Christmas In July 2012-Part 18

Another special day today, I finally finished recording as many files as I shared out in total last year, and I've still got almost two weeks left to record stuff!  How great is that?  I think it's going to be another great year for Christmas in July!  Do you have any favorites yet?  I've been dropping the occasional track into my 'Best-Of' folder, but there's still room in there.  If there's something in particular that you've enjoyed, let me know down in the comments.  Sharing out so much, it's easy for me to forget something that's really great.  So, let's jump into tonight's shares.

1. April Snow by The Hi-Lo's from the LP The Hi-Lo's In Hand (Kapp KL-1194 (Reissue of material from Starlite ST-7008, 1956), Mono, 1960).  Why couldn't they have sung about July Snow?  Now that would have been cool!

2. Bells Of St. Mary by Lee Andrews & The Hearts from Greatest Hits (Lost Nite LP-101, Mono, 1964).  This record may well be a bootleg, but that's OK, I'd never find the original tracks anywhere else.  Nice vocal version of this track.

3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by, umm, I'd prefer not to say.  This isn't the sort of thing I should really be sharing around here.  I'll tell you it's from the soundtrack album The Victors (Colpix CP 516, Mono, 1963), and I read that it accompanies some pretty depressing imagery in the movie.

4. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Connie Stevens With The Magnificent Werner Mueller Orchestra from her album From Me To You (Warner Bros W1431, Mono, 1962).  I dug up another copy of this LP this evening, and that's what made me think of it and throw it in the pile to share tonight.  Nice version.

5. Merry Christmas Polka by Lawrence Welk And His Champagne Music from the collection Music For Polka Lovers (Mercury/Wing MGW 12210, Mono, 1960).  I always laugh when I see copies of this fairly common album..  On more than half of them, they've misspelled Christmas!

6. Nu Ar Det Jul Igen (Yuletide Is Here Again), today's obligatory track by The Trapp Family Singers-Dr. Franz Wasner, Conductor, from The Best Of The Trapp Family Singers (MCA 2xLP MCA2-4048, Mono, 1973).  Hope you're enjoying these.  I think I have a much more modern version of this track performed by some hair band on one of those label samplers somewhere...it sounds really familiar.

7. Sleep, Little Jesus by Children's Choir Under The Direction Of Mabel Stewart Boyter, from A Joyful Sound-Songs For Children (Word W-3137-LP, Mono, 1961). What can I say that I haven't said before?

8. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year by Deanna Durbin from the collection Memories Of America (MCA MCA-1514, originally recorded 2/15/44 for the motion picture "Christmas Holiday", Mono, 1982).  I looked up the movie that this professed to be from.  It's not really much of a Christmas movie...more noir than anything.

9. The Birthday Of A King by Gordon MacRae-Orchestra Conducted By Van Alexander, from his LP Hallowed Be Thy Name (Capitol (EMI) ST 1466, Stereo, 1960).  Best-known version of this song is probably by Judy Garland, but it's not something you hear very often.

10. Brazilian Sleigh Bells, a rerun  in several senses from Percy Faith And His Orchestra and his album Carefree-The Music Of Percy Faith (Columbia CS 8360, Stereo, 1961).  Not only is this something I've shared with you before (rerecorded this time and sounding better than ever!), it's also a re-recording of a track originally written and performed by Mr. Faith in the early fifties.  That original version has so far escaped my grasp, but I'm on it!

11. It Happened In Sun Valley by André Previn from André Previn Plays Pretty (Decca DL 74115, Stereo, 1961), another rerun.  He really could play that piano, couldn't he?

12. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring by Patty Looman Accompanied By Russell Flaharty, a unique dulcimer version taken from the LP Dulcimore (Sweet Music) Featuring Patty Looman Playing The Hammered Dulcimer (Page SLP 602, Stereo).  I love Christmas tunes performed on unique instruments.

13. A Place For The Winter by The Lettermen from their LP Warm (Capitol ST 2633, Stereo, 1967).  This is a rerun of something I shared out many years ago.  I think it's also the second of three tracks I grabbed from this record.

14. Rocking by 1978 Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor, from the LP University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM4471, Stereo, 1979).  How many more tracks do I have from this LP?  Anyhow, I really, really, really want to hear some modern acapella group, like Straight No Chaser or Rockapella do a medley of this and Queen's We Will Rock You.  It almost writes itself!

15. Swiss Christmas by The Smothers Brothers from their LP Curb Your Tongue, Knave! (Mercury SR 60862 (Music-Tzena, Tzena, Tzena, Tzena), Stereo, 1963).  I didn't have my Smothers Brothers tracks handy a few days ago when I did my comedy day, but I finally dug them out.  This is the only track of theirs that's any length, but there are others to come...  They're all reruns around here, I think I shared them out in the very first year of Christmas in July.  Well, the first sharity year.  I recently went back and looked, and I had forgotten that in that first year I shared a bunch of Christmas-themed doodles.

And that's it!  You're that much closer to having all the Christmas music in the world!  I once thought I could have some significant fraction of all the Christmas music out there, but every year I find how truly impossible that is....  See you folks tomorrow!

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