Ten years ago, necn political reporter Alison King had an idea - convince prominent New England politicians to sing a holiday tune.
But she said it almost didn't happen.
"I just remember I thought it would be fun to put this song together, and started asking people to do it, and the reaction was, 'What are you, crazy? I'm not going to make a fool out of myself!'"
That is, until the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy agreed to take part. Then everyone started calling and asking to be a part of the song.
"If Ted Kennedy had not agreed to do it, it never would have happened," King said.
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A decade later, Alison is still wrangling politicians into participating in her yearly holiday song.
"It's just sort of taken on a life of its own," she said this week.
King has done a holiday song for most of the 10 years since that first one in 2006, although she acknowledges she skipped a year or two in between.
These days, it's far easier to get politicians to participate.
"Now people kind of get psyched to do it," King said. "Their press people enjoy setting it up because they get to sit and laugh at their boss while they're doing it."
Almost no one turns down the chance to participate, although King said outgoing U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire did say no this year, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont never got back to her.
Some of them - like former Massachussets Gov. Deval Patrick - are surprisingly good singers.
Others? Well... not so much.
"(Congressman) Joe Kennedy would be the first to tell you he can't sing," King said. "He gets up and does it and it's torture for him."
So who are the stars of this year's "Jingle Bell Rock" video? King said Congressman Seth Moulton was "the sleeper" and she thought he did a good job of hamming it up. Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu was also great, she said.
"It's the whole notion that you see a part of the politician's personality that you often don't get a glimmer of."
Political Harmony Alumni:
U.S. SENATORS
Ted Kennedy
John Kerry
Elizabeth Warren
Ed Markey
Scott Brown
Maggie Hassan
GOVERNORS
Bill Weld
Mitt Romney
Deval Patrick
Charlie Baker
John Sununu
MAYORS
Tom Menino
Marty Walsh
Mayor Buddy Cianci
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES
Rep Joe Kennedy
Rep Seth Moulton
Rep Michael Capuano
OTHER
Attorney General Martha Coakley
