Saturday, December 09, 2006

Seal (Not Walrus)

I found a couple of these old Christmas Seals stuck to the back of an album recently. I thought you guys (and gals, too!) might get a kick out of them. These go all the way back to 1959! I checked around, and you can buy a whole sheet of these on eBay! I think that would be neat, to get some really old, vintage stickers, and put them on your current Christmas cards.

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 9

Oh, I've got a fun one for you tonight. I almost didn't post this, because I found out it's on CD, but I'm going to do it anyway. I recorded this song from a scratchy old 45, so you're not going to mistake it for a copy from CD. In fact, after hearing it, you may be tempted to go out and get the CD. The next selection for my online CD, 25 Days Of Christmas is The Davis Sisters-The Christmas Boogie (RCA Victor 7" 45 rpm 47-5906). (For the curious, the flip side is Tomorrow I'll Cry.) I didn't realize until I was researching this song that Skeeter Davis was one of the Davis Sisters. Small world, isn't it. Anyhow, I'm sure you'll enjoy this country retelling of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. I know I get a kick out of it every single time I hear it.

Previous tracks:
Anna Russell-Please Santa Claus
Kathy Dunn-Santaville
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel

16 Days 'til Christmas

I've got another EP here for you, this time by Lew White. I don't know much about Mr. White, other than he was an organist going way, way back. I suspect this record is a reissue of some stuff from 78, but I don't know that. There's more vocal on here than you expect from an organ record, and they don't credit whoever the singers are. But that won't keep you from enjoying this. Go download Lew White, Organist, With Chorus And Instrumental Accompaniment-Christmas Time (RCA Camden 7" 45 rpm CAE-126).

A Light In The Darkness

OK, let's see if I can post something that's not on CD this time. Here's an EP from The Lighthouse Singers, a group of musically talented blind girls from the Lighthouse Music School in New York. Well, the liner notes don't specifically say it's all girls, but I don't hear any guys in there, just dolls. This is part 2 of a set, but I'm afraid I don't have the other(s). Searching around the net seems to tell me that this was also available as a single 12" with 10 songs. I don't know if that means there is one other EP with 6 songs, or maybe two EPs with 3 songs each or one EP with 4 songs and one EP with 2 songs, or... Well, you get my point. Anyhow, whatever was released, it came out on the "X" label, a subsidiary of RCA. I don't know how they decided who got on the main label, and who was on the subsidiary. They also had a Vik label, which you also rarely see stuff on, but it's certainly more common than "X". But whatever, lemme post this so I can go record something else before midnight. Please go listen to Christmas Carols By The Lighthouse Singers-Volume II ("X" EXA-17, 1957).

101 x 3


Here's some nice easy listening Christmas music for this cold winter night. Well, I think it's about 65 outside, so does that really count as cold? Probably not. But to some people, this record doesn't count as music. But it's Christmas, so let's be charitable. Some people like these albums. If you want it, go get 101 Strings-Christmas Moods (Somerset SF-71000, 1964), and enjoy it. Perhaps you don't like the cover? Then I've given you two other choices below. Each of these covers contained the same music. My favorite is the one at the top. That's actually why it's at the top, now that I think about it. This record is another rerun from last year, so if you're interested, you can go back and see what I wrote then. Or when I shared out the third cover, you can read that, too.

Christmas With Twice

I noticed something odd last night while browsing through the archives. I had pulled out an album called Christmas With The Lennon Sisters (Dot DLP 25343, 1961) that I wanted to record. I knew it was on CD (go buy it from the girls), but I wanted to listen to it right then and not wait for the CD, so I recorded it while listening. Then I went back to the shelf and looked at the other covers I had for the same record. One was a boring cover on a Ranwood reissue (a label associated with Lawrence Welk), and one was a boring cover on Wing. But then I noticed something. There weren't enough tracks on the Wing version. It's not surprising to find fewer tracks on reissues, I guess it saves on costs. Annoying, yes, but not surprising. Then I noticed some of the tracks didn't sound familiar. Then I came to the startling realization that it was an entirely different album! A little research turned up the information that this record is not on CD, which means I get to share it with you. So for those of you who love The Lennon Sisters, and who doesn't, here is their other Christmas album of the same name, Christmas With The Lennon Sisters (Wing SRW 16408, 1968). The one you're downloading is the one shown above. The one you're going to go buy on CD is shown below. Got that straight?

Well, nevermind. I guess this one is on CD, I just wasn't smart enough to figure that out. If you already downloaded this one, you have to delete it now. Scout's Honor! The link above now points to the page where you can buy this LP under it's original title, Noel.

Ho Ho Snow


When I was growing up, I didn't have a lot of little kiddie records. I listened to the same records my father did, and I'm sure I destroyed my fair share of them. I remember having a few little record players, but very few records. (I know there was some little gadget that projected a picture along with the record that was playing, but that's a pretty fuzzy memory.) My point, if I have one, is that I don't have a warm fuzzy attachment to some of the old records recorded just for kids from back in the day. So when I listen to them, I don't usually like them. This one (that I originally shared last year) is an exception. I like it. I really like the song Mr. Snow. You should download it based on that song alone, and consider the rest of it as bonus tracks. I believe this is a reissue of music recorded way back when 78s were the hottest medium going, but the sound is still pretty good. The 1966 date you see is what was written on the record itself. But that's beside the point, go download The Sandpipers With Mitch Miller And Orchestra-Frosty The Snowman (Golden Records 2092, 1966).

Friday, December 08, 2006

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 8

Doesn't look like a Christmas album, does it? That's because it's not. But a sharp-eyed observer would notice a short track entitled 'Please Santa Claus' listed on the back. That's what I did, and I found an interesting little track to share with you. Anna Russell made a career of lampooning music, both popular and non-popular, prior to her death this year in October. In this song, she's making fun of Christmas tunes sung by precocious little children. I don't know the exact date of this LP, but it's mid to late 50s, so the charts would have had some things like 'I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas' or 'The Chipmunk Song' at the time. I removed the spoken bits, leaving just the song, which is barely a minute long, even with the applause at the end, so don't be surprised when it ends. So for today's contribution to my 25 Days Of Christmas CD, here's Anna Russell, International Concert Comedienne, With Jimmy Carroll And His Miserable Five-Please Santa Claus from A Square Talk On Popular Music or The Decline And Fall Of The Popular Song (Columbia Masterworks ML 5036). Enjoy! (This track showed up on a recent re-issue from Ms. Russell. Go get it here. Mine is taken from the original vinyl, of course.)

Previous tracks:
Kathy Dunn-Santaville
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel

The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

The Wright Way, Part 3

While I'm on the subject, let me give you some new music to enjoy. This is another Christmas LP that George Wright put out in 1962, and it's easily as good as his first. This guy probably put out 100 organ LPs in his lifetime, probably carrying the HiFi label on his own at times. I haven't found one yet that I could find something to love on. In fact, there was some single-track George Wright sharity this past summer during Christmas In July, so go get some bonus tracks (1 and 2)! This LP came out on a different label, though, for whatever reason. You know how artists are. Unfortunately, this one's in mono, so I've got something of George's to keep my eye out for during the coming year. Here's George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ-Christmas Time (Dot DLP 3479, 1962).

The Wright Way, Parts 1 & 2


It's time for a little switcheroo. Last year I shared the album above with you, some great Christmas music on the organ. Notice that the record says Stereo across the top. Well, I thought that was pretty odd for something recorded in 1956! I hunted and hunted, but I finally came across a copy of the original mono album. Look below and you can see that it sports a slightly different cover, with quite a bit more color to offset the hot pink. The music is ever so slightly different, too. I'm sure he took his original arrangements back into the studio when it was deemed necessary issue a stereo version of this LP, and followed them closely. Now if I could just figure out when this re-recording took place, I'd be happy. Anybody out there know how I could figure this out? I did want to show you the different covers, and, if you're interested, give you both versions. Here's the one I shared out last year, the stereo one, George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ-Merry Christmas (HiFi SR706, later than 1956). And here's the one I got this year and recorded for you, George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ-Merry Christmas (HiFi R706, 1956). Which one is better? I don't know. They're both pretty good. I think you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference, actually. But be sure you grab both covers. I like both of them in their own way. I screwed up and left the back cover out of the stereo version, though, but they're both the same. in fact, I scanned the back from the stereo one, then stuck it in the mono one. Don't tell anyone!

Update (13 Oct 08): This one is now available as a legal download! So go get it! Here's a link to Amazon, but it's also available elsewhere.

Teeny Tiny


One of the most fun records I shared last year was this record by Big Tiny Little. I got lots of comments on this one, as every one who listened to it enjoyed it. So don't be left out, jump on this tiny bandwagon today. Download Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Coral CRL 757391, 1961).

The Famous Pipers


I wanted to throw this share from last year up to help me brag about the fact that The King Of Jingaling from FaLaLaLaLa chose a track off of it for his annual ADVENTures In Carols CD today! I'm so proud. Of course, the lucky devil has a stereo copy of the album, and mine is but a humble mono copy. But it's better than nothing. So if you liked the track shared by the King, download this and hear the rest. Go get Christmas Greetings From The Town Pipers (HiFi R418, 1959). Thanks again, King, for the honor!

Update (13 Oct 08): This one is now available for legal download. And that's a good thing, becuase it means that more of this old Christmas music that we all love is available to a wider audience. Here's the link to Amazon, and it's also available at other legal download sites. Now if I could just get them to look at the Three Suns catalog...

Thursday, December 07, 2006

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 7


The next track in my online CD, 25 Days Of Christmas, is a great little novelty track from 1959. You may have downloaded it last year, but if you didn't, then you're in for a real treat. It's late and I'm tired, so just go get Kathy Dunn-Santaville (Santaville Records K80W-4901/2, 1959). You'll love it.

Previous tracks:
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel

The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

More Boring Christmas Music

Here's another record that held great promise, but turned out to be less than spectacular. Just look at that cover. Who wouldn't buy this? I'd buy two or three copies, just to look at it. Then the listening left something to be desired. And my recording leaves even more to be desired. Seems there is some noise in the louder parts of the recording. I thought it was because I had the levels set too high, but it was always there. So I really shouldn't share this out, but I'm going to anyway, with a promise. I recently found a reissue of this LP from 1973 with a different title, different cover and a different track sequence, but it's in stereo. I'm going to try and get that one recorded and eventually replace this poor copy. But in the meantime, you might want to hear what's on the vinyl. Give a listen to The John McCarthy Chorale-Merry Christmas Sing Along (RCA Victor LPM-2476, 1962, "An RCA Victor Record Club Exclusive"). Two bad records in a row. This is such a let-down after that great Three Suns single. Just try to enjoy the cool covers, I guess.

More Organ, More Chimes

Whoa, it was an hour long Earl tonight, so I'm terribly behind on my posting. What have I got here? Oh, it's another LP of organ music, this time with chimes! Nothing spectacular here, except that the main honcho behind this record is Leo Addeo, better known for his Hawaiian music than his organ music. He's just the conductor and arranger, though. Someone else actually plays the organ. I had high hopes for this record, such a festive cover. Turns out it's just a bunch of unimaginative medleys. So if any of that sounds at all interesting, go get Leo Addeo With Milton Kaye & Harry Breuer-Organ And Chimes Play Christmas Carols (RCA Camden CAS-726, 1962).

Two More Three Suns

At long last, I got to hear the Three Suns single I'd been hunting for! Friend-of-the-blog Pete read my recent post about what Christmas records I was missing from The Three Suns, and generously offered to share. Good as his word, he sent me the two songs from this 1951 single, as well as scans of the record itself. And to my surprise, the music was every bit as good as I had imagined, which is something that doesn't always happen. Sometimes you want something for a long time, then when you get it, it's a bit of a letdown. But that is not the case here! The first track here, Uncle Mistletoe, turns out to have a vocal by Texas Jim Robertson. I have to admit I have no idea who that is, but it's cool to hear someone singing over the typical Three Suns rhythms. The flip side, Sleigh Ride, is quite quirky, featuring some fake horse noises that I'm not sure about. What instrument is that? A squeaky violin? Is that noise coming from the accordion? No idea. (Can anyone tell me if this is the same version of Sleigh Ride that was released by The Three Suns back in 1949 on RCA Victor single 47-3924?) Pete was kind enough to give me permission to share his record with the rest of you, so here is the first music I've presented that I didn't own the actual record. Go get The Three Suns-Uncle Mistletoe/Sleigh Ride (RCA Victor 7" 45 rpm 47-4323, 1951). And when you're done with that, go check out the rest of my Three Suns shares (part 1, 2 , 3, 3.5, 4). It's all good! And don't forget to leave a nice comment thanking Pete for his generosity! PS-You can go get A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas here.

My Name Is Earl

Here's a great album I wanted to share with you, but I got beaten to the punch by the Captain. If you click on over to The Christmas Yuleblog, you can download this great Christmas organ record. I know you don't have enough Christmas organ already to last you a lifetime, so go get it. For the record, this is Earl Grant-Winter Wonderland (Decca DL 74677, 1965), and you can download it not once, but twice over at the Yuleblog. Don't ask, just go.

Speaking of Earl, I need to check if there is a Christmas episode of My Name Is Earl coming this year. Last year was a good episode with great holiday music. There was one song I really liked, and didn't know who it was, but now I can't remember it. (Sometimes they list the music from the episodes on the website, but I don't remember seeing it for the Christmas show.) Years ago, there was an episode of The Osbournes that had some Christmas music in it, and to this day I want to know what it was. It's been so long ago now that I can't even remember it, but I know it was good stuff. It wasn't anything having to do with Ozzie, though, I do remember that. So if you have any idea what I'm talking about, leave me a comment...

Organ-ic-er


Here is the second record of swingin' organ music from Eddie Dunstedter that I shared last year. This one may be even better than the first. If you didn't get this last year, then don't miss it this time around! Go get Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (Capitol ST 1968, c. 1963) right now.

Organ-ic


I don't think you've got enough organ for Christmas. This is a great rerun from last year featuring some really swinging organ tunes for the holidays. Don't listen to me, just go download
Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas (Capitol ST 1264, c. 1959).

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 6

Tonight's track for my online Christmas CD is a cut by The Williams Brothers. I'm still not sure if this has been released on CD or not. I suspect that the Andy Williams material has, but not the Williams Brothers. And that's a shame because there's some good stuff on here. This particular track is a bit of fun to brighten your day, but it's not a kiddie track like many of my tracks here have been. I know you'll enjoy The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season from Christmas With Andy Williams And The Williams Brothers (Columbia Special Products C 10105).


Previous tracks:
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel

The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Cleveland Rocks, Or Not...

Here's a little something for all my friends up in and around Cleveland. When I was up there in October, I found time and money to visit one thrift store, a small Goodwill on the northern outskirts of Akron, I forget the name of the community. (For those who know the area, it's across the street from the giant smokestack to God, or whatever it's called. You know what I mean...) Anyhow, I walked out of there with a small stack of vinyl that I had to smuggle home on the plane. One of those records was this Christmas album. Sixteen high school choirs from in and around the metro Cleveland area singing their favorite carols. I didn't buy it so much for the music as I did for the connection to the area I was in, and the fact that I recognized the spot on the cover. It's a great night shot of local landmark Terminal Tower and Public Square, all decked out for the holidays. There's no date on this record, but I'm going to say late fifties based on the haircuts and clothes of the teachers pictured on the back side. The music is the usual stuff you'd expect from high school chorale groups. Very competent, but not very memorable. I wasn't able to find anyone I knew from Cleveland who actually went to any of these schools, so if you have some connection to any of them, please chime in, I'd love to hear from you. So here's a share for all you folks in Ohio (The rest of you can download it too, if you want, I suppose), Christmas In Cleveland (Delta Records Of Ohio, Processed and Pressed by Columbia XCTV-84680/1). Enjoy!

What's An Ironstring?


Some kind soul reminded me of this record in one of their comments. When I first started sharing Christmas music last year, this was on my list of things I wanted to get out there. in fact, it was at the top of my list! But it's on CD. That's not a bad thing mind you, that means you can get a beautiful copy of it, and hopefully some of the money works it's way back to the artist or their families. Well, maybe. But you really need to go out and get yourself a copy of this CD right now. Go, go, go, I'll wait. This is Ira Ironstrings (aka Alvino Rey)-Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus (Warner Brothers 1339, 1959). There's a little more info about this in my post last year, but trust me, you can't go wrong with this music.

Ring Those Bells

Here's another LP that drew me in by the cover. The music is OK, but you won't be tripping over each other to get to it. Bells and organ seem like an odd combination to me, but they seem to go together on a lot of these albums, don't they? Some of them say chimes, but this one says bells, I'm not exactly sure of the difference there. But just ignore all that and look at the picture. How great is that? Just go download Arthur Lynds Bigelow, Bell Master, & Marjorie MacComb, Organist-Ring! Christmas Bells (Columbia CL 915, 1956).

Echoes (Not Floyd)

Here is the very first Christmas record I shared out of Ernie (Not Bert) last year! It's a great bit of tinkly cocktail lounge piano music, running seamlessly from one song into the next. So seamlessly that I couldn't cut it into tracks, so you're going to have to listen to it one whole side at a time. I hope you all enjoy George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (Vox VX 25010, 1955).

Good News And Bad-I received an email from George Feyer's daughter-in-law last night, and she tells me that the family is in the process of making all his recordings available for legal download. That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't share it with you anymore, but I think the good outweighs the bad. So keep checking back and hopefully I'll have some information about when and where you can download some tasty George Feyer.

Ray Ray


Here's the other LP I shared out from The Ray Charles Singers last year. This is the more Christmassy of the two, but they are both excellent. Please download and enjoy The Ray Charles Singers-Here We Come A-Caroling (MGM E3467, 1956). And as always, please go read what I wrote last year about this great record.

Ray


A popular group from last year was The Ray Charles Singers. Here's the first of a pair of rerun albums from the singers. Go get The Ray Charles Singers-Winter Wonderland (MGM E3387, 1956). And go read the post from last year for all the relevant info.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 5

I'm too tired this evening to put the artwork together for the album from which I grabbed tonight's track. Sorry about that. It's been a long day, and I've already done several covers. Maybe tomorrow. But the track tonight is a good one. I've never actually seen a copy of the Ed Sullivan LP that originally sported this track, but I'm on the lookout. If it ever crosses my path, I'm on it! I like the Now! sound that jumps out at you from this track, and some of the others I've heard. No voices, though, just some insistent horns. So for the 5th installment of my online Christmas CD, I present The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus from A Very Merry Christmas, Volume 3 (Columbia Special Products for Grants, CSS-997, 1969). This is good stuff.

Previous tracks:
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel

The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

A Skitch In Time

Would you look at that? Another terrible pun. I gotta stop that. Our next share is just a giant picture of Mitch Miller. No, wait, that's not Mitch... The artist in this next share should be a lot more popular than he is. Skitch Henderson was a bandleader for The Tonight Show long before Doc Severinsen came along. Yet he's barely remembered today. I was pretty excited when I stumbled across this LP, as I wasn't sure if Skitch had ever actually recorded a Christmas LP. I'd only seen his holiday tracks on various artists efforts before this. Unfortunately, it's only half a Christmas album. Side two is about the other kind of holiday, along the lines of vacation. So I left those tracks out for now. I did throw in a version of 'We Need A Little Christmas' from A Very Merry Christmas-Volume Two (Columbia Special Products For Grants CSS-788, 1968), a record made by Columbia for Grants department store. That gets this share up to eight tracks, which is good enough. Some of the music on Winter Holiday is classical, since he does share billing with the New York Philharmonic on this release, but you'll still enjoy it. It's stuff that sounds quite seasonal, but you don't hear it every day. But enough blathering. If you want more info, you'll have to wait for the Captain to review it next year. Here's Skitch Henderson With The New York Philharmonic-Winter Holiday (Columbia MS 6381, 1962), in glorious stereo!

Carillon My Wayward Son

Please don't be scared away by the horrible, horrible pun in the title of this post. I apologize. But this is probably my favorite carillon album out of the ones I have ripped this year. I'm not sure why. I guess it's well recorded, and the arrangements are interesting. But it's still just a bunch of big bells. Nice cover, too. So why don't you download Emilien Allard-Noels au Carillon de l'Oratoire Saint-Joseph (Carols At The Carillon Of Saint Joseph's Oratory) (RCA Victor of Canada LCP-1024). Enjoy it!

(Has anyone noticed that as the season goes on, my descriptions of the shared albums get shorter and shorter? Funny, that...)

Christmas, Island Style


Here's a great share from last year that I know you'll want to grab. And it's got an awesome cover as well. I thought maybe this was the only LP these guys put out, but I recently came across another, non-holiday, LP from them on the same label. There's not much more I can say about this album that you can't infer from the cover, so why don't you go download The Surfers-Christmas From Hawaii (HiFi R410, 1959).

Update (13 Oct 08): This one is now available as a legal download! So go get it! Here's a link to Amazon, but it's also available elsewhere.

Fun With Rodents


If I'm going to reshare those crickets, I may as well try the woodchucks again. This one is much, much better than the crickets, though. You might even enjoy his. But don't download Woody The Woodchuck-Christmas Sing Song aka Christmas With Woody The Woodchuck (Premiere XM 6) from me. Go get the stereo version from A Christmas Yuleblog!

UPDATE: This one is now available as a download from Amazon. If you want it, you gotta go over there and get it from them, not from me.

Worst...Album...Ever


This was the worst thing I uploaded for you last year. Yet it was one of my more popular downloads. So I dare you to download and listen to this! Go ahead! Double dog dare you! Go get Christmas With The Happy Crickets (International Award Series AKX-9) or it's (Grand Prix Series KX-9), both covers included. You can read all about it on my post from last year if you're interested.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Christmas In Florida, Part Two

Things are different when you live on the water. Many people decorate their yard for the holiday, and it's a beautiful sight, but on the water, you get twice the light show for your money. For as long as I can remember, these three houses on the northern end of Siesta Key have decorated like there's no tomorrow. There's a small park across the inlet from them, and the police literally have to set up traffic control to handle all the people that drive over the bridge to see this display. My picture really doesn't do it justice. Maybe I'll sneak out there sometime soon with a tripod and try to get a clearer shot. Plus, parts of this are animated, so a longer exposure would capture more of the action. I'll put that on my to-do list.

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 4

Day four, how about some fine banjo pickin'? You can't go wrong with some fine banjo music, unless you happen to be taking a river rafting trip down a river that's soon to disappear behind a dam. But that's a different story. For your listening pleasure, here is track four, The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells from A Very Merry Christmas To All (Columbia Special products for Acme Markets CSP 159, 1964). Enjoy!

Previous tracks:
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel

The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Nunsense

What better to follow up some Christmas bells than some Christmas nuns! Wait, don't skip this one, it's not like it sounds. You see lots (well, maybe not lots, but some) of records of nuns singing, or church choirs singing hymns of Christmas, but how many of them feature actual carols like White Christmas or Jingle Bells? None, that's how many. Errr, wait, I mean one, this one! I was as surprised as I'm sure you are. I picked this one up because of the neat cover, and probably would have bought it anyway because of that, but the performance of happy Christmas music like Sleigh Ride and Joy To The World sealed the deal. So download this and give it a listen, you will enjoy it. Here's The Sisters Of Divine Providence-Christmas Mosaic-Our Greetings In Carols (Gateway GLP-9014).

Ring Those Christmas Bells

I can never get enough of these great album covers! Here's another one that I bought strictly for the great cover. The music is so-so, a mixture of pipe organ and chimes, a little better that the Buddy Cole from yesterday, but not as good at the Dick Leibert. But it's certainly listenable. And you get to look at this great cover! The back cover is nice, too, with a cool font for "Christmas Bells". There's just all sorts of stuff to like about this cover. So go get Christmas Bells-Cathedral Organ and Chimes Featuring Richard Keys Biggs (Capitol T9013, 1954). Thanks for the date, Cap'n.

Yet More Organ Tunes


Here's another rerun from last year, featuring a couple of tunes on the organ. I just can't get enough of these old organ tunes. This time it's just a single, so I'm sure you'll want to add it to your collection. Go get Bob Coe At The Pipe Organ-White Christmas/Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Leaf R 6126).

December Takes Flight

Here's the calendar page for this week. I caught this osprey coming in for a landing at Fort DeSoto Park up in St. Petersburg. I think I hung around this nest shooting for half an hour or so. One bird would go off and hunt while the other stayed with the young. Every time one would fly back into the nest, I'd get another great action shot.

Sweet, Sweet Muzak


Believe it or not, someone out there requested this LP be reposted. It's actually been uploaded and available to download for a little while now, and people have actually been grabbing it. So if you want to feel like you're back at TG&Y sorting through the bargains, download this and give it a listen! Here's Muzak Christmas (Muzak AA 36, 1980)!

How come Blogger keeps going all text on me? I don't know enough HTML to do this... Ah, there is goes. Now I can link you back to last year when I originally posted this.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 3

Day three and I'm still going strong on the track-a-day Christmas compilation. Today is another track from a 45 I found during the year. This seems to have been inspired by the success of Alvin, Simon and Theodore. It uses the same tape-speed effects as that hit, and even name-checks Alvin! Other celebrities who get their due in here include Elvis, Kookie, Connie, Fabian and Duane. The sound is a little rough, but so was the record. If you know anything else about this record, please let me know! This may be an old song, just jazzed up with some timely references. I'm still checking on it. Please download and save Johnny Brandon With The Eliot Glen Orchestra-Santa Claus, Jr. (Laurie 3042).

Update: I think this is the orginal. The other version I found of this track credits Brandon as the writer, so it must be the cover, not the other way around.

Previous tracks:
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel
The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Christmas Sharity Recap 2006-Week Two

Wow! What a week it's been around here. Things have really taken off. I hope you're all enjoying the music, I know I am. I do occasionally record some stuff I don't like, but most of the time I record these records because I thought they were interesting, or sounded good, or at least had a cool cover. And lots of you have been sharing your records with me, which I appreciate. Every time I think I've heard it all, somebody comes along and shows me just how wrong I am. So, let me get down to the business of this post, which is to recap all the shares from this season up to today. I'm give you the name of the record, a link to the original post, label it if it's a rerun from last year, and then a little number to show you how many times a particular share has been downloaded. This way you can keep track of all the stuff I've thrown out there (I don't want you to miss something good), and see how popular certain items are.

Week The Second:

Merry Christmas From... (rerun) (76)
Dennis Day-Christmas Is For The Family (rerun) (56)
Holiday People-Holiday Disco (59)
Max Fagen-Christmas Disco Party (79)
Warner Bros Stars-We Wish You A Merry Christmas (155)
Ephrem Zimbalist, Jr.-Adeste Fidelis (34)
Walter Schumann-The Voices Of Christmas (rerun) (55)
Mitch Miller-Be A Santa (50)
Cyril Stapleton-Children's Christmas Album (rerun) (38)
Ethel Smith-Christmas Music (20)
Godfrey Malcolm & Fredrico-Chimes Of Christmas (46)
Menudo-Feliz Navidad (rerun) (30)
Jose Melis-Christmas With Melis (85)
Charo-(Mamcita) Donde Esta Santa Claus (rerun) (102)
Bruce Woodman-Christmas Carols With A Latin Lilt (44)
60 French Girls & The Christmas Bell Ringers-Joyeaux Noel (rerun) (63)
Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart-Hark The Herald Angels Swing (rerun) (43)
William Clauson-Canciones De Navidad (25)
Natal No Brasil (32)
The Snap-On Male Chorus-Carols Of Christmas (rerun) (33)
A Kimball Christmas (rerun) (28)
Christmas Classics 1963 (49)
Frank Chacksfield-Music For A Merry Christmas (60)
The Three Suns-Christmas Party (rerun) (44)
The Three Suns-Your Christmas Favorites (rerun) (34)
The Three Suns-The Sounds Of Christmas (rerun) (50)
The Three Suns-Raggin' The Scales (25)
Lester Lanin-Christmas Dance Party (55)
A Christmas Sampler (rerun) (18)
Dick Leibert-Sing And Rejoice (rerun) (11)
Dick Leibert-The Sound Of Christmas (rerun) (24)
Dick Leibert-The Happy Hits Of Christmas (rerun) (21)
Dick Leibert-A Merry Wurlitzer Christmas (20)
Buddy Cole-The Organ Plays At Christmas (4)
Buddy Cole At The Pipe Organ-Pipes And Chimes For Christmas (3)

Week The First:

Ray Conrad-The Cotton Pickin' Lift Tower (20)
Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind (12)
Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (Rerun) (22)
The Merriest Of Christmas Pops (94)
Fred Waring-Twas The Night Before Christmas (Rerun) (80)
Fred Waring-Nutcracker Suite (49)
Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (Rerun) (18)
David Wayne Narrates The Little Star Of Bethlehem (27)
Eddie Layton-Organ Music For Christmas (53)
Mike Douglas-My Kind Of Christmas (Rerun) (80)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye (85)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Serenade (65)
Sammy Kaye-Year 'Round Favorites (35)
The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (Rerun, Remastered) (113)
Avon Campaign 21 (Rerun) (33)
Danny Robinson-Deck The Halls (49)
Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (Rerun) (28)
A Family Christmas Album (47)
Slim Boyd-Christmas Country Style (83)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (Rerun) (102)

Hoo-boy, that's a lot a' sharin'! Ya'll stick around though, we're less than halfway to the big day!

My Other Buddy

I had hoped that I could still salvage this Buddy Cole situation, thinking maybe this other record he recorded for Columbia would be better. Well, about all I can say is that it's longer. I don't have a date for this one, either, but it's in Stereo, which means it's got to be later than the other record. But the tunes still sound sort of the same, only they're droning on in both ears now. With a hearty endorsement like that, I'm sure lots of you are going to download Buddy Cole At The Pipe Organ-Pipes And Chimes For Christmas (Harmony/Columbia HS 11198). Try it, you might like it.

My Buddy

Someone had asked about Buddy Cole Christmas music, and here's one of the things I found. Problem is, I don't like it. I'm used to the more peppy organ that came along a few years later. This stuff is sort of boring to me. And on top of that, it's rather poorly recorded. I think this came out before the advent of hi-fi, so it's rather muddy, and all sorta sounds the same. But if you're a fan of the pipe organ, you may like it. Download it and see...Buddy Cole-The Organ Plays At Christmastime (Capitol 3x7" 45 rpm CCF-9002). I guess I should have known it wasn't very good because they didn't stick any tracks from it on Capitol's excellent Ultra-Lounge Christmas CDs.

Whoops-I screwed up. I had the wrong image files in the download. If you're among the first ten people who downloaded this, you got the wrong pictures. You might want to grab it again if you want to see what you are listening to. If you don't care, then don't bother.

Christmas In Florida, Part One

We do things just a little bit different here in Florida for the holidays. You have to be different, I suppose, to make up for the lack of snow, or even cold. It's about 85 here, although it may cool off a little tomorrow, which means it will only be 80. I'd seen this manatee mailbox before at a house near my condo, but the homeowners recently added these Christmas touches. I hope Manatee Claus brings me something good for Christmas!