We play the kids Christmas party at the Country Club every Christmas Eve. I've played "We Three Kings" using a funk pattern and it works out very well.

I use many different patterns to well known songs. Don Mason my mentor, told me once that you just tell the audiance that it is your version of the tune. If U2 did a Beatles song they wouldn't be expected to sound just like the Beatles. Why do I have to sound like Elvis just because I do a song that he did? Here are some examples of familier tunes done to different styles: "Ticket to Ride" as a medium blues, "Mellow Yellow" as an easy funk, "After The Lovin" as an eight beat ballad instead of a slow swing, "Spooky" as a hard funk, "Ruby Baby" as a boogie, "Ob La Dee Ob La Da" as a polka. You wouldn't think that some of these work but they do.

Look at what Jummy Buffet did to Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl". He did it sort of Caribbian style and it worked out beautifully. It is fun to experiment and since I will never sound like the Beatles anyway, why not?

Tom