Merrie Christmas

Well, that last post got a little bit of response, I guess there are still a few folks out there who still have some Christmas spirit.  The cover of this single should help keep that spirit alive for a few more days.  It's a great little piece of mid-century modern Christmas. I think I'll even throw up the flip side for you as well, with a great trio of soldiers who are decorating what must be a minimalist aluminum tree. And it's autographed!  I remember being very excited when this turned up at the Goodwill store. Some days are great when you find stuff like this that you've never seen before. Some days aren't so great for hunting. The music isn't what I thought.  I expected some organ music, but it turns out that Don Jacoby was a trumpet player, so I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this one.  The Christmas Party side appears to be unique to this release, but The Holy City side is from an LP Jacoby put out. (Check out that cover if you want a little laugh.) For your mid-January Christmas fix, this is Don Jacoby-Merrie Christmas (Conn/Stellation 7" 45 RPM CB-1001, Mono, 1958).

1. The Christmas Party
2. The Holy City

MEGA

A Post In PJs

This one goes into the category of things I only recently found out about, and then almost by accident, a copy turned up.  It was only last year that I discovered there was a Christmas EP by P.J. Proby, and then found out it was only ever issued in the UK, but I stumbled across a copy just a month or so ago.  I don't know much about Mr. Proby other than the name, and the fact that it was on one of his early albums that the members of the future Led Zeppelin made their first recordings together.  They weren't performing as Zeppelin, they were just all hired to perform on the same session.  Unfortunately, that's not this record.  On this EP, he's more in crooner mode, there ain't a lot of rockin' going on here.  But it's still pretty nice to have, and pretty rare here in the US.  So if you're still in the Christmas mood, why don't you download and give a listen to P.J. Proby-Christmas With P.J. (EMI/Liberty (UK) 7" 45 RPM LEP 2239, Mono, 1965).

1. Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
2. Silent Night
3. White Christmas
4. Rain On Snow

MEGA

Join The Parish

This is the third and last of the radio shows I have from The Upper Room. It's only two records instead of the usual three, and it may be the best one yet.  This one actually features a mother and her daughter on three of the four sides, and I think it works better than the others.  No date for this one, though.  I couldn't look up the Columbia pressing number, and there were no notes written on the labels. Oh, I also learned that The Upper Room still appears to be a going concern, although I don't think they send out records to radio stations anymore. This is The Upper Room Radio-TV Parish-The Holy Holiday Series (Protestant Radio-TV Center 2x10" 33 RPM CC5-URPRC, Mono).

1. Expectation (For Use On Christmas Eve)
2. Bells Of Christmas (For Use On Christmas Day)
3. The World At Prayer (For Use On New Year's Eve)
4. Where Prayer Begins (For Use On First Sunday Of The New Year)

MEGA

Radio And TV

Time for another edition of The Upper Room Radio-TV Parish Christmas radio show, this time from 1957.  Well, I say it's from 1957.  That date is based on the RCA pressing code found on the discs, but the notes I found on the labels listed a broadcast date from 1962. I suspect the 1957 is correct, because the broadcast info didn't always get noted down, especially right on the label. The other one I shared yesterday was pressed by Columbia, and as far as I know there is no good way to date those pressings, so I had to go with what the label said. Like most things, you have to go with the info you've got. If you enjoyed the one yesterday, this one is more of the same.  This is Dr. John A. Redhead And The Upper Room Carolers-Hark The Herald Angels Sing (The Protestant Radio & Television Center 3x10" 33 RPM PRC-UR-CC Series 3, Mono, 1957).

1. The New Born King
2. Carols For The Humble
3. Christ Born In Us
4. The Sky Can Still Remember
5. Little Jesus Came To Town
6. Love Came Down

MEGA

On The 15th Day Of Christmas

As frequently happens, a song or a record pops into my head, and I get to thinking about it. Then it occurs to me that I shared it out once, and I wonder if it's still up.  It turned out that this record was shared out in 2012, and hasn't been seen since, so I'm bringing it back.  I doubt if there are too many people left hanging around downloading my shares, especially the reshares, but if anyone is still around, here it is. It's a rare 78 transfer, because that's the version I found, complete with picture sleeve! It's probably worth the download for that vintage artwork itself, though it looks like I didn't do a full restoration job on it.  Underneath that scribbling is a date of 1949 when this record was given as a gift. Perhaps I thought that was too interesting to erase.  Anyhow, if you're interested, this is Franklyn MacCormack With Herbert Foote At The Organ-I Like Christmas b/w My New Year's Wish For You (MGM 10" 78 RPM 50009, Mono, 1948).

MEGA

Christmas Was

Today's special surprise is a set of three 10" records, each with two parts of a series of Christmas radio broadcasts entitled Christmas Is. I bought these as part of a lot on eBay, I had no idea what I was getting, but it's kinda interesting stuff.  Imagine those early morning or late night Sunday hours when radio stations aired public affairs programs, and that's kinda what you've got here.  Each show is fifteen minutes and features some music, but mostly talk about the season. And you're invited to write to them, care of this station, for more information!  Met me know if you get anything back!  This is The Upper Room Radio-TV Parish-Christmas Is (Protestant Radio & Television Center 3x10" 33 RPM UR-PRC-CC4, Mono, 1960). I got the date from notes written on the labels listing when the program was aired.  Earliest one listed was 1960, latest one was 1967.  Pretty big change in the world between those two dates.

1. Christmas Is Quietness
2. Christmas Is Joy
3. Christmas Is Love
4. Christmas Is For Everyone
5. Christmas Is For Always
6. Christmas Is Glory

MEGA

Three Kings Day

Well, we've made it through the holidays to Three Kings Day, or Epiphany if you prefer. I've thrown up two posts a day since Thanksgiving, and I'm just about out of stuff. But not quite. There are a few 10" records that are pretty out there that I still want to share, and a handful of singles, so I'm going to keep going for a little while longer.  But I am getting tired, so I'm cutting it down to one a day, I hope you don't mind. First up is this soundtrack to a filmstrip from, I believe, 1968. I only found the record, there was no filmstrip with it, so you'll have to imagine the scenes playing out in your head, and change them up every time you hear the beep. I can't explain why the recording is only 4'21", but the record says it's 7'10".  There's only one side to the record, and the whole story seems to be there. Any thoughts? Anyhow, this is Maurice Copeland, Narrator-The Night Before Christmas-Sound Filmstrip Presentation (SVE 10" 33 RPM TAC 84322 (Single-Sided Filmstrip Soundtrack), Mono, 1968). Sorry about the limited Photoshop work on that label. I did a little bit that's not obvious, but anything else was going to be a lot of work, and I don't think I could get it all off cleanly anyway.  So we're stuck with some of it.

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Country For Christmas

How about a collection of Country Christmas tunes? Or at least a collection of Christmas tunes performed by country artists? Well, maybe they're country artists, it's a little hard to tell.  Some of the names are familiar, but some aren't, and I suspect that some of them may just be close to the familiar artist name, but not exactly the same.  Do you recognize all of these artists?  Maybe?  Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  This is Christmas Booty-Christmas With A Country Flavor (ERA BU 3900, Stereo, 1983). I pulled this one out of the shrink wrap, so I think the sound is really good here.

1. Nat Stuckey-Oh Come All Ye Faithful
2. Billy Walker-White Christmas
3. John Wesley Ryles-We Three Kings Of Orient Are
4. Melba Montgomery-Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
5. Jeannie Seely-What Child Is This
6. Margo Smith-We Wish You A Merry Christmas
7. David Houston-Silent Night, Holy Night
8. Johnny Carver-The First Noel
9. Jan Howard-God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
10. Dickey Lee-Go Tell It On The Mountain
11. Sandy Posey-I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
12. Jack Greene-I'll Be Home For Christmas

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Not Much Christmas

This next share is something that I remember recording years and years and years ago, pretty close to 20 years now, when I was first starting to get interested in these dusty old Christmas records. I was disappointed to discover that there really wasn't much on the album that sounded like Christmas to my ears. Sometime in the past year or so I found a nice clean copy and decided to revisit it to see if maybe I had missed something that first time around. Short answer, no, it's still not got much Christmas content, and I'm not too excited about the stuff that does identify as Christmas.  But it's still a neat little time capsule of it's time, you might enjoy it. It's a soundtrack to a TV special that featured a few "A" listers, like Liza Minnelli, Cyril T. Ritchard, Vic Damone and even The Animals! Orchestra duties are handled by Walter Scharf, best known for his work with Jerry Lewis.  This is The Dangerous Christmas Of Red Riding Hood (Or Oh Wolf, Poor Wolf) (ABC-Paramount ABCS-536, Stereo, 1965).

1. Overture
2. We Wish The World A Happy Yule
3. My Red Riding Hood
4. Snubbed
5. Woodsman's Serenade; Granny's Gulch; Along The Way
6. I'm Naive
7. Red Riding Hood Improvisation (Ballet)
8. I'm Naive (Reprise)
9. We're Gonna Howl Tonight
10. Ding-A-Ling, Ding-A-Ling
11. Poor Mouse (Ballet)
12. Granny; Along The Ray (Reprise)
13. We Wish The World A Happy Yule (Finale)

MEGA