Christmas With Granny

What you're looking at here is one of the things I'm most proud to be bringing you this year.  It's been really tough to find.  I've never seen it in a thrift store or a record store.  I watched eBay for a while, watching copies of it go for more than I wanted to spend.  Then, two years ago, two copies showed up on eBay, one by itself, one in a small lot of records.  I put in a small bid on both.  And somehow, I wound up with both.  I had it recorded but never got the chance to scan the covers in 2008.  2009 came and I lost my recording in the HD crash.  This year I decided the time had come, so I recorded it, cut it into tracks, scanned the whole thing, including all the pages inside the gatefold, and here it is.  Turns out that the actual bits featuring Grandma Moses herself are quite short, and the music that makes up the remainder of the recording is not too memorable itself.  But it's one of those things that's never been on CD, and as near as I can tell, was only shared out on the internet once for a short period of time before they pulled it.  So I'm very proud to give you something that I bet very few of you have heard before.  This is Christmas With Grandma Moses (RCA Victor LOP-1009, Mono, 1958).  Enjoy!

1. Alec Templeton's Music Boxes-One-Horse Open Sleigh
2. Grandma Moses-One-Horse Open Sleigh
3. The Ralph Hunter Choir-Jingle Bells
4. Grandma Moses-Carolers
5. The Ralph Hunter Choir-Angels We Have Heard On High
6. The Ralph Hunter Choir-I Saw Three Ships
7. The Ralph Hunter Choir-We Wish You A Merry Christmas
8. Alec Templeton's Music Boxes-Sweetest Story Ever Told
9. Grandma Moses-Father's Violin
10. Skitch Henderson, Hausmusik-Blue Tail Fly; Pop Goes The Weasel; Stephen Foster Melody
11. Grandma Moses-Early Songs
12. Skitch Henderson-John Brown;s Body; Darling Nellie Gray
13. The Ralph Hunter Choir-Good Christian Men Rejoice
14. The Ralph Hunter Choir-The First Noel
15. The Ralph Hunter Choir-The Twelve Days Of Christmas
16. The Ralph Hunter Choir-Oh! Little Town Of Bethlehem
17. Alec Templeton's Music Boxes-White Wings
18. Grandma Moses-On Painting Snow Scenes
19. Skitch Henderson, Hausmusik-Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Lovely Evening; Over The Hills To Grandmother's House
20. The Ralph Hunter Choir-Over The Hills To Grandmother's House
21. Grandma Moses & Alec Templeton's Music Boxes-Silent Night
22. The Ralph Hunter Choir-Silent Night
23. Grandma Moses & Alec Templeton's Music Boxes-Silent Night (Reprise)

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Couple notes-I cut this up into tracks as I felt best. The LP itself is only divided up into a few tracks, everything kind of runs together. In a couple places, there was no good place to cut it, but I always tried to give priority to Grandma Moses. Probably the best way to listen to this is to cue it all up in order and play it through. The Ralph Hunter Choir stuff seems to have been recorded specifically for this LP, it's not on their Christmas LP. The Skitch Henderson stuff seems unique, too. (His Christmas album came out on Columbia, not RCA.) I have no idea what the Hausmusik they've attached to his name means. I think the Alec Templeton Music Box stuff is from an earlier LP, but I couldn't locate one by that name. The LP credits someone named William Meyhoefer, Boy Soprano, but I couldn't hear anything on here that sounded like a boy soprano, so I didn't put his credit on any of the tracks. I don't think he's mentioned at all on the labels. Anybody got this in stereo? An LSP version is mentioned in the credits, and I may have seen one on eBay once, but if it really exists, it's got to be really rare. I'm going to leave this one up as the current post for a while, I don't want to bury it behind a whole gaggle of reshares. I think it's too great for people to miss it because I didn't highlight it enough. I hope you all enjoy it.  Grandma Moses was 98 when this record came out, and she died in 1961, three years later at the age of 101.

Christmas On The Harp

Thought I'd bring back another of my all-time biggest downloads.  Don't ask me why, but you folks have really downloaded this LP a lot since I fist shared a mono copy back in 2005. But this is the stereo version, and I've got to say it sounds a whole lot better.  I've found myself really enjoying it when it comes up in iTunes on random play.  I have to click over to it to see who's playing, and it turns out to be Bianco.  This was available only to members of RCA's record club back in 1962, but now it's available to anyone with an internet connection.  Please grab yourself a copy of  The Rainbow Sound Of Bianco, His Harp And Orchestra-Joy To The World-Everybody's Favorite Christmas Music (RCA Victor CSP-104, 1962, Stereo).

1. Medley: We Wish You A Merry Christmas Silent Night
2. White Christmas
3. Jingle Bells
4. O Holy Night
5. Medley: Away In A Manger; The First Noel
6. Medley: Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful); Joy To The World
7. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
9. Silver Bells
10. Medley: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Deck The halls
11. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
12. Medley: Sleigh Ride; We Wish You A Merry Christmas

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Christmas In Cincinatti

This is the closest I can come to posting those old Ruth Lyons records I have.  People keep talking about putting them out on CD complete, and years pass but nothing happens.  Maybe someday.  But in the meantime, you can enjoy this record from Bob Braun, Ruth Lyons' sidekick on TV for all those years.  I have never seen the show myself, but I've heard stories, and the records are nice, so I'll play along. First shared out around these parts in 2008, this is Bob Braun, Orchestra Conducted By Leroy Holmes-Christmas In Your Heart (United Artists UAS 6664, Stereo, 1968).

1. Christmas In Your Heart
2. Everywhere The Bells Are Ringing
3. Do You Hear What I Hear
4. A Marshmellow (sic) World
5. A Child's First Christmas
6. Let's Light The Christmas Tree
7. Christmas Lullaby
8. Winter Wonderland
9. That's What Christmas Means To Me
10. I'll Be Home For Christmas
11. Christmas Medley

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Christmas In Houston

Continuing on with the Christmas shares from various cities around the US, this one is from Houston, Texas, and comes about 20 years after the other ones I've posted.  I think both KRBE and the University Children's Hospital At Hermann are both still going concerns, but I doubt if either of them have thought about this fund-raising record in years.  So I'm bringing it back.  There's some interesting stuff on here, especially if you're a baseball fan with a long memory.  This is Crash's Christmas Album To Benefit University Children's Hospital At Hermann (CCA Records 1-1986  (Houston, TX), Stereo, 1986).

1. Crash-The Christmas Song
2. Dave Ward-I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus
3. Sir Shaun Rabb-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. The Concert Chorale Of Houston-Carol Of The Bells
5. Paul Christy-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
6. Jim Westmoreland-Frosty The Snowman
7. Milo Hamilton-A Visit From St Nicholas
8. Dave Ward, Pat Hunt & Tommy Lee Bradley-O' Little Town Of Bethlehem
9. Matt Alan-Jingle Bell Rock
10. Kevin Bass-O' Come All Ye Faithful
11. Marvin Zindler And The Miracle Minstrels-Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
12. The Concert Chorale Of Houston-Coventry Carol
13 George Grenias-Silver Bells
14. The Concert Chorale Of Houston-Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
15. Crash-White Christmas

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Cleveland Christmas

While I'm sharing out Christmas music from various cities, I should throw up this collection I first shared back in 2006 from Cleveland.  Lots and lots of local color here.  I've been in the spot where that cover photo was taken, too, but there was no cross on Terminal Tower at the time.  Take a trip back in time and download  Christmas In Cleveland (Delta Records Of Ohio, Processed and Pressed by Columbia, XCTV-84680/1, Mono).

1. Bay High School Choir-Joyous Christmas Song
2. Bedford High School A Cappella Choir-Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
3. Berea High School Choir-Hallelujah (The Mount Of Olives)
4. Cathedral Latin High School Glee Club-Carol Of The Drum
5. Cleveland Heights High School Choir-O Holy Night
6. East High School Choral Club-Traditional Medley-The First Noel-Silent Night
7. Glenville High School Choral Club-16th Century Church Music-Gloria Parti-Palestrina
8. Holy Name High School Choir-Ring Christmas Bells
9. John Marshall High School Choir-Christmas Was Meant For Children
10. Lakewood High School Choir-Now Is The Carolling Season
11. Lutheran High School West Choir-Jesous Ahatonhia
12. Magnificat High School Senior Choir-Adeste Fidelis
13. Notre Dame Academy Choral Club-To The Manger
14. Our Lady Of Lourdes High School A Cappella Choir-The Sleigh (a la Russe)
15. Parma Senior High School Concert Choir-Away In A Manger
16. West High School Choral Club-Heavenly Light

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Detroit Rock City

Moving on from Chicago, here's a collection of local Detroit music, circa early sixties.  There are some big names on here, unfortunately, none of them were big in the music world.  Ford, General Motors, Detroit-Edison, you get all the local biggies.  (No Chrysler?  I guess they're outside of Detroit proper, if I remember correctly.)  This is the sort of thing that you'll either really enjoy, or you won't give a hill of beans about.  If this is your sort of thing, then please download Christmas In Detroit-A Collection Of Seasonal Music By Outstanding Detroit Choral Groups (Dedicated To The Tuberculosis And Health Society, Produced By Special Recordings, Inc., Pressed By Columbia Records, Mono, 1962).

1. Varsity Glee Club-Wayne State University-Deck The Halls
2. Varsity Glee Club-Wayne State University-Good King Wenceslas
3. Duns Scotus College Choir-Jesu Redemptor
4. Duns Scotus College Choir-Viva Viva
5. Duns Scotus College Choir-Sleep Well
6. University Of Detroit Chorus-Gloria Patri
7. The Ford Chorus-Ford Motor Company-Silver Bells
8. The Ford Chorus-Ford Motor Company-God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
9. Civic Center Chorus-The Star Carol
10. Civic Center Chorus-Ave Maria
11. St. Paul's Cathedral's Choir-Silent Night
12. Anonymous Announcer-Thank You
13. Lutheran Choralaires-Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
14. Lutheran Choralaires-Oh Emanuel
15. The ACappels-We Three Kings
16. Edison Glee Club-The Detroit Edison Company-I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas
17. Edison Glee Club-The Detroit Edison Company-Carol Of The Bells
18. Orpheus Club Of Detroit-Go Tell It On The Mountain
19. General Motors Chorus-General Motors Corporation-Jingle Bells
20. General Motors Chorus-General Motors Corporation-Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
21. Shamrock Chorus-Catholic Central High School-Mary Had A Baby
22. Shamrock Chorus-Catholic Central High School-Silent Night

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The Last Of Chanukah

My last Chanukah share of the season isn't even a full share.  Only one track on this collection is about Chanukah, but it's a nice one, so I'm calling this a Chanukah share.  I found this 10" along with another 10" on the same day at the same store, and I wound up recording both of them.  (The other is on CD, so don't look for it to be shared around here anywhere.)  Most of my shopping days should be that easy.  I like collections like this that give you a picture of a certain community at a certain period of time, especially when they went to the trouble to make a nice cover and nice production.  If you enjoy such things, too, please download Songs Of The Season 1960 (First Federal Savings And Loan Association Of East Chicago, Indiana  10" 4628/4629, Mono, 1960).

1. Standard Oil Torchlighters-Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light
2. St. Luke's Lutheran Adult Choir-The First Noel
3. St. Luke's Lutheran Adult Choir-Silent Night
4. St. Stanislaus Boys' Choir-Wesola Nowine Brachia Sluchajcie (Polish Carol)
5. St. Stanislaus Boys' Choir-Tryumfy Krola Niebieskiego (Polish Carol)
6. Rabbi Ulrich Steur, Narrator-Mrs. Walter Hathaway, Organist-Richard Lewke, Soloist-Hanukkah Explanation-Jewish Traditional Selection-Rock Of Ages
7. St. Thomas More Girls Choir-O Come, O Come Immanuel
8. St. Thomas More Girls Choir-Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
9. St. Thomas More Adult Choir-Gloria From The Midnight Mass
10. Purdue University (Cal. Ext.) Mixed Choir-Oh Holy Night
11. Purdue University (Cal. Ext.) Mixed Choir-Carol Of The Bells
12. First Christian Reformed Church Choir Of Munster-Good Christian Men Rejoice
13. Standard Oil Torchlighters-Angels We Have Heard On High

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From Organ To Piano

Let's switch gears here a little, get away from the organs and move on to the piano.  Here's a great record I first shared in 2007, and it's just as great today.  I even gave you two different covers, how nice of a guy am I?  This is Roger Williams With The Concert Grand Orchestra Directed by Frank Hunter & Marty Gold-Christmas Time (Kapp KS-3048, Stereo, 1959).

1. Silent Night
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Winter Wonderland
4. We Three Kings Of Orient Are; The First Noel; Away In A Manger; Angels We Have Heard On High
5. Deck The Hall
6. Adeste Fideles
7. White Christmas
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Christmas Song
10. O Holy Night; Joy To The World; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear; O Sanctissima
11. Jingle Bells
12. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

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The Stars!

I thought this was a pretty neat LP, and I've only ever seen it once.  It's got all sorts of tracks that I've only ever seen on singles before, most of them quite infrequently.  Some of the tracks are familiar, but most of them aren't.  I tend to shy away from compilations around here, but for this one, I'm making an exception.  I was reminded of this record yesterday when The King Of Jingaling picked a track from it for his annual ADVENTure in Carols.  That makes two, no, three tracks I've got on there this year.  That may be a personal best, I'm not sure.  As he points out, I shared one of the tracks on here a long time ago from the single, but I think it sounds better here. Please be my guest and download Christmas Music From The Stars (Decca DL 38016 "Limited Edition Of Christmas Music Prepared Exclusively By Decca For Philco", Mono).

1. Judy Garland-The Birthday Of A King
2. Dick Haymes And The Song Spinners-The First Noel
3. Kenny Baker With Eddie Dunstedter-O, Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Tony Martin-Christmas Candle
5. Deanna Durbin-Silent Night (Christmas Hymn)
6. The Cloister Bells-Adeste Fidelis (Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful)
7. Judy Garland-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
8. Russ Morgan-The Mistletoe Kiss
9. Artie Shaw-Jingle Bells
10. Frank Luther-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
11. Jascha Heifetz-White Christmas
12. Red Foley-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

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Another Eddie

I may as well share out this other Eddie on organ while I'm at it.  I remember rushing home back in 2006 after finding this at the Goodwill store.  I didn't even know it existed and now I had a copy of it in my hand.  Turned out I didn't like it all that much, but you never know.  You might like it though.  Please download Eddie Layton-Organ Music For Christmas With Chimes And Brass Choir (Epic BN 26118, Stereo, 1964).

1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
2. White Christmas
3. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
6. Silver Bells
7. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Joy To The World
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
9. Away In A Manger; Silent Night, Holy Night
10. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)
11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem

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All The Dunstedter

I figured I'd go ahead and get both of these out to you in one post since they go so well together.  The great Eddie Dunstedter put out three Christmas records among all the other organ LPs he recorded.  And they're all great.  I've got two of them here, and the third one has been a featured record over at FaLaLaLaLa for many years.  If you've never heard them,  you're in for a treat.  The first one, from way back in '59, was first shared here in 2005 (they both were, I guess).  This is Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas (Capitol ST 1264, Stereo, 1959).

1. The First Noel
2. March Of The Three Kings
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. Greensleeves
5. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear-O Little Town Of Bethlehem-Away In A Manger
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
7. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are-Bring Your Torches
9. Deck The Halls-Joy To The World
10. Adeste Fideles
11. O Tannenbaum
12. The Coventry Carol-Von Himmel Hoch
13. Silent Night

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The second record came out in 1963, and I shared it in 2005 as well.  Both of these records could use a good remastering on my part, but I haven't found the time yet.  Maybe next year.  Please download Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (Capitol ST 1968, Stereo, 1963).

1. White Christmas
2. Silver Bells
3. Angels We Have Heard On High
4. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
5. Winter Wonderland
6. In The Clock Store
7. Ring, Christmas Bells
8. The Christmas Song
9. Beautiful Savior
10. I'll Be Home For Christmas
11. Happy Holiday

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Nashville Organ

Don't know what made this one pop into my head, but I was thinking about it earlier and decided to reshare it this evening.  Owen Bradley was one of the architects of the Nashville sound of the sixties, alongside Chet Atkins and a few others.  Hundreds of records and thousands of songs saw his name listed as producer, and many of them had an identifiable sound that made them hits.  Unfortunately, none of that sound can be found on this record.  I guess he hadn't found the magic yet in 1956.  Too bad.  Anyhow, this one is worth having if for nothing else than the name Owen Bradley on it.  If you've missed it every year here since 2008, please don't miss Owen Bradley-Organ And Chimes Played By Owen Bradley (Coral CRL 57071, Mono, 1956).

1. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
2. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
3. Silent Night
4. O Holy Night
5. The First Nowell
6. Joy To The World
7. Deck The Halls
8. Ring Out The Bells-The Bells Of Christmas
9. The Birthday Of A King
10. O Come All Ye Faithful
11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. Away In A Manger

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Wrap It Up! Week Two

That's the end of week two here at the blog.  Lots and lots of good stuff got shared out this week, both new and old.  Well, new shares anyhow, I don't share out any new Christmas music.  I'd better get started on this list or I'll never finish before midnight.  Here goes...


The Ramsey Lewis Trio-More Sounds Of Christmas (Rerun)
Tell Me About Chanukah-Story Of Chanukah and Chanukah Melodies
The Shepherd's Children's Chorus-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Rerun)
Johnny Mathis-The Little Drummer Boy/Have Reindeer, Will Travel (Remastered)
25 Days Of Christmas (Rerun)
Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians-Nutcracker Suite (Rerun)
Claire Bloom With Orchestra Conducted By Jonel Perlea-Story Of The Nutcracker
Ogden Nash-Christmas With Ogden Nash (Rerun)
David Randolph Singers-1961-A Special Christmas Music Medley
The Don Les Harmonicats-Christmas With The Don Les Harmonicats (Rerun)
The Mulcays And Their Electric Harmonicas-Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year
Temple B'Nai Abraham Of Essex County School Choir-Vivienne K. Bender, Director With Dr. Joachim Prinz-Children Sing On Hanukah
Natal no Brasil (Rerun)
Marco Antonio Muñiz, Orquesta De Luis Cardenas-Navidad En Puerto Rico
The Absolute Best Tracks From Ernie (Not Bert)'s Christmas In July 2007 Edition (Rerun)
Christmas At Quito
Bruce Woodman Presents Christmas Carols With A Latin Lilt (Rerun)
The Madrid Concert Orchestra And Chorus-Victorino Echevarria, Arranger-Conductor-Christmas In Spain (Rerun)
The Merriest of Christmas Pops (Remastered)
Mimi Hines With Ray Martin's Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Remastered)
The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (Rerun)
The Fantastic Strings Of Felix Slatkin-Season's Greetings (Rerun)
Santa Claus (Walt Jacobs)-Santa's Own Christmas 
The Medallion Orchestra And Chorus, Directed By John Paul Krance-The Sound Of Christmas-Deck The Halls (Rerun)
The Pete King Chorale And Orchestra-Christmas Time (Rerun)
Richard Keys Biggs-Christmas Bells-Cathedral Organ and Chimes Featuring Richard Keys Biggs (Rerun)
The Randolph Singers-David Randolph, Director-Christmas Carols Vol. 1
The Randolph Singers, David Randolph, Director-Christmas Carols-Volume 2 (Rerun)
Ruth Welcome-Christmas In Zitherland (Rerun)
The World's Greatest Jazzband Of Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart-Hark The Herald Angels Swing (Rerun)
Vaughn Monroe And His Orchestra With The Moon Maids-A Marshmallow World b/w Snowy White Snow And Jingle Bells
Shimon & Ilana With Aviva And Shira, Featuring Sally Speer And Dave Tilman-Chanukah Songs For Children
Charo-(Mamacita) ¿Donde Esta Santa Claus? (Rerun)
Gary Mann-Blues For Baby Jesus (Rerun)
An English Country Church Choir With Organ-Christmas In England-Carol Service In A Country Church
The King Karoleers And Bob Kames-16 Traditional Christmas Carols 
(Remastered)
Bob Kames-Merry Christmas From Bob Kames And The New Hammond Organ X-66 (Rerun)
Bob Kames-Organ And Chimes #3-Happy Holidays (Rerun)
Bob Kames-Organ And Chimes #2-It's Christmas Time (Rerun)
Bob Kames-Organ And Chimes-15 Songs Of Christmas (Rerun)
Ernie Berger-A Variety Of Christmas Songs
Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra And Chorus-Christmas Magic (10")
Happy Holiday With The Best Of The Mummers 
Andy Williams, Orchestra Conducted By Archie Bleyer-Christmas Is A Feeling In Your Heart b/w The Wind, The Sand And The Star
Jimmy Sturr And His Orchestra With The Jimmy Sturr Singers & The Matusz Singers-Polka Christmas In My Hometown  (Rerun)
Frankie Yankovic-Christmas Party (Rerun)
The Men's Choir Of St. Hedwig's-Polish Christmas Carols (Rerun)
Ken Stanley And The Pubsters-Christmas At The Red Lion And A Happy New Year Too...
Homer & Jethro-Seasoned Greetings
Dartmouth Glee Club-Paul R. Zeller, Director-White Christmas On The Campus (Remastered)
Yuletide Favorites-Barbershop Style
David Rose-Little Drummer Boy (Rerun)
David Rose And His Orchestra-A Merry Christmas To You From David Rose And His Orchestra (Rerun)
Richard Ellsasser-Michael Carr's Wintertime Suite (Rerun)
Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (Rerun)

Week One:

Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade, Etc
Squanto And The First Thanksgiving (Rerun)
Thanksgiving For King
Lollipop Dragon Helps Santa/Thanksgiving In Tum Tum
Christmas Around The World
James A. Linen-Time For Christmas
Fred Waring-Twas The Night Before Christmas (Remaster!)
Fred Waring-Christmas Time (Rerun)
Raymond Lefevre-Merry Christmas (Remaster!)
Paul Mauriat-The Christmas Album (Remaster!)
Paul Mauriat-Joyeux Noel
Les Djinns Singers-Joyeaux Noel (Rerun)
Mireille Mathieu-Mireille Mathieu's Christmas
The Merriest Time!
Skitch Henderson-Winter Holiday (Rerun)
Elliot Lawrence-Christmas Just A Minute (Remaster!)
Holiday Greetings From The Epic, Portrait And CBS Associated Family
The Best For '89 From The Entire Capitol Family
Holiday Greetings Voice Tracks
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Carols (Rerun)
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Songs (Rerun)
Fontanna-Christmas At Home (Rerun)
Carols Of Christmas And The Stories Behind Them
The Best Of Christmas In July 2006 From Ernie (Not Bert) (Rerun)
Dino Martinelli-Plays Music For Christmas (Now In Stereo)
John Donnelly & Sons-Sing It Outdoors (Rerun)
Sammy Kaye-I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas (Remaster!)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye (Rerun)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Serenade (Rerun)
Sammy Kaye-Year 'Round Favorites (Rerun)
The Gregory Orchestra And Chorus-David Frost Introduces A Christmas Record For Oxfam
Sing Along With Santa's Pixie Helpers-The Animals' Christmas Song b/w The Christmas Song Cha Cha Cha?
When Singers Meet, Inc., Mass Choir-Joy To The World
Santa's Snowmen-Swing Along With Santa's Snowmen (Rerun)
Big Tiny Little-Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Remaster!)

That list just blows me away.  Did I really do all that?  One third of the way there, roughly. See you next week.

The Elusive Part 2

One of the things that is still not out on CD is this great LP from The Ramsey Lewis Trio.  It's a followup to their first Christmas vinyl, which has shown up on CD and is justifiably popular.  So why not put out the second one as well, or even squeeze it onto the same CD? I don't understand how such things work, but it's probably got something to do with lawyers.  Anyhow, I've been sharing this one with you since 2007, and I'm going to keep doing so until it gets a proper re-release.  This is The Ramsey Lewis Trio-More Sounds Of Christmas (Cadet LP-745, Stereo, 1964).

1. Snowbound
2. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
3. Egg Nog
4. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer
5. Jingle Bells
6. Plum Puddin'
7. Snowfall
8. We Three Kings
9. White Christmas
10. Little Drummer Boy

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This alternate cover isn't in the download, since I didn't find it until a year after I first shared out the record. If you want a copy of this cover, you'll have to save it manually.  Looks like I need to find a cleaner copy, too.

Two Birds, One Stone

I thought I was killing two birds with one stone tonight, not only giving you another Chanukah share, but also giving you my single of the day.  But then I remembered that this was a double single, so I guess I'm really killing two birds with two stones.  Anyhow, this neat little record tells us all about Chanukah and sings a few songs to boot.  It played at 78 RPM but had a narrow microgroove recording on it, so I was able to use a normal needle.  My turntable doesn't spin fast enough for it, though, so I had to record it at 45 RPM, then fix the speed in software.  I think it turned out pretty well for what it is.  So on this, the fifth night of Chanukah, I give you Tell Me About Chanukah-Story Of Chanukah and Chanukah Melodies (KTAV 2x 7" 78 RPM Microgroove, 1951, Mono).

1. Edward Gold With Elaine Wertheim-Story Of Chanukah-Side 1
2. Edward Gold With Elaine Wertheim-Story Of Chanukah-Side2
3. Honore Singer With Elaine Wertheim-It Was The First Night Of Chanukah
4. Victoria Yousha With Elaine Wertheim-Blessing Of The Candles
5. Honore Singer-These Chanukah Lights
6. Victoria Yousha With Elaine Wertheim-Hanerot Hallelu
7. Honore Singer-Do You Know This Chanukah Song
8. Victoria Yousha With Elaine Wertheim-Rock Of Ages
9. Honore Singer-In Hebrew We Sing It Like This
10. Victoria Yousha With Elaine Wertheim-Maoz Tzur
11. Honore Singer-In The Flickering Candlelight
12. Victoria Yousha With Elaine Wertheim-Al Hanissim

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Kids For Christmas

I haven't given this album much though since I threw it up back in 2007, but it seems to have collected quite a few positive comments over the years.  I don't remember thinking it was anything special, but a lot of people seem to have grown up with it so it brings back fond memories.  Perhaps you're one of those folks, if so, please download The Shepherd's Children's Chorus-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (RCA Camden CAS-1126, Stereo, 1971).

1. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
2. Baby Brother (Santa Claus, Dear Santa Claus)
3. I'll Borrow A Stocking From Mrs. Elephant (And Have A Big Christmas This Year)
4. Snow Bells
5. The Christmas Tree
6. Do You Hear What I Hear
7. Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)
8. I Wish I Had A Beard Like Santa Claus
9. On The Santa Claus Express
10. Elfie The Elf (With The Wiggly Waggly Ears)
11. Ten Little Choir Boys

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Stubby's House Of Christmas

So, when you want to download old, crusty, vinyl-sounding Christmas music, you come here, right? But where do you go if you want to find out about what's new and exciting in the world of Christmas, and maybe download a free track or two? Well, the place to go is Stubby's House of Christmas! I've been very remiss in not telling you about his place earlier, but it totally slipped my mind. It's a new place that he set up just this year after one of his old favorite Christmas sites decided not to renew their lease. While most of us would just whine and complain about it, he decided to take up the slack and start his own site. He's got sections where he tells you about all the new releases, both full length albums, EPs and singles, a section on his favorite classic releases, and even an area that links to all the new stuff that's available for free and legal download. If you guys think I never sleep, well wait until you get a load of the massive amount of information he posts. So head on over when you get a chance, and tell him Ernie sent you.

Note-Stubby is a friend of mine, he didn't put me up to this.  I try to avoid posting links to places I don't visit myself, and I certainly wouldn't make an entire post about a place if I didn't think it was worth your time.  In fact, I need to add a link to the sidebar.  Go see him now!

Got Reindeer?

That last post of my old comp reminded me of this share of some missing Johnny Mathis tracks.  Seems these two tracks got left off of all subsequent reissues of his LP Sounds Of Christmas.  Not sure why that was, because they're great songs.  They were even released as a single at the time, as you can see in the image above.  So I'm trying to set it right by sharing the tracks here.  You get both the mono versions from the single, and the stereo versions from the LP.  To my ear, there's no difference between the two, except for the mono/stereo bit.  I ran my WAV files from last year through ClickRepair, so I think they sound better than ever this time around.  But you can be the judge, please download Johnny Mathis-The Little Drummer Boy/Have Reindeer, Will Travel (Mercury 7" 45 RPM 72217, Mono, 1963).  And the stereo tracks are from Sounds Of Christmas (Mercury SR 60837, Stereo, 1963).

1. The Little Drummer Boy (Mono & Stereo)
2. Have Reindeer, Will Travel (Mono & Stereo)

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Ye Olde 25 Days

I almost forgot about it, but back in the day I used to do Christmas compilations here on the blog.  Not sure how I did it, because I barely seem to have time nowadays to post and sleep, even with all the ripping done ahead of time.  But I used to, and here is the fruit of that work from 2006.  Lots of singles, album tracks, you name it, I stuck it in there.  There are some really, really great things in there.  The tracklist below will link you to the day I originally posted the track, usually with some info about it, like where I got it, and a shot of the original art.  This is 25 Days Of Christmas.

1. The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes
2. Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel
3. Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
4. The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
5. The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
6. The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
7. Kathy Dunn-Santaville
8. Anna Russell-Please Santa Claus
9. The Davis Sisters-The Christmas Boogie
10. Billy May-March Of The Toys
11. Lawrence Welk With The Lennon Sisters-Santa From Santa Fe
12. Ralph Carmichael-The New Hallelujah
13. Ricardo Montalban & Randy Newman-La Campanilla
14. Steve Allen and Ricky Vera-Can I Wait Up For Santa Claus?
15. The Harmonicats-Winter Wonderland
16. Les Paul-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
17. Lou Monte-Italian Jingle Bells
18. Jimmy Boyd-Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney
19. The Ames Brothers-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
20. Up With People-Jingle Bell Beat
21. Sandy Offenheim-If Snowflakes Fell In Flavours
22. Connie Canuso-Somebody Painted Rudolph's Nose A Chocolate Brown
23. Dorothy Collins-Mister Santa
24. Harry Kari-Oh! Oh! Don't Ever Go
25. Tennessee Ernie Ford-Christmas Dinner

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Yet Another Nutcracker

I probably should have shared this out beck when I put up some other Fred Waring shares, but I forgot.  It fits in nicely here, however, with these other Nutcracker renditions.  This is probably my favorite of these bunch, although that Ogden Nash take is really good, too.  I've been hyping this one since 2006, so there's a good chance you've already downloaded a copy from me, but if not, please download Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians-Nutcracker Suite (Decca 1-111 7", Mono, 1950).

1. Overture
2. Dance Of The Sugar Plums
3. Trepak
4. Dance Of The Toy Flutes
5. Waltz Of The Flowers

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More Nutcracker

Continuing on with both The Nutcracker and the Caedmon label, here's a record that features what claims to be the first combining of the original Nutcracker story by Hoffmann with the ballet by Tchaikovsky.  Turns out that I wasn't as familiar with the original as I thought I was, as there was quite a bit in this story that surprised me.  This is a long one, over fifty minutes spread out over two sides.  So if you've got some time, and you want to revisit both the story and the music of The Nutcracker, this one is for you.  Please download Claire Bloom With Orchestra Conducted By Jonel Perlea-Story Of The Nutcracker (Caedmon TC 1524, 1977, Stereo).  Good stuff.  If memory serves, fellow blogger Buster found this in a thrift store in Ohio before I got to that stack and handed it to me, thinking it was the perfect item for my Christmas sharity.  And of course, he was correct.  Thanks, Buster!

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Nash Rambles

Here's a great rerun from 2008 that I've always been really excited about.  If you don't know who Ogden Nash is, think Dr. Seuss for the New York Times reader, something like that.  He's a wordsmith who isn't above making up his own words, but he's never going to use a five cent word when that's a 50 cent word that will fit.  And it all comes out quite funny in the end, or at least I think so.  You need to download this for his retelling of the Nutcracker story, but there's oh so much more that you'll enjoy.  If you don't already have it, please download and enjoy Ogden Nash-Christmas With Ogden Nash (Caedmon TC 1323, Stereo, 1970).

1. The Christmas That Almost Wasn't
2. An Untold Adventure Of Santa Claus
3. The Boy Who Laughed At Santa Claus
4. A Carol For Children
5. I'm A Pleasure To Shop For
6. I Remember Yule
7. The Miraculous Countdown
8. Nutcracker Suite
9. Sugarplum Dance
10. Russian Dance
11. Arabian Dance
12. Chinese Dance
13. The Flutes
14. The Waltz Of The Flowers

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Almost Forgot

I had meant to post this single the other day when I posted the two full LPs by The David Randolph Singers.  This is a single long medley by those same folks from ten years later.  Judging by the Wallace Laboratories label, I'm guessing this was some sort of promo item, but both of my copies are lacking their original sleeves, so I can't really say much about it.  The B side was a non-Christmas classical piece, so all you're getting is the A side.  This is the David Randolph Singers-1961-A Special Christmas Music Medley (Wallace Laboratories 7" 33 RPM 1961, Mono, 1961).  The medley consists of Christmas Eve Is Drawing Nigh, We Are Not Daily Beggars, Gloucestershire Wassailers' Song and God Bless The Master.

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Crappy Harmonicas

If you don't appreciate that Mulcays EP I just shared with you, download this cheapo LP by the Don Les version of The Harmonicats and see how much worse things could be.  I've been sharing this out since 2006, and it hasn't gotten any better with age.  I so wanted this to be a good album, given all of the great things The Harmonicats did in their career, but I guess Jerry Murad was the talented one.  Anyhow, if you want to give it a listen, this is The Don Les Harmonicats-Christmas With The Don Les Harmonicats (Halo 1005, Stereo).

1. White Christmas
2. The Christmas Song
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Jingle Bells
5. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
6. Silent Night
7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. March Of The Three Kings
9. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
10. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

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And Their Electric Harmonicas, Too!

 I've been slacking in my hopes of posting a 7" record for you every day, so I'm trying to get back on track with that tonight.  This time, I've got a great little EP from The Mulcays, a harmonica group who made the Christmas music that The Harmonicats never did.  Sometimes it leans a little Hawaiian, too, so imagine if The Harmonicats had made a Christmas single on Maui, and that's pretty close to what you get here.  I shared one of these tracks a long time ago, but from a two track single (this one has four).  Turns out this package was designed to be given as a sort of musical Christmas card, before they had microchips to make such a thing happen.  You'll see a scan in the download of the card opened up, with a little pocket to tuck the record in.  I would have been very happy to have gotten this as a card back in the early fifties.  (Of course, I was still years away from being born, but stranger things have happened.)  Please download and enjoy The Mulcays And Their Electric Harmonicas-Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year (Card-N-Song by Cardinal Records 7" 45 RPM EP 103, Mono, 1954).

1. Silent Night, Holy Night
2. Jingle Bells
3. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
4. White Christmas

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The Second Night Of Chanukah

I've been slacking on my Chanukah shares, but I'm back again with another LP before you here on the, what is this, the fourth night?  This one probably isn't as good as my first Chanukah share of the year, but it's still pretty good.  I'm just happy that I was able to find some LPs to share this year.  Chanukah records are much harder to find than Christmas records.  This time around it's kids doing the singing instead of someone singing to kids, so that much is different.  Please download and listen to Temple B'Nai Abraham Of Essex County School Choir-Vivienne K. Bender, Director With Dr. Joachim Prinz-Children Sing On Hanukah (Tikva T-88, Mono).

1. Hava Narima
2. Dr. Joachim Prinz-Narration
3. Blessings
4. Hanerot Halalu
5. Al Ha Nisim
6. Maoz Tsur
7. Hanukah Hanukah
8. S'Vivon Sov Sov Sov
9. Sov Sov S'Vivon
10. Ner Li
11. I Have A Little Dreydl
12. Mi Yimalel
13. Y'Mey Ha Hanukah
14. Dr. Joachim Prinz-Narration
15. To Our Great God
16. Father In Heaven
17. Hava Narima

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South America Way

One more old share to revisit before we head back to the US mainland, and that's this 10 incher from Brazil.  I almost said something about leaving our Spanish language records, but then I remembered that they speak Portuguese in Brazil, not Spanish.  Such a rookie mistake. I first shared this record back in 2006, and it's proven to be a popular download.  I'm sure you'll like it, too, if you haven't downloaded it already.  This is Natal no Brasil (Copacabana CLP 3087, 10" 33 RPM, Mono).

1. Elizete Cardoso com Orquestra e Cõro de Severino Filho-Cantiga De Natal
2. Black-Out comm Orquestra e Cõro-Natal Das Criancas
3. Ángela Maria com Orquestra e Cõro-Outros Natais
4. Sõnia Delfino com Orquestra e Cõro do Club do Guri-Sino De Belem (Jingle Bells)
5. Ángela Maria e João Dias com Orquestra-Papai Noel Esqueceu
6. Leny Eversong com Aloysio, seu Conjunto e Cõro-Prece De Natal
7. Duo Brasil Moreno com Orquestra e Cõro-Noite Feliz
8. Altamiro Carrilho e Sua Bandinha-Boas Festas

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En Puerto Rico

 I shared a couple of South American Christmas albums with you this morning, so I thought I'd follow up with this Puerto Rican Christmas LP, a gift from your Kelvinator dealer.  I had a couple different copies of this one, the biggest difference between them being the label styles.  One had the old style label, shown below, and the other had a newer, Dyna-Groove era label, so this LP was being used by Kelvinator for quite a few years.  I didn't really find the music to be all that Christmas sounding, but it's not bad.  Perhaps it will bring back good memories for you if you're familiar with the songs.  This is Marco Antonio Muñiz, Orquesta De Luis Cardenas-Navidad En Puerto Rico (RCA Victor MKL-1800, Producid y Distribuido por Kelvinator Sales Of Puerto Rico, Inc., Mono).

1. Triste Navidad
2. Noche De Navidad
3. Preparese Mi Compadre
4. Navidad Contigo
5. Asi Es Mi Navidad
6. Felices Pascuas
7. Aguinaldo De La Virgen
8. Brisas De Navidad
9. Aguinaldo De Las Flores
10. De La Montaña Venimos
11. Cantares De Navidad
12. La Rosa Blanca

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July 2007

Same as I did last week, I want to highlight an old collection that features the best from my annual Christmas in July share-a-thon, this time from 2007.  Each summer I record and share Christmas and holiday music from non-holiday records, usually sharing 100 to 200 songs all told, some good, some bad, most of it in the middle somewhere.  Then between summer and winter, I try to sift through it all and put together a collection that features the very best of what I found.  What you're looking at here is that collection, circa 2007.  I think there's some really great stuff on here, and it holds together well as an album.  So grab yourself a copy of The Absolute Best Tracks From Ernie (Not Bert)'s Christmas In July 2007 Edition.  You'll be glad you did.  The track list is below, and each title links to the day I originally shared the track, in case you want to learn a bit more about it.  Links to the complete download are at the bottom.

1. Nickelodeon-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2. Ashtabula High School A Cappella Choir-Carol Of The Bells
3. Joanne Wheatley & Hal Kanner-Baby, It's Cold Outside
4. IBM 7090 Computer-Joy To The World
5. Ron Goodwin-Xmas It Ain't
6. Fred Sateriale's Big Band-Toyland Cha Cha Cha
7. Hugo Winterhalter-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Cha Cha
8. Earl Grant-Snowfall
9. Ferrante & Teicher-Happy Sleigh Ride
10. Bing Crosby-The Secret Of Christmas
11. Count Basie & The Mills Brothers-December
12. Connee Boswell-White Christmas
13. Andre Previn & David Rose-Blue Holiday
14. Waldorf "Punch & Judy" Orchestra-Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
15. University Singers-Go Where I Send Thee
16. Sunshine-The Very First Christmas Day
17. Stan Wolowic-Happy Holiday
18. Sarah Vaughn & Billy Eckstine-I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
19. Al Melgard-Jolly Coppersmith
20. Alfred Apaka-It's Snowing In Hawaii
21. Lawrence Welk-Holiday
22. The Klokken Ringers-Silver Bells
23. Ray Conniff-An Improvisation On "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy"
24. The Robert de Cormier Folk Singers-The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy
25. The 'Promises, Promises' Cast-Christmas Day
26. Glenn Miller-It Happened In Sun Valley
27. Martin Denny-Snowflakes In Summer
28. Ruby Murray-Christmastime In Ireland
29. The Robin Hood Orchestra-Silent Night
30. John Gary-Let There Be Peace On Earth (Let It Begin With Me)
31. Gordon Jenkins-Happy New Year

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Quito Christmas

 As promised here's another record from South America recorded by and with missionaries there.  I think I like this one a little better than the last one, but that's just my personal preference.  I can't tell you too much about it, really, but it sounds nice and has a great cover.  Surely you'd have bought this one if you'd seen it before I did.  This is Christmas At Quito (Singspiration/Zondervan ZLP-546, Mono).  Dig those vibes!

1. HCJB Radio Staff Choral Ensemble-Fanfare
2. Vern Van Hovel And Joe Springer-Come To Bethlehem (Adorad Al Nino)
3. Gene Jordan-O Come, All Ye Faithful
4. HCJB Radio Staff Men;s Chorus-Come, O Ye Shepherds (Venid Pastores)
5. Dolores Van Der Puy-Come To His Manger Bed
6. Jeanne Odell-Silent Night
7. HCJB Radio Staff Ensemble-Glorious Is Thy Name
8. Joe Springer-Christmas Candle
9. Dixie Dean-Joy To The World
10. Ruth Jordan-Though Christ A Thousand Times
11. Jack And Ruth Shalanko-Unto Us
12. Vern Van Hovel-Mary's Boy Child

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