Just Another Share

Real quick, I wanted to get something new up, but I don't have too much in the pipeline at the moment.  Here's a single side for you that I bet is fairly unknown to most of you.  I'm always picking up singles and looking for unknown songs that may be Christmas or winter related, and this is the result of that search.  If you've heard this one before, let me know, I'd be curious to know where.  I'm sure you'll enjoy this one either way.  This is Betty Everett-Just Another Winter (Uni 7" 45 RPM 55189 "Promotion Copy Not For Sale", 1969, Mono).

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Tis The Seasoned

Here's another one brought back from the past via the request lines.  Back in the early fifties, Capitol put out a series of EPs bringing together Christmas singles from various artists who didn't have enough output for an album.  It's pretty hard to find those releases these days, but I've been lucky enough to find most of them.  One of the truly forgotten ones is this collection of two singles from country funnymen Homer & Jethro.  Don't confuse these tracks with items of the same name on their later full Christmas LP, these are the original recordings in the original mono.  I first shared this out back in 2010, but just for you, I'm bringing it back this year.  Please enjoy Homer & Jethro-Seasoned Greetings (RCA Victor Extended Play 7" EPA 534, 1953, Mono).

1. (All I Want For Christmas Is) My Upper Plate
2. I Saw Mommy Smoochin' Santy Claus
3. Randolph The Flat-Nosed Reindeer
4. Frosty The Defrosted Snowman


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RIP Jim Nabors

I just saw news online about the passing of Jim Nabors at age 87.  Looks like he was still living in Hawaii after moving there many years ago, even turning in this soundtrack to a Christmas in Hawaii TV special he made in 1981. I first shared this with you last year, and it took me many years to track it down.  Many collectors of Christmas music are familiar with the albums he made for Columbia back in the day, both of which (and some single-only songs as well) were collected up recently and rereleased on CD. But this record didn't make the cut there.  You also get to hear the great Carol Burnett here, though not as much as you might hope.  So if you missed it the first time around these parts, please download and give a listen to Christmas In Hawaii With Jim Nabors (Bluewater SLP-725, Stereo, 1981). Rest in peace, Jim.

1. Christmas All Over The World-Jim Nabors
2. Doodle Ee Doo-Jim Nabors
3. Little Drummer Boy-The Brothers Cazimero
4. Twelve Days Of Christmas-Jim Nabors
5. O Holy Night-Jim Nabors And The Honolulu Boy Choir
6. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town-Jim Nabors & Carol Burnett
7. Jingle Bells-Jim Nabors & Carol Burnett
8. O Come All Ye Faithful-Jim Nabors
9. Aloha Kalikimaka-The Brothers Cazimero
10. Hasegawa General Store-Jim Nabors & Carol Burnett
11. The First Noel-Jim Nabors
12. Away In A Manger-The Honolulu Boy Choir
13. Silent Night-Jim Nabors

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Re-Maxwell

Here's another oldie from 2012 that hasn't been reshared since, one that I was pretty happy about when I found it back in the day.  I don't know why it's fairly rare, but it's not something you stumble across every day. If you like the harp, and you like Christmas, this may just be the album for you.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  This is Robert Maxwell And His Harp-40 All-Time Christmas Favorites (Lion (MGM) L70081, Mono, 1958). Lest you think this is double or triple LP, it's not.  Those 40 tracks are crammed into 8 medleys as shown below.

1. Jingle Bells; Winter Wonderland; Santa Claus Is Coming To Town; Jolly Old St. Nicholas; White Christmas
2. The Christ Child Is Born; Dear Baby Jesus, Now Rest In Sleep; All Through The Night; O Sanctissima; Chanson De Noel
3. Here We Come A-Caroling; Lullaby Carol; Lullaby, Thy Little Tony Child; Masters In This Hall; Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
4. I Saw Three Ships; Born Is He, The Child Divine; Listen, Listen, Children Dear; Good King Wenceslas; O, Tannenbaum
5. Deck The Halls; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Angels We Have Heard On High; The First Noel
6. O Holy Night (Cantique De Noel); Away In A Manger; The Moon Shines Bright; The Holly And The Ivy; What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)
7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella; I Wish You A Merry Christmas; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Joy To The World
8. Christmas Eve Is Here; Sing We Now Of Christmas; O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles); Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Silent Night

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Back With People

This is the first remaster of the season, and a record I've said I wouldn't bring back, yet here it is. I shared this record with you back in 2005, my very first season, then I un-shared it because I found a place that was selling it on CD.  That place has since disappeared and I'm convinced it wasn't too legit.  I could be wrong, and someone may show me something that makes me take this down quick, so if you want it, you should grab it now.  If you're not familiar with Up With People, then you should look it up.  If you are familiar, then you know you have to download this.  Lots of good stuff on here, mostly vocals, but a great instrumental called Jingle Bell Beat has long made my short list of favorites for many years now.  I just wish I'd had a cleaner copy to scan.  The music is much cleaner than that rough looking cover scan might lead you to believe.  That "Merry Christmas To You All" text is supposed to be red, but try as I might, it's still pink.  And the ringwear is atrocious.  The scanner picked it up so much worse than it actually looks in real life.  Oh, well.  Gotta run with what I've got.  Anyhow, this is Up With People-Merry Christmas To You All (Pace Records 1105, 1968, Stereo).

1. Merry Christmas To You All-Featuring Linda Blackmore And The Up With People Chorus
2. Pat's Poem-Featuring Pat Ector
3. Up With People!-Featuring Linda Blackmore, Pat Ector, Debbie Kirkpatrick And The Up With People Chorus
4. Jingle Bell Beat-Instrumental
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem-Featuring Linda Blackmore; Guitar-Finis Fator; Trumpet-Graham Young
6. Away In A Manger-Featuring Linda Blackmore And The Up With People Chorus
7. Hope Of Mankind-Featuring Linda Blackmore And The Up With People Chorus
8. A Present For Santa-Featuring Howie Surrey And The Up With People Chorus
9. Waddle-Instrumental
10. Children-Featuring Frank Fields
11. I Wonder As I Wander-Featuring Debbie Kirkpatrick And The Up With People Chorus
12. There'll Be A New World Beginnin' From Tonight-Featuring Finis Fator And The Up With People Chorus
13. O Holy Night-Featuring Linda Blackmore
14. Merry Christmas To You All-Featuring Linda Blackmore And The Up With People Chorus

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Re-Louie

I haven't been doing a very good job with the reshares this year, unfortunately.  That's the bit that makes it seem like I'm sharing out a whole lot more than I really am, because the works almost all done on those posts, all I have to do is write a little something and voila!  The other issue is that I can't think of older things that I want to repost.  After having done this for so many years, a lot of it is a blur.  I think of things when I hear a familiar tune, or I see something online that reminds me of an oldie.  What made me think of this one, I have no idea.  I first shared lo-fi Louie here back in 2012, a banner year for the blog, and I don't think I've returned to him since.  You can read a little bit more about this single at the old post, and there's a comment that sheds a little bit of light on this particular issue of the track, but it's still a bit of a mystery.  Some day someone will come by and tell us all about it, I'm sure.  In the meantime, please download and give a listen to Sonny Bloch's Coralairs-Louie The Elf b/w Buon Natale (National Recording Corporation (NRC) 7" 45 RPM 2871-35 (Produced For The Junior Chamber Of Commerce), Mono, 1958).

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Ohio For The Holidays

One of the things I always keep an eye out for is local Christmas music.  I love to find the records put out by radio stations or civic groups or maybe a collection of local bands in honor of Christmas.  Good ones are hard to find, but there are great ones out there.  This one is probably better than average, but if you grew up in the Dayton, Ohio, area, I'm sure this will bring back many Christmas memories.  I don't have any memory of when or where I got this, but a fellow Christmas collector over at FaLaLaLaLa.com posted his rip of this record and volume three last year, mentioning that his copies were pretty beat and he'd love to find a better copy.  The cover looked familiar, so I dug into the archives and found this copy, still in the 30-year old shrink wrap.  So the sound is really good from the fresh vinyl.  Anyhow, there's quite a range of sounds on here, so download it and give it a listen.  (And if you've got a local collection of Christmas music, please share!)  This is Holiday Aid-A Hometown Christmas-Volume II (Morningside Music (No Number) Dayton, Ohio, 1987, Stereo).  I may have labelled it Daytona instead of Dayton in the download.  Sorry about that.

1. Watersign-Good King Wenceslas
2. Linda Robertson (WHIO-TV) and Chuck Gillespie (WVUD Radio)-You Make It Feel Like Christmas
3. Rock And Roll Radio "Minstrels" (Dr. Dave Gross (Z93), Alan Kaye (Z93), Jan Neilson (WTUE), Chris Geisin (WTUE) and Wild Bill (Majic 104))-Little St. Nick
4. Sweet Adelines-Holiday Medley
5. New Horizon-Share Your Love
6. The Celebrity Choir-We Wish You A Merry Christmas
7. The Celebrity Choir-Happy Christmas
8. Larry Bailey-(Oo La La) Merry Christmas
9. Dow Thomas-Christmas Shopping Blues
10. Barbara Kerr (WKEF-TV) and Bruce Asbury (WHIO-TV)-The Gift Of Song
11. Van Dells-Silent Night
12. John Burkhardt-If It Were Your Child

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Mysteries Of The Unknown

Here's a fun one for tonight.  I picked this record up during a recent business trip to Chicago.  Even though I was there on business, my evenings were my own and I was able to hit up five Goodwill stores, one Salvation Army store, and a great record store for about five minutes called Kiss The Sky.  But the only record I came home with in all that hunting was this one, and I had hoped for more.  Pretty much every place I visited had a pile of records, and there were plenty of things I hadn't seen before.  (I had to buy a new suitcase at the Salvation Army store and check it to get all the goodies back!) I'd never seen this record before, and thought it would make a nice share.  I should have looked a little closer, then I might have been warned that it doesn't credit any artists, and that's always a red flag.  When I pulled it out the other day, I thought maybe the Marion Rosette you see mentioned on the cover was going to be the artist, but once I heard choruses and male and female voices and orchestras playing, I knew that you weren't going to buy it if I credited it all to her.  So I kept digging and found a single at Discogs on the same label, featuring Santa Claus Is Flying Through The Sky, and it's credited to Loren Becker.  But the time shown on the label scan didn't match my rip.  But the flip side, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, did match!  And it's credit to Roger White.  So I went ahead and tagged that track.  And I'm pretty sure it's the same voice on Hark The Herald Angels Sing and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.  Then some more digging led me to the discography of a long-lost kiddie record label, Lincoln Records.  There's the same Roger White credited to a few songs, including the ones I thought matched his voice!  And there's a version of Santa Claus Is Flying Through The Sky, this time credited to Sally Sweetland, Loren Becker and Enoch Light Orchestra.  I don't have a lot of evidence, but I think this is the source of the track.  At least I have a man and a woman singing.  Many of the other tracks here show up in that old Lincoln Records discography, but the label scans don't credit an artist, so I have no one to attribute them to. (I also noticed that the B-side songs on those old 78s, where there were two to a side, were really short on my rips, which would make sense...)  That's further than I've ever gotten with some of these old no-artist kiddie records.  Anybody got any more info or documentation to share?  Did I loose you way back?  Sorry.  This is Sing For Christmas-Favorite Carols And Songs (Fairyland F113, Recordings by Corona Records, Mono, originally recorded c. 1950). At least you get a cute cover out of the deal.

1. Joy To The World
2. Santa Claus Is Flying Through The Sky
3. Good King Wenceslaus
4. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
5. My First Christmas Tree
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. Jingle Bells
8. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
9. O Come All Ye Faithful
10. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
11. The First Noel
12. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
13. Silent Night
14. Deck The Halls

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Steve-a-rino!

Something just a little bit different for you tonight.  A radio show by talk-show host (and some-time intellectual) Steve Allen, half of which is Christmas themed (the other side is all about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and even features excerpts from his speeches). I pulled this one out of the shrink wrap early this afternoon, which was on rather tight and had warped the record slightly lo the many years.  But I don't think you'll notice unless you're listening really close, and even then, maybe not.  Lots of little soundbites here for your mixtapes, so feel free to cut and paste. Plenty of voices here other than Steve, he just introduces the collection of stories, plays a song, narrates here and then, tells one story of his own, then wraps it all up at the end.  It flows the whole time, so I didn't cut it up into pieces. (The B side is 10 different short segments, so those are tracked in separate files.)  This may not be the thing for everybody, but I'm sure plenty of you will dig it.  Please have a go at Steve Allen-A Season Of Hope (SandCastles 1088/10M, Mono, 1988).  If you use it, feel free to share what you made with me, I'd love to hear it.  In fact, if you use any of my music, I'd love to hear how and where it gets used.  I get to hear my children, all grown up and living life on their own, out in the wild.

1. The Gift Of A Giggle (which is made up of the following segments: "The Gift Of A Giggle" And Chorus; Opening by Steve Allen; Just Get That Child Born!; Harriet's Dolls Were Always Prettier; Electric Trains; Grandma's Hanukkah Gift Box; Christmas In The Wrong Direction; Santa Was A Real Guy; "Hello, Christmas!"; Know How To Catch A Rabbit?; Second Collection On The 747; No Time To Change For Christmas (Personal Story By Steve Allen); Wasn't That A Neat Baby?; Closing By Steve Allen)
2. Ebony And Ivory
3. Peace Maker
4. Reach For A Star
5. Caretakers
6. America
7. Doorways
8. The Human Touch
9. Ships
10. Birth
11. Communication

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Exotic Seasonings

I've been spending a lot of time trying to think of old shares to bring back, but not having a lot of luck.  Something new I recorded today made me think of this one, from 2011, and when I found out I'd never reshared it, I figured I'd bring it back.  This is a series of little radio vignettes that you can drop into your mixes or just wherever, sort of spice things up.  Some of them are really out there, if memory serves.  Please give a listen to Seasonings-Thirty Second Seasonal PSA's Produced By The Seventh-Day Adventists (A Sunspot Production 7" 33 RPM SP-1046, Stereo).

1. Jamie's Letter
2. Santa & Bobby
3. Papa & Tony
4. Neighbors
5. Warm Hugs
6. Holiday Salute
7. Mistletoe
8. Runaway
9. Worried Helen
10. The Christmas Story
11. Grandma's Gift
12. The Bell Ringer

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