From our 2011 album, “3 Ships” began with a recording of stomps and claps, then adds a little out-of-tune piano from the living room at Peer Manor. Courtney Stricklin Burgan came up with the simple melody that provided the backbone for this adaptation of “I Saw Three Ships.” David Stanton picked up the challenge to arrange a lovely soup of instruments that are not used to teaming up. The distorted electric guitar shreds in the background and gives way to some driving banjo picking, electronica peaking in via a Moog synthesizer, as well as a chorus of “Ha-rummmms.”

The tune is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England, and is a variant of its parent tune “Greensleeves.” The earliest printed version is from the 17th century.

The song illustrates the creative energy that came out of gathering friends together to make music. The early years of the Jingle Boys was facilitated by a house we affectionately called “Peer Manor,” named so because the master of the roost was a little boy named Peer, who’s energy and enjoyment of life infected those around him. The Manor was the shared home of the brothers Stanton, as well as the Wahlquist family, located in Downey California. While Peer slept upstairs, friends made music late into the night downstairs, at times placing an instrument or voice in any available small space to attempt to isolate the recordings.

Peer Manor began to take on another meaning, because it was a “peer” group that inspired each other to create music, as well as many other creative and entrepreneurial ideas together.  Mix up a shared devotion to Christmas music with musical skill and home-grown recording tools, and you get an annual album of Christmas tunes to share with friends and family.

3 Ships
Arranged by Courtney Stricklin Burgan and David Stanton

Courtney Stricklin: vocals and shaker
Allison Weintraub: vocals
David Stanton: piano and vocals
Ben Pringle: vocals
Jeremy Burgan: banjo, electric guitar, tambourine, wurlitzer, moog
Jayden Bean: drums
All: hand claps and stomps