David Bowie & Bing Crosby Bring “Peace on Earth” to the Charts

On This Day: 25th December 1982

On this Christmas Day in history, David Bowie scored a No.3 hit on the UK Singles Chart with one of the most unexpected and memorable duets in pop history: “Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy”, recorded with American crooner Bing Crosby.

The single became one of Bowie’s best-selling releases, with estimated UK sales topping 400,000 copies, and has since become a seasonal classic despite the fact that Bowie initially had little interest in singing “Little Drummer Boy” at all.

The duet was filmed five years earlier, in September 1977, for Crosby’s television special, Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas. Bowie agreed to appear partly because his mother was a Bing Crosby fan and partly because the producers asked if he would perform something more suited to his voice. Bowie was reportedly not keen on “Little Drummer Boy,” calling it “not my kind of song.”

To resolve the impasse, the show’s musical team rapidly composed a new counter-melody and lyric titled “Peace on Earth.” The fresh tune layered over the traditional carol created the duet’s distinctive structure: Bowie singing a haunting, hopeful melody while Crosby delivered the familiar “pa-rum-pum-pum-pum” verses. The blend of old-school crooner warmth and Bowie’s ethereal vocal made for a surprisingly moving performance. The chemistry between the two artists—generations apart, from completely different musical worlds became an instant piece of television magic.

Tragically, Bing Crosby died just five weeks after filming the special, lending the performance a poignant finality. When the duet was finally released as a single in 1982 five years after it was recorded it became both a festive favourite and a touching tribute to Crosby’s final days.

Today, the song stands as one of Bowie’s most recognisable seasonal recordings and a reminder of his never-ending ability to cross genres, generations, and expectations.

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