Christmas In July 2019-Part 12

Twelve times ten, that makes 120 tracks, plus 24 from Thanksgiving In June, that gets me to 144 after this share.  Not too shabby, but there's still so much more to come.  I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am.  It's so nice when most of the music is already recorded, all I have to worry about it what to share next.  Sweet.  So what did I choose for today?  Let's find out.

1. Unknown Artist-Be A Santa from Seeburg Foreground Music/Seeburg Background Music (Seeburg Sales Corporation XTV-27297/87298, Mono, 1963).  Pretty excited when I found this a week or so ago.  Love all the old music from Seeburg.

2. The Strings Of The Philadelphia Orchestra-Eugene Ormandy, Conductor-Fantasia On Greensleeves from Serenade For Strings (Columbia Masterworks ML 5624, Mono, 1958).  Remember, Greensleeves = What Child Is This.  Simple Christmas equation.

3. Homer And Jethro-The Frozen Logger from Barefoot Ballads (RCA Victor LPM-1412, Mono, 1957).  A Homer And Jethro LP that I hadn't seen until recently.  The cover was rough looking, but the vinyl played pretty well after I gave it a good bath. 60+ years of dirt has a way of getting deep into the grooves. A Pretty straight version, especially for Homer And Jethro.

4. George Feyer, Piano And Harpsichord, With Rhythm Accompaniment-Hansel And Gretel: Children's Prayer from Echoes Of Childhood-For Children Six To Sixty-Six (Vox 10" 33 RPM VX 710, Mono, 1954).  Another short selection from this ten inch LP.  And still more to come.  Short but sweet.

5. The Combined Choirs Of St. Mary's Visitation Church, Dickson City, Pa.-Pasterze Mili-Shepherds Dear from Midnight Mass At St. Mary's (Dub Recording Company D.D. 1155/1156, Mono, 1965).  Homemade music.

6. The Modern Folk Quartet-Riu Chiu from Changes (Warner Bros W 1546, Mono, 1964).  Isn't this Christmas song that The Monkees did?  Pretty sure.

7. All Star Cast With Orchestra And Chorus-White Christmas from An Hour With Irving Berlin (Royale 1343, Mono). Cast members mentioned are Morton Downey, Jack Smith, Georgia Gibbs, Thelma Carpenter & Danny O'Neil, but it's a budget label, so who knows...

8. Carmen Dragon Conducting The Capitol Symphony Orchestra-Ave Maria from Bless This House (Capitol SP8527, Stereo).  The first of a couple versions on this LP.

9. Johnny Bush-Cold, Cold Hands from Undo The Right (Stop Records LP 10005, Stereo, 1968).  It'll do.

10. Conducted By Michael Sweeney-Do You Hear What I Hear? from Hal Leonard Concert Band 1989-1990 (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP 85060087, Stereo, 1989).  Today's demo record, short but sweet.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Here's the download link.  Time to go watch TV for a couple minutes.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 11

Hello again, welcome back!  I've got plenty more Christmas music in the pile to share with you, so here are ten more select tracks for a hot day in July.

1. Vera Lynn, Accompanied By The Rae Jenkins Quartet-The Bells Of St. Mary's from The Great Years-Orginal Recordings 1935-57 (Decca (UK) 2xLP SPA 3023/4, Originally Recorded 6 April 1938, Mono, 1975). Never as big of a deal in the US as she was in the UK, Vera Lynn was still a great talent.  More from her later in the season.

2. Walter Gieseking-Children's Corner Suite No. 3: Serenade For The Doll from Children's Corner-Suite Bergamasque (Angel 35067, Mono).  Not really Christmas, but I can't resist any sort of toy or child suite. I didn't do the whole suite though, just the toy and winter themed bits.  The rest of them will come later on.

3. Jack Teagarden With The Condon Gang-Christmas At Carnegie from Big "T" & The Condon Gang (Pumpkin Productions 106, Originally Recorded New York City, December 16, 1944, Mono, 1978).  Similar to the Hal Kemp track earlier this July, this is a collection of songs from radio transcriptions.  There's good stuff on some of these discs, you always have to pick them up and check when you find one.

4. German Kaliope-Come Hither Ye Children (Ihr Kinderlein Kommet) (Played Without Bells, Then With The Bells) from The Charm Of The Old Music Box-Rare Old Music Boxes From The A. Hacker Collection (Yesterday's Amusements/Premier Film & Recording Corporation 13993, Mono).  I love these music box collections, can you tell?

5. Alfred Deller With Desmond Dupre-Coventry Carol from The Three Ravens (Vanguard VRS-479, Mono, 1955).  So many things out there that have just been nearly lost to time.

6. The Blue Ridge Mountain Boys-Footprints In The Snow from Hootenanny N' Blue Grass (Time 52083, Mono, 1963).  Weird album trying to connect folk and bluegrass music.

7. The Choir Of Christ Episcopal Church-The Holly And The Ivy from 75 Men And Boys (No Label 2xLP BL 1500 (Side 4-Christmas Carol Service) (Bloomfield, Glen Ridge), Mono).  Nice double disc with a whole side of Christmas tunes.  Unfortunately, two of the tracks were badly damaged by a needle dig at some point in their life.  I'll still throw them up at some point, but their hard to listen to.  No such problem with this track, so enjoy.

8. Guitar Magic-Jingle Bells from Guitar Magic-Play Along Record (Educational Productions SON 94811/94812, Mono, 1971).  Funny story, I thought I was going to share this with you last year, but when I pulled the LP from the sleeve, it was volume two, not volume 1.  But I found a Christmas track anyway and shared it.  Now I have an actual volume one to share with you, so it's come full circle.

9. The Rift Valley Academy Chorale-Solo: Becky Kellogg-Don Fonseca, Conductor-Silent Night from We've Only Just Begun (Philips (Kenya) PKLP 104, Mono, 1972).  I was so excited when I found this one, an actual record all the way from Africa, and there was a Christmas song on it!  I hope it was worth all that excitement.

10. Unknown Artist-Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light, one more demo recording from Choral Celebration Vol. VIII (Jensen Publications JP-6400, Stereo, 1985).  Just when you start to get into these tracks, they fade out and end.  So sad.

And that's the end for now.  Here's the download, more to come soon. I've given up and plugged in an old corded mouse.  It's working much better and I'm less frustrated. Hooray!

Christmas In July 2019-Part 10

Hello! And welcome to Christmas In July Part 10!  As has been my way for the past few years, the tenth day (or part in this case) is dedicated to music ripped from 10" albums.  They're a format that was somewhat popular in the early days of the LP, but eventually faded away as the fifties progressed.  However, I'm got one from much later on that's kinda rare to share from tonight, so that's cool.  Let's get into it.

1. Unknown Artist-Mickey's Christmas Carol-Excerpts from Hal Leonard Presents Expressive Arts 1984-85 (Hal Leonard Publishing 10" Flexidisc 840822, Stereo, 1984). This is a flexidisc, something you don't see very often, and a 10" one at that.  So it's pretty rare.  And it's a demo track of a Disney Christmas musical you could perform at your school. How cool is that? I found this record tucked inside one of the usual larger demo records of similar music.  Reading the fine print on some of these records, it appears to be a common thing for them to distribute additional samples this way, maybe things that were newer and couldn't make it onto the full-length album.

2. Ralph Flanagan And His Orchestra-Satan Takes A Holiday from Dates With Ralph Flanagan At Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook And The Hollywood Palladium (RCA Victor 10" 33 RPM LPM 3171, Mono, 1953).  From a fake live LP, it's a fake Christmas song about the Devil.  Got it?

3. Frankie Carle And His Orchestra-Carle Meets Tchaikovsky from Frankie Carle Meets The Masters (Columbia 10" 33 RPM CL 6085, Mono, 1949).  I thought this was going to be something out of The Nutcracker, but it turns out to be from a piece Tchaikovsky did celebrating the different months of the year.  And the month he chose was June, so not really anything to do with Christmas.  But I had it ripped before I found all that out, so you get the share anyway.

4. Risë Stevens, Mezzo-Soprano, RCA Victor Orchestra And Chorus, Frank Black-Conductor-Toyland from Victor Herbert Favorites (RCA Victor Red Seal 10" 33 RPM LM 79, Mono, 1950).  You can't have a Victor Herbert album without this track.  I think there's a law on the books stating that.

5. Pleasure Ridge Park High School Choir-Solo By Barbara Fielder-Directed By Ernestine Hicks-Bonnie Poole, Pianist-Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire from Pleasure Ridge Park High School Choir-1962 (AVCA 10" 33 RPM RP-109, Mono, 1962).  Yes, a school choir on a ten inch record.  Will wonders never cease.

6. Les Compagnons De La Chanson-Ave Maria from Les Compagnons De La Chanson (Columbia 10" 33 RPM CL 6208, Mono, 1952).  Supposedly, this Ave Maria was written just for these guys.

7. George Feyer, Piano And Harpsichord, With Rhythm Accompaniment-Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers from Echoes Of Childhood-For Children Six To Sixty-Six (Vox 10" 33 RPM VX 710, Mono, 1954).  A short excerpt from the side-long medley that Feyer is know for.  I had this one on 10" and 12", both of which I found within a week of each other after never seeing a copy of the title before.  Weird things seem to happen like that when you're hunting vinyl in the wild.

8. Kenny Baker-Christmas Morn-Hymn 23 from Hymns-Mary Baker Eddy-Sung By Kenny Baker (Shelley Products 10" 33 RPM TV 15580/15581, Mono).  Not sure of the year on this issue, but the original recording on shellac came out in 1938.

9. The Shawnee Choir-Earl Willhoite, Director-Richard Lindroth, Organist-Three Christmas Scenes from Sing And Rejoice (Shawnee Press 10" 33 RPM TV 25117/25118, Mono).  This appears to be another demo recording, but geared more towards church choirs and such, not school bands.

10. Dolf Van Der Linden Und Sein Metropol-Orchester-Holiday In Hollywood, my favorite of the day, from Streicher-Serenade (Philips 10" 33 RPM (Holland) P 10013 R, Mono).  I love those crazy strings!

And that's it for the day, another ten songs down.  And if you like your music from 10" records, don't hesitate to visit my buddy Buster's blog, he's got all sorts of records in that size.  No Christmas in July from him yet, but maybe if we all ask nicely, he'll dig something up. (At least one of my shares above is a track from a record he's shared out in it's entirety.)  Here's the download for the day, see you soon.

And if my mouse doesn't start working, I'm throwing it out the window.  Every click become a double click. Drag and drop is a joke.  It takes three tries to highlight some text.  Everything I do is just taking too long.  I've replaced drivers, installed software, I'm running out of ideas.  Maybe it's time for a new one.  :(

Christmas In July 2019-Part 9

Well, you made it through Independence Day, but hopefully you have today off work as well.  You'll need it to get caught up on your sleep.  Here are a few more Christmas songs to make it a happier holiday!

1. Children From New York Public School 24 With Guitar Accompaniment-Old Man Winter's On His Way from Songs For All Year Long (Folkways/Scholastic SC7626, Mono, 1965).  Cute little song with a bunch of cute little kids singing.

2. The Highwaymen-The Highwaymen from Standing Room Only! (United Artists UAL 3168, Mono, 1961).  Good and folky.

3. Art And Paul-My Favorite Things from Hangin' Drinkin' And Stuff (Columbia CS 8502, Stereo, 1960). An interesting version from a rather curious album from a major label.

4. Tervalon Porche, Tenor, With Joseph La Rue, Organist-Panis Angelicus (Messe Solonnelle) from God, My Shepherd, Walks Beside Me-Great Religious Musical Masterpieces (Amor Label 8188, Stereo).  OK, so it's not Christmas.

5. Neville Marriner-Academy Of St. Martin-In-The-Fields-Toy Symphony: I. Allegro from A Little Night Music (Angel S-37443, Stereo, 1977).  From the same people who brought you all the music in that Amadeus movie.

6. Harrell C. Lucky-Toyland from Quiet Time (Melody House MH-43, Stereo). One of my favorite finds this year, but only because of the entirely non-Christmas related intro.

7. Zacharias And His Magic Violins-The Troika from Songs Of Old Russia (Polydor (Germany) 237526 SLPHM, Stereo, 1959).  So this isn't the song I thought it was...

8. Andre Kostelanetz-Waltz Of The Flowers From "The Nutcracker" from Kostelanetz Conducts Romantic Waltzes By Tchaikovsky (Columbia Masterworks MS 6824, Stereo, 1965).  Not sure why Andre isn't credited with an orchestra on this one.  They're clearly there, unless he's making all those noises by himself and there's a lot of overdubbing.

9. Unknown Artist-What Kind Of King? from Hal Leonard Presents Choral Spectrum 1990-Senior Edition (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP HLP-60, Stereo, 1990).  More demo music.  And isn't 1990 a little late for this blog?  I need to speak to management!

10. Jane Wilson & Stuart Foster With The Hollywood Cinema Orchestra, Conducted By Maximillian-White Christmas from 26 Academy Award Winning Songs (Dolphin 2xLP D-100, Stereo, 1960).  Now that's a Christmas song, I just know it.

I also know that this is the end for now.  More music later on today.  For now, here's the download link.  Enjoy the tunes!

Christmas In July 2019-Part 8

It's late, it's hot, it's July 4th.  So to combat all those things, I've concentrated on Winter songs tonight, with plenty of snow and ice to cool you off after a trip outside to watch the fireworks. That's the nice thing about some Christmas in July, it can really do a nice job of combating the summer heat.

1. Dick And Kiz Harp Featuring Reinie Press-Winter Warm from Again!-Dick And Kiz Harp At The 90th Floor (90th Floor Records SLL-902, Mono, 1960). Interesting jazz album from Dallas, Texas.  This was actually their second album in 1960, released after Mrs. Harp had passed away unexpectedly.  Looks like both of their albums have been released on CD now so that you can enjoy the music without having to track down the super-rare albums.  But I stumbled across one.

2. Composed And Conducted By David Amram-Mountain Snow from The Arrangement (Warner Bros-Seven Arts WS 1824, Stereo, 1969).  Soundtrack to a film I've never seen or heard of.  Just about every time I spot a soundtrack album that I'm not familiar with, I have to pick it up and scan for possible Christmas music.  I'm not obsessed, am I?

3. Bobby Bond-Snow Balls In July from Bobby Bond Sings The Roger Miller Songbook (Somerset SF-24400, Stereo).  Is this an actual Roger Miller song, or is it a ringer thrown in with a title that is designed to fool you?  I'm not sure... Footprints In The Snow, I think that's the actual name of this track.

4. Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-Snow Bird from Fred Waring's Nashville (Buckboard BBS-1013, Stereo, 1971).  This has got to be awful late in Fred's career.  I'm wondering how much actual involvement he had in this.

5. Gayle Moran-Snowflake from I Loved You Then...I Love You Now (Warner Bros BSK 3339, Stereo, 1979).  Any chance this is Erin Moran's sister?  One can hope.

6. The Harmonaires-The Song Of The Snow from The New Sound Of The Harmonaires (Century/Monarch II 31444, Stereo). This is pretty nice.

7. Unknown Artist-Summer Me, Winter Me from Hal Leonard Presents Choral Spectrum 1990-Senior Edition (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP HLP-60, Stereo, 1990).  Senior edition demo tunes.  Only for the most advanced students.

8. Sweet Adelines-Pride Of Pinellas-Directed By Phyllis Dean-Theme From Ice Castles from And The Winner Is... (No Label AR-5010, Stereo).  A ladies barbershop chorus from the next county north of me, so pretty local.

9. The San Sebastian Strings-Narrator: Gene Merlino-Arranged & Conducted By Anita Kerr-When Winter Comes from The Sky (Warner Bros-Seven Arts WS 1720, Stereo, 1968).  Not sure why they stuck a winter song on a concept LP about the sky, but here it is.  In case you don't recognize it, this is from the mind of Rod McKuen.

10. Bill Medley-Conducted By Michael Patterson-Winter Won't Come This Year from Soft And Soulful (MGM SE-4603, Stereo, 1969).  You can't beat a Righteous Brother!

Feeling any cooler yet?  I hope so.  Here's the download link, come back tomorrow for more goodies.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 7

Good morning!  Happy Fourth Of July to all my American friends, and happy Thursday to all the rest of you!  Nothing to special for today, just another great batch of Christmas music, and isn't that enough really? Here ya go!

1. The Norman Luboff Choir-Let There Be Peace On Earth (And Let It Begin With Me) from This Is Norman Luboff (RCA Victor LPM-2342, Mono, 1961).  I'm still hunting for a stereo version of this one.  I'm sure I've come across it before, I just wasn't paying attention at the time.

2. Redlands High School Concert Choir-Director, Wilbur H. Schowalter-Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming from Redlands High School Concert Choir 1964-65 (Handel Record Mfg. H-2008 (on Sleeve) H-2009 (on Label) Blue Vinyl, Mono, 1965).  Found two albums of music from this group this year, and they're both pretty good.  Lots of good music to come from them!

3. The George Shearing Quintet-Vocal By Teddi King-Moonlight In Vermont from When Lights Are Low (MGM E3264, Mono, 1955).  Lots of good versions of this song this year. Yet I don't think I've recorded a single version of Snowfall.  Weird...

4. Regina Music Box-O Tannenbaum from The Charm Of The Old Music Box-Rare Old Music Boxes From The A. Hacker Collection (Yesterday's Amusements/Premier Film & Recording Corporation 13993, Mono).  Another music box from this collection.

5. Charles R. Cronham-Organ And Chimes-Oh, Come All Ye Faithful from Ring Out Christmas Bells/Hymns Of Faith, Hope And Joy (Mercury MG-20001, Mono, 1950).  More organ and more chimes for you.

6. Brendan O'Dowda With The Westminster Sinfonia, Conducted By Merrick Farran-Ave Maria from Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory (Musicor MS3081, Stereo, 1965). An odd spot for this one to turn up in, but I'll take what I can get.

7. Unknown Artist-The First Noel from Superior New Works For Concert Band-Vol. XVII Advanced Edition (Jenson Publications 2xLP JP-6500, Stereo, 1985).  One more demo recording for concert band.  Lots and lots of these to share.

8. Fuyu Geshiki (Japanese Snowflakes) by 101 Strings, Conducted By Richard Müller-Lampertz, Koto Solos By Shinichi Yuize from Songs Of The Seasons In Japan (Alshire S-5019, Stereo, 1964).  I assume they have the same seasons in Japan as we have here...

9. Mason Williams & Mannheim Steamroller-Greensleeves from Classical Gas (American Gramaphone AG 800, Stereo, 1987).  Yes, it's the infamous Mannheim Steamroller, but I couldn't resist.

10. Jerry Read Smith & Tom Fellenbaum-Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring (aka Jesu, Our Joy Of Man's Desiring) from The Strayaway Child (Song Of The Wood Music 7811, Stereo, 1981). If memory serves, the lead instrument here is the dulcimer, so that's a little out of the ordinary.

And that's it. Come back later for some more, if you aren't out blowing yourself up with fireworks.  Here's the download link.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 6

Only the third day of July and I'm already having a hard time keeping up.  But I have the next four days off from work, so I'm hoping to be able to get ahead a little bit.  We'll see how I do, or if I get lazy and just stay even.  Wish me luck.  Here are tonight's shares...

1. The Hi-Lo's With Frank Comstock And His Orchestra-April Snow from Hi-Lo's On Hand (Starlite ST 7008, Mono, 1956).  That's some nice harmony right there!

2. Herbie Koch, Official Carillonneur, State Of Georgia-Ave Maria from Sacred Bells Of Stone Mountain (No Label 7775-6946, Mono, 1970).  I visited this carillon once.  It appeared to need some maintenance work.  Hopefully they've done some things to keep it up and running since I was there, otherwise, I fear for it's future.

3. Roger Williams With Orchestras Directed By Martin Gold And Hal Kanner-The Bells Of St. Mary's from Songs Of The Fabulous Forties (Kapp 2xLP KXL-5003, Mono, 1957).  The records in this series are thrift store staples, but I don't remember noticing this track before.

4. Hal Kemp And His Orchestra-Christmas Night In Harlem from Hal Kemp And His Orchestra 1934 (Circle CLP-25, originally recorded 1934, Mono, 1982).  Probably taken from a radio transcription disc, but I'm glad that it was rescued from obscurity.

5. The Manhattan Piano Quartet-Lawrence Krueger, William Blankfort, Alexander Dickstein, Marga Richter-Dream Pantomime From "Hansel And Gretel" from Concert Favorites Transcribed For Four Pianos (MGM E3130, Mono, 1954).  Probably not Christmas related at all, but I've seen it on more than one classical-skewing Christmas album.  That's all the excuse I need!

6. The Lighthouse Keeper-Greensleeves from Piano Interpretations (Island Musical Products PLM 1003 (Oak Bluffs, Mass. Martha's Vineyard Island), Mono, 1957).  Probably some homebrew album, but I love 'em to be rare and obscure.

7. Earl Grant-The Snows Of Kilimanjaro from Yes Sirree! (Decca DL 4405, Mono, 1963).  Not sure why I bothered with a mono version of this track.  Probably because I wasn't paying attention when I grabbed the LP.  Some days, I get so excited to find a clutch of Christmas tracks that I just start grabbing without thinking.  Such days are rare, but they're nice when they happen.  Bringing home 10-12 albums, each of which features a Christmas track or two is just awesome in my book.  I'm old and dull that way, I suppose.

8. Conducted By Michael Sweeney-Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella from Hal Leonard Concert Band 1989-1990 (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP 85060087, Stereo, 1989).  Today's demo track.  Nothing special about this one, I'm afraid. I thought for a second I should get excited about the arranger being Vincent Lopez, but I was thinking of Victor Lopez...

9. Charles Chilton And The Members Of The Cast-Heilige Nacht from Oh What A Lovely War (London OS 25906, Stereo, 1963).  Turns out, I collected two different recordings from two different soundtracks to this film.  Or maybe one of them was a stage production.  It's been a while since I ripped them.  That's a big drawback to recording so much ahead of time, the details start to blur out.

10. Lou Carter-Orchestra Under The Direction Of Frank De Vol-I Wish That I Could Love You In December from How Deep Is Which Ocean? The Answers (To Musical Questions) (Columbia CL 1503, Mono, 1960).  I finally managed to dig up all three of Lou Carter's albums this year, thgouh I still lack stereo copies of any of them, if memory serves.  Some of this stuff is pretty funny, but I'll admit that it's an acquired taste.

That's all ten for tonight.  Have a go at the download, and let me know what you think.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 5

Hello and welcome to day three, part five!  It's a little confusing, I know, but the downloads are numbered so you'll be able to tell if you've missed one or two.  And hopefully the shares will stay up for a while this time, I had to break down and get a paid account with MEGA, so we'll see how long I can keep that active.  But don't dally, you never know when something might get yanked.  On to the shares!

1. The Combined Choirs Of St. Mary's Visitation Church, Dickson City, Pa.-Pójdźmy Wszyscy Do Stajenki-Let Us Hasten To The Manger from the LP Midnight Mass At St. Mary's (Dub Recording Company D.D. 1155/1156, Mono, 1965).  Don't think I've shared any Polish Christmas carols with you before, at least not during Christmas in July.  I had lots of international Christmas releases during Christmas proper last year.

2. Kay Lande, Alan Cole And The Carillon Singers-Seasons from About, Volume 1 (Columbia-Children's Record LIbrary CR 21533, Mono).  I've shared this one with you before, but it was on a much smaller label than Columbia.  Not sure who licensed it from who, but you get to hear it again.

3. The Chipmunk Song by Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra from Golden Hits (Dot SLP 25201, Stereo, 1959).  Yep, it's the Chipmunks Christmas song, easy listening style!

4. The Ringers On-The-Green-Deck The Halls from Ring And Sing-A Festival Of Music (Dharma GFL 1077 (Morristown, New Jersey), Stereo).  A rerun, but any chance to put some handbells in the share and I'll take it! I've actually got another album from this same church and it's various groups that I'll start sharing from soon enough.

5. Vincent Lopez And His Orchestra-Doll Dance from the album Nola And Other Piano Instrumentals (Carlton STLP 12/302, Stereo, 1959).  Not really Christmas, and a rerun, but I found a nice copy of the LP and figured why not.

6. Harlan Rogers And Smitty Price-Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring from Timeless-Hymns In Colour (Colours/Maranatha! Music SPCN 7-100-16182-7, Stereo, 1986).  This is from the same series as that odd version of O Come All Ye Faithful yesterday.  Is the sound funny on this one, too?  At least it sounds like the tune it purports to be!

7. Bob Taylor's One Way Singers-Let There Be Peace On Earth from I Knew Jesus Before He Was A Superstar (Tri-State Recording Company TSRC-734253, Tacoma Church Of God, John Exum Parkway, Johnson City, Tenn., Stereo).  Not sure of the year on this one, but I'd bet money it's from the Seventies.  I mean come on, I knew Jesus before he was a Superstar?

8. Unknown Artist-Let's Go Get Our Christmas Tree from Best Of '78 Choral Music (Jenson Publications JP3-003, Stereo, 1977).  I know it's just a quickie demo, but I like it.  I was humming it for days after I recorded it.

9. Bel Melodia Choir (Grades 1-2)-Catherine Payn, Conductor-The Little Grey Donkey from O, Clap Your Hands (Dharma GFL 1057 (Morristown, New Jersey), Stereo).  Cute.

10. Bells Of Grace-Robert L. Neumann, Director-Mrs. Fred Wilson, Organist-O Come, O Come Emmanuel from Bells Of Grace (Lane Recording 25779/25780, Stereo, 1969). MOre handbells?  Wow, you folks sure are hitting the jackpot today!  And I've got to try and spread these treasures out a little better, I've got a lot of shares to get through.

That's it, ten and done. Got things to do and people to see, so without further ado, here's a download link for you.  See you soon!

Christmas In July 2019-Part 4

And here we go with part 2 for day 2.  Lotta music to share here...

1. Gloria Lynne With The Earl May Trio-On Christmas Day from I'm Glad There Is You (Everest LPBR 5126, Mono, 1961).  This is the sort of thing I love to find.  No getting around it, this is a great Christmas track!  Now if I could just find a clean stereo version.

2. Paul Mickelson And Tedd Smith-Panis Angelicus (O Lord Most Holy) from the LP Open The Gates Of The Temple (RCA Victor LPM 1098, Mono, 1955).  I'm a little lost when I get into certain areas, and songs like this are one of those areas.  Is it Christmas? I don't know, but I've seen it on Christmas albums.  I figure I'd better share it with you just to be on the safe side.

3. Jack Kane And His Orchestra-Ski Trail from Raisin' Kane (Signature SM 1002, Mono, 1961).  I suppose I should have tagged this one Skiing instead of Christmas, I've got a few others tagged that way this year.  It's a legit seasonal activity, right?

4. Richard Hayman And His Orchestra-Wintertime Of Love (Republic's "Thunderbirds") from Great Motion Picture Themes Of Victor Young (Mercury MG20369, Mono, 1958). Not my favorite Richard Hayman contribution to Christmas In July, but I'll take it.

5. Nino Rossi-Greensleeves from Il Silenzio (Hansa Club Series (West Germany) 2xLP 86965 XBT, Stereo).  In case you don't know, What Child Is This uses the music from the old English song Greensleeves.  So anytime I find an instrumental version, I count it as a Christmas song. Did I tag this as Nini Rosso in the download?  I bet I did...  :(

6. Coventry Cathedral Boys' Choir-Directed By David Lepine, Robert Weddle-Organ-Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring from Coventry Cathedral Boys' Choir-Choirs Of Britian Series No. 2 (Chapter One CMS 1006, Stereo, 1971).  Pretty sure this record was from the UK, but I didn't tag it that way for some reason.  Must have been distracted that night.

7. Gerald Eskelin And The L.A. Jazz Choir-Kris Kringle from Hal Leonard Presents A Choral Spectrum (Youth Edition) (Hal Leonard Publishing HLP-11, Stereo, 1984).  Another demo record that features an actual artist name.  Will miracles never cease?

8. Jean Martinon Conducting The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra-Les Patineurs-Pas Seul from Le Cid-Ballet Music/Les Patineurs (The Skaters)-Ballet (London CS 6058, Stereo, 1958).  The first part of a side-long composition about skating.  I assume it's ice skating, but you never know.  Could be about rollerblading.

9. Ferrante & Teicher-Mother Goose Suite (Ma Mère l'Oye): Petit Poucet from The Artistry Of Ferrante & Teicher (ABC-Paramount ABCS-454, Technically Augmented Stereo).  Another small piece of a much longer composition.  I should have all the parts for you eventually.  I remember this one as being pretty noisy, so I hope it sounds OK.  There's only so much you can do with certain pieces of vinyl, try as you might.

10. Neil Wolfe-My Favorite Things (From The Musical Production "The Sound Of Music") from Piano-My Way-The Unique New Sound Of Neil Wolfe (Columbia Special Products CSP 9039, Stereo, 1965).  The first version of this song this year, and certainly not the last.  Though I did try to limit it's use somewhat since I had better stuff to share.

Ten more tracks, over and done.  Give 'em a listen, lemme know what you think.  Here's the link.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 3

Is it day 2 already?  Seems like just yesterday we were kicking off the month.  Oh, wait...  I'm delirious already.  Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

1. Marais And Miranda With The Pardo Ancient Instrument Ensemble-A Legend Of St. Nicholas (French) from Ballads Of Long Ago (Columbia Masterworks ML 4894, Mono, 1956).  One of my favorite finds from last year was the Marias And Miranda Christmas album, but when I tried to share it, someone objected.  Hopefully I can slide this single track in here and no one will notice.

2. Earl Grant-Lonely Winter from Yes Sirree! (Decca DL 4405, Mono, 1963).  Not sure what the story behind this song is, but the writers are Henry Mancini and Rod McKuen.  Gotta be a story there.

3. Caterina Valente With Sy Oliver And His Orchestra-Moonlight In Vermont from Plenty Valente! Singin' And Swingin' (Decca DL 8440, Mono, 1957).  Her accent on this one is interesting, but English is not her native language.  I gues she spoke and performed in half a dozen different languages, and had hits in most of the countries where those languages were spoken.  Pretty impressive!

4. Milton Cross-The Nutcracker Suite from Milton Cross Narrates Children's Stories (Halo 50219, Mono).  This is a long version of the whole suite narrated by Milton Cross.  (I shared out a whole LP of his Christmas stories back during the 2018 season that's probably still available if you're interested.)  Last July was the season of The Nutcracker, but I've dialed it back quite a bit this year.  This is the only full version I've recorded so far, but I'll probably record a few more when I need something to share.  Nothing like last year though.  I think I shared ten or more full versions and a million individual songs from all across the musical spectrum. This particular version seems to gloss over or completely omit some of the gorier bits of the story.

5. German Kaliope-Silent Night (Played With Bells, Then Without The Bells) from The Charm Of The Old Music Box-Rare Old Music Boxes From The A. Hacker Collection (Yesterday's Amusements/Premier Film & Recording Corporation 13993, Mono).  Yep, another track recorded from a music box.  This was a thing back in the day.

6. Ernie Berger-Skaters Waltz from A Bouquet Of Songs For Mama-Organ Melodies By Ernie Berger (Audio Lab AL 1533, Mono).  I think I shared out a full Christmas album from this Ernie some years ago, but I don't think it's still up.

7. Charles R. Cronham-Organ And Chimes-White Christmas from Ring Out Christmas Bells/Hymns Of Faith, Hope And Joy (Mercury MG-20001, Mono, 1950).  There seems to be some confusion as to whether his middle initial is R or E.  The cover says R, the label says E.  These are the mysteries that plague Christmas music collectors. And was the release originally two ten inch records?  I couldn't find any trace of such a release, but it sure seems like it might have been.

8. Larry Ferrari At The Gulbransen Organ-Ave Maria from My Favorite Hymns "Especially For You" (Sure Stereo Vol. 704, Stereo).  Everyone loves Larry Ferrari, they just don't know it yet!

9. Jeffrey Lams And John Andrew Schreiner-O Come All Ye Faithful from Prisms-Portraits In Synthesis (Colours/Maranatha! Music SPCN 7-100-15682-3, Stereo, 1986).  I don't hear it, do you?  I thought maybe I was recording the wrong side of the album, or the labels were flip-flopped, but no, it's the right track.  I just don't hear the song.

10. The Northern Illinois University Wind Ensemble-Stephen Squires, Conductor-O Little Town Of Bethlehem from Alfred Young Concert Band Music (Alfred Publishing No Number, Stereo, 1988).  Tonight's band demo song was actually credited to an artist.  Most of them aren't, so this is a real rarity.

That's it, ten more track for you.  Interesting stuff.  Here's the link, see you again later.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 2

OK, here's the deal.  I've already got 456 songs recorded to share with you during this month of fun, and unlike past years, it all need to be pushed out before the month ends.  I've got obligations in August, and won't be able to keep the fun going.  So I ripped as much as I could ahead of time, and it's a big pile.  So rather that share out huge blocks of stuff once a day, I'm thinking it will be more manageable to do a couple smaller shares a day to get all this stuff out there to you.  I hope that works for you, and I hope I can keep up with it.  Here's another ten great Christmas tracks for you.

1. The Serendipity Singers-I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing from Serendipity Gold (United International Records UIR 12880, Stereo, 1980).  You remember The Serendipity Singers, they were the ones who told you not to put beans in your ears.  Well, this is much later in their career, they didn't believe in such nonsense anymore.  Here they are singing the Coca-Cola Christmas song that turned out to be Don Draper's idea.

2. Honor Solo-Earl Campbell-O Holy Night from Elmira Public Schools-Southside High School (Century 2xLP 34735, Stereo).  I've got many, many of these private label school recordings this year.  You'll be sick of them by the time we get to the end of the month.  But at some point, someone will leave a comment about how they found a song that they or their parents or grandparents sang on, and that will make all the effort worthwhile.

3. Shirley Temple singing Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers From "The Little Colonel" from The Best Of Shirley Temple (HRB Music 2xLP HRB 2007, Mono, 1978).  I didn't know this song had lyrics.  I brought this record back from New York City with me recently.  I bought it at a Goodwill, then got caught in the rain waiting for a bus back to where I was staying.  I stood underneath the 59th Street Bridge to try and stay dry.  I felt groovy.  It's actually called The Ed Koch Memorial Bridge now, but everyone just calls it The Queensborough Bridge.

4. Edmundo Ros And His Orchestra-The Skater's Waltz from Heading South...Of The Border (London Phase 4 SP 44153, Stereo, 1970).  This is a rerun.  I think about 30-40% of what I'm sharing this year will be reruns of things I've shared previously, but they are all new recordings.  If I spot a Christmas song, I grab it and sort out the details later.  Maybe it's a better copy, maybe it's stereo instead of mono, you just never know.  And I get better with my recording techniques from year to year.  So I like to revisit the oldies.

5. Jane Morgan, Orchestra Directed By Frank Hunter-Toyland (Babes In Toyland) from Great Songs From The Great Shows Of The Century (Kapp 2xLP KX 5006-S, Stereo, 1959).  A rerun, but a good one.  From a series of Great Songs albums put out by Kapp, you'll be seeing other entries from the series here during the month.

6. J.J. Johnson & Kai Winding-Troika from Betwixt & Between (A&M/CTI SP 3016, Stereo, 1969).  This is the sort of thing I look for.  Never heard it before, and it's barely mentioned on the sleeve.  But it's there.  It's short and it's sweet.  Great stuff!

7. Wayne Johnson With The Evangel Quartet-What Child Is This from Spiritual Classics (Music City MC WJ 114, Stereo).  Gospel LPs are also a good spot for Christmassy songs.  You never know what may pop up.

8. Ray Bohr-Wedding Of The Painted Doll from Ray Bohr And The Radio City Music Hall Organ (Design DLP-128 (Cover) DCF-1015 (Label), Stereo, 1960).  Organ music from a budget label.  It doesn't get much better than this.  No, seriously, it's good stuff.

9. Jimmy Jenson-Yingle Bells (Jingle Bells) from This Is Jimmy Jenson...The Country Swingin' Swede! (Jay Records LP-1001, Stereo).  Another great one!  Christmas music in Swedish dialect.  Sort of a Yogi Yorgesson ripoff, but still pretty cool. More from this one throughout the month.

10. Unknown Artist-Young King from Choral Celebration Vol. V (Jenson Publications JP-4000, Stereo, 1983).  More demo music.  You're going to get sick of these, there are a lot of them...

That's it for part 2.  Lots to come still, believe me.  I haven't made a dent yet, and I'm still trying to record a little bit more every day.  I'm going for the record!  Here's the download.

Christmas In July 2019-Part 1

Good Day!  And welcome to the first post of Christmas In July 2019!  It's a continuation of a tradition that started around here back in 2006 and continues to grow each and every year.  If you're new to the whole thing, here are a few details. (The rest of you can skip ahead to the descriptions and download down further.)  Every year in July, I share out songs that I've ripped from my collection of crusty old vinyl.  But not just any songs.  They have to be songs that are somehow associated with Christmas or Winter or even cold weather and ice.  It doesn't take too much for me to throw it in the pile, and you'll see some pretty tenuous connections over the month ahead.  Don't expect perfect sound, or pristine audio, it's all kinda rough and ready though I do my best with what I have.  99% of it is stuff that you aren't going to find at traditional download or streaming sites, so prepare to be amazed.  There's some stuff this year that's really going to knock your socks off, and plenty of stuff that you're going to delete after listening to the first few seconds.  Try to keep an open mind, though.  Anyhow, we'll talk more about everything as the month goes on, so let's just jump in and get our feet wet already.

1. We begin with Up In The Pulpit by The Luther-Annes from the LP Dashing Thru The Church (Fortress Records 12-1143-74/CSM-770, Mono).  I could swear that I'd shared something from this LP before, but I can't find it if I did.  It's not really a Christmas song anyway, but it's sung to the tune of Up On The Housetop, so I'm throwing it in here.  Maybe that's why I didn't share it out before.  This is from a new copy I found recently, as are all the shares here.  Even the rerun songs are from new copies I've discovered. I suppose this song might be funny to the members of this church, but I dunno...

2. Corinne Bucey-Virgin Mary from New Voice In Town (Decca Pink Label Promo DL 4550, Mono, 1964).  Folk albums are a frequent source of songs about the Baby Jesus and his mom.  Whenever I see one, I have to turn it over and check.  When you've been doing this for so many years, you learn some of the little tricks.

3. Large American Regina Music Box-Ave Maria from Music Box Hymnal-Beloved, Sacred And Inspirational Songs (Harmony (Columbia) KH 32551, Stereo, 1973).  Yep, Christmas music as played on a music box.  Frequent visitors won't be surprised by this.

4. Unknown Artist-Bring A Torch from Hal Leonard Presents Choral Spectrum 1990-Senior Edition (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP HLP-60, Stereo, 1990).  For years now, I've had a large stack of these demo albums that music publishers send to music school teachers trying to get them to buy their orchestrations and charts.  And for years I've ignored them, but this year I recorded a large handful of them.  Probably more than you'll want to hear, but there's some interesting stuff in there occasionally.  And 1990 is probably the absolute newest LP that I've shared from.  Well, maybe not, but close.  That's about the point that vinyl sales were starting to be outstripped by CD's, and items like this demo LP were probably switching to tape anyway.

5. Philip Jones Brass Ensemble-Christmas Oratorio-Nun Seid Ihr Wohl Gerochen from Brass Splendor (London Jubilee 411 955-1, Stereo, 1985).  I like to share all types of music around here, so don't be surprised by what you might here.  This is pretty tame.

6. St. Andrew Singers (Grades 9-12)-William Payn, Conductor-Do You Hear What I Hear? from O, Clap Your Hands (Dharma GFL 1057 (Morristown, New Jersey), Stereo).  You're going to hear lots of kids singing this month.  Don't be afraid, some of them are actually good!

7. Lynn Roberts, Carmen Baron & Juda Campbell-Feliz Año Nuevo from Holiday Songs For All Occasions (Kimbo Educational KIM 0805, Stereo, 1978).  You're also going to hear lots of people singing for kids.  Some of these are pretty good, too.  You might even hear something you remember from your own childhood that you'd forgotten.

8. Brook Benton-Arranged And Conducted By Malcolm Dodds-Go Tell It On The Mountain from If You Believe (Mercury SR 60619, Stereo, 1961).  I love finding Christmas tracks from fairly well-known artists that I've never seen or heard before.  I think I've shared this one before, but it's still a good example of what you can discover if you dig.

9. Uncle Dave Macon-Hold On To The Sleigh from The Dixie Dewdrop (Vetco Records LP 101 (Originally Recorded New York, NY, 9/9/26), Mono).  I had heard the name Uncle Dave Macon mentioned in an Archie Campbell song about Christmas at the Grand Old Opry, so I was pretty excited to find something from him I could share here.

10. Billy Mure-Latin Holiday from Supersonic Guitars Vol. 2 (MGM SE3807, Stereo, 1961).  I know it's a different type of holiday, but I just found this one last Saturday at a record store and I couldn't resist throwing it in here for you. You'll see alot of this sort of thing going on around here.

And that's it.  I'm sure you'll find something in there to peek your interest.  Come back often, I've got plenty to share this season.  And leave me a comment telling me your favorites.  I love to hear from you.  Here's the link to the download.  Once you've downloaded the ZIP file, you'll have to unpack it, then the MP3 files will be in the new folder and you can listen to them on your choice of playback software.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving In June-Part 2

Well, what do you know, I've got a few Thanksgiving tunes left over from yesterday.  Here are twelve more tracks to get you in the mood for turkey day, even though it's almost five months away.

1 & 2. Unknown Artist-I'm A Very Fine Turkey & Thanksgiving, two more tracks from Making Music Your Own-Kindergarten Record IV (Silver Burdett Records 75 180 4, Mono, 1966).  That makes this the most prolific Thanksgiving track record in our short season.

3. Children From New York Public School 24 With Guitar Accompaniment-My Mom's Thanksgiving Dinner from Songs For All Year Long (Folkways/Scholastic SC7626, Mono, 1965).  Folkways has put out a lot of good music over the years, a lot of the things that wouldn't have been released anywhere else.

4. Ray Middleton-Choir & Music Under Direction Of Howard Barlow-Thanksgiving Day from the album Ten Protestant Holy Days (Candle Records CAN-111, Mono, 1957). Yes, I think I have all of the Holy Days albums now.  Aren't I special!

5. Unknown Artist-Turkey In The Straw from Holidays Holidays (Golden Records LP 250, Mono).  This is the song that comes after the narration I shared with you yesterday from this record. And I told you that we'd be hearing a lot from this Unknown Artist fellow...

6. Richard Hayman, His Harmonica And Orchestra-Turkey Mambo from Let's Get Together (Wing (Mercury) MGW 12100, Mono, 1956).  Another record that's been in the stack for ages and I just kept flipping past it.

7. Greg & Steve-Happy Thanksgiving To All from Holidays And Special Times (Youngheart Records YR009-R, Stereo, 1989).  This is getting pretty late for the vinyl record, and very late for me as far as stuff I collect.  But when you find a good song, you gotta use it.

8. 101 Strings, Recorded Under The Direction Of D.L. Miller-Praise God This Thanksgiving Day from Themes And Songs Of American Holidays (Alshire S-5056, Stereo, 1967).  One of the tracks that I recorded ages ago and pulled from the archives for sharing this year.

9. New York Philharmonic-Leonard Bernstein, Conductor, With The Camerata Singers-Abraham Kaplan, Director-Thanksgiving And/Or Forefathers' Day from Leonard Bernstein Conducts Charles Ives' Holidays Symphony (Columbia Masterworks MS 7147, Stereo, 1968).  Another version of that dirge-like track I shared yesterday.  Not my favorite holiday song.

10. Julia Sutton And Company-Thanksgiving Day from The Good Old Bad Old Days (EMI (UK) EMA 751, Stereo, 1973).  Interesting show tune from the well known team of Leslie Briscusse and Anthony Newley.

11. Bob Hope-Thanksgiving Day from Holidays (Spear/Bell 4700, Stereo, 1973).  Because you need a little comedy for your listening pleasure.

12. Hap Palmer-Things I'm Thankful For-Instrumental from Holiday Songs And Rhythms (Activity Records AR-538, Stereo, 1980).  This is an instrumental version of a track I shared with you yesterday, in case you wonder what it has to do with Thanksgiving other than the title...

And that's it, another fine day in the books. Hope there's something in here you enjoy!  Don't forget to leave me the wishbone!  Oh, a link would be nice...