Christmas In July 2020-32

Part 32! We're really cooking now! Jumping right in...

1. Rudolph's Christmas Overture by an unknown artist from Warner Bros. Finest For Concert Band (Jenson Publications JP-3900, Stereo, 1983). I can almost see the end of these demo recordings. Of course, I can also see the end of the month...

2. Venite Adoramus by yet another unknown artist from Jenson Publications' Choral Celebration Vol. 5 (Jenson Publications JP-4000 w/ Book, Stereo, 1983). I said I could see the end, I didn't say I was at the end.

3. A Merry Christmas by Battle Creek A Cappella Choir from Sixth Annual Albion College Invitational Choral Festival (Delta DRS81-128, Stereo, 1981). Sure were a lot of Christmas songs performed at this festival.

4. A Bleak And Chill by Regina High School Chorus-Ms. Marianne Antonich, Director from Christmas & Spring Concerts 1977-1978 (Melody Recording KM 2623, Stereo, 1978). Writing credit for this one just said Burt. Is it an Alfred Burt carol?

5. White Christmas by The Frankford High School A Cappella Choir-Robert G. Hamilton, Director from The Frankford High School A Cappella Choir Sings '61-'62 (Acoustic Arts Recording Studios LP 126 (Philadelphia, PA), Mono, 1962). What's with all these high school choirs in a row?

6. Moonlight In Vermont by Polly Bergen With Frank DeVol And His Orchestra from Polly Bergen's Four Seasons Of Love (Columbia CL 1451, Mono, 1960). We'll, this one has nothing to do with high school.

7. Tortorella: Ave Maria by Franco Corelli-Orchestra And Chorus Conducted By Rafaele Mingardo from Franco Corelli Sings Great Religious Songs & Arias (Angel S 36208, Stereo, 1964). An unfamiliar Ave Maria.

8. Silent Night by The Handbell Choir Of St. James Methodist Church, Olney, Philadelphia-Eleanor C. Thompson, Director from Sacred And Secular Music (Magnetic Recorder And Reproducer Corp. MRR-397, Mono, 1963). It's about time I find some more handbell music with you. I haven't shared nearly enough this year.

9. Holiday For Strings by Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-Concert Orchestra And Voices from The Best Of Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians (MCA 2xLP MCA2-4008, Mono). An oldie originally released on 10" shellac, but pulled here from a two record best-of collection.

10. Winter-Concerto No. 4 In F Minor-Second Movement-Largo by Societa Corelli-Vittorio Emanuele, Violin Solo from The Four Seasons (RCA Victor Red Seal LM-2424, Mono, 1960). The second part of this suite.

11. Little Drummer Boy by United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chorale from Seasons Greetings From The Men & Women Of The United States Air Force (No Label 2xLP No Number (Side 2-Christmas From The Air Force Academy), Stereo). There sure are a lot of good songs in tonight's share.

12. St. Mark's Church Bells by St. Mark's Church from Christmas With The Slovakaires (Pav Records PAV 666, Stereo). Everybody loves the bells!

13. Greensleeves by Jo Basile's Accordion & Orchestra Featuring Massed Strings from Paris! (Audio Fidelity AFLP 1955, Mono, 1961). A mono album on Audio Fidelity. It happens, I guess.

14. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by Don Wilson from Christmas Ain't Over Yet! (Or, Yes, Virginia, There Is A Don Wilson!) (No Label RC 108/RC 107, Mono). This is just a weird album, that's all I can say about it.

15. Winter Wonderland by Paul Anka from his LP Diana (ABC-Paramount ABC-420, Mono, 1962). This was a sort of best-of, and thus it included some tracks from his Christmas album.

And that's it. I'm a little late tonight because I got caught up in an episode of Emergency.  It was probably supposed to be the pilot of a new similar show that centered around a couple of animal control officers in LA instead of a couple of paramedics. One of the animal control guys was a very young Mark Harmon. They saved a baby goat with some help from the doctors at Rampart. Not a dry eye in the house.  Anyhow, here's the download for tonight. Enjoy!

MEGA

Nutcracker In July 25

More nuts, more cracks!  Here's your daily version of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, as rendered today by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor. And it's taken from the LP Swan Lake-The Nutcracker (Columbia Masterworks MS 6807, Stereo, 1966). Yes, once again they combined The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Not a whole lot of creativity there. Anyhow, enjoy this version, and I'll see you again tomorrow.

MEGA

Christmas In July 2020-31

Part 31, a whole months worth of postings, but there's still a week left to go. Don't worry, there's still plenty of stuff in the pile to see us through to the end.  Now before I fall asleep, let's see if I can write up what's in the download tonight.

1. Marni Nixon-Funny Little Snowman from Songs From "Singing Fun" (Bowmar 4x10" 78 RPM 1650/1651/1652/1653, Mono, 1956). A cute little song from a rarely heard artist. I think the records were sold for educational use, and you could also order a songbook to help you sing along. Good stuff.

2. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring, by someone who chose to remain anonymous, from Music For The Choral Ensemble Vol. XV-Young Choir Edition (Jenson Publications 2xLP JP-3500, Stereo, 1983). This demo LP was the last thing I ripped before I got tired of ripping back at the beginning of the pandemic.  I only recently got back in the mood and finished it. I was depressed to remember that the entire first record was unplayable because it was badly warped.  There were also probably a dozen more demos on there that I could have shared with you, too.

3. Nick Kenny-Scattered Toys from Nick Kenny Reads Nick Kenny (From His Book "Poems To Inspire") (Dot DLP 3427, Mono, 1962). A rare spoken word track. Some years I've had enough spoken word pieces to fill up an entire day, but not this time around. Funny how that works.

4. Frances Lai-The Christmas Trees from Love Story (Paramount PAS 6002, Stereo, 1970).  The last of the Christmas tracks from this soundtrack.  I had no idea there was anything on this record, and must have seen it hundreds of times without checking the track list.  Let that be a lesson to you, always check!

5. The Skaters by the anonymous folks at Silver Burdett Records from Making Music Your Own-Kindergarten Record IV (Silver Burdett Records 75 180 4, Mono, 1966). Man, it sure seems like there are a lot of tracks from this record. I must have posted one every other day for the whole month.

6. Christmas Spectacular! by another anonymous group, this one from Superior New Works For Concert Band Vol. XV-Advanced Edition (Jenson Publications JP-5100, Stereo, 1984). Yes, it's another demo track.

7. Lutheran High School West Concert Choir-God Rest You Merry Gentlemen from 25th Anniversary Of Cleveland Lutheran High Schools - Commemorative Album 1948-1973 (United Sound Recorders USR 5036, Stereo, 1973). More music from the Lutherans. I suppose now I have to give equal time to all the other religions.

8. King Curtis-Swingin' Shepherd Blues from Soul Serenade (Capitol T 2095, Mono, 1964). I don't think you can go wrong with some King Curtis, and he released so little Christmas music, that makes this track all the more welcome to me.

9. Billy Pressman-Nuttin' For Christmas from Dumb Ditties (K-tel NU 9330, Stereo, 1977).  Yep, another Christmas track from the record. I guess they'd throw anything on there they thought would make them a little money.

10. Hallelujah (From "Mount Of Olives"), performed by an unknown choir from Sixth Annual Albion College Invitational Choral Festival (Delta DRS81-128, Stereo, 1981).  Funny, but everything else on this record was properly attributed, but this one song seems to have lost it.

11. Regina High School Chorus-Ms. Marianne Antonich, Director-Continuing Christmas Eve from Christmas & Spring Concerts 1977-1978 (Melody Recording KM 2623, Stereo, 1978). So would continuing Christmas Eve mean Christmas day? I'm confused...

12. Floyd Cramer-Cold, Cold Heart, the Hank Williams song, from I Remember Hank Williams (RCA Victor LSP-2544, Stereo, 1962). Well, at least it had cold in the title, twice!

13. The Frankford High School A Cappella Choir-Robert G. Hamilton, Director-Break Forth O Beauteous Heav'nly Light from The Frankford High School A Cappella Choir Sings '61-'62 (Acoustic Arts Recording Studios LP 126 (Philadelphia, PA), Mono, 1962). Did we ever decide if this school actually was in the Philly area, or if that was just the record company location?

14. Polly Bergen With Frank DeVol And His Orchestra-June In January from Polly Bergen's Four Seasons Of Love (Columbia CL 1451, Mono, 1960). If it's June in January, that seems backwards from December in July.

15. The World Vision Korean Orphan Choir Directed By Soo Chul Chang With Ralph Carmichael And His Orchestra-O Come All Ye Faithful from The World Vision Korean Orphan Choir (Word W-3167-LP, Mono, 1962). An actual honest-to-goodness Christmas song. I'm impressed.

That's it, fifteen more songs, and I actually typed them all in. Are you proud of me?  Good, I'm proud of you, too, for showing up all these days this month.  Come back again tomorrow for more.  Here's the DL link.

MEGA

Nutcracker In July 24

I took a little peek ahead, and I see that I'm getting close to the end of my rips of full Nutcrackers. I've still got a few more, so I'm not calling it quits yet, but I can see the end from where I'm standing, and I don't think it reaches to the end of the month. I guess I could have planned it a little better, but after the Covid thing hit, I just lost all motivation for months on end. But that's neither here nor there. The version tonight is one big long track with the whole suite in one go.  The artist is (allegedly) The Madrid Festival De Matadors' Orchestra-Dr. Edmundo Alava, Conductor, and the album is Carmen Suite And The Nutcracker Suite In Percussive Sound (International Award Series AK-163, Mono). I don't hear a lot of gratuitous percussion in here, like you might expect from something on the Command label, so I suspect they just through that in the title to attract a little more attention. I wouldn't be surprised if I've already shared a version of this one this month, but you never know. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

MEGA

Christmas In July 2020-30

Wow, part 30!  That's a lot of Christmas music!  Well, maybe not as much as last year, but more if I add in the Nutcracker Suites. I think that's fair, don't you?  Anyhow, it's been a rough week, and once again I'm just throwing up a share without telling you what's in it. I appreciate those of you've been willing to download the music with no idea what's in the package, and especially those who then listen to it and comment.  Makes my job easier when I know folks are listening.  Hopefully this weekend I can get caught up a little and go back to fill in some of these blanks. I will go ahead and mention that there are 16 tracks in the download tonight. Two of them kind of go together, and I probably could have shared them as a single track, but I chose to split it into two.  It's all good stuff, don't worry.  See you tomorrow for more!

MEGA

Update-25 July 2020-I'm adding in the tracklist as exported and reformatted slightly. It's only a little faster than typing it all in, and you don't get my metacommentary on all the tracks, which may be a good thing.  But at least the info is there for the search engines.

Maurice Abravanel Conducting The Utah Symphony Orchestra--Sleigh Ride--Fiddle Faddle And 14 Other Leroy Anderson Favorites--1967
The Murk Family With Accompanist Betty Bowman--Christmas Medley: It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas; I'm A Little Christmas Tree; All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth; I Don't Want A Lot For Christmas; The Only Thing I Want For Christmas; Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas--Holiday Musicale   
Arthur Whittemore And Jack Lowe, Duo-Pianists--Intro To Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring--More Major Classics For Minors--1964
Arthur Whittemore And Jack Lowe, Duo-Pianists--Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring--More Major Classics For Minors--1964
Tommy Stark--Joy--The Many Moods Of The Magnificent Möller! Theatre Organ-Organ Power Pizza--1976
Richard Robinson--Ten Little Jingle Bells--Songs From "Singing Fun"--1956
Unknown Artist--Toyland--Songs From Walt Disney & Others (AKA Walt Disney Favorites & Others)   
Anita Bryant-Arranged And Conducted By Robert Mersey--G Is For God, Is For God Who Loved And Sent Jesus--The ABC Stories Of Jesus--1962
The Singing Nuns Of Jesus And Mary--Patapan--The Singing Nuns Of Jesus And Mary   
Los Fronterizos-Cantoria De La Basilica Del Socorro-Directed By Father R.P. Segade-Conducted By Ariel Ramirez--Navided Nuestra-Los Reyes Magos (Takirari)--Misa Criolla-From The Argentine-A Folkloristic Expression Of Religious Emotions--1980
The Stockholm Concert Orchestra-Conducted By Hugh Ross--The Messiah-Overture--The Majesty Of Sacred Music--1966
Silver Burdett Records--March--Making Music Your Own-Kindergarten Record II--1966
Alexei Cherkassov, Piano--April-Snowdrop--Tchaikovsky-The Seasons--1978
Jenson Publications--Santa Baby--Superior New Works For Concert Band-Advanced Edition-Volume 23--1988
Jenson Publications--Sing Alleluia For Your Soul--Music For The Choral Ensemble Vol. XV-Young Choir Edition--1983
Brookside Jr. High School Music Department-Concert Chorus-William Bent, Conductor--White Christmas--Winter Concert-Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 1971--1972

Whew, that's a lot of formatting by hand. Hope it's right...

Nutcracker In July 23

Happy Thursday!  Time for another edition of The Nutcracker Suite! The version today is credited to The Ballet Francaise Symphony Orchestra Under The Baton Of Francoise Renault and taken from the album Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite And Swan Lake (Valiant VM-4920, Mono).  Will it turn out to be the real artist, or merely a clever pseudonym made up by someone who drove a French-made car? I don't know the answer myself, but there are clever people leaving comments here, and I bet one of them will figure it out!  In the meantime, download and give it a listen.

MEGA

Christmas In July 2020-29

Another long day, and I'm pretty beat, so I'm just going to throw up the share for now and call it good.  But I'm going to stay up late listening to my buddy CaptOT play Christmas in July music on the radio, and so should you. Head on over to WBOI.org and listen live from 9-11 PM EDT tonight. And find it on Facebook, too, where we always have a raucous time commenting on the songs playing.  Sure to be a hoot.  But that's after you download the share of the day, please.

MEGA

Update-25 July 2020-I'm going to try and paste in the contents of this download below. Wish me luck!

Unknown Artist--Come See The Baby (A New Youth Musical)--Jenson Publications' Choral Celebration Vol. 5--1983
Dave Harris And The Powerhouse Five--Siberian Sleigh Ride--Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals--1961
Anita Bryant-Arranged And Conducted By Frank Hunter--When The Snow Is On The Roses--In Remembrance Of You (The Story Of A Love Affair)--1968
Regina High School Chorus-Ms. Marianne Antonich, Director--Caroling, Caroling--Christmas & Spring Concerts 1977-1978--1978
Grand Rapids Christian High School Chamber Chorale--Hacia Bele'n Va Un Borrico--Sixth Annual Albion College Invitational Choral Festival--1981
South Denver High School Choir-Richard B. Eichenberger, Director--The Three Kings--The South High School A Cappella Choir 1954--1954
Dartmouth College Glee Club-Paul R. Zeller, Director--Hanover Winter Song--A Program Of Dartmouth Music--1950
Children's Choirs Of First Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Director: L. Campbell Bunting, Organist: Jan Birtcil--What Child Is This--Great Hymns For Children-Album 2--1963
Lenny Seidel-Pianist--Angels We Have Heard On High--The Glory Of God's Seasons   
Members Of The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Richard Jones-Solo Violin: Samuel Thaviu--Snowfall--Moonlight And Violins--1955
Burl Ives--The Deepening Snow--True Love--1964
Silver Burdett Records--Mary Had A Baby--Making Music Your Own-Kindergarten Record IV--1966
The Cantata Singers In Quakertown, Ifor Jones Conducting, Bonnie Fix Keller At The Organ--Past Three O'Clock--A Service Of Lessons And Carols--1975
Alexei Cherkassov, Piano--November-"Troika" (Sleigh Ride)--Tchaikovsky-The Seasons--1978
Jenson Publications--Sanctus (From Faure's Requiem)--Music For The Choral Ensemble Vol. XV-Young Choir Edition--1983

That's not too bad...

Nutcracker In July 22

Cracking good nutcracker for you today, or at least I hope it is.  They don't get more budget label than this, well, at least not ones that are credited to somebody. I suspect that the anonymous ones are the worst. This one is credited to The Viennese Symphonic Orchestra-Kurst Woess, Conductor, and the LP is titled Tschaikovsky-Nutcraker Suite-1812 Festival Overture (MasterSeal MSLP 5004, Mono, 1957). Hope it's worth a listen.

MEGA

Christmas In July 2020-28

Well, it's finally caught up to me.  I'm pretty tired tonight, so I'm not going to take the time to spell out everything that's in the download.  Hopefully I'll find time to come back and list it, especially for the search engines, but for now, here're fifteen more tracks, more of the same, really.

MEGA

Update-25 July 2020-Let me see if I can post the contents of the download here.  Trying to automate the export of this info a little bit, make it easier, but it may be more trouble than it's work.  Depends on how the format comes over...

Well, the first try didn't work. Let's try something else...

The John Payne Band--Snow--Bedtime Stories--1975
Dave Brubeck Quartet--My Favorite Things--My Favorite Things--1966
Don Wilson--Away In A Manger; We Three Kings Of Orient Are--Christmas Ain't Over Yet! (Or, Yes, Virginia, There Is A Don Wilson!)   
Felix Slatkin Conducting The Concert Arts Symphony Orchestra With Victor Aller, Piano--Variations On A Nursery Tune--Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra; Variations On A Nursery Tune--1957
Kenneth Wilson, Organist--Scottish Legend (Opus 54 No. 1)--Christmas At The Castle/Kenneth Wilson Celebrates--1981
The Slovakaires, Organ Accompaniment By Sr. M. Eugene Prolop, O.S.F.--Graduale--Christmas With The Slovakaires   
United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chorale--Chorale Medley: Come All Ye Faithful; Little Town Of Bethlehem; Joy To The World--Seasons Greetings From The Men & Women Of The United States Air Force   
Unknown Artist--Good News, Great Joy--Jenson Publications' Choral Celebration Vol. 5--1983
Casey Siewierski, His Concertina & Orchestra--Snowball Hop Polka--New Hits   
Mark Murphy, Conducted By Ernie Wilkins--My Favorite Things--Rah--1961
Societa Corelli-Vittorio Emanuele, Violin Solo--Winter-Concerto No. 4 In F Minor-First Movement-Allegro Non Motto--The Four Seasons--1960
Richard Ellsasser--Hallelujah Chorus--Richard Ellsasser At The Conn Organ--1964
Friends From Rio--Cherry Tree--Billy Vaughn Presents Friends From Rio Playing "Somethin' Stupid"--1967
The Hammond Chord Organ--Christmas Music On The Organ-O Holy Night--A Music Kaleidoscope With The Hammond Chord Organ--1955
Jenson Publications--The Christ Child Is Born--Music For The Choral Ensemble Vol. XV-Young Choir Edition--1983

Well, that's about as good as it's going to get for now. You'll get the idea.

Nutcracker In July 21

Must be that time of day, I've got a new Nutcracker to share with you.  Well, maybe not new, but new to you, I hope. I'm hoping most of these versions have been new to you, I hate to think I'm boring you with repeats and old hats.  This one is by the clumsily credited Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Herbert Williams from the LP Tchaikovsky: Suite From Swan Lake-Nutcracker Suite (Westminster XWN 18223, Mono, 1956). Westminster was a major label at the time, but it's odd that they didn't credit an actual orchestra. All sorts of contractual reasons for that, I suppose. Anyhow, here it is, I hope you enjoy it.

MEGA

A Blast From The Past 2

Time for another installment of my best-of series, this time for 2018. So far we've gotten collections from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 & 2017, and if you've enjoyed those, this one will be no different. It's got all my very favorite tracks from the Christmas In July 2018 season, which you probably don't remember, but it was a good year.  Here's a list of what's in the download.

1) Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band--Christmas In N.Y.
2) Homer Dennison And The "Night Strings"--Swiss Holiday
3) C. W. McCall--Sing Silent Night
4) Roger Blackburn--Winter Wonderland
5) Reno & Smiley And The Tennessee Cutups--Christmas Time's A Coming
6) Trombones Unlimited Featuring Mike Barone & Frank Rosolino--Holiday For Trombones
7) Bob Hannon With Jerry Sears And His Orchestra--In The Good Old Winter Time
8) First United Methodist Church, Cullman, Alabama-Bell Choir--Silent Night
9) Johnny Otis Orchestra With Little Esther And Mel Walker--Faraway Christmas Blues
10) The High Society--The Secret Of Christmas
11) Bobby Goldsboro--Look Around You, It's Christmas Time
12) Cliff De Young And Group--Winter
13) Brave Combo--O Holy Night Cha Cha Cha
14) Melanie--Merry Christmas
15) Betty Garrett--Yuletide, Park Avenue
16) Ray Rasch And The Pipers 10--Sugar Plum Cha Cha
17) Joe Berl-Music Direction: Joseph Berlingeri--We Need A Little Christmas
18) John Fahey--Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel
19) Merle Travis--Merry Christmas, Pretty Baby
20) The Ringing Bells-Rachael Kuivinen, Director--Yuletide Is Here Again
21) Willie Dittrich--Jingle Bells/Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
22) The Ventures--Nutty
23) Asa Duncan And Frank Sullivan-Sung By All The Kids--Have A Merry Christmas Day
24) Edmundo Ros And His Orchestra--That Man Over There
25) The McLain Family Band--Christmas On The Farm
26) Sleepless Nites--Children Go Where I Send You
27) Shari Lewis With Lambchop And Charley Horse--Sleigh Ride
28) Skitch Henderson, His Piano And The Stereosonic Strings--Snowflakes
29) June Christy-Orchestra Conducted By Pete Rugolo--Love Turns Winter To Spring
30) Six Fat Dutchmen--Jolly Sleigh Ride
31) The Impressions--Long, Long Winter
32) Tedd Smith, Piano--Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring/The First Noël
33) Pedro Vargas-Henri Rene Y Su Orquesta--Blanca Navidad
34) Unknown Artist--Bells
35) Naval Academy Drum And Bugle Corps--Auld Lang Syne
36) Chris Connor And Maynard Ferguson--Happy New Year

Something in there for everyone, and all of it stands up to repeat listens. This is the best I have to offer, so download it and give it a listen.  This is The Very Best Of Christmas In July From Ernie (Not Bert) 2018!

MEGA

PS-This isn't my best cover ever, but I needed a Christmas picture and happened to remember this. It's from a small Christmas shop inside what may be the kitschiest tourist trap in all of South Florida, The Shell Factory. Located in North Ft. Myers, it's full of weird little roadside attractions that probably haven't changed since 1952, including a Christmas store where I found this TV tableau. If I'd known I was going to use it for a cover, I think I would have composed the picture a little better.

Christmas In July 2020-27

Hello again.  Are you ready for another dose of Christmas in July? I hope so, because I've got fifteen more tracks for your enjoyment.  Let's jump right in, shall we?

1. Away In A Manger by The Mennonite Hour A Cappella Choir, Children's Choir from The Stranger Of Galilee-A Musical Portrait Of The Life Of Christ (Word WST-8436-LP, Stereo, 1968).  Featuring a bunch of Mennonite kiddies.

2. The Virgin Mary by Tabooz from Tabooz 1962 (No Label CO 4038 (Bradford Junior College), Mono, 1962).  Not much info about this one, but from the front cover photograph it's an all-woman choir. Not sure if it's an all-girls school though.

3. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Robert Maxwell, His Harp And Orchestra from The Magic Of Robert Maxwell His Harp And Orchestra (Vocalion (Decca, MCA) VL 73858, Stereo, 1965). There's harp in there somewhere, but it's not too prominent.

4. Joyous Season, the first track tonight by an unknown artist, this one from Warner Bros. Finest For Concert Band (Jenson Publications JP-3900, Stereo, 1983). Demo music for your own personal concert band.

5. A Scandinavian Christmas Rhapsody, also by an unknown performer, this time from Superior New Works For Concert Band Vol. XV-Advanced Edition (Jenson Publications JP-5100, Stereo, 1984).  More music for your concert band to try.

6. Go Tell It On The Mountain by American Christian College Choir from An Evening With Billy James Hargis And His Kids (Christian Crusade Recordings LP30002, Stereo, 1971). Not really sure what's up with this one. Is Billy James Hargis a member of the band? A director? Supporter? Just a guy who liked releasing albums? I hope somebody chimes in with some answers some day.

7. My Favorite Things by The Mitchell-Ruff Duo from The Sound of Music By Rodgers & Hammerstein (Roulette Birdland R 52037, Mono, 1960). I'm telling you, every one and his brother did a recording of the songs from The Sound of Music. I could do with it what I'm doing with The Nutcracker Suite, a version a day for the whole month!

8. Winter Wonderland by The Murk Family With Accompanist Betty Bowman from Holiday Musicale (Sacred Knof Recordings SKR-LP-1170, Mono). Lots of good ones on this LP. This may not be one of them.

9. Hanover Winter Song by The Dartmouth College Glee Club-Paul R. Zeller, Director from Reflections On Dartmouth (James Campion OSS-2382, Stereo). Pretty sure I've got another version of this same song by an earlier incarnation of this same group. Glad I didn't share them both out on the same day.

10. Exultate Deo by South Haven High School Choir from Sixth Annual Albion College Invitational Choral Festival (Delta DRS81-128, Stereo, 1981).  This is pretty late for such a record to have been made. I suspect this was close to the time where such a thing would be put on cassette tape.  But there are always holdouts.

11. Hymn Of The Nativity by The Cantata Singers In Quakertown, Ifor Jones Conducting, Bonnie Fix Keller At The Organ from A Service Of Lessons And Carols (CS CSQ1001, Stereo, 1975). No relation to Quaker Steak And Lube, I hope.

12. Il Est Né; Jesus Borned In Bethlea by Eleanor Newman, Soprano, With W. Lawrence Curry, Accompanist from Let's Sing Songs And Hymns For Primary Children (The Geneva Press 69-0031, Mono). Pretty sure this one originally came with a book and was used to teach you how the songs found in the book were supposed to sound.

13. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers by Eddie Dunstedter from The Master Makes Melody-Eddie Dunstedter Reminisces (Foremost FML 1003, Mono, 1956).  This guy had a really long career.

14. We'll Dress The House by Regina High School Chorus-Ms. Marianne Antonich, Director from Christmas & Spring Concerts 1977-1978 (Melody Recording KM 2623, Stereo, 1978). This is one of those songs I hear occasionally, but don't know anything about.  I'd look it up, but I'm busy posting Christmas music.  Funny how that happens.

15. Alleluia by The Frankford High School A Cappella Choir-Robert G. Hamilton, Director from The Frankford High School A Cappella Choir Sings '61-'62 (Acoustic Arts Recording Studios LP 126 (Philadelphia, PA), Mono, 1962).Frankford High School bringing up the rear today.

That's all she wrote for the day.  Gotta be something in there your ears will appreciate.

MEGA

Nutcracker In July 20

Whoops, I almost forgot about today's Nutcracker in July episode.  Had to zip it up real quick this morning and upload it, now I'm posting at work real quick.  Let's see who I put in the folder. The artist is The French National Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Roger Désormière, and the album is Nutcracker Suite/Suite From The Swan Lake-Tchaikovsky (Capitol P-8140, Mono, 1954).  Pretty sure I've shared this one out in previous years, piecemealing it out one track at a time over multiple days.  Now you've got it all in one nice little package. Enjoy!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2020-26

Another weekend almost over. Just enough time for one more Christmas in July share.  Hope you enjoy these fifteen tracks.

1. Joyous Yuletide, from the unknown artists at Jenson Publications and their album Superior New Works For Concert Band-Advanced Edition-Volume 23 (Jenson Publications 2xLP CB23A88AD, Stereo, 1988). I suppose these demo tracks wouldn't be too bad if they just played out full-length.  Those fades always seem to come just as the track is getting interesting.

2. Little Drummer Boy by Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra from A Taste Of Mauriat (Philips (UK) XL2, Stereo, 1967). One of the better Christmas tracks that got left off of a great artist's Christmas record.

3. Snowballs by an unknown group on Making Music Your Own-Kindergarten Record IV (Silver Burdett Records 75 180 4, Mono, 1966).  At least it's a song I doubt you're gonna hear elsewhere.

4. Ave Maria by Pinellas Park Senior High Chorus-William Renfroe, Director from Choral Sounds 1977-1979 Volume 1 (Suncoast Recording Service KM 3668, Stereo, 1979). Not one of the usual versions of Ave Maria.

5. Advent Motet by Wagner College Choir-Dr. Sigvart J. Steen, Conductor from Wagner College Choir (Recorded Publications Company Z-33971/33972 (Staten Island, New York), Mono).  A somewhat rare song for Advent.

6. Deo Gracias by The Texas Boys Choir-George Bragg, Conductor-Sydney Laudenslager, Harp from Britten: A Ceremony Of Carols-Gregg Smith: Bible Songs For Young Voices (Vox Turnabout TV-S 34544, Stereo, 1973).  Back to Texas for more from the boys.

7. F Is For Frankincense, A Gift For The New King by Anita Bryant-Arranged And Conducted By Robert Mersey from The ABC Stories Of Jesus (Columbia CS 8675, Stereo, 1962).  Still wondering how many letters they did?  There are more...

8. White Christmas by The Women's Ensemble Of Bethany Lutheran Church, Melodie Bollman-Director, Eleanor Peura-Accompanist from The Ensemble Sings (Century Advent Recording LRS-RT-6062 (Astabula, Ohio), Stereo). A nice Christmas song for you here.

9. Cold Weather Papa by Clara Smith from Clara Smith Volume Two 1923-1924 Recordings In Chronological Order (VJM Vintage Series VLP 16 (Originally Recorded 10 April 1924), Mono, 1968). An oldie but a goodie.

10. Snowbird by Mike & Rita from Party Time With Miller & Co. Featuring Mike & Rita (Mike Miller 20519 (Lockbourne, Ohio), Mono) Not exactly sure about this one, some sort of lounge act, I think.

11. Sleigh Ride by 101 Strings from Victor Young & Leroy Anderson (Alshire S-5012, Stereo, 1964). A good version here, with lots and lots of strings.

12. Toyland by The Longines Symphonette from Sweet Voices Of Inspiration (The Longines Symphonette Recording Society LWS 173, Stereo, 1966). This is a weird outfit.

13. Silver Bells by another unknown artist, this time from the LP Warner Bros. Finest For Concert Band (Jenson Publications JP-3900, Stereo, 1983).  The second demo track of the day.

14. April-Snowdrop by Yevgeny Svetlanov Conducting The U.S.S.R. Symphony Orchestra from Tchaikovsky-The Seasons (Columbia Masterworks/Melodiya 2xLP MG 35184, Stereo, 1978). From Russia, by Russians, for Americans.

15. Hodie Christus Natus Est by The St. Olaf Lutheran Choir-Dr. Olaf C. Christiansen, Conductor from Twentieth Century Psalms And Hymns/The Birth, Life, Death And Resurrection Of Christ (Mercury SR 60636, Stereo, 1961). Not one you hear every day.

And that's it for today, another fifteen tracks in the books.  Got a favorite? How about a favorite from the entire month? Anything standout yet? I've got a folder full of favorites, but I keep adding and removing stuff, depending on my mood.  Sometimes I add something, only to find out it was already in there from back when I first recorded it. Hopefully you've got a few tracks that are in the keeper folder.  Lemme know what you've enjoyed so far.  Here's the link for tonight, see you tomorrow.

MEGA

Nutcracker In July 19

Good morning!  Hope you're having a relaxing Sunday.  Here's the latest installment of The Nutcracker In July.  This time around the artist is listed as being Wilhelm Von Luden Conducting The Hamburg International Philharmonic Orchestra, and the LP is The American Home Library Of Great Musical Masterpieces-Vol. XIV (The American Home Library Of Great Musical Masterpieces-Milton Cross Series 6014, Stereo). Probably a pseudonym, but you never know. Milton Cross appears to have lent his name to this set of records designed to introduce classical music into the home. His name has shown up here at the blog before, and will likely show up again in the future. But I don't think Milton is actually on this recording, they just used his name to sell records.  Here's the link to download and enjoy!

MEGA