Saturday, August 21, 2010

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twentieth Day

Day 20, we're getting there!  What's in the list today?  We start with another selection from Children Sing Around The Year (Decca DL 4406, Mono, 1963), Medley: (a) Christmas Is Peppermint Candy (b) Ringa-Linga-Ling (c) Christmas Is A Love, sung by Rosemarie Jun And Robert Spiro.  Track two is another Hank Snow track from Snow In All Seasons (RCA Victor LSP-4122, Stereo, 1969), At The First Fall Of Snow.  Thirdly, we have Away In A Manger by Rusty from Special Occasions-Songs & Stories For Children (Singchord (Zondervan) ZLP 967, Stereo, 1977).  Fourth is The Strugglers playing Bonnie Lassie while the crown sings Jingle Bells from Two Beers And Everybody Sings (Warner Bros WS 1257, Stereo, 1959).  Lastly, and probably best, we've got Johnny Winter performing the classic Please Come Home For Christmas.  I'd heard of this, but never seen it until a couple of days ago when the LP turned up at the thrift store.  Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good.  This is from First Winter (Buddha BDS 7513, Stereo, 1969), a collection of early tracks released after Winter had his first big record.  That's it for today, here's the download link.  See you next week.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Christmas In July (In August)-The Nineteenth Day

Sorry I missed yesterday, I was over at Lee's blog causing trouble.  But I'm back tonight with five more Christmas sounds for your August enjoyment.  Let's begin, shall we?  Track one is something called Bad Bad Winter by Kay Weaver from an LP she shares with someone named Ralph Lowe called The Now Sounds Of Today (Columbine CRH-198, Stereo).  There's nothing much I can tell you about this LP, could be some sort of song-poem thing, could be a vanity release, not sure.  The two artists don't seem to perform together anywhere on the LP, so I don't even know what their relationship is.  Up next is Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy by Arthur Fiedler And The Boston Pops Orchestra.  I think I already shared something with you from this album, Evening At Pops (Polydor PD 5032, Stereo, 1972). (Nope, looks like I haven't, but I will...)  Track three is Mary's Little Boy Child by The Daughters Of The Cross With Peter Knight & His Orchestra.  Again, I think I've shared another track from this album, Go Tell It On The Mountain (Chapter 1 (London) CPS 39002, Stereo, 1969), with you.  Good stuff here.  Track four is the first of several tracks by Hank Snow From his LP Snow In All Seasons (RCA Victor LSP-4122, Stereo, 1969).  This one is Snowbird, but I don't think it has anything to do with Anne Murray.  (Someone correct me if I'm wrong...)  Last up is White Christmas by Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians.  I pulled this from a medley of Irving Berlin hits on the album Berlin By Lombardo (Capitol ST1019, Stereo, 1958).  Short but sweet.  That concludes this evening's sharity.  Here's the download link, see you again real soon.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Christmas In July (In August)-The Eighteenth Day

Another day, another five Christmas songs.  Let's go...  Track one is Christmas Lullaby by Richard Robinson & William Reeve from Songs For Children With Special Needs 3 (Bowmar 122, Mono).  I've no idea where I find some of this stuff...  Track two is Ice Princess by Helmut Zacharias And His Magic Violins from Happy-Go-Lucky (Polydor (Germany) 46048 LPHM, Mono).  Track three is March Of The Toys by the great Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra from Tribute To Dorsey, Volume II (RCA Victor LPM-1433, Mono, 1957, originally recorded August 1939).  Track four is Tchaikowsky: Medley From "The Nutcracker Suite" by The Tiffany Strings from their album The Tiffany Strings Play Popular Themes From The Classics (Tiffany 1011, Mono).  And that brings us to the final track, a 22 minute opus by the one and only Walter Carlos entitled Winter, consisting of an entire side of his double LP Sonic Seasonings (Columbia PG 31234, Stereo, 1972).  I personally didn't find this to be very wintery, and parts of it are downright boring, but you might like it.  That's it, four short tracks and one really long one for you.  Here's the download link, enjoy the music!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Christmas In July (In August)-The Seventeenth Day

New posts three days in a row?  That must be some sort of record, at least of late.  But here I am, with my third day of new Christmas music for you.  I'm gonna jump right in with track number one.  It's Gloria In Excelsis by Students Of The General Theological Seminary Of The Protestant Episcopal Church-Directed By H. Bruce Lederhouse from Rejoice! Music For The Worship Of God In The Twentieth Century (Scepter 527, Mono).  No idea that this was going to feature the banjo when I bought it, but that's the sort of pleasant surprise that makes this job worthwhile.  Track two is Sleigh Ride from Richard Ellsasser and his album Leroy Anderson Favorites-Richard Ellsasser Playing The Baldwin Electronic Organ (MGM E3174, Mono, 1955).  I shared a whole winter-themed LP from Mr. Ellsasser a year or two ago, and according to the liner notes on the back of this LP, he's got a Christmas record floating around somewhere out there.  To the thrift store!  Track three is Christmas Song, performed here by Charlie Francis from Hits Made Famous By Nat King Cole (Spin-O-Rama S-145, Stereo).  Not the worst version out there, especially for such a budget label.  Number four is I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing In Perfect Harmony/Put Your Hand In The Hand by the Warren Willis Singers from Warren Willis Singers Send Love (No Label WS32172, Stereo).  There's not much about this group on the back sleeve, other than a mention that they're from the area in Florida where I grew up.  Odd, since I found this over on the East coast.  Last, we have some more handbell music from Belles & Beaus and their LP Canfield Choral Music Dept. Presents The English Handbell Sounds Of The Belles & Beaus (Canfield High School 7074N4, Stereo, 1976).  This time it's Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers.  That's all for today, here's the download link, enjoy!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Christmas In July (In August)-The Sixteenth Day

I believe that post number sixteen is the halfway point for this celebration of Christmas in July. Of course, it's the middle of August, so that means it's going to take forever to finish up. So I'd best get busy. Track one today is a medley of two tracks called Roll Up The Snow and Wonderful World Of Winter, performed by Rosemarie Jun and Robert Spiro. No idea who they are but the writer of these tracks, as well as the rest of the album is Helen Horn aka Pretty Penny (The liner notes peg her as well-known, but the internet is coming up with nothing...). The album is Children Sing Around The Year (Decca DL 4406, Mono, 1963). Track two is a second track by Don, Dick and Jimmy from their album Spring Fever (Crown CLP 5005, Mono, 1957). This time around it's Out In The Cold Again. Third we have Eugene Ettore & Louis Scalera performing Snow-Ride from New Organ Magic (Sano Corp. 1001, Mono). This appears to be a promotional item from Sano Corp, makers of an all-electronic organ that looks a whole lot like an accordion to me. Track four is the great Edmundo Ros And His Orchestra playing My Favorite Things from The Sound Of Music In Latin Tempos For Dancing (London PS-198, Stereo, 1960). This sounds awful familiar, but I can't find any evidence that I've shared it before... Last, we've got another track by Hugo Winterhalter from his LP A Season For My Beloved (ABC-Paramount ABCS-447, Stereo, 1963), this time it's The Things We Did Last Summer, and I think it's the last track I have for you from that LP. So, here's the download link, have at it. See you all later!