One of the more surreal moments in pop music history took place Sept. 11, 1977, when the leading American pop star of the first half of the Twentieth Century met and performed with one of the more innovative rock 'n' rollers of the last half of the Century. Bing was in London on a concert tour and to tape his yearly TV Christmas special. It was Bing's idea that the show should include a young musical star to appeal to a younger audience. Someone suggested David Bowie. Apparently Bing had never heard of Bowie, but his kids had, and so an invitation was sent to the rock star. Bowie's mum, as it turned out, was a fan of Der Bingle and so her son signed up to sing with Bing as long as the show included a video from his latest album, Heroes.

The duet almost didn't happen when Bowie showed up for the taping dressed like his wife and had to be sent for a cosmetic makeover.

Bowie also objected to the song Bing had selected for them to sing. Bowie felt "The Little Drummer Boy" did not showcase his voice very well, so the writers hastily merged Drummer Boy with "Peace on Earth," and the result was magic. The two musical spokesmen of different generations met for the first time on the morning of the taping, rehearsed for an hour and finished their duet in only three takes. Bing was impressed with Bowie, and offered his phone number at the end of the taping. Bing told an interviewer four days later that he considered Bowie "a clean cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well. He could be a good actor if he wanted."

Bowie returned similar praise for Bing, but also made it clear he signed on to please his mum.

Bing died a month later, and the public did not see their performance until after his death. The duet generated much interest, and was excerpted to become a perennial TV music video, a best-selling 45-rpm single, a computer CD-ROM and a ubiquitous internet video, often parodied. Some viewed the joint performance of Bing and Bowie as a symbol of the end of the intergenerational wars of the 1960s and '70s. In 1999 TV Guide chose the duet as one of the 25 best musical television moments of the century (June 5 issue).

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