Happy New Year!

As the US counts down to the new year, I wanted to give you a short little present from 61 years ago.  This is a New Year's jingle from the makers of Rheingold Beer and Miss Rheingold 1958, Madelyn Darrow!  Music is provided by the king of New Year's Eve, Guy Lombardo.  The jingle is repeated three times on the 12" ruby red vinyl I found, so I put it in the folder three times.  Each one starts out with the same bit of noise under the intro, so that must have been on the master they dubbed from.  Not too bad, but noticeable.  Have a happy New Year and enjoy Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians With Miss Rheingold 1958 Madelyn Darrow-Liebmann Breweries, Inc.-Rheingold Beer "Auld Lang Syne" (Reeves Sound Studios, Inc. 12" 1-sided 12" Clear Red Vinyl Transcription disc, RS 906 RHR 378, Mono, 1957).

1. Rheingold Beer-Auld Lang Syne 1
2. Rheingold Beer-Auld Lang Syne 2
3. Rheingold Beer-Auld Lang Syne 3

MEGA

Australia!

Here's a re-encode from 2012 that fills a gap in my around-the-world shares this year.  From the land down under, it takes a special sense of humor to get what's going on here.  Some of it I understand, some of it is just beyond me.  Give it a listen and see what you think.  This is Joe Dolce Music Theatre-Arranged And Conducted By Chris Dedrick-Christmas Album (Montage ST-72002, Stereo, 1981).

1. Jingle Bell Rock
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
3. This Time Of The Year
4. Silent Night
5. Medley
6. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
7. Christmas In Australia
8. Christmas At Our House
9. Blue Christmas
10. Open Up Your Heart

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Christmas Doodles

I came home from the store today with the Mahalia Jackson Christmas LP shown above.  And it reminded me of the one shown below from Arthur Lynds Bigelow & Marjorie MacComb.  Both of them are on Columbia, and came out a year apart (1955 & 1956).  And they both have the cool little Christmas artwork at the top of the LP above an appropriate photo.  I'm wondering if this was a series that Columbia did for Christmas?  I know I've seen the Mahalia in another cover that has no doodle and a different picture, not sure which is the original, though.  Anybody aware of any Columbia Christmas issues from around this same time period that has something similar?  I need to go dig through the piles...

Government Christmas

As I write this, the US government is shut down because of a squabble over the funding of a wall between the US and Mexico.  Thousands of people aren't being paid, important functions of government aren't happening and the world looks at us and laughs. I don't know if things are truly worse than they were when Senator Dirksen recorded this album, but they sure seem like it.  I'll get off my soapbox and let you download this time capsule.  This is Everett McKinley Dirksen At Christmas Time (Capitol ST 2792, Stereo, 1967). I first shared this with you in 2012, and it's never been back since.  Tonight, it's back and at a better bitrate.  Enjoy!

1. The First Time The Christmas Story Was Told
2. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
3. The Prophecy: He Is Coming
4. Christmas Has Come...Joy To The World
5. Shepherds Are Guided: Away In A Manger
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. The Wise Men
8. The Night Before Christmas
9. Epilogue
10. Silent Night

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Guitar Hero

There was a time when I really wanted this album.  I just couldn't find it.  I saw it on the back of numerous other Dot albums, but it never seemed to turn up in the places I scrounged for my vinyl.  I finally came up with a copy some time during 2015, ripped it, and didn't really like it.  I kinda set it aside and forgot about it until today when I needed something to share.  So here it is, but don't get your hopes up.  It's good enough, but not great.  I don't know what it is about that doesn't leave me wanting more.  Maybe I expected more guitar, but that's just her name, not a feature of the music.  When I went to find a copy to scan recently, I came up with five copies.  It seems like when you can't find something, they don't exist.  But once you break that jinx, they turn up in all sorts of places. This is Bonnie Guitar-Arranged And Conducted By Cliff Parman-Merry Christmas From Bonnie Guitar (Dot DLP 25746, Stereo, 1966). How many more days of Christmas are there?  I'm running out of material fast...

1. I'll Be Missing You (Under The Mistletoe)
2. Deck The Halls
3. Blue Christmas
4. Silent Night
5. Silver Bells
6. White Christmas
7. Little Jesus Loves Me
8. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
9. Christmas Time Is Here
10. Joy To The World
11. Last Christmas
12. O Holy Night

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Bell Master

What can I say, I love some of these old organ & chime records.  The best part about this one, though, is that great cover with a cute Santa graphic up top and a picture of a bell ringing lesson down below.  You don't see too many kids in shorts and jackets these days.  Anyhow, this is a re-encode of a 2012 share that was a remaster of a 2006 share, so it goes back a ways.  Hopefully you'll enjoy Arthur Lynds Bigelow, Bell Master, & Marjorie MacComb, Organist-Ring! Christmas Bells (Columbia CL 915, Mono, 1956).

1. Gesu Bambino
2. Tune Of The Sleigh Bells
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
5. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
6. A La Venue De Noel
7. Good King Wenceslas
8. There Once Fell A Heavenly Dew
9. Born Is Jesus The Infant King
10. The Holly And The Ivy
11. Silent Night, Holy Night
12. Noel d'Aquin

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Mono V Stereo

This is a rare case where I'm going to share out both my mono and stereo versions of an album, and tell you that you probably want to get the mono version.  Not because it sounds better, but because it comes with that great cover of a triangular Santa playing a horn!  How can you not love that? Doesn't really matter what the music sounds like when it's inside such a great cover.  This is one of those things that I had looked for for a long time, and was pretty excited when I finally brought home a copy.  First shared here in 2010, this is This is The Deutschmeister Band, Conducted By Julius Herrmann-Christmas Carols (Westminster WP 6024, Mono, 1953).

1. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Good Christian Men Rejoice (In Dulci Jubilo)
4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. Good King Wenceslas
6. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
7. From O'er The Hills Of Fair Judea
8. The First Noel
9. Joy To The World
10. Away In A Manger
11. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
12. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
13. O Tannenbaum
14. Silent Night, Holy Night
15. Deck The Halls
16. Wassail, Wassail

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And if you want to listen with both ears, here is a copy of the Stereo record, first shared out in 2008. Why oh why did they change the cover to this generic image of a horn bedecked wreath when they had that great Santa? Is this really a wrath?  It's not a circle, it's more of just a pile...  I don't remember comparing the two recordings directly, so I can't say if they're the same or not, but the order is all shuffled around and some of the titles are slightly different, but that could have been at the whim of a typist laying out the cover art.  Give it a listen and see what you think.  This is The Deutschmeister Band, Conducted By Julius Herrmann-Christmas Carols (Westminster WST 15048, Stereo). Not sure when they put out the stereo version, but if I had to guess I'd say '58 or '59.

1. In Dulci Jubilo
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
6. O Come All Ye Faithful
7. From O'er The Hills Of Fair Judea
8. Silent Night
9. Deck The Halls
10. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
11. Wassail, Wassail
12. O Tannenbaum
13. Joy To The World
14. Away In A Manger
15. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
16. The First Noel

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Sarasota Journal Presents

Here's an interesting little artifact I found in the stacks one day.  I don't remember buying it, it's like it just sort of appeared on the shelf one day.  I'm sure that's not the case, I probably just grabbed it in a hurry and never took the time to properly appreciate what it was.  The banner across the top is a gold leaf overprint, meaning it was added after the cover was printed, kinda like how they put your name on your yearbook back in high school.  Before I noticed that, I suspected this may be a local record, but once I realized what had been done, I figured it was just a local copy of a larger release. I found another copy shared out just this year over here, and their copy was overprinted with a different paper, The Detroit Free Press.  So I'm guessing maybe this was a marketing deal for local newspapers.  The cover tells us this is part of the "Read As You Listen" series, and there is an associated book from the Storytoon series.  I don't have the book, but hopefully it will turn up someday. Playing the record after all that research reveals that it's mostly a spoken word thing with familiar and unfamiliar Christmas stories, with the occasional Christmas carol thrown in.  Interesting enough, I guess.  Illustrations are credited to a Carroll E. Spinney, but I'm pretty sure Big Bird didn't have anything to do with this.  If you're curious, download and listen to Margie Bell With Rosa Rio And The Carolers-Our Christmas Heritage (Storytoon No Number, Mono, 1963). Oh, I neglected to mention there is a whole series of these Heritage records.  I see them occasionally in the thrift stores, but never paid much attention to them.  And the paper that put this out, The Sarasota Journal, appears to have been the afternoon edition of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a paper that's still with us today. The afternoon paper seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur back in 1982.

1. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
2. The Legend Of La Befana
3. The Woodcutter And The Christ Child
4. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
5. Three Flower Legends
6. The Christmas Story With O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Away In A Manger; The First Noel; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Silent Night, Holy Night; O Come All Ye Faithful

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Leibert 1

Just to confuse you, here is the earlier Leibert album that I should have shared before that last one, but I got them backwards.  This one came out before the other one, but I wasn't paying attention.  Also, I actually had a chance to re-record this one at some point earlier this season, so these are brand new files for you that I hope sound better than the 2005 or 2012 versions. Someday I need to get around to redoing his earlier RCA set, as well as two Christmas records he put out on Westminster, but it may be too late for that this year.  For now, please download and enjoy Dick Leibert-Senior Organist At The Radio City Music Hall-The Sound Of Christmas On The Radio City Music Hall Organ (RCA Victor LSP-2558, Stereo, 1962).

1. Deck The Halls
2. Joy To The World
3. The First Noel
4. Silent Night
5. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
6. O Holy Night
7. Medley: We Wish You A Merry Christmas-O Tannenbaum
8. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
9. Angels We Have Heard On High
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
11. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
12. Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful)

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Leibert 2

This is the second of two classic Christmas albums Dick Leibert released on RCA Victor in the sixties.  And unlike his earlier Christmas recordings on both RCA and Westminster, this is fun stuff.  He seemed much more relaxed and less stiff, as well as choosing much happier music for this outing. Of the many organ records I've shared over the years, this is one of the ones that sticks with me the most. I first shared this with you in 2005, remastered it in 2012, and re-encoded it just now for your listening pleasure, this is Dick Leibert-Senior Organist At The Radio City Music Hall-The Happy Hits Of Christmas (Christmas Evergreens Played On The Radio City Music Hall Organ) (RCA Victor LSP-2771, Stereo, 1963)

1. Silver Bells
2. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
3. The Christmas Song
4. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
5. Winter Wonderland
6. Under The Christmas Mistletoe
7. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
8. Sleigh Ride
9. White Christmas
10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
11. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
12. Jingle Bells
13. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers

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R G & E?

I'll be honest, I have no idea who R G & E is, or why they had a chorus, or how this Christmas EP came to be.  About the only reason I picked it up to record it this year was because it had a date on it, and some good Christmas music was being made in 1958.  I assume it originally came in a picture sleeve that I didn't have, because there are no song titles or info on the record labels, so I had to assign them titles.  I believe they are the right titles, but you know how there can often be variations in the names of some Christmas carols.  But barring the discovery a picture sleeve for this one, I'm going with what I got.  It's short but sweet, this is R G & E Mixed Chorus-R.J. Hasenauer, Director-Herbie Zahn, Accompanist-Christmas 1958 With The R G & E Mixed Chorus (Lifetime Recordings 7" 45 RPM J08H-2737/8, Mono, 1958). If anybody knows anything about this group, please chime in!  Hmmm, Rochester Gas & Electric?  Maybe...

1. Joy To The World
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. The First Noel
4. Oh Come All Ye Faithful
5. Deck The Halls
6. Silent Night

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Kendall & Wright

Following up on that last post with the follow up to that album, this is more of the same from the two doctors.  I originally shared this one in mono back in 2010, but I eventually found a stereo copy and shared that with you in 2012.  This is a re-encode at higher bitrate of that version, and it's probably about as good as it's ever going to sound. If you like the organ & chime stuff, this one is for you!  Please give a listen to Dr. Norman S. Wright & Dr. Charles S. Kendall-Christmas Encore (Dot DLP 25660, Stereo, 1965).

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
2. Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
3. All My Heart This Night Rejoices
4. Christians, Awake
5. Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne
6. In The Bleak Mid-Winter
7. I Know Not How That Bethlehem's Babe
8. We Would See Jesus
9. Light Of The World, We Hail Thee
10. The Shepherds Had An Angel
11. Brightest And Best Of Our Sons
12. Winter Wonderland
13. The Little Drummer Boy
14. I Wonder, As I Wander
15. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
16. Carol Of The Bells
17. Go Tell It On The Mountain
18. Silver Bells
19. White Christmas

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Wright & Kendall

More of the same, I'm afraid, organ & chimes, that is, the favorite Christmas music of the last century.  I've been trying to find other stuff to share and got really frustrated when I find stuff at Spotify and they're using my scan of the album art!  Sure they own the rights to the music, they just can't be bothered to find a cleaner copy of the original album artwork?  Sorry, I'm still a bit frustrated about the whole thing, so I'm going to share some organ and chime music until I'm over it.  From the 2010 sharity season, where it got no comments, this is Dr. Norman S. Wright & Dr. Charles S. Kendall-Christmas Organ And Chimes (Dot DLP 25225, Stereo, 1959).

1. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
2. There's A Song In The Air
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. Silent Night
6. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
7. While Shepherds Watch's Their Flocks
8. Gloria In Excelsis
9. Joy To The World
10. Away In A Manger
11. Good Christian Men, Rejoice
12. Fairest Lord Jesus
13. Greensleeves
14. Infant Holy
15. In Bethlehem 'Neath Starlit Skies
16. The First Noel
17. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
18. Long Years Ago
19. O Holy Night

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The Sleigh

Perhaps the shortest, quickest share of the season, here's a single song by Mitch Miller released as a single in 1950 before Columbia had adopted the 45 RPM speed used by RCA at the time.  So I was surprised when I found this on a 7" disc, but then I noticed it spun at 33 RPM, so I wasn't quite so surprised anymore.  I had previously found it on a 10" 78 RPM disc, and couldn't get much sound out of it, but this little record yielded some pretty good results. I may be wrong, but I don't think this has shown up anywhere since that initial release.  This is Mitch Miller And His Orchestra & Chorus-The Sleigh (B-side to Tzena Tzena Tzena, Columbia 7" 33 RPM 1-706, Mono, 1950). Sorry about the stickers on the label, they just didn't want to come off.

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Jimmie 2

As soon as you saw the '1' in the title of that last post, you should have known what would pop up next.  That's right, it's Jimmie's second Christmas LP, the one that shares a bit of it's cover with an old Bing Crosby Christmas EP.  This one at least is in stereo, so you can listen with both your ears. It's also got some more-fun songs than the other one, I think, and a traditional Christmas recitation just like the old days.  You'll love this one if you're into that sort of thing.  This is Jimmie Davis-Going Home For Christmas Featuring The Song Forgive Me Santa (Decca DL74868, Stereo, 1967). If this still isn't enough for you, there's a later remake of Going Home For Christmas on my Best Of Christmas In July 2015, which you can download here.

1. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
2. Silver Bells
3. It's Christmas Time Again
4. The Priceless Gift Of Christmas
5. Blue Christmas
6. Sniffles (Santa's Pet)
7. Forgive Me Santa (Recitation)
8. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. Come To The Manger
10. White Christmas
11. Take Me Back To Babyland
12. Going Home For Christmas

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Jimmie 1

The return of a classic share from 2008, a Christmas album by country singer and two-time governor of Louisiana, Jimmie Davis!  I wish I could find this one in stereo, but for now this old mono rip will have to do. You know you want to download Jimmie Davis-It's Christmas Time Again (Decca DL 4587, Mono, 1964). In case this isn't enough for you, there's an earlier single available at this old post.

1. It's Christmas Time Again
2. Silent Night
3. Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem
4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. Christmas Message
6. No Room At The Inn
7. Go Tell It On The Mountain
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
9. Away In A Manger
10. A Child Was Born
11. Joy To The World
12. Gently Rock His Cradle

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Moog En Espanol

I had pretty much forgotten about this one until I saw it in a playlist yesterday, and it all came flooding back to me.  It's Spanish-language vocals dubbed over instrumental Christmas carols played on the Moog.  The original record is here, but I think this is the version you want.  Those kiddies singing Spanish really add something to it.  You can read the old post from 2012 for a few more details, I don't think anything has changed since then, but you never know.  If this is all new to you, trust me when I say you need to hear this.  Re-encoded for your maximum listening pleasure, this is Los Mensajeros De La Alegria-Navidades Blancas (White Christmas) Cantan Y Tocan Los Mensajeros De La Alegria (Mr. Pickwick (Pickwick) SPC 1506, Stereo, 1973).

1. Santa Claus Muy Pronto Llegara (Santa Claus Is Coming To Town)
2. Navidad Tijuana (Tijuana Christmas)
3. El Niño Del Tambor (The Little Drummer Boy)
4. Navidades Blancas (White Christmas)
5. Al Mundo Paz (Joy To The World)
6. ¿Que Niño Es Este? (What Child Is This?)
7. Rodolfo, El Siervo De La Nariz Roja (Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer)
8. Hoy Es Navidad (Jingle Bells)
9. Angels Cantando Estań (Angels We Have Heard On High)
10. Noche De Paz (Silent Night)
11. Cosas Que Me Hacen Feliz (My Favorite Things)
12. Campanas De Navidad (Christmas Bells)

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Viola & Organ

This particular share may be the worst nightmare for many of you, so be careful.  It's a homemade organ recording on 7" vinyl with a picture sleeve.  I'm thinking it may be a vanity project by someone who may or may not be very talented.  I guess it's not too bad as such things go, but it's not very original. It sounded a little more snappy when I first played it at 45 RPM by mistake.  When I realized my error and switched it to 33 RPM, it was a lot less zippy.  Anyhow, you should still download Viola Klaiss At The Hammond Organ-A Merry Christmas By Viola Klaiss (Century Custom Records 7" 33 RPM 22649 "A VeRay Production", Mono).  The sound is iffy on this one.  Not quite sure what's going on in spots.  It may just be a poor recording or a bad pressing, but it's pretty intermittent.

1. White Christmas
2. Silver Bells
3. I Saw Momma Kissing Santa Claus
4. Silent Night, Holy Night
5. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
6. March Of The Toys
7. Winter Wonderland
8. Medley: Santa Claus Lane; Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer; Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Jingle Bells

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Jazzband

Saw this one in the folder of stuff I could easily re-encode and knew it was something I needed to get back out there.  This is one of the few things in my sharity pile that could be called jazz, and was one of the very first things I shared with you back in 2005.  I liked it so much that I remastered it in 2011, and it's that same file that I re-encoded tonight to bring it back again.  I now know a little of the long history behind these two players, and realize that they're the real deal, a couple of jazz luminaries that go way back and released a ton of albums on a half dozen or more labels.  This album is a little later in their career, but it certainly doesn't suffer for it.  You need to download The World's Greatest Jazzband Of Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart-Hark The Herald Angels Swing (World Jazz WJLP 5-2, Stereo, 1972). PS-The back cover was identical to the front cover, so I didn't scan it, that's why you'll only see the one cover in the download.  Thought you might want to know.

1. Hark The Herald Angels Swing
2. Little Drummer Boy
3. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
4. Silent Night
5. Joy To The World
6. Jingle Bells
7. White Christmas
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. The Christmas Song
10. Winter Wonderland
11. Deck The Halls

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Tijuana Christmas In Canada

From the 2011 archives, this is a set of nice Tijuana Brass-style Christmas music that I'm told has been released under a lot of different names over the years.  On this particular record, there really wasn't an artist name, so I split the title in half and came up with Tijuana Style.  If you don't agree with that, feel free to put any artist name in there that you like.  My version is on the Canadian Arc label who also brought us the Christmas In A Pub album that I love to roll out each and every year.  This one is a little peppier than that one, and it doesn't feature drunk people singing.  This is Tijuana Style-Christmas Carols (Arc AC 34, Stereo). Oh, keep forgetting to mention it, but this one has been re-encoded for your listening pleasure.

1. The Holly And The Ivy
2. Silent Night
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4. While Shepherds Watched
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Good King Wenceslas
7. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
8. Away In A Manger
9. The First Nowell
10. Christians Awake
11. Once In Royal David's City
12. O Come All Ye Faithful

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More Germany!

Every time I think I'm done with the world-wide Christmas shares, I find something else I forgot about.  Well, I didn't actually forget about this one, but I did sweep it under the rug for a good long while because the cover was in such bad shape.  I knew it was repairable, but it was going to take so long to do it that I tried to ignore it.  But I found the time to get it done today, and here are the results for you tonight.  I think I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself.  Of course, you can't see what it looked like before I spent five hours on it...  Anyhow, for our second share of German Christmas music this season, this is The Santa Claus Orchestra With Choir And Bells-O Tannenbaum-The Most Beautiful German Christmas Carols (Polydor (Germany) 46030 LPHM, Mono, 1965). I frankly didn't know the big guy had his own orchestra, but here's the proof!

1. O Tannenbaum
2. Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night)
3. Kommet, Ihr Hirten (Come Ye Shepherds)
4. Süsser Die Glocken Nie Klingen (Sweeter The Bells Have Never Rung)
5. Leise Rieselt Der Schnee (Quietly Falls The Snow)
6. Von Himmel Hoch (From Heaven Above To Earth I Come)
7. O Du Fröhliche, O Du Selige (O Thou Joyful, O Thou Holy)
8. Es Ist Ein Ros' Entspungen (The Noble Stem Of Jesse)
9. Am Weihnachtsbaum (By The Christmas Tree)
10. Alle Jahre Wieder (Every Year Anew)
11. Ihr Kinderlein Kommet (Come Hither Ye Children)
12. Kling, Glöckchen (Ring Little Bell)

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RIP Edwin

Making it's first appearance back at the blog since it's debut here in 2012, this is a Christmas album from Edwin Hawkins, one that came a few years after his big gospel-pop hit Oh Happy Day.  I see where Hawkins passed away earlier this year, so this is a small tribute to him and the joy he brought so many with his music. Please enjoy this re-encoded version of Edwin Hawkins-The Edwin Hawkins Christmas Album (Birthright LS 5904, Stereo, 1985).  Looks like there's a different Christmas album of his at Amazon that came out later then this one...

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. Night Medley: Away In A Manger; Silent Night; O Holy Night
3. The First Noel
4. White Christmas
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Follow The Star
7. Joy To The World
8. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
9. The Christmas Song
10. O Come All Ye Faithful
11. Emanuel

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Update-13 Sep 24-I'm gonna pull this one down because it's been re-released digitally through Amazon. If the link doesn't work, you might have to do a search.

Random Westminsters

You might remember how much I love the Christmas music put out in the early days of the Westminster label.  One of the things that introduced me to that music was this label sampler from 1956.  One or two tracks from each of those early releases showed up here and gave a really good introduction to the label.  It's taken me years, but I think I finally have all of the records sampled here. (I don't think I've shared them all because some things are better left unshared, if you know what I mean... Plus I can't find what I did with a couple of them.) I first shared this record out in 2005, remastered it in 2012, and I've re-encoded it for you just last night.  This is A Christmas Sampler-Selections From Outstanding Westminster Christmas Releases (Westminster WP S-2, Mono, 1956).

1. Dick Leibert-White Christmas
2. Cathedral Bellringers-Birthday Of A King
3. Collegium Musicam-Adeste Fideles
4. Ferrante & Teicher-Sleigh Ride
5. Deutschmeister Band-God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
6. Robert Locksmith & Robert Owen-O Holy Night
7. Dick Leibert-What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
8. Randolph Singers-The First Noel
9. Brooklyn Museum Children's Chorus-Joy To The World
10. Randolph Singers-We Three Kings Of Orient Are
11. Gordon Myers-O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
12. Basil Rathbone-Isaiah 40, 1-5
13. Carl Weinrich-Lord, Through Thy Goodness (Bach)
14. Vienna Akademie Kammerchor-Silent Night

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One And A Half Ferraris

Here's a remaster of a good organ record I brought to you way back in 2008 that I figured I'd bring you today. I know not all of you are fans of the big organ, but it's well after Christmas at this point and I don't have a lot of stuff left in my sack. Larry Ferrari was a TV institution in Philly for many, many years, playing that organ every chance he got. During that time, I know of two Christmas records he made, and a whole bunch of non-Christmas stuff that's not nearly so interesting.  For the curious, this is Larry Ferrari-I Wish You The Merriest (Sure Music Volume 703, Mono).

1. We Need A Little Christmas
2. Sleigh Ride
3. Medley-It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! and Reprise: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
4. Silver Bells
5. You're All I Want For Christmas
6. Medley-Christmas Bells, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day and Reprise: Christmas Bells
7. Winter Wonderland
8. Little Drummer Boy
9. We Wish You The Merriest
10. Medley-There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays and I'll Be Home For Christmas
11. White Christmas
12. Medley-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Jingle Bells and Frosty The Snowman
13. The Christmas Song
14. Blue Christmas

MEGA

For the curious among you, here's part of a Christmas album recorded by Larry one year before the one shown above, and this one's in stereo.  However, one of the tracks just would not cooperate, and I couldn't get a decent file out of it no matter what I tried.  So it's only a partial share, sort of a place holder until I get a better copy.  And it's taken an awful long time to find this one, so don't hold your breath.  The one up top was something I shared in 2008, and I've not seen another copy since that time, so his records don't show up here in Florida very much.  I was in Philadelphia for a day earlier this year but didn't have any time to visit a Goodwill store between the Liberty Bell and the museums, so I don't know if perhaps they're more common up there.  Maybe next year...  Anyhow, here is a partial copy of Larry Ferrari-Merry Christmas Carols (Sure SS Volume 701, Stereo, 1965).

1. Deck The Halls; Good King Wenceslas
2. What Child Is This?; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3. Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Away In A Manger (This track ain't there, it skipped badly)
5. O Holy Night
6. Joy To The World; Little Town Of Bethlehem; Joy To The World
7. Hark The Herald Angels Sing; Silent Night
8. O Tannenbaum; We Three Kings; The First Noel

MEGA