25 Days Of Christmas-Day 2

Here's the second track for my 25 Days Of Christmas collection. I grabbed this track (and one other) for someone over at FaLaLaLaLa who pointed out that it had been left off of the CD reissue of Johnny Mathis' 1963 Christmas album, Sounds Of Christmas. Well, it's too good of a track not to have it out there and listened to, so I've decided to add it to my little Christmas CD project here. He calls out John Glenn in here by name, so be sure to listen for it! Here is Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel from Sounds Of Christmas (Mercury SR 60837, 1963). I believe this was also released as a single, the flip side of The Little Drummer Boy.

Previous Tracks: The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Volume 9

Everybody loves these big band Christmas albums, so here's another great one I dug out. Lester Lanin may not have had a great catch phrase like Swing And Sway With Sammy Kaye, but he still put out some great music. For some odd reason, the cover to this record identifies this as Volume 9. I'm going to assume this was part of some series of 'Dance Party' records put out by Mr. Lanin and the boys, and not actually his 9th Christmas record. I imagine I would have seen one or two of the others by now. But maybe not. Every year I see and hear more stuff that is completely new to me, so I know there is stuff out there. Hopefully, this is new and exciting for you. Please download and give a listen to Lester Lanin And His Orchestra-Christmas Dance Party, Volume 9 (Epic LN 3617, 1959).

Three Suns Day, Part None

Well, I'm afraid I don't have any more Three Suns music to share with you today. The 45 shown above is just something I picked up because I thought it was neat. There's no unique music on it. Look closely, and you'll see that it's a release on RCA Victor of Brazil, in the original sleeve. This side is Noite Silenciosa (Silent Night) and the flip side is Jingle Bells (RCA Victor Brazil 84-0002).

That brings me to the point of this post, the Christmas music by The Three Suns that I still need. There's A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas, of course. Everyone needs that. What I also need is a single from way, way back in the day, Sleigh Ride b/w Uncle Mistletoe. That's got to be a great song, don't you think? Uncle Mistletoe, it just sounds like a lot of fun. So if you have it, I'd love a copy. Someday I'll find the original 45, but a nice MP3 will hold me for a long time. Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Three Suns Day, Part Four

The only new thing I have to offer you in the way of Three Suns music is this EP featuring a version of Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers. It's not much, but as they say at Virgin, it's one step closer to the complete collection. I threw the entire EP into the ZIP file, in case anybody wanted it. I'm sure there are some Three Suns collectors out there who would like to have it. If you don't want the other tracks, just delete them. Or, better yet, give them to someone who needs them, like your nosy neighbor... This particular EP isn't listed in my book, but two single with the same tracks are, so this is probably a later repackaging of those two singles from 1949. Go get Raggin' The Scales With The Three Suns (RCA Victor 7" 45 rpm EPA 278).

Three Suns Day, Part Three And A Half

While I'm yakking about The Three Suns, I want to mention that there was a single track of theirs called Busy Holiday shared out back during Christmas In July. You might want to go grab that to help you complete your collection.

Three Suns Day, Part Three

Can you take any more? How about this, the third full-length record released by The Three Suns in celebration of Christmas. This one is curious, in that it seems to exist in many, many different covers, but the music is always the same. Speaking of the music, they're starting to get a lot more ambitious here, and closer to the madness they perfected on A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas. Go download The Three Suns-The Sounds Of Christmas (RCA Victor LPM-1132, 1955).

In addition to the cover above, which I believe is the original, there are the following two, and at least one other on a Pickwick label re-release.


Note that with this last cover, they changed the name of the album slightly. Now it's The Sound Of Christmas, instead of Sounds. I guess this came after A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas, and they realized how few sounds were actually on this record. But you'll still enjoy it, trust me.

You can go enjoy the original posts on commentary on these cover here, here and here.

But wait, there's more! The tracks from this LP were split into two different 7" EPs with some really great covers. I've posted those below. These may be my absolute favorite cover variations for this music.


These are The Three Suns-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (RCA Victor EPA-654, 1955) and The Three Suns-White Christmas (RCA Victor EPA-655, 1955). Pretty snazzy, eh?

Three Suns Day, Part Two

For my second act, I'll throw up The Suns' first full-length Christmas effort. This set has been issued in a couple of different formats, but I managed to track down the original 3x7" set in a box for you from 1949. This is really early and has only the basic instrumentation in common with the later, peppier (to say the least) stuff. This is 18 minutes of Three Sun fun that you'll want to add to your holiday collection, though. Please download The Three Suns Present Your Christmas Favorites (RCA Victor WP 250, 1949). This is another rerun from last year, so if you want to read the fun stuff I wrote about this release then, click here.

Three Suns Day, Part One

Somebody finally posted The Three Suns-A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas for download. Go see Brainwerk's Check The Cool Wax and get it. That has to be the number-one requested Christmas download of all time. I get requests for it about once a month during the year, and once a week during the holiday season. Unfortunately, I don't own the record. However, I do have most of the rest of The Three Suns holiday catalog, and I'm going to share it with you today! So after you're done downloading A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas, come back here and get everything else.

So, what else is there to get? How about The Suns' second album-length Christmas release? (That's an odd place to start...) That's what you're looking at above and below. The 10" shown above is what I recorded a few years ago (and shared last year), and I recently stumbled across the 2x7" version shown below. It's not the same as what they did on A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas, but it's a start. So why not download The Three Suns-Christmas Party (RCA Victor LPM -3056, 1952). There's plenty more coming, so be sure to return once you're done downloading that one.

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 1

I wanted to do a little something special for everybody this year. Much like Big Rock Candy Mountain and The King over at FaLaLaLaLa, I want to make an online compilation for you of all the best Christmas music I can find. So between now and Christmas day, I'm going to try to post one track a day that I've earmarked for this special compilation. It may be something that I've already shared out, or it may be something special just for the collection. I'm trying to do it train-of-thought style, with very little planning. (Let's just hope that train doesn't get derailed!) If I get ambitous, I may even put together some artwork for you to download at the end. Or maybe I'll ask for submissions. Are there any artists out there who're interested in designing a CD cover? Drop me a line.
Anyhow, for my first track, I've got a great little song I found just last night. The Crew-Cuts With David Carroll And His Orchestra-Twinkle Toes (Mercury 70491-X45, 1954). It's the story of Santa's newest reindeer, Twinkle Toes. I guess there were many attempts to repeat the success of Rudolph, few if any of which caught on. This one should be on everybody's play list if you ask me. So download this and save it in a special place, with plenty of room for the rest of the tracks to come!


(For another holiday track from The Crew-Cuts, you can visit the remains of my Christmas In July celebration. Or for more David Carroll, go here.)

Frank (Not Sinatra)

What? You want more? How much more do you want? A lot?!?! That's pretty vague. Well, I'd better give you what you want. I don't want a bunch of angry villagers with torches knocking down my door in the middle of the night making odd demands for holiday tunage. Here's a great little album with an even better cover. Why don't you start this download, go make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, then when you get back it'll be all ready for you to listen to and enjoy? Those of you here in Florida can skip the hot chocolate bit, perhaps you'd like to substitute some iced tea, though. Here's Frank Chacksfield And His Orchestra-Music For A Merry Christmas (Richmond B 20056, 1959). Get it while it's hot!

Those of you who are sticklers about such things will notice that there is no back cover scan in this ZIP file. That's because the flip side of this LP is just ads for other records on Richmond (A Product Of London Records).

Christmas With The Penguin

What to share, what to share... How about an album featuring some stories narrated by Burgess Meredith? Yes, that will do quite nicely. This record was released as a promotional item for E. F. MacDonald back in 1963, part of a series of Christmas releases they did for a number of years. (You can get side one of an earlier edition featuring David Carradine over at FaLaLaLaLa.) This one features the music of Joe Reisman, which isn't too shabby. I suppose I should dedicate this record to Rocky Balboa, because I think the first place I knew about Burgess Meredith was from Rocky. No, maybe it was in Clash Of The Titans. Maybe it was Batman (Read the comments!). Nevermind, I give up. Just download this and enjoy it! The E.F. MacDonald Company Presents Christmas Classics 1963 (E.F. MacDonald EFMX-63, 1963). Pretty cool cover, too, eh?

Organ Rehash

Last year I brought you this LP from organ manufacturer Kimball. They gave these to new organ buyers, or perhaps prospective customers, demonstrating what their equipment could do. Do you need to hear it? Depends, do you want to buy an organ? Give it a listen and let me know if you buy anything. Here's A Kimball Christmas (KPO 82-004, 1982).

Snap-On (Not Craftsman)

Here's an interesting share from last year, featuring a chorus of Snap-On employees. Hard to believe, I know, yet here it is. I can only imagine what would happen if they'd gotten these guys to appear on an episode of Tool Time. You can read more about this release at my original post last year, or over at The Yuleblog where the Captain reviewed it. But first, you need to download The Snap-On Male Chorus-Carols Of Christmas (RCA Custom Record Dept. SOLP 6363).

December 2006

It's December, the last month of the year. So this is the last monthly calendar page of the year. Hopefully, next year I'll have two monthly pictures a month. This year I never finished the Florida set, but I intend to get that done this month for next year. The picture above is part of the Ohio set, and shows a lighthouse on Lake Erie. Enjoy!

Two Days In December

It's the first day of December, that means a new calendar page! Here's the weekly one, and I'll get the monthly picture up a little later. You're looking a the boat launch at Myakka Outpost on the Myakka River here in Florida. This is where a lot of the canoes and kayaks put into the river (it's actually a lake at this point, backed up behind a small dam), and the less adventurous can take a ride on those large passenger airboats you see on the left. Those of you who are new here may not have seen these calendar pages before. Every week I post a new page designed to be printed out across two sheets of paper, making a large panoramic picture. There is only one full-resolution printed copy made, and that's a present I give to my grandmother every year for Christmas. Which reminds me, I need to get started on the one for this year! Gotta run...

Eastern South America

OK, I think this will be the very last of the Latin American Christmas shares. And I'm not even sure it counts. Brazil is the largest country in South America, and they don't speak Spanish. They speak Portuguese. I don't know much of either language, but I know they aren't compatible. Again, this is a little 10" record, but this time I think the record is actually from the country it purports to represent. I really don't know anything about it, but it was very difficult to record, and I'm not too proud of the sound I'm sharing. I couldn't get the levels right, and I think I processed it too much. But you'll have to download it and see. Think of it as an adventure. Here's Natal no Brasil (Copacabana CLP 3087).

More Mas Feliz Navidad

I knew I ended the Latin Christmas shares too soon. I had one more I wanted to squeeze in there. You'll have to forgive me for getting this one to you a little late. This record appears to have been made in New York. I don't know if it was targeted for export, or to Spanish-speaking people living in NYC, or perhaps to students learning Spanish. Maybe it was just for people who enjoyed Spanish Christmas carols. If anybody knows any more about this record, or record label, please let us know! For your listening pleasure, here's William Clauson, tenor, con acompanamiento de organo por Alfredo Mendez, y guitarra por Al Valenti-Canciones de Navidad (Spanish Christmas Carols) (SMC Pro-Arte 10" 33 rpm SMC-556). Enjoy!

Return Of The Eagle

For the first time since last spring, I spotted one of the local bald eagles today. I was worried that they might not return, since they've put in a road pretty close to their nest. I only spotted the one, so hopefully the other one will return as well. I'm going to try and go back this weekend and see if I can walk down that new road to get any closer pictures. It's not actually open to traffic yet, as I discovered when I tried to drive down it today. I did manage to get a little closer, but not much. You can click here and here to see my previous pictures of this bird. Today's picture is almost Ansel Adams compared to that first one. Best shot I ever got was this bird, but that was a captive animal, so I guess it doesn't count. We'll have to go with second best.

Thank You, Thank You

Just a quick post to say thanks to all the people out there who are making this season a lot of fun for me. Yesterday I got my 1000th download (that counts towards my free account at Rapidshare), and today I got my first download that's been grabbed 100 times! FYI, it was the LP by the Warner Brothers TV Stars. Don't forget that everything I've offered is still up, so don't be afriad to look through the archives (they're listed at the right over there). I notice that the very first shares I threw up last week have scrolled off the front page now, so the only way to get it all is from the archives.

Thanks again to everyone for participating, and keep those comments coming!

Angels Swing

A little change of pace here from singing French girls and various Latin albums, here's a little jazzy big-band swing thing. This is another re-run from last year, so if you got it then, don't get it again, it's exactly the same. I had hoped to bring you a bonus track from one of their earlier albums on RCA, but I seem to have misplaced it. Maybe I'll have found it by the time Christmas In July rolls around next year. I still like the cover on this one. The music is pretty good, too, especially the vocal numbers. I wrote last year that the music wasn't all that great, but it's grown on me since then. So what's stopping you from downloading this and giving it a listen? Oh, the link. Allow me to present The World's Greatest Jazzband Of Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart-Hark The Herald Angels Swing (World Jazz WJLP 5-2, 1972).

From Spanish To French

I figured that I could segue from the Spanish stuff to French stuff pretty easily. Here's a popular share from last year featuring not one, not two, not three, but sixty French girls singing carols. I know you'll enjoy this, so go download Les Djinnes Singers-60 French Girls With The Christmas Bell Ringers-Joyeaux Noel (ABC Paramount ABCS 397, 1961). Dig it! If you're interested in some more info on this record, or all of those many French women, so vist this entry at the Captain's Christmas Yuleblog.

Tres Mas Feliz Navidad

I guess I should try to squeeze one more Latin-tinged Christmas album here before I move on to something else. This little goody was recorded by a missionary in South America, and he fills it with local songs for the holidays, as well as some familiar Christmas tunes. There is some narration on there as well, my favorite bit being the introduction at the beginning of the LP. That part may make my Christmas CD this year. Without further yakking on my part, here is Bruce Woodman Presents Christmas Carols With A Latin Lilt (SAC 1002).

Mas Mas Feliz Navidad

This may be the one a lot of you have been waiting for. This is the one, the only, Charo, doing her best cuchi, cuchi, cuchi to a disco beat courtesy of Salsoul. I can't even joke about this. You're going to love it! Please download without delay Charo-(Mamacita) ¿Donde Esta Santa Claus? , (Salsoul SG 201, 1978). OK, no jokes, but I will point out that at one time, Charo was Mrs. Xavier Cugat. Maybe she comes by her cuchi naturally.

(Did Xavier Cugat ever record any Christmas tunes? I think I have him doing something from The Nutcracker, but I can't think of anything else.)

Mas Feliz Navidad

How about I continue the Latin theme established earlier by my Menudo share with another Latin artist? This time it's TV bandleader Jose Melis. I'm sure a lot of people don't remember Jose these days, but in his day, he was up there with Paul Shaffer. Melis was the leader of the band on the Jack Paar show, one of the very first late-night talk shows. But that's all beside the point, what about the music? Well, it's pretty good, especially the couple of original (and vocal) tracks, "The Story Of Christmas" and "Merry Christmas Music". You won't be disappointed with either of these. So go now and download Jose Melis And His Orchestra-Christmas With Melis (Seeco CELP 4230, 1958), in early Stereo!

Feliz Navidad

I got a comment today on this LP from where I shared it last year. The kind reader said something about this being one of their favorite Christmas records, and it really brought back the memories. Well, maybe. I never had the pleasure of listening to Menudo when I was younger. In fact, all I can remember of Menudo was that they were on Silver Spoons (oooh, Erin Gray...) once, I think, and maybe a commercial for Burger King. Beyond that, I remained Menudo-free until I found this LP. And to tell you the truth, I could have lived without it. But maybe you can't. If not, please go download Menudo-Feliz Navidad (Profono Internacional TPL-1405, 1983). But when your ears start to bleed, don't come crying to me. I've got worse stuff to share, but barely...

Another Interruption

I have to interrupt the Christmas festivities again. Someone was complaining that there weren't enough pictures showing up on the blog, and that they didn't want to listen to great Christmas music. Well, I don't know what there problem is, since there's no great Christmas music around here anywhere. But anyhow, I wanted to share a pair of pictures from my recent trip to LA. I meant to post these the minute I got back, but life gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it? During my 24 hours in LA, I went to exactly one place to take pictures. We stopped off in Manhattan Beach on the way to the airport and walked out on the pier you see above. After about ten minutes, we got into the SUV and went to the airport. Then, amazingly enough, right after takeoff, the jet turned to head East and flew right over the same pier. That's it again in the bottom picture. I thought it was pretty cool. Most of the pictures I took at Manhattan Beach didn't come out too well because I had the ISO set way too high on the camera. I need to do a better job of checking all the settings every time I turn the camera on. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Christmas music, already in progress.

Cover Love

Let's see what I've got in the pipes that I can share with you this morning before work. OK, here's an interesting one that once again features the organ at Christmas. What is this, the tenth one I've shared that features the organ? Believe me, it's not the last. I think I was drawn to this one more for the cover than anything else. Have a look at it. Cool, isn't it? I'm not sure what those red and green things are supposed to be. I thought maybe they represented Joseph and Mary, but I'm not so sure now. And those little black spots on there? Could those be cartoon bombs? All they lack is a little fuse... Enough of my nonsense. Why don't you go download Godfrey Malcolm & Fredrico-Chimes Of Christmas (Brigade P-1320S)?

Change Of Heart

Yesterday I posted the cover scan of this record set and sent you over to The Christmas Yuleblog to get a copy of it. Well, today I realized that there is at least one song on my copy that isn't on his, and that it may be different recordings altogether. I'm trying to figure all that out, but in the meantime, I figured I'd go ahead and record my records and share them with you. At the very least you get a recording of Jingle Bells that you wouldn't have had otherwise. The sound is sort of crummy on these records, I'm not sure why. They looked clean, nothing particularly evil looking came off when I cleaned them, yet there is a lot of noise, especially in the louder parts. I think it's from the grooves themselves. But try to listen through that and enjoy the music. Here's your extra bonus Christmas record for today, Ethel Smith At The Organ-Christmas Music (Decca ED-558, 2x7" 45 RPM). Enjoy!

One For The Kiddies

I recorded and shared this record out last year solely because I liked the cover. You'll probably find me doing that again this year, but maybe I can avoid the temptation. Actually, I've found myself enjoying the tunes from this record once or twice when they pop up on random play. So why don't you download this one (assuming you didn't get it last year) and let me know what you think. Here's Cyril Stapleton And His Orchestra With Children's Chorus-Children's Christmas Album (Richmond S 30057).

You, Too, Can Be A Santa

Do you want to be a Santa? Listen to this great track and sing along with Mitch, he'll tell you all you need to know. This single came out in 1961, alongside his popular Holiday Singalong With Mitch LP. The B-side of this single (Must Be Santa) in on the album, but not the A-side for some reason. But it's loss is our gain, 'cause the LP is on CD, but not this track. So here is Mitch Miller & The Gang-Be A Santa (Columbia 4-42240, 7" 45 rpm, 1961). The flip side to this sleeve is just advertisements for some other Mitch albums, so I didn't scan it in. Trust me, you aren't missing anything. The song "Be A Santa" appears to be from the Broadway musical Subways Are For Sleeping. I had no idea that there was a Christmas song in that. I've seen the soundtrack LP in numerous forms, and paid it no mind. I'll have to look closer next time. I hunted and hunted for this track as performed by Percy Faith back during Christmas In July, but never found it. I found other good stuff though, so check it out.

The Voices In My Head

Here's another blast from the past that I shared last year and that you need to download if you missed it. The voices on this LP are really great, which I suppose is why they emphasized the word in the title. There's not much to say about this, but if you'd like to read the witty commentary (yeah, right) I wrote last year, click here. Please be my guest and download The Voices Of Walter Schumann-The Voices Of Christmas (RCA Victor LPM-1141, 1955).

Update: It's on CD now!!! So no more free download. Go buy this classic LP on CD here.

Single Star

Here's a nice little compliment to the Warner Bros Stars LP I just brought you. The title track by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is on both, but the flip side here is not. It's The Guitars Inc doing a couple of Christmas tunes. If you like what you hear by The Guitars Inc, you can get the full LP over at BongoBells. Just for the record, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is the father of Stephanie Zimbalist, who starred with Pierce Brosnan in Remington Steele. Brosnan went on to play 007 James Bond in a couple of movies, and James Bond was also portrayed by Roger Moore, who was one of the people on the Warner Bros LP! How's that for taking it full circle? Anyhow, please download Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.-Adeste Fidelis (Warner Bros 5126, 1959).

A Merry Christmas Indeed

One of my happiest finds of the last year was the LP you see above. Before last Christmas, I had no idea it even existed. Then, Lee at Music You Won't posted a couple of tracks from it, and I knew I needed it. As these things sometimes happen, there it was in a box of records at a thrift store one day. The only thing that might have made it better would have been to stumble across a stereo copy, but I'm not even sure such a thing exists. Anyhow, this LP came out in 1959, and features the stars from then-current TV shows produced by Warner Brothers. The Warner Bros. record label was brand new at the time, and they were putting out all sorts of interesting stuff. (After you've downloaded it, look closely at the back label. They had so little product out at the time, they were recommending other companies records on their jackets!) Chances are, you've heard at least one of the tracks off this LP, although you don't know that this is where it came from. The hit from this record was Yulesville by Edward Byrnes, as he's credited here. You probably know him better as Ed "Kookie" Byrnes. He was the star of 77 Sunset Strip at the time. In the photo above, that's him in the Santa suit at the top of the tree. Other stars you might or might not recognize include Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Connie Stevens, Peter Brown, Ray Danton, Poncie Ponce, Eddie Cole, Bob Conrad, Dorothy Provine, Clint Walker, Roger Moore (yes, 007!) and Ty Hardin. If you don't find something in here to love, you may as well quit looking. So give a download and a listen to We Wish You A Merry Christmas-15 Great Christmas Favorites Sung By Warner Bros. Stars (Warner Bros B 1337, 1959). You won't regret it!

Some of the other TV shows besides 77 Sunset Strip include Hawaiian Eye, Lawman, The Alaskans, Bourbon Street Beat, Cheyenne & Bronco. How many of those do they ever show on TV Land? None, that's how many!

Ethel (Not Lucy)

Back during my Christmas In July celebration, I shared out a couple of tracks by Ethel Smith. They were nice, breezy, fun-loving organ instrumentals. Well, at least that's the way I remember them. I was doing some research for that post and discovered that she had a Christmas record out there, so I started searching. Before I could turn anything up, my buddy over at A Christmas Yuleblog found a copy and shared it out. I eventually dug up not one but two copies of the record, the one above on 2x7" (the flip side to that record is directly below). I also found the original 78 RPM set, shown at the bottom. It's amazing what you can find when you start looking. When I heard the music, I was a little disappointed. It was straight up funereal, dirge-like organ. Nothing like what I found on my tracks. But that doesn't mean you will be. Go give it a try, you might enjoy it. And tell the Cap'n I said hi!

Santa Own's Christmas?

Here's another record I was excited to find during this past year. I downloaded a couple tracks from somewhere last year, saw the cover, and knew I needed it. I was almost excited when I found another copy a week after the first. But before I could get it recorded and shared out for you, somebody beat me to it. But that just means I get to share something else instead, and you wind up with more great music than you would have before. So if listening to Santa tell you about his Christmas adventures sounds like fun to you, wander on over to Check The Cool Wax and get this record.

Disco Inferno

What? Did I hear you say you wanted more Christmas disco, only better this time? Well, how's about some original tunes, and some semblance of originality? Sound good? Here's a group with no name performing Christmas Disco Party (Classic Christmas CCR 1941, 1979). I stuck the name Max Fagen on these tracks, since he seems to show up the most in the credits, but there really is no group name listed anywhere on the LP. I don't know why I like this album better than the other. Something just strikes me as a lot better. At least they tried to write some original music. Some of the titles are familiar, but they aren't really the songs they pretend to be. Download it and see.

Still not satisfied? Need more boogie? Try over at The Christmas Yuleblog...

Burn Baby Burn

You folks have been good today, so I think it's time I shared out something new. And by new, I mean old of course, and out of print. But maybe not as old as some of the stuff you're used to. Today you get some disco Christmas! First up is Holiday People-Holiday Disco (Universal Spectaculars USL 101, 1979), from the height of the disco exploitation era. There is very little about this LP that's redeeming. It's because of cheap knock-off albums like this that the whole disco backlash began. Everybody may like a little Saturday Night Fever or Disco Inferno, but when they started to crack out nameless tune after nameless tune using nameless bands and beats that came stock with your Casio keyboard, it all went south. Not that I remember any of that, I was too young to know what was going on at the time. But as I got older, I figured it all out. Or at least I thought I did. Anyhow, enjoy these nameless musicians performing these public domain Christmas songs as best you can. There is more (and better) disco to come here at Ernie (Not Bert).

PS-If you can't get enough disco here, cruise on over to Check The Cool Wax, he's got more Christmas disco for you.

Yes, Mr. Benny

Here's another one from the archives for you that was particularly popular last year. Look close and you'll see that it's Jack Benny in the Santa suit. The family belongs to Dennis Day, who performs most of the tracks on the LP. For more details, please have a look at my post from last year. After that, please download and enjoy Dennis Day Sings "Christmas Is For The Family" Featuring Lou Hollingsworth At The Wurlitzer Electronic Organ & The Vail Boys Choir With Full Orchestra (Design Records DLP-X-1).

For The Second Time

Here's a great share from last year that you may have missed. This was shared out right before Christmas, when I'm sure many folks have their minds on things other than Christmas album downloads. There are four different artists on here, each singing a fine pair of Christmas tunes. There's so much good stuff on here that two of the tracks made it onto my annual Christmas CD. For more info you can go read the original blog entry, or check out the review of the album by friend-of-the-blog CaptOT. But before you go anywhere else, download Merry Christmas From (Coral Records EC-82003).

The Last Bit Of November

If I may interrupt the Christmas festivities for a bit, I'd like to share the calendar page of the week with you. This is a shot of Miami at night. I was over in that area last year to shoot a lighthouse, and stayed for the rest of the day searching out other stuff. I drove over a causeway and noticed this great view, so I stayed for the sunset and got this great shot. The sunset was off to the left, so no chance of getting this view with all that color in it. I wish it had been a little less overcast, then the sky would have been darker, but no picture is perfect.

Christmas Sharity Recap 2006-Week One

I've only been posting new shares since last Wednesday, but I figure I should go ahead and start a list of them all. That way I can keep track of what I've put up and what I haven't, and those of you playing along at home can make you've got everything I've shared, assuming you want it all. So, what have I shared out this week...

Ray Conrad-The Cotton Pickin' Lift Tower (14)
Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind (8)
Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (Rerun) (15)
The Merriest Of Christmas Pops (52)
Fred Waring-Twas The Night Before Christmas (Rerun) (29)
Fred Waring-Nutcracker Suite (29)
Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (Rerun) (12)
David Wayne Narrates The Little Star Of Bethlehem (23)
Eddie Layton-Organ Music For Christmas (23)
Mike Douglas-My Kind Of Christmas (Rerun) (49)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye (47)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Serenade (31)
Sammy Kaye-Year 'Round Favorites (17)
The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (Rerun, Remastered) (34)
Avon Campaign 21 (Rerun) (17)
Danny Robinson-Deck The Halls (10)
Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (Rerun) (8)
A Family Christmas Album (17)
Slim Boyd-Christmas Country Style (12)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (Rerun) (8)

Wow! That's a lot of shares for only a few days. The little numbers in parentheses are how many times a share has been downloaded this year, by the way. I hope I can make it to Christmas. Yesterday was our first day in a long time with over 1000 hits. Here's hoping it gets nothing but better!

Outer Space Santa

One of my favorite shares from last year that was a story instead of music was this record. It's an audio version of the cult classic movie Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. Again, this is a release that's practically begging to be used on your annual Christmas CD. So why not download it and do just that? Here's Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (Golden Records SLP 170).

From The Request Lines

I asked everybody the other day if they wanted to request anything, and got a few responses. Some of them were good ones that I'm going to work on, some stuff that I already had in the works, at least one item that I had already shared, and a couple of things that I can't share because they are on CD. But the very first request came from none other than my father. He wanted to hear an album that we had when I was a little kid. And you can't say no to dear old Dad, now can you? I remember this record from when I was little. After putting it on the turntable, I was able to sing along to every single song, even though I had no clue as to what some of them were. (Some of the titles are a little funny. They may have been trying to make you think you were getting a different song, or maybe avoid paying royalties. it is on Premiere, after all.) So for my father, here is Slim Boyd & The Rangehands-Christmas Country Style-Go Tell It On The Mountain (Premiere XM 11). Be sure you leave a little comment thanking him for this one if you download it. It's really pretty good. Sounds like a typical Premiere label patch job though. Could be three or four different lead singers on here, and who knows how many actual bands. But it's nice stuff.

Come Hear The Singing Bunny!

Just a couple of minutes ago I reposted an LP from last year by Buddy & Bunny Burden. I made the comment last year that even though Bunny was prominently featured on the cover, she was nowhere to be heard on the record. So, my buddy Lee over at Music You Won't dug up a record that featured a couple of tracks from this same duo, this time with Bunny on vocals. Digging through the archives, I realized I actually had that record, so I recorded it, and am going to share it with you in it's entirety. One of the Buddy & Bunny tracks is a new one, the other is a remake (or is it the original?) of a track from their full LP. Both are pretty good, in a kitschy sort of way. The rest of the LP is OK, featuring tracks from Bobby Russell, Bill Purcell and even a later incarnation of the Harmonicats! So go out and download A Family Christmas Album-Something For Everybody (Halo 1007).

Oh, if you're interested, you can get a track from Bill Purcell (I'm not sure why they spell it Purcell on this various artists LP and Pursell on his own LP. I suspect it should have an 's', but who knows...) from our Christmas In July celebration, as well as a couple from the real Harmonicats.

Buddy (No Bunny)

Here's another interesting LP I shared out last year. Buddy & Bunny Burden appear to have been cocktail lounge entertainers in the early 60s, Buddy playing the organ, and heaven knows what Bunny did. For some reason, even though she appears on the cover, she doesn't seem to sing a note on the record. Yep, it's all Buddy here. However, if you hang around, the very next post is a new share this year, and it features two tracks from this same duo, only this time you get to hear Bunny! But first, download this, Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (Modern Sound Christmas Album #5).