Crosby
