Christmas In July 2008-Day 16

Halfway through! Congratulations, you made it! It's all downhill after today's share, so let's get right to it.

I'm starting out with three more versions of Snowfall, the Claude Thornhill classic. I shared quite a few versions of this track with you earlier in the month, but I've got plenty more. Version one is by Leroy Holmes And His Orchestra, Piano Solo by Dick Hyman from the album Theme Songs Of The Great Swingin' Bands (MGM E3708). Version two is by Glen Gray And And The Casa Loma Orchestra and their double LP One More Time (Capitol Record Club SOBO-91595). Version number three is by Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra from Look For A Star (Dot DLP 25322). I have to admit that all of these versions sound pretty similar. I guess I need to work harder to find versions that are more out-there.

Track four is a little number by Michel Legrand called Snowbird Serenade, and it's from his LP The Concert Legrand (RCA BGL1-1028). I don't know how Christmassy this is, but it fits the theme of snow quite well.

Number five is another not-so-Christmassy track, Snow Deer from Ada Jones And Billy Murray. This is originally from an old Edison cylinder, but I got it from the LP Edison In Stereo (Recorded Publication Company 502, Musical Wonder House, Wiscasset, Maine). I don't know why they felt it so important to record an old cylinder into stereo, but here you have it.

Number six is an odd track sung in Russian called Little Snowball Tree (Oi, Ty Kalinushka) by the Soviet Army Chorus & Band from Soviet Army Chorus & Band, Vol. 4 (Monitor MP 542). Definitely something different.

And last but not least, and the only track not about snow this evening, you get Alpine Boogie, a nice little number from Ted Heath And His Music, the album is Big Band Beat (Richmond B 20034).

There you have it, seven more tracks, bringing the total shared for the first half of the month to 93! That's not too shabby. Here's the download link, so get goin'. And as usual, 2006 & 2007, blah, blah, blah.