A Christmas Carousel

Ha-ha, fooled ya! You thought this was going to be a Peggy Lee post. Nope, this is a pointer to an album shared out by Alleeee over at her blog. Well, I thought it was. Perhaps she took it down. I don't see it now. Let me look into this further... Ah, there it is, at another blog she runs, or is affiliated with or something. Anyhow, this is a neat little religious LP, A Christmas Carousel-Songs & Stories By Children's Bible Hour (Singspiration ZLP 3083, 1978). Tell her Ernie sent ya.

26 Days Of Christmas-Day 9

Since I shared a Kiss song with you earlier in this collection, I figured I'd do it again. This is Sue Powell-Kiss Me It's Kiss-Mas (7" 45 RPM Basic B-208). It's a cute little ditty, but I don't know if it's a young girl, or an adult trying to sound young. Download it and let me know what you think.

Previous Tunes:
Mickey Gilley-Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Christmas Time
Scott Fagen-Sandy The Blue Nosed Reindeer
Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss
Sascha Burland-The Chickens Are In The Chimes!
Commander Shea School Boys' Choir-Chree-See-Mus
The Crew-Cuts-Dance Mr. Snowman Dance
Tennessee Ernie-A Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus
Arthur Godfrey-Christmas Is Christmas

Used Music-Track Fourteen

Welcome to the celebrity edition of Used Music-The Thrift Store Christmas Compilation Compilation! While all the artists have been great, this one is great for another reason. She doesn't even need an introduction other than here is Marlene Dietrich performing Little Drummer Boy in German from The Best Of Christmas (Capitol 2xLP STBB 2979). Someone must have really like this compilation over at Capitol, because they later issued the whole thing intact on CD, even containing the original art. Hard to believe but true!

Two Great Quartets!

Something I have been holding back for years now is this great album by The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesmen. Why would I hold back such a great album as this? Well, I've been hoping to find a stereo copy for you. Mine is in mono, and I think a stereo copy will really bring this to life. I've always enjoyed this record, probably because this is one of the records that my dad used to play at Christmas (much like this one). We only had a few Christmas albums, but they were in pretty constant rotation from Thanksgiving night to Christmas Day. These two gospel quartets sings a great selection of songs, not just hymns. They each sing a few tracks by themselves, but there are two songs where they join forces and threaten to tear the roof off the sucker! So I know you're going to enjoy this one. Go download James Blackwood And The Blackwood Brothers Combine With Hovie Lister And The Statesmen To Wish You A Musical Merry Christmas (RCA Victor LPM-2606, 1962). I know there's another cover for this one, too. Something else I will spend forever trying to find...

60, Count 'Em, 60!

A little bit more French music for you here, switching gears for fancy orchestras to fancy choruses (and some bells). This has been a popular share for a couple of years now, even though for some reason my ZIP file is named "60 Franch Girls". I apologize for that, but I think the files inside there are correctly named. I'd take the time to fix it, but I am lazy and in a hurry today. I'm supposed to go to Orlando in a couple of hours, and I'm pretty much going to miss the rest of the day posting. So whatever I can get up in a couple of hours this morning is it for the day. I'd better quit gabbing and let you download Les Djinnes Singers-60 French Girls With The Christmas Bell Ringers-Joyeaux Noel (ABC Paramount ABCS 397, 1961). It's pretty cool Christmas choral crooning. You can go visit the Captain for much more info on these 60 girls.

Catch The Fevre

I probably should have shared this out the other day with that other French band leader, Paul Mauriat. But that would imply too much organization and planning, something that seems to be sorely lacking around these parts. But it's here now, same as it was last year, and the year before that, and if you don't have it, you definitely need to hear Raymond LeFevre And His Orchestra-Merry Christmas (4 Corners Of The World FCS-4257). This is great stuff that will leave you wanting more. I don't think there's anymore where this came from, though. I pretty much gutted the grooves on my vinyl trying to get every last bit of music out of them.

26 Days Of Christmas-Day 8

I found another track from Arthur Godfrey recently that I didn't get to record before I shared a couple his full LPs earlier this season. This is from much later in his career, but I don't have a year for it. I think you're going to enjoy Arthur Godfrey With The Jimmy Wisner Orchestra-Christmas Is Christmas All Over The World (Listen 2 Records GS 752).

Previous Tunes:
Mickey Gilley-Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Christmas Time
Scott Fagen-Sandy The Blue Nosed Reindeer
Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss
Sascha Burland-The Chickens Are In The Chimes!
Commander Shea School Boys' Choir-Chree-See-Mus
The Crew-Cuts-Dance Mr. Snowman Dance
Tennessee Ernie-A Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus

Used Music-Track Thirteen

This next addition to Used Music-The Thrift Store Compilation Compilation is an odd track written by the immortal Johnny Marks. It seems odd that the author of such great Christmas tracks as Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree would write something especially for a bunch of singers on an album put together for a financial services company. But that's what we have here. This is Joyous Christmas by The Beneficial Singers from Joyous Christmas-Volume 6 (Columbia Special Products for The Beneficial Finance System C 11083, 1972). I think this song showed up several different volumes in this series. I didn't check to see if it's the same version each time, but then I didn't really care.

Christmas For Children

I know I've stated on more than one occasion that I don't like plain old choral albums. But this is one I like. Why? I don't know exactly. It's pretty well recorded, so you aren't listening to a muddy mixture of voices and noise. It's not all the same old carols, either. There's stuff I've never heard before like I Wish I Had A Beard Like Santa Claus and I'll Borrow A Stocking From Mrs. Elephant. I love to hear Christmas songs that I haven't heard before. So I think you'll enjoy this album more than most. Please be my guest and download The Shepherd's Children's Chorus-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (RCA Camden CAS-1126, 1971).

Used Music-Track Twelve

To be perfectly honest, I picked this record up solely because of the cover art. I didn't care what was in it, I knew I had to put it onto my Used Music collection. Turns out that I found a great track on here to share with you from a great album that I may or may not share. But at least this way you get to hear some of it. But first, this cover! It's a little like Yellow Submarine meets North Pole. It's a little bit freaky. The longer you look at it, the more stuff you see in there. I think the back cover is even more psychedelic than the front! There's a small signature in the that says Pepper, but I don't know who that is. Is this someone famous? Anyhow, the music on here is just about the exact opposite of the cover. It's a repacking by the RCA Record Club of easy-listening Christmas albums from the sixties. Lots and lots of tracks from John McCarthy, Living Strings, Bianco, and our star tonight, George Melachrino. Please download Fairy On The Christmas Tree by George Melachrino And His Orchestra from A Christmas Festival (RCA Record Club 2xLP CCS-0145). Now that I think about it, I think The King Of Jingaling shared out this track on one of his ADVENTures in Carols. But it's good enough for you to hear again, trust me!

Christmas Becomes Electronic

One of my most popular shares, ever. Period, bar none. This is it. A month or so ago I found a book called The Complete Christmas Book by Franklin Watts, originally published in 1958. I imagined it would be full of cool 1950s Christmas stuff, and I wasn't disappointed. If I posted doodles from books, this one would last me several dozen Christmas seasons. But what interested me most was a small section called Christmas On Records. It's only about 8 pages out of a 300+ page book, but I found what I was after. Among a list and short description of mostly classical records, there was a short review of Christmas Becomes Electric. "This record could be a harbinger of standard Christmas fare in the twenty-first century." So, here we are in the 21st century, sharing electronic versions of electric Christmas music. How does this compare to standard Christmas music of the day? (Before you ask, this seems to be a revised edition of the book, issued sometime after the 1969 release date of the record.) If you didn't get this last year, or the year before that, please be my guest and download The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (Columbia CS 9959, 1969).

Over At Lee's Place

I wanted to point you to another interesting download over at Lee's place, or, as he actually calls it, Music You (Possibly) Won't Find Anyplace Else. (Did I get it right this time?) This extremely low budget release on the Power Pak label screams that it has Bobby Helms doing his big hit Jingle Bell Rock, but it's a much later re-recording that can't hold a candle to the original. The other tracks are by artists that I'd bet a shiny new dime you have never heard of. Well, most of them anyhow. But the sheer variety of styles on here is impressive. Different tracks highlight different instruments, like guitars, pianos, vibes and, um, steel guitar. OK, so maybe it doesn't have that big of a variety. But it does have Bobby Helms! Go see Lee and download Christmas Album (Power Pak PO-507, 1975). Well, I thought that was the title. The flipside calls this Christmas Classics, which is at least a little less generic...

Frankie (Not Weird Al)

Are you in the mood for a little polka in your Christmas tonight? I hope so, because that's what you're getting. The once and future king of all polka music, Frankie Yankovic, will be happy to play his special blend of accordions, tubas, and whatever else they use to make this quite distinctive music. I can't even describe it.. And yes, The Merry Christmas Polka is in here. Go get Frankie Yankovic-Christmas Party (Columbia CS 9053). This is the second LP I've shared out this year called Christmas Party. Odd...

The First Night Of Chanukah

I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention. I almost missed the fact that Chanukah started tonight. If I'd missed it, then I would only have seven more chances to share out this great Chanukah album from last year. I'm not going to yack on forever about it, so just go download The Moishe Oysher Chanukah Party (Rozanna J7OP-6641/6642).

A Different Cover

The Captain over at A Christmas Yule Blog is sharing out the album above, and you need to go get it. But save a copy of this cover to your hard drive before you go get his, because it's different from the one he's got. I don't know which one is original, so you need to have both of them. The record in question is Organ And Chimes Played By Owen Bradley (Coral 57071). I had wanted to share this album out at some point, but I've been beaten to the punch twice now!

Wait a minute... Is this a different LP? Let me check the track list. There seems to be a little overlap, but it's not the same album! Now I'll have to put this one back on the list to be recorded. At least I already have the cover scan done...

26 Days Of Christmas-Day 7

Well, since the flip side of a previously shared single worked so well last night, why not try it again? Tonight's edition of 26 Days Of Christmas features the flip side of this single shared out on last year's 25 Days Of Christmas. This is the great Tennessee Ernie Ford performing A Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus (Capitol 7" 45 RPM single F1830, 1951). Why hasn't anyone compiled all these old Tennessee Ernie Christmas singles? It's a crime I tell you, a crime!

Previous Tunes:
Mickey Gilley-Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Christmas Time
Scott Fagen-Sandy The Blue Nosed Reindeer
Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss
Sascha Burland-The Chickens Are In The Chimes!
Commander Shea School Boys' Choir-Chree-See-Mus
The Crew-Cuts-Dance Mr. Snowman Dance

More Cubed

My goal tonight was to catch the cube at just the right moment. I wanted to balance the sunset with the light coming out from the depths of Pulse. I'm starting to wonder if that's possible. Shoot it too early and it turns into a giant black monolith against the orange sky. Impressive, but you don't get the impact of the lights.

As the sky gets darker, the light from inside the artwork grows brighter. You still loose a lot of definition in the sky when trying to expose for both.

This isn't a bad one. I wish I could get the color coming from Pulse to match the colors in the sky. Lavender doesn't quite match the orange and blue (Go Gators!) sky over the Ringling Bridge.

Pretty soon there's not enough color left in the sky to bother. I was out there for over an hour, but the sweet spot is only about twenty minutes long. I'm not skilled enough as a photographer to be able to catch the image that's in my head with my camera. Practice, practice, practice, that's what I need!

Missed It By That Much

As much as I love this time of year, I hate this time of year. Try as I might, I can't get to the waterfront before the sun goes down. It looked like a nice chance for a great sunset tonight, so I took off from work right at five and raced down there. But by the time I arrived, parked and dug out the camera, the sun was gone. Not that this isn't a nice picture, but I would have loved to actually get the sun in there, too. Maybe over the weekend...

Season's Greeting From Sarasota

Christmas is the time to go out and shoot pictures in the dark. And shoot things in the dark near the water. So if you don't get a whole lot of blog posts in the next few days, you'll know what I'm up to instead. Merry Christmas from the Suncoast!

Dance

I went out to the bayfront here in Sarasota tonight to get some pictures of the Cube, but I also decided to try my hand at shooting some of the other sculptures. The only one that I think I succeeded in capturing was this one called Dance. It's ten or so cars, arranged in a circle as if they were somehow dancing. It's causing a bit of a stir here in town, but isn't that the whole point of art? Anyhow, it's sitting at a major intersection, so I got the idea of taking some really long exposures of it, letting the passing cars paint streaks across the picture. I think it turned out pretty well, don't you? I'd love to be able to shoot this one from up higher, perhaps highlighting the cars circling the sculpture a bit more. I'll have to work on that...

Used Music-Track Eleven

This evening's selection of Used Music is from the great Patti Page. I think this is a really great arrangement of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. It made me sit up and take notice the first time I heard it, and that's rather uncommon. This comes from the double LP Winter's Warmth (Columbia Special Products for NORM, CSP-315/316). Not entirely sure who NORM is, but there is a note inside the gatefold cover saying something about "Distributed Exclusively By Financial Institutions", so maybe you got this album when you cashed in your Christmas club for the year. Just a guess, I really have no idea. I just know it's some great Patti Page!

Previous Tracks:
The Sanborn Singers-Jingle Bells
Les Baxter Orchestra And Chorus-Hang Your Wishes On The Tree
Sandler & Young-Mister Santa
Peggy Lee-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Danny Kaye-Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Holly)
Debbie Reynolds-There's No Place Like Home
Claudine Longet-Snow
The Glad Singers-We Three Kings Of Orient Are
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa ClausThe Mills Brothers-You Don't Have To Be A Santa Claus

One More Awesome Organ

You want more really good organ music? How about this second album from Eddie? Yep, that's what it is. Go download Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (Capitol ST 1968, c. 1963). I think this is the third record for Christmas from Eddie. You can get the second one, which is probably the absolute best one (but they are all good!), over at FaLaLaLaLa. Tell 'em Ernie sent you. You can read my two previous posts about this one here and here. And I think the Captain reviewed all three of them over at A Christmas Yule Blog at some point, so go read that, too.

One Awesome Organ

Are you looking for some great organ music this evening? Well, you've found it. For the third year in a row, this is Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas (Capitol ST 1264, c. 1959). Trust me when I say you won't regret downloading this one. Read more about it here and here.

26 Days Of Christmas-Day 6

When I posted the A side of this single last year, I had a hard time choosing which side I would share. So now I get to make right what once went wrong. No, wait, that's not right. Both sides are awesome, and now you get to enjoy this side and the one from last year, too. This is the amazing Crew-Cuts With David Carroll And His Orchestra-Dance Mr. Snowman Dance from the Twinkle Toes single (Mercury 7" 45 rpm 70491-X45, 1954). Absolutely awesome!

Previous Tunes:
Mickey Gilley-Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Christmas Time
Scott Fagen-Sandy The Blue Nosed Reindeer
Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss
Sascha Burland-The Chickens Are In The Chimes!
Commander Shea School Boys' Choir-Chree-See-Mus

Speaking Of Enoch

I mentioned Enoch Light and his Grand Award label a few minutes ago, and that reminded me of this post from last year. I think this came out after Enoch had left Command to the barbarians at ABC and headed over to start his new label, Phase 3. But it still has all the usual suspects on it, so it's almost as good as it would have been had it come out a year or two earlier. I was really excited about this LP last year because it became a featured download over at FaLaLaLaLa! That's a real honor to me, since that's the website that helped me get started sharing out my own albums here at the blog. You can't go wrong by downloading Merry Christmas From The Command Family Of Recording Stars (Command RS 920 SD, 1967). Trust me on this...

Used Music-Track Ten

Does this count as being lazy? I'm posting a track from a record I showed you the cover for just a couple of posts ago? It's a really nice track, if that makes any difference. I was listening to the record after I posted the scan, and I decided I needed to record it. But I'm short on time, and I don't want to do all the research to see what I can share and what I can't, so I'm just going to grab one track for tonight and save the rest for some other time. The next track for the Used Music-Christmas Compilation Compilation is The Mills Brothers-You Don't Have To Be A Santa Claus from Around The Christmas Tree-A Special Christmas Day Program (Decca DL 9056). This is a really nice song by a really great group. There was an incredible and almost unknown track from these same guys (with Count Basie!) featured back during Christmas In July that you'd be remiss if you didn't go get it.

Previous Tracks:
The Sanborn Singers-Jingle Bells
Les Baxter Orchestra And Chorus-Hang Your Wishes On The Tree
Sandler & Young-Mister Santa
Peggy Lee-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Danny Kaye-Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Holly)
Debbie Reynolds-There's No Place Like Home
Claudine Longet-Snow
The Glad Singers-We Three Kings Of Orient Are
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

The Original, Maybe?

Take a close look at the cover above. Now click on over to my previous share. Look familiar? Obviously, the painting on that other record is just a copy of the actual photo on this one. The artists involved seem to be the same as well. But the label isn't the same. This one is on Waldorf Music Hall, and the other one is on Grand Award. I guess I didn't know there was a connection between the two. Now I know. I didn't do a side-by-side comparison (because I'm too lazy), but it doesn't look like the songs overlap. So get this one in addition to the other one, and you're well on your way to completing the collection. As before, artists include Enoch Light, Artie Malvin and Mike Stewart, with the addition of Dottie Evans and some assorted orchestras and choruses. Maybe you can figure out what's going on here. Just go download When Christmas Comes To Our House (Waldorf Music Hall 10" MH 33-140).

A Grand Return

This great album pops up frequently on my iTunes, and every time a song from it plays, I have to stop, listen for a bit, and look to see where it's from. It's several different artists, and each one is just great. The artists include Enoch Light, Artie Malvin, Mike Stewart and a couple of others. I originally recorded and shared it last year because it's on Grand Award, an early label run by Enoch Light. You can't go wrong with this one, so go download Songs To Sing At Christmas Time (Grand Award G.A. 33-348). The record inside is labelled Christmas Comes To Our House, so I don't know exactly what the title should be...

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXIV-Christmas 2007

What I failed to mention in the previous post about two very similar albums was that they have completely different back covers, each with a different doodle, one great, one good. The above family around the Christmas tree is from Around The Christmas Tree-A Special Christmas Day Program (Decca DL 38170). The oversized Christmas tree and presents below come from the back of Around The Christmas Tree-A Special Christmas Day Program (Decca DL 9056). It's not as great of a doodle as the one above, but it's still pretty good!

A Curious Discovery

CaptOT shared out a great Christmas collection yesterday over at his blog, A Christmas Yule Blog. I believe it's the album you see above. But check out the album below. Same title, same subtitle, same label, same picture. But not the same collection of songs, and not the same catalog number. The one above is Around The Christmas Tree-A Special Christmas Day Program (Decca DL 38170) while the one below is Around The Christmas Tree-A Special Christmas Day Program (Decca DL 9056). The first features artists like Alex Stordahl, Vincent Lopez, The Columbus Boys Choir, Dick Haymes & The Four Aces. The second features artists like Bing Crosby, The Mills Brothers, Peggy Lee, The Four Aces and Dick Haymes. Which came first? Don't know. Which is better? Don't know. Does it matter? Doubt it. I'm just pointing it out for the curious among you.

26 Days Of Christmas-Day 5

A real special treat for you tonight. The first time I Googled this record, I got no hits. I found a version of the same song by The King Sisters, but references to that were pretty sparse, too. I finally found it listed over at Both Sides Now in their Cadence discography, but the spelling was off. But at least they've heard of it. I'm hoping that this song is new to you, because it was new to me, and now I'm loving it. Hurry up and download Commander Shea School Boys' Choir-Chree-See-Mus (Cadence 7" 45 RPM 1375, 1959) so you can hum it for the rest of the week, and possibly on through Christmas. It's so catchy! I'm still having a hard time picturing a group of NYC schoolboys singing this song.

Previous Tunes:
Mickey Gilley-Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Christmas Time
Scott Fagen-Sandy The Blue Nosed Reindeer
Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss
Sascha Burland And The Skipjack Choir With Mason Adams-The Chickens Are In The Chimes! (Adapted From "The Twelve Days Of Christmas)

Vengance Is Mine

I recorded the record above to hear one single song. With a title like "Now Vengeance Hath Been Taken (Christmas Oratorio)", I had to at least give it a listen. Was it worth it? Eh... Give it a listen yourself. This is The Eric Silver Chorale-Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly (Rondo-lette 890). After I got this all recorded, I happened across the LP you see below, and I thought it odd that it had that same song on there. Then I realized that all the tracks were the same. So I'm pretty sure it's a reissue of the same tunes on a different label, and with no artist credit. That one is Christmas Hymns And Carols (Ultraphonic 51503, 1956). I have my doubts about that date, but it's right there on the back of the LP, along with a list of over a hundred other releases. Who knows?

Used Music-Track Nine

How about some hip music from the most square fellow on television? That's right, Ed Sullivan, the guy who brought you Elvis, The Beatles and Senor Wences. He knew how to stay out of the limelight and let the stars shine, I suppose. Tonight's track, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, is taken from A Very Merry Christmas-Volume 3 (Columbia Special Products for Grants, CSS-997, 1969), but it's originally from a full Christmas LP by The Ed Sullivan Orchestra that I've never found. I downloaded a copy last year from someone over at the FaLaLaLaLa forums, but a hard copy eludes me. Don't worry, though, I'm tenacious. Someday, vengeance, or at least an Ed Sullivan Orchestra Christmas LP, shall be mine!!!

Previous Tracks:
The Sanborn Singers-Jingle Bells
Les Baxter Orchestra And Chorus-Hang Your Wishes On The Tree
Sandler & Young-Mister Santa
Peggy Lee-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Danny Kaye-Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Holly)
Debbie Reynolds-There's No Place Like Home
Claudine Longet-Snow
The Glad Singers-We Three Kings Of Orient Are

Another Corporate Christmas

As if the two previous shares weren't enough to turn you off on corporate choruses, here's one more. This time the group is from well-known tool maker Snap-On, and it's actually composed of guys who work at the company. You can read all about it on either last year's post or the year before that. This one isn't on fancy colored vinyl, but I know you'll still want to download The Snap-On Male Chorus-Carols Of Christmas (RCA Custom Record Dept. SOLP 6363). Enjoy!

More Corporate Chorus

Here's another slab of groovy green vinyl for you, this time from an advertising company. I don't think that the folks singing on this one were actually employees of the company in question, they sound a little too polished for that. And the occasional narration is a bit too slick to be voiced by Fred from the office down the hall and on the left. But maybe. This is called Sing It Outdoors and it's from John Donnelly & Sons. No catalog number, no date, no real info on this one. There's music on both sides this time, but side two isn't Christmas tunes, and therefore I didn't record it. I hope you enjoy this corporate rock, errr, I mean chorus.

The Office, This Ain't

This is a rerun from last year, but I wanted to bring it back tonight because it goes so well with the next post. Back in ye olden days, like the fifties, the people who worked together actually hung out and did things. Sometimes it was bowling or a softball team, or maybe bridge. But sometimes it was a chorus. And sometimes those groups made records. And sometimes those records survived the years, and someone in Florida would find them at a thrift store, buy them, and share them with all of you through the magic of the internet. So, here's a record made by a chorus of people employed by some company named Kenyon & Eckhardt. I think it's pretty neat, and I hope you will, too. Please download and enjoy Merry Christmas With The KE-Notes (Olmstead Sound Studios OSS-2267, 1959). Did I mention it's on green vinyl? And it's only got one side? Will wonders never cease?

Used Music-Track Eight

Two installments of Used Music in one day? Sure, why not? I'm a few days behind, so that's the only way I'm going to get caught up. This is a great track, and I can even point you to a spot where you can download the whole LP if you like it. This is The Glad Singers-We Three Kings Of Orient Are from Wishing You A Merry Christmas (Columbia Special Products CSS 1431). Like what you hear? Then head over to FaLaLaLaLa and you can get the whole album! It's great stuff, isn't it? I think this version is actually in stereo, but no one has yet managed to find the whole album in stereo yet. Just imagine...

Previous Tracks:
The Sanborn Singers-Jingle Bells
Les Baxter Orchestra And Chorus-Hang Your Wishes On The Tree
Sandler & Young-Mister Santa
Peggy Lee-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Danny Kaye-Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Holly)
Debbie Reynolds-There's No Place Like Home
Claudine Longet-Snow

26 Days Of Christmas-Day 4

The most fun we've had yet in 26 Days Of Christmas is this single by Sascha Burland And The Skipjack Choir With Mason Adams-The Chickens Are In The Chimes! (Adapted From "The Twelve Days Of Christmas) (RCA Victor 74-8277, 1963). I'm pretty sure you won't be able to listen to this without chuckling. Or cackling, as the case may be. I found this single a couple of weeks ago, and thought it sounded familiar. Turns out it was shared in the forums over at FaLaLaLaLa.com last year, and reposted after I mentioned finding it. So head over there if you want to download the flipside as well. If the name Sascha Burland doesn't ring a bell, go read up on him.

Previous Tunes:
Mickey Gilley-Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Christmas Time
Scott Fagen-Sandy The Blue Nosed Reindeer
Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss

A Rose For You-Part Two

I'm sure that somewhere out there on the other side of the internet, someone saw the last David Rose I just threw up there and crossed his fingers hoping that this one was next. Well, here it is. I don't normally like to post requests, but I got quite a few for this one. I also don't like to post retitled reissues, but I've never seen the original of this one, entitled The David Rose Christmas Album (Capitol ST-2853). So I figured I'd go ahead and record this one and share it. I had to find it again, since I'd misplaced it after sharing the doodle from the back with you during July's doodle-thon. But I found it and I recorded it on Sunday. I scanned the cover in today and tonight I share with you David Rose-Little Drummer Boy (Capitol ST-290). There's a remake on here of David's earlier Christmas song, The Christmas Tree, that I really like, and shared with you two years ago. There was also a tune in the more recent Halloween collection if you really can't get enough David Rose.

A Rose For You-Part One

Allow me to point you towards another great share from last year. This is A Merry Christmas To You From David Rose And His Orchestra (MGM E3469, 1956). It consists of two side-long medleys of Christmas tunes, a whole side of which was later reissued on this other share from last year. I normally shy away from big long medleys like this, but someone of the caliber of David Rose I'll let slide.

The Wright George, Parts 3 & 4

That last double post of George Wright didn't do it for you? How about another double post of George goodness? This time the stereo-mono differences are less pronounced, but I shared the mono with you last year and this year I've finally got a stereo version to share with you. I've got to say that of all the organ records I've ripped and shared, these George Wright ones have been my favorite. Well, among my favorite. I've got some Eddie Dunstedter I've got to reshare with you, and then there's Dick Leibert. Well, the list goes on and on. While I'm working on a ranking system that I can patent and sell to the BCS, here's two different versions of George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ-Christmas Time (Stereo-Dot DLp 25479, 1962) or (Mono-Dot DLP 3479, 1962). If you really need more George Wright, there are some bonus tracks lurking out there in the Christmas In July stuff (1 and 2). Oh, and this whole (non-Christmas) LP was rumored to be George Wright under a female pseudonym. How about this Two-For-Tuesday version of The Mickey Mouse March also by George?