The Church

Someone was asking about the mosaics used on the second-best collections. Well, I just walked by the place, so here's a picture of the whole thing.

2022 At 78 RPM-Part 31

You've probably forgotten at this point about our ongoing series of shellac 78's from the collection of The Internet Archive, what with all the Christmas in July posts around these parts, but we're still hard at it (and have been at it since January first!). This week is no exception. I'm back today with 31 new selections, a whole bunch of Christmas music that you've probably never heard before, and in many cases, you haven't been able to hear for fifty years or more. There's some really rare stuff here, and I'm bringing it back from the dead for you. Enjoy!

MEGA

Update-4 Jan 2023-Added tracklist for searching.

1. Judy Valentine-Orchestra Under The Direction Of Bill Leavitt-A Ride In Santa's Sleigh
2. Ernest Hare And Company-A Talk With Santa Claus
3. Henry Weber & His Orchestra-Christmas Carols (Part 1): It Came Upon The Midnight; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Silent Night; O Come All Ye Faithful
4. Marek Weber And His Orchestra-Christmas Carols-Part 1 (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Silent Night; The Holly And The Ivy; First Nowell; Christmas Day In The Morning; Adeste Fideles)
5. The Voices Of Walter Schumann-Solo By Bill Lee-Christmas Tree
6. Bing Crosby With The Arthur Norman Choir And Orchestra-How Lovely Is Christmas
7. Mills Brothers-Instrumental Accompaniment Directed By Sy Oliver-I Believe In Santa Claus
8. Mickey Maguire With The Keynotes-Accompaniment Directed By Johnny Douglas-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
9. Bob Hager-Caller, With Hilda Smythe's Orchestra-Jingle Bells
10. Song Spinners And Larry Fotine And His Orchestra-Jumpin' Jiminy Christmas
11. Jeff Clark & Arlene James-Let It Snow
12. The Fontane Sisters With Billy Vaughn's Orchestra-Nuttin' For Christmas
13. Bill Tabbert And The "400" Quartet-Joe Lipman Orchestra-Santa's On His Way
14. Ralph Sigwald With Horace Heidt And His Music Knights-Silent Night
15. Erroll Garner-Pianosolo-Silent Night-Jingle Bells
16. Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians-Glee Club And Orchestra-Keith & Sylvia Textor, Soloists-Snow, Snow, Beautiful Snow
17. Eddie "Piano" Miller With Rhythm Accompaniment-The Skaters Waltz
18. Stuart Hamblen With Trio And Novelty Accompaniment-Three Little Dwarfs (Hardrock, Coco and Joe)
19. Ernest Tubb-We Need God For Christmas
20. Korla Pandit-Vocal By Jette Satin-White Christmas
21. Peggy Taylor With E. Ballentine Orchestra & Chorus-Xmas Time Is Here
22. The Royal Choral Society (Unaccompanied)-Conductor: Sir Malcolm Sargent-Coventry Carol
23. Harry Reser And His Orchestra-Vocal Chorus By Tom Stacks And The Gang-Jingle Bells
24. Jill Whitney With Chorus And Orchestra Directed By Dick Jacobs-Little Johnny Jingle Bells
25. The Lady In Blue-My Favorite Toy
26. Anne Shelton, Vocal, With The Wardour Singers And Roy Robertson And His Orchestra-The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
27. Pedro De Cordoba With Richard Keys Biggs At The Cathedral Organ-The Third Gospel According To St. John; The Lord's Prayer; Hail Mary; Gloria
28. André Musette Orchestra-Toy, Toy, Toyland
29. Andy Williams-Orchestra Conducted By Archie Bleyer-Wind, Sand And Star
30. Stars Of Radio & Television With Orchestra & Chorus-Winter Wonderland
31. Lu Ann Simms-Orchestra Under The Direction Of Archie Bleyer-Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)

Christmas In July 2022-Part 20

To make up for the shorter collection I gave you yesterday, here's a slightly longer set of tracks for your Saturday. Unfortunately, I've had to double up on a couple of the artists, so I'm not really sure if you're gaining anything or not. You'll have to be the judge of that. In the meantime, here's your track listing.

1. Ave Maria (Spanish) by Little Joe & The Majestics from The Best Of Acappella Vol. 4 (Relic 104, Stereo). Not something you hear every day.

2, 3 and 4. Silent Night and Veni Redemptor Gentium by The Columbus Boychoir-Donald Hanson, Director and Cathedral Bells Of Spoleto from The Columbus Boychoir Sings At Spoleto's Festival Of Two Worlds (The Columbus Boychoir DB-63073 (Side 1-Sounds Of Christmas), Stereo). The bell track isn't really anything special, and it's not really an artist, but I thought you might need it for something someday.

5. Christmas Carol by Mac Davis from I Believe In Music (Columbia C 30926, Stereo, 1971). Yep, it's the Hard To Be Humble guy!

6. Hallelujah (From "The Messiah") by Gordon MacRae-Orchestra Conducted By Van Alexander from Hallowed Be Thy Name (Capitol ST1466, Stereo, 1961). Not the best version of this song, in my opinion.

7. Let's Put The 'X' Back In Christmas by Pinkard & Bowden from PG-13 (Warner Bros 25299, Stereo, 1985). I had high hopes for this one, but it's kind of a let down.

8. March Of The Toys (From "Babes In Toyland") by Hal Mooney And His Orchestra from Ballet With A Beat (Mercury Perfect Presence Sound Series PPS 6017, Stereo, 1961). This one will put the pep back in your step.

9. My Favorite Things by Marilyn King from Our Favorite Things (Harmony (Columbia) HS 11367, Stereo). A solo track from one of The King Sisters.

10 and 11. Sanctus and Wake, Awake For Night Is Flying by St. Olaf Choir-Kenneth Jennings, Director from Sing For Joy (St. Olaf Records E-269, Stereo). Been working on sharing out the tracks from this album all month, and I still had to double up to get them all out. I gotta plan these things out better in advance.

12. Who Killed Santa Claus? by Dear Mr. President from Dear Mr. President (Atlantic 81880-1, Stereo, 1988). Now this is the kind of weirdness we need more of.

And that's it, the last twelve Christmas tracks of the season. Still not the end though. Come back tomorrow for more goodies.

MEGA

Christmas In July 2022-Part 19

A very special edition of Christmas in July today, as all the tracks are from the SESAC label, and four of the five tracks are from their Just A Minute! series. Long-time visitors might remember a Christmas Just A Minute LP that I've been sharing out for years now. It's one of my favorite production music records, but I think all the tracks from today will be added to that list. I got all of these records from Discogs, and even though they weren't in the best shape, I still had to pay up for them. (I say that about any record that costs more than a dollar, so it's not like I had to mortgage the house or anything, but still...) So it's a short but sweet share today.

1. Christmas In The Valley by Frank Hunter And His Orchestra from Just A Minute! (Sesac PA 203/204, Mono, 1960). No doubt you know Frank Hunter from his space age bachelor pad stuff, but this album is probably something you've never seen or heard before. But I can say that about all of these items.

2. Cold Winter Nights by Tyree Glenn-Conductor: Sy Oliver from Just A Mintue!-The Talking Trombone And Vivid Vibes Of Tyree Glenn (Sesac PA 231/232, Mono, 1963). The Sesac label certainly had some big names. This one was conducted by Sy Oliver, and he's not even the headliner!

3. Greensleeves by an unknown artist from Just A Minute!-Harp Moods And Interludes (Sesac PA 237/238, Mono, 1964). Of course, as soon as I brag about the big names on this label, we come to a record by a generic artist. :(

4. Winter Sports by Warren Covington And His Marching Band from Just A Minute! (Sesac PA 229/230, Mono, 1963). You probably remember Warren Covington as the bandleader who took over the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra after Tommy passed on, leading it for years.

5. Snow Mountains by The Buddy Weed Quartet from Buddy-Buddy--The Buddy Weed Sound (Sesac-A Repertory Recording 7" 45 RPM AD-19, Mono, 1957). The odd-man out in this collection, as it's from a 7" record and it's more than a minute long. This is also a very rare duck in that I managed to find the record and the sleeve independently of each other, and put them together in my collection. I can't tell you how rarely that happens.

That's everything in the pile. Sorry it's so short, but I really wanted to highlight these super-rare records for you. I didn't want you to miss these things. And now I have to go re-upload the share, because I forgot to add dates to everything and I found a couple of stupid typos that I had to fix. So I'll post the link here in just a sec for you to enjoy.

MEGA

The Second Best From Christmas In July Past-Part 10

This marks the end of our little series featuring the second-best tracks from past Christmas in July celebrations. I hope you've enjoyed the 330 some odd tracks that I've been able to highlight with the series. I've always felt that it's a shame to have to narrow down the hundreds of tracks I share during July to just 33 (or so) songs. There's so much more in there that is good, and I feel this was a great way to remind everyone of all the goodies that get shared around here. But before I say goodbye for the month, here's one last collection of great tracks. Give it a listen and see if you don't agree that these are all worth revisiting.

1. Fred Waring-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. The George Shearing Quintet-Cool Mambo
3. The Beach Boys-Child Of Winter (Christmas Song)
4. Astronaut Wally C. Shirra-Christmas Message From Gemini 6
5. Red Carter-Jingle Bells
6. Anita Bryant-D Is For A Little Donkey That Went To Bethlehem
7. Walter Ostanek-Snowflake Polka
8. German Kaliope-Silent Night
9. The Ray Charles Singers-Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
10. The Swiss Band Organ-Swiss Sleigh Ride
11. USAF Academy Band-Christmas Festival
12. David Carroll-Bells And Little Bells
13. Unknown Artist-Eight Nights Of Hanukah
14. Sonny Burke-Mambo Holiday
15. Peter Hnatiuk-12 Days Of Holiday
16. The Stereo Brass Choir-Baby, It's Cold Outside
17. Connie Francis-Button Up Your Overcoat
18. Skitch Henderson-March Of The Toys
19. Brendan O'Dowda-Bethlehem's Star
20. Aileen Fisher-December
21. Willie Dittrich-Silver Bells
22. The Anita Kerr Singers-Snow In Lover's Lane
23. The Turners Creek Girls-Star Of Bethlehem
24. Regina Music Box-Hark The Herald Angels Sing
25. Tom Glazer With Jeffrey Alden-Carol Of The Animals-Edit
26. Richard Hayman-Winter Wonderland
27. The Ringing Bells-Angels We Have Heard On High
28. Victor Young-Pixie Holiday
29. The New York Percussion Trio-Sleigh Ride
30. Claude Thornhill-Skater's Cha Cha
31. Shirley English-Diamonds In The Snow
32. Rosemary Rice-The Marvelous Toy
33. American Percussion Society-New Year's Eve

Thanks for joining us as we took this little stroll down memory lane. And enjoy the songs now and in December when it's not 100 degrees outside!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2020-Redux

 

Time for a rather unnecessary redo of a share from not that long ago. On this best-of from the 2020 season, I only updated one track to stereo, and I believe I corrected a typo in an artist's name. So if you're going to skip out on any of my re-do's this month, this would be the one to skip. But I hope you won't because it's a good collection and a nice cover with a shot from a visit to NYC a few years ago near Christmas.

1. Dick Marx, Piano, And Johnny Frigo, Bass…Sleigh Ride
2. John McGee…Christmastime In Florida
3. Dennis Farnon And His Orchestra…Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
4. Kraft & Alexander…March
5. Dave Harris And The Powerhouse Five…Siberian Sleigh Ride
6. Kokee Band…My Favorite Things
7. The Metro Strings (AKA MGM Studio Orchestra)…Christmas
8. Unknown Artist…Santa's Coming
9. Francis Lai…The Christmas Trees
10. Jimmy James…All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
11. Marni Nixon…Funny Little Snowman
12. Unknown Artist…Snowtime
13. West York Area High School Percussion Ensemble…Holiday For Percussion
14. John Ylvisaker…Joseph
15. Charlie Fox And The Ring Of Sound…Greensleeves
16. Frankford High School A Cappella Choir…You Better Watch Out-Edit
17. Lenny Seidel-Pianist…Angels We Have Heard On High
18. The Östlund Family…The Christmas Story
19. The RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer…Oh, Holy Night
20. The Gabriel Sisters-Mary Lou, Connie Joe, Colleen…Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
21. Lloyd Reese And The Solid Rock Chorus…Sweet Little Lord Jesus
22. The World Vision Korean Orphan Choir…Jingle Bells
23. Reid Nibley…The Shepherds And The Star
24. Ekseption-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra…Ave Maria
25. Frank Chacksfield And His Orchestra…White Christmas
26. The Babes…Disco Toyland
27. Unknown Artist…The Nutcracker
28. Lutheran High School West Brass Ensemble…God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
29. King Curtis…Swingin' Shepherd Blues
30. David Webb…The Marvelous Toy
31. The Handbell Choir Of St. James Methodist Church…Westminster Carol
32. John McCutcheon…Christmas In The Trenches
33. Air University Band Maxwellaires…Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
34. Liv Ullmann & Rock Hudson…Baby It's Cold Outside
35. Anita Bryant…X Has No Word For These Bible Stories
36. Long Island Banjo Society…Bells Of St. Mary's
37. Bob Johnson And The Lonesome Travelers…Auld Lang Syne

MEGA

Christmas In July 2022-Part 18

Day 18! Feels like we're getting somewhere now. I'm not sure where, but somewhere! I can see the end of the month from here, thank goodness. This has been going on for far too long now. I know I've done much longer 'months', but this one seems like it's taking longer than it really is. Dunno why that is. Anyhoo, let's see what's in the pile.

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful by The Choir Of The First Presbyterian Church Of Dearborn, Alexander J. Turco-Organist And Director from Carols And Anthems (No Label H-1496/1497, Mono, 1967). Another one of those records with a lot of Christmas tracks. But it's records like this that let me drag the festivities out all month. Otherwise, it would go too quickly.

2. Warm In December by Julie London-Orchestra Conducted By Pete King from Calendar Girl-Part Three (Liberty 7" 45 RPM LEP-3-9002, Mono, 1956). The EP version of an album I haven't seen in a long, long time.

3. Wintertime Of Love by Victor Young And His Singing Strings from Cinema Rhapsodies (Decca CL 8051, Mono, 1953). I was excited when I spotted this on the record, but I think it's a rerun.

4. Adoramus by The Columbus Boychoir-Donald Hanson, Director from The Columbus Boychoir Sings At Spoleto's Festival Of Two Worlds (The Columbus Boychoir DB-63073 (Side 1-Sounds Of Christmas), Stereo). Another one from the boys.

5. Carol Of The Drum by St. Olaf Choir-Kenneth Jennings, Director from Sing For Joy (St. Olaf Records E-269, Stereo). Calling it Carol Of The Drum instead of The Little Drummer Boy means they didn't have to pay royalties to Harry Simeone. Same song though.

6. Cradle Song by Meiko Miyazawa, Piano, from Suzuki Piano School, Volumes 1 & 2 (Summy-Birchard Music/The Suzuki Method P 1-279, Stereo). As I said yesterday, still not certain this is a Christmas song.

7. The Frozen Logger by The Weavers from The Weavers On Tour (Vanguard VSD-6537, Electronically Re-Recorded To Simulate Stereo, 1969). A cold winter song for a hot day in July.

8. The Manger Scene by The Enfield Band Of The Salvation Army-Bandmaster James Williams from Kaleidoscope (Chandos (England) BBRD 1027, Stereo, 1984). Another of those Salvation Army records found at The Salvation Army store. "A Digital Recording" it says on the cover.

9. Ski Bum by The Sandals from the soundtrack LP The Last Of The Ski Bums (World Pacific WPS-21884, Stereo, 1969). Written by Jud Strunk, and it sure sounds like him singing though he's not credited. Everything else on the LP was instrumental, so I wouldn't be surprised. More Jud Strunk here, if you're interested.

10. Turkey Lurkey Time by Donna McKechnie, Margo Sappington, Baayork Lee from the original cast album Promises, Promises (United Artists UAS 9902, Stereo, 1968). You'd think this might be a Thanksgiving song, but they're singing about Christmas. You should probably look this one up on YouTube so you can see the crazy choreography that goes along with the music.

And that's it for today. Don't forget to keep coming back around, you wouldn't want to miss anything. Enjoy!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2022-Part 17

 Day 17. Nothing special about that. Sorry. Let's dive into the music.

1. Ave Maria by The Columbus Boychoir-Donald Hanson, Director from The Columbus Boychoir Sings At Spoleto's Festival Of Two Worlds (The Columbus Boychoir DB-63073 (Side 1-Sounds Of Christmas), Stereo). I hope I can get through all the tracks from this one before the end of the month.

2. Christmas Day by Joanne Mackell from Joanne Mackell (United Artists UA-LA878-H, Stereo, 1978). Exactly the sort of thing I love to find and highlight during Christmas in July!

3. Cradle Song by William Harrison from Easy Trumpet Solos (Music Minus One MMO 7025-29, Stereo). Not sure if this is actually a Christmas song or not, but I always think of Baby Jesus as the one in the cradle, so I'm throwing it in here.

4. Der Christbaum by Gloria Martin Houk With Autoharp And Dulcimer Accompaniment from Songs Of The Ohio Country-Songs Of The Ohio Erie Canal, Zoar, And Other Ohio Folk Songs (Mark MC-1035, Stereo). I think this album was released in association with some little tourist village in Ohio. Happy to have a Christmas song from it.

5. My Favorite Things by Joe & Eddie from Tear Down The Walls (G.N.P. Crescendo GNPS 2005, Stereo, 1964). I know, I know, you don't think it's a Christmas song. But I need more Christmas music and I'm gonna use it. So there...

6. O Yule, Full Of Gladness (O Jul Med In Glaede) by St. Olaf Choir-Kenneth Jennings, Director from Sing For Joy (St. Olaf Records E-269, Stereo). I didn't remember there being this many Christmas songs on the album, but here I am still sharing them out.

7. Shine, Arise In Your Splendor (Ps. 72) by University Of Miami Concert Choir Under The Direction Of Donald Oglesby, Ricky Hardy-Organist, Pianist, Soloist-Skip Sanders from Alleluia-Sing With New Songs (World Library Publications 7912 (Side 2: Christmas), Stereo, 1981). Same with this one, how many Christmas songs were on this LP?

8. Twelve Days Of Christmas by Ball State University Band, Roger McConnell-Director from Hot Pops Marching Band (Studio P/R 8" Flexidisc (Evatone Soundsheets) No Number, Stereo). Remember a few years ago when I shared out hundreds of tracks from old marching band demo records? Well, this is the same thing, only it was a flexi-disc. And it was in really bad shape, so I apologize for the sound. I didn't even realize you could make these things in stereo.

9. Whiter Than Snow by The Salvation Army New Jersey Youth Band-Alfred V. Swenarton Bandmaster from Scandinavian Souvenirs (Triumphonic SLP-9, Stereo). From a big stack of Salvation Army records I found a couple months ago at, where else, The Salvation Army thrift store. This one actually had a 7" bonus record in a special pocket inside the LP jacket. And it was still there!

10. Wintertime by Hagood Hardy from The Homecoming (Capitol ST-11468, Stereo, 1975). A vocal this time from this fellow. Dunno know anything about him.

No radio production records this time, I'm afraid. I think I'm to the bottom of that pile, but these things have a habit of showing up when I'm not looking for them. You were probably tired of hearing them anyway. Enjoy these, and come back tomorrow for more!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2015-Redux

 

Skipping ahead a couple of years now, this is the best-of collection from 2015, which I've improved upon just a little bit for 2022 by dropping in some newer and better rips. I was really proud of that cover and the bulb picture, and I think it still stands up. Having a good picture to use is half way to making a good cover. It's not all you need, but it's a big chunk. On the other hand, you probably don't care as much about the cover as you do about the music, and there's plenty of that here to enjoy. I'm sure you'll find something to enjoy as you peruse the playlist.

1. The Arthur Lyman Group-Greensleeves
2. Jimmie Davis-Going Home For Christmas
3. Blossom Dearie With Bob Dorough-Baby It's Cold Outside-Live
4. Chet Baker And The Carmel Strings-Christmas Song
5. Johnny Kemp-Christmas Time In Nassau
6. Bob Vernon-Go Tell It On The Mountain
7. The Marshall Family-Children, Go Where I Send Thee
8. Judy Holliday & Gerry Mulligan-It Must Be Christmas
9. The Clark Sisters-I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
10. Duane Eddy-Long Lonely Days Of Winter
11. Turk Murphy-Santa Claus Blues
12. The Anita Kerr Singers-Snowbound
13. 101 Strings-The Sound Of Christmas
14. The Bek Brothers-The Virgin Mary
15. The Airmen Of Note With Nancy Wilson-What Child Is This
16. Leslie Uggams-Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
17. Chuy Reyes And His Orchestra-Rumba De Fleur
18. Sue Brason-Chanukah (Is Here At Last)
19. The Louis Castellucci Military Band-Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
20. Marlene Dietrich-Der Trommelmann
21. Doris Day-Christmas Story
22. The King Sisters And The Children-Chree-See-Mus
23. Connie Francis-Ave Maria
24. Red Carter-Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
25. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Choir-O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
26. James A. Miller-Little Baby Jesus
27. Les Brown And His Band Of Renown-Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
28. Jimmy Joyce-Department Store Santa Claus
29. Tom Glazer With Jeffrey Alden-Auld Lang Syne Parody

MEGA

The Second Best From Christmas In July Past-Part 9

Almost to the end of these second-best compilations, but not just yet. What is this, number nine? Number nine, number nine, number nine. Yes, you get the idea. But hopefully you won't skip ahead to the next song when you hear each of these tracks, rescued from the obscurity of being second-best at the blog during Christmas in July. It's a good solid set with plenty of highlights to keep you interested. Here's the track listing if you want to take a gander.

1. Eartha Kitt-Santa Baby
2. Machito-Holiday Mambo
3. The Five Man Electrical Band-(Now I'm) Out In The Cold Again
4. Frederick Fennell-Brazilian Sleigh Bells
5. The Original Limelighters-Cold December (In Your Heart)
6. Hap & Martha Palmer-Pack Up The Sleigh
7. Gordon Bok-Wind And Snow
8. Guy Lombardo-Winter Wonderland
9. Enoch Light-Baby It's Cold Outside Cha Cha
10. Bill Justis-Mr. Cool
11. Hugo Winterhalter-Snowfall
12. The Goodies-Make A Daft Noise For Xmas
13. Mr. Jack Daniel's Original Silver Cornet Band-Jingle Bells
14. Little Marcy-I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
15. J. Lawrence Cook-White Christmas
16. George Melachrino-March Of The Toys
17. Leslie Uggams-Put A Little Love In Your Heart
18. Marni Nixon-Snowflakes
19. Fred Waring-One Little Candle
20. The Gooding Band Organ-Here Comes Santa Claus
21. Johnny Green-Toy Concertino
22. The Mid South Boys-Home For Christmas
23. Glenn Miller-Sun Valley Jump
24. The Handbell Choir Of St. James Methodist Church-Silent Night
25. The Murk Family-Love Came Down At Christmas
26. Jiminy Cricket-Kris Kringle
27. Nelson Riddle-The Christmas Song
28. Ogden Nash-I Remember Yule
29. The Merrill Staton Children's Voices-Still, Still, Still
30. The Luther-Annes-Up In The Pulpit
31. Idlers-O Little Town Of Bethlehem
32. Aileen Fisher-Christmas Mouse
33. Golden Ring-The Holly Bears A Berry
34. Jerry Colonna-Auld Lang Syne

And here's the download link. Enjoy!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2022-Part 16

Up to part 16 now, and still a little ways to go. The pile is growing short, as are the days, but I think we've got enough stuff to see us through to the end. I ripped the last two songs I still had to get from vinyl yesterday, so unless I stumble across more records, which I doubt is going to happen, everything is in the can now. But I'm still going to drag it out for you, you'll have to wait...

1. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) by David Seville And The Chipmunks (Alvin, Theodore & Simon) from Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks (Liberty LRP 3132, Mono, 1959). Yes, it's a bit of a ringer, but I found it on an LP, so I get to share it, them's the rules!

2. Christmas Song by Don Cossack Chorus-Serge Jaroff, Conductor from Religious Music Sung By Don Cossack Chorus (Columbia Masterworks 10" 33 RPM ML 2163, Mono, 1950). A bit scratchy, but still Christmas.

3. Cool Tango by Red Nichols And The Augmented Pennies from In Love With Red (Capitol T999, Mono, 1956). OK, not so much Christmas, but still cool.

4. January-By The Hearth by Morton Gould At The Piano And Conducting His Orchestra from Tchaikovsky's The Months (Columbia Masterworks ML 4487, Mono, 1951). I thought about calling this one a New Year's Track, but I decided to think of it as more of a winter tune. So here it is.

5. Sleigh Ride by The Sun Valley Trio from The Sun Valley Trio 7" 45 RPM EP (Diversion 7" 45 RPM DX-1-56, Mono, 1956). Bet you've never heard these guys anywhere else!

6. Winter Song by The Deansmen from 8/7 Option (Recorded Publications Z-46071/46072 Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, Mono, 1965). Another track from this one, with the cool cover I didn't scan. Sorry.

7. Alleluia, I Bring Good News by University Of Miami Concert Choir Under The Direction Of Donald Oglesby, Ricky Hardy-Organist, Pianist, Soloist-Skip Sanders from Alleluia-Sing With New Songs (World Library Publications 7912 (Side 2: Christmas), Stereo, 1981). Hard to sing along with new songs...

And now the radio production music portion of our broadcast day...

8. Gifts Of Love From Far And Near-Vocal from The Great Christmas And Special Events Production Library-Disc 7 (Airforce Broadcast Services Disc 7, Stereo, 1984).

9. January Clearance-Instrumental 2 from New TTS Production Music Tracks #3317 (William B. Tanner Company 3317, Stereo).

10. Pre Season Sale-Instrumental 2 from New TTS Production Music Tracks #3317 (William B. Tanner Company 3317, Stereo). Hmm, did I grab two tracks from the same record here? I think I did. I need an editor.

And that's it. There's gotta be something in there worth listening to a second or third time. Lemme know what you liked and maybe it'll show up in the inevitable best-of collection someday. Or maybe the second-best collection in a few years. Enjoy!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2022-Part 15

 Back to the Christmas In July 2022 records now, another batch of goodies for you.

1. Poor Little Jesus by The Weavers from The Weavers On Tour (Vanguard VSD-6537, Electronically Re-Recorded To Simulate Stereo, 1969). You can't get enough of The Weavers, can you?

2. In Dulci Jubilo by William Harrison from Easy Trumpet Solos (Music Minus One MMO 7025-29, Stereo). Add you own trumpet to this one, if you dare!

3. Christmas-Day Secrets by Meiko Miyazawa, Piano from Suzuki Piano School, Volumes 1 & 2 (Summy-Birchard Music/The Suzuki Method P 1-279, Stereo). You, too, could play the piano like this if you subscribe to our course.

4. Dancin' On Ice by The Movies from The Movies (Arista AL 4085, Stereo, 1976). I don't know how much it's about Christmas, but at least it mentions ice...

5. Go Tell It On The Mountain by Joe & Eddie from Tear Down The Walls (G.N.P. Crescendo GNPS 2005, Stereo, 1964). This one was a nice surprise when I picked it up and flipped it over. I look through a lot of records, and finding the needle in the haystack makes it a good day.

6. Cold On The Shoulder by Hagood Hardy from The Homecoming (Capitol ST-11468, Stereo, 1975). Dunno much about this one, but it's an instrumental and it's written by Gordon Lightfoot.

7. December-Christmas by Morton Gould At The Piano And Conducting His Orchestra from Tchaikovsky's The Months (Columbia Masterworks ML 4487, Mono, 1951). Yep, that's right, Christmas music from Tchaikovsky that isn't about a nutcracker or mice.

And now, some more Christmas production music for you.

8. Christmas Fun from Trendsetter Volume A Disc 6 (William B. Tanner Company TRS Vol A Disc 6, Stereo).

9. January Clearance-Instrumental 1 from New TTS Production Music Tracks #3317 (William B. Tanner Company 3317, Stereo). OK, maybe it's a stretch to call this Christmas music, but it might fit in at the end of a Christmas mix, right? Isn't that what happens at the end of Christmas? Everything goes on sale!

10. We're Gonna Shine At Christmas Time-Instrumental from The Great Christmas And Special Events Production Library-Disc 7 (Airforce Broadcast Services Disc 7, Stereo).

And that's a wrap! Download and enjoy!

MEGA

Christmas In July 2012-Redux

 

Time for another installment of my revamped Best Of Christmas In July collections, and this one is a little special. Not only did I update some of the tracks with newer rips, I also recolored the artwork a bit. If you travel back in time to when I first shared this collection in 2016, you'll see that I wasn't able to make much of the new text color match the original label text. My skills in Gimp must have improved since then because I was able to go in the there and get it right recently, and I'm much happier with how this turned out. It's still not my favorite cover, probably because I didn't change enough stuff from the original label, but it's good for what it is. And looking at the tracklist, it was a good year for music. There's some great stuff in there. Just a Christmas story by Vincent Price is worth the price of admission alone. So be sure you download this one, and enjoy!

1. Dennis Hinman-Christmas In July
2. The McGuire Sisters-Be A Santa
3. Hap Miller-Sun Valley Twist
4. Nina-Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?
5. Hal Blaine-Love-In (December)
6. Gaylord & Holiday-Italian Christmas Song
7. Elton Britt-The Skater's Yodel
8. Rosemary Clooney-Me And My Teddy Bear
9. Jerry Murad's Harmonicats-Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite
10. Monte Kelly-Snow-Snow
11. Shirley Temple-That's What I Want For Christmas
12. The Camarata Contemporary Chamber Orchestra-Traineau (The Sleigh Ride)
13. The Gentlemen's Agreement-The Twelve Days Of Christmas
14. Ogden Nash-A Word About Winter
15. The Chad Mitchell Trio-Super Skier
16. The Alley Singers...Phil Stern And Al Brennan-Jingle Bells
17. Jim Mandell-The Reason Everybody Likes Christmas
18. The Guitars, Inc.-Snowfall
19. Jane Morgan-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
20. The Dukes Of Dixieland And Clara Ward-Children Go Where I Send Thee
21. Neal Hefti-White Christmas
22. John Davidson-Snowbound
23. Ichiro Masuda Quintet-Frost Flowers
24. Hugo Winterhalter-Blue December
25. Joe Bushkin-Everyday Is Christmas
26. Merle Haggard-Blue Christmas
27. Leo Addeo-June In January
28. The American Breed-Powder
29. The Harry Simeone Chorale-The Toy Drum
30. Vincent Price-A Visit From St. Nicholas

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Oh, I just remembered my biggest mistake on this disc. For the first time, I duplicated a song from a previous best-of collection. That Merle Haggard track featured on the 2009 collection. Too late to change that, but I still feel bad about it.

The Second Best From Christmas In July Past-Part 8

Just for the record, this collection of second-best songs was originally only seven batches long. And it sat that way for months. But I kept coming across things I left out and wishing I had space for them. I finally started putting those things into a new folder, and before I knew it I had over 100 songs pulled out. So those 100 (or so) songs became the last three volumes of the series. But then I had to come up with cover images, and there were only seven panels on the wall of the church that I photographed. So I decided to do these detail views of the slightly creepy painted faces. I know why they do stuff like that, and I'm sure it's part of the mosaic tradition, but it creeps me out to look at them. And so I figured I'd use them and hope it doesn't creep you out so much that you don't download the collection. If you skip it, you'll be missing all the great songs listed below, and you wouldn't want that, would you? Enjoy!

1. Connie Landers-I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter
2. The USAF Strings-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3. Sarah Vaughan-Moonlight In Vermont
4. The Studio Dance Ork-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
5. The Invitations-Out In The Cold Again
6. The Irish Rovers-Cold Winter Shadows
7. The Ringing Bells-Coventry Carol
8. Xavier Cugat-Danse Arabe
9. Aileen Fisher-Do Rabbits Have Christmas?
10. Symphony In Blue-Christmas Song
11. Cynthia Gooding And Don Drake-Christmas Is Coming
12. The Wesleyan Ringers-Carol Of The Bells
13. Burl Ives-Christmas Cradle Hymn
14. Hector Olivera-Bobsled
15. LeRoy Holmes-June In January
16. Household Regina Music Box-Jingle Bells
17. Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery-Baby, It's Cold Outside
18. Urbie Green-Ave Maria
19. The John Payne Band-Snow
20. Charlie Weaver-Xmas In Mt. Idy
21. Bob Hannon-Dance And Be Merry
22. Hal Mooney-March Of The Toys
23. Bobby Hackett & Ronnie David-We Need A Little Christmas
24. Larry Seidel-God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
25. Jack Shaindlin-Skiers
26. Winifred Smith-The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy
27. Werner Muller-Sleigh Ride
28. USAF Academy Cadet Chorale-Sing We Now Of Christmas
29. John Gart-The Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
30. Sy Mann-Winter Wonderland
31. Hollywood Sound Stage Orchestra-The Christmas Trees
32. Joe Bushkin-White Christmas
33. 101 Strings-New Year's Day

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