Yes, Herbie fucking Flowers! That's one of the most badass bass parts ever. He also played bass with Bowie (David Live), who produced Lou Reed, which is how Flowers wound up recording the dual bass line for "Walk on the Wild Side."

Marry Christmas, fuck New Years, kill Kwanza

So, there are no Joni Mitchell songs, or lyrics, and she's not involved in this or has anything whatsoever to do with it?

Well, first there was Stu Sutcliff, who was literally the fifth Beatle back in the Hamburg days.
When they were recording, I'd say it was George Martin because, circa 63-64, if there was a keyboard played it was usually him, so he was the only other person heard on the recording, hence "five Beatles." Later, of course,…

It's good to see this article here. More than anything, The Beatles were recording artists, and their Christmas records are always ignored when people write (or talk) about their recording legacy. The Christmas records are like an annual snapshot of their progress: you could listen to only their Christmas records…