Twelve Drummers Drumming

Hello!  And welcome to the 12th day of Christmas!  Or Epiphany Eve as it's sometimes called.  Or Little Christmas Eve. Women's Christmas Eve?  Or January 5th, your choice.  Whatever you call it, it's cold outside!  And on the last day of Christmas, I bring you a little Eddie Lawrence, AKA The Old Philosopher.  Once you've heard one of his routines, you've pretty much heard them all.  Just in case you miss a little something in the first one here, there's another one on the flip side for you.  I think I actually shared the A-side of this single with you one time during Christmas in July, so it must have appeared on LP at some point, but this time it's from a smaller, faster record with two dissimilar sides.  Someday I should put together a whole collection of similar songs, but they might wind up all being records by Eddie...  Anyhow, here's Eddie Lawrence-That Holiday Spirit b/w The Merry Old Philosopher (Coral 7" 45 RPM 9-61915, Mono, 1957).

Zippyshare

As it happens, I recently traveled through the town of Tarpon Springs, a Greek community with perhaps the largest Epiphany celebration in this country.  Their tradition is to toss a cross into the local waterway, and boatloads of chosen male children jump in after it.  Whoever comes up with it is given a special blessing and gets all sorts of special chores for the next year.  This statue is out front of the sponsoring church and I happened to catch a picture as we drove by.  As it happens, Epiphany tends to fall on one of the coldest days of the year, and this year is no different.  But I don't think they've ever canceled it or moved it, or even changed the time to later in the afternoon.  I can also remember times in the past where pranksters have salted the water the night before with handfuls of duplicate crosses, leading to no end of confusion.  There have also been fights, tussles and outright unpleasantness over the cross, so it's the same as everything else.

(I just looked it up, and I guess the jumping in the water bit is tomorrow, not today.  I've never actually been, maybe I should jump in the car and head up there...)

Eleven Pipers Piping

Nothing too exciting tonight, I'm afraid.  A 1979 single from Vic Damone, something that I shared the album version of back during Christmas In July.  But I dug up my copy of the single, and I think the A side is a studio version of the track, while the B side seems to be the same thing as found on that LP.  I think it's a nice little song, and hopefully you'll enjoy it.  This is Vic Damone, Arranged & Conducted By Norm Geller With The Sal Carson Orchestra-Christmas In San Francisco b/w Christmas In San Francisco-Live Performance (Rebecca 7" 45 RPM 715, Stereo, 1979).

Zippyshare

Ten Lords A'Leaping

Trying to get this up before the new X Files starts in a few minutes...  I wanted to call this an early single from Jimmie Davis, but checking out his discography, I see stuff going back into the Twenties, so 1953 is hardly early.  I was previously only aware of his two 1960's vintage Christmas albums, and a single Christmas track from the '80s, so this came as quite the surprise when I found it.  For those who don't recognize the name, Jimmie Davis was a country singer who later turned to more religious fare, in the meantime serving two non-consecutive terms as governor of Louisiana.  Not a bad CV!  I don't believe that either of these tracks turned up in his later work, though I did spot a 1957 Christmas single that appears to have been re-recorded on one of his two holiday LPs.  And the songs here are pretty good, I was quite happy about what I found when the needle hit the groove.  This is Jimmie Davis-Christmas Choo Choo b/w I Love To Ride With Santa Claus (Decca 7" 45 RPM 9-28912, Mono, 1953).  You'll notice that the Anita Kerr Singers are credited on side 1.  I guess they are the ones making the train noises... If you want more train songs for Christmas, you can visit my earlier post this year, or maybe head on over to Lee's place for one of his shares earlier this season.

Zippyshare

Nine Ladies Dancing

Tonight's share is brought to you courtesy of Mr. Rosemary Clooney, Jose Ferrer!  As near as I can tell, this was Jose's second Christmas record.  The first he shared with Rosie, but this one seems to be all his.  Well, not all.  The flipside is ambiguously credited to "The Ferrers", which sort of implies maybe he and the Mrs. and some kiddies sing on it, but all I can hear are some generic kids.  So I'm thinking that was just a marketing gimmick.  Anyhow, this is a nice bit of Christmas music from one of my favorite labels, though it's more spoken than sung.  Ferrer was an actor, not a singer, that's why he chose a recitation here, and a famous one at that.  Nice picture sleeve, too!  Please enjoy Jose Ferrer-Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus b/w The Ferrers-Conducted By Darol Rice-Santa's Marching Song (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 47-7823, Mono, 1960).

Zippyshare

Looks like his son, Miguel, passed away in 2017. He was a regular on NCIS: Los Angeles. I wonder if he was one of The Ferrers on the flip side?

Eight Maids A'Milking

For your New Year enjoyment, here's a Christmas character you've probably never heard of before.  Sure, you've heard of Rudolph, Frosty, Uncle Mistletoe and about a million others, but Jake?  Nope.  I'm thinking maybe he's the somewhat sleazy half-brother of Suzy Snowflake, but I don't know that for a fact.  And bonus points for the Chipmunk-esque vocals here!  Welcome to 2018!  This is Bobby Star-Jake The Flake b/w Vel-Mars-Jingle Bells (Continental Arts 7" 45 RPM 575, Mono, 1964).

Zippyshare

Seven Swans A'Swimming

One that's been sitting here on my desk for literally years, waiting it's turn to be ripped and shared, is this 45 by Mike Douglas.  I shared the song on an album with you years ago, but the flipside appears to be an extended version with the background voices and some extra piano bits that's a nice addition to your collection.  (And if you don't remember that album, you might want to check the comments, just sayin'.) The label on this 45 is Image, but the LP label is Word.  That made me think this might be a re-recording until I found an article in Billboard mentioning that Image had sold the single to Word, so there you are.  Oh, and the name Lee Pockriss pops up again here, as both songwriter and arranger/conductor.  Small world.  This is Mike Douglas-Happy Birthday, Jesus b/w Mike Douglas Chorale-Happy Birthday, Jesus (Image Records, A Division Of AudioFidelity Enterprises 7" 45 RPM IM-3032, Stereo, 1979).

Zippyshare

Six Geese A'Laying

Another day after Christmas, another Christmas 45.  And this time, it's a typical '50s kiddie vocal, but one that you haven't heard a million times.  No idea who Paul O'Keefe was, or who he grew up to be, but the songwriter on both sides is Bob Hilliard, who I believe is a lyricist of some note. (Co-writer on the flip side is Lee Pockriss, also a writer of some note.) Everest was a minor player in the record business, though they did put out some good stuff over the years.  I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, and I'm running a little late this morning, but it's worth a download and a listen.  I say that about most all of my shares, don't I?  Well, I guess it's true.  Please download and enjoy Paul O'Keefe-(Santa Claus) What Would You Like For Christmas b/w A Baby In A Basket (Everest 7" 45 RPM 9-19322 Promotion Copy Not For Sale, Mono, 1959).

Zippyshare

Five Golden Rings

Some days, even I'm surprised at what I already own but don't know about.  While cleaning out a box I had to move today while getting a new A/C installed, I found a small handful of singles I'd bought at Fantasyland Records in Atlanta a few years back.  The record you see here was in that stack, and I guess I wasn't intrigued enough at the time to play it.  Well, I played it tonight, and it is great!  It's a short cocktail party hosted by Bing Crosby and his special guests are The Lennon Sisters.  All of the music played seems to be from their records, but the spoken word bits in between are great, and Bing reads a short story that I've not heard before.  They also tell us all about how great Country Beautiful magazine is, but it must not have been that great because as far as I can tell, it's no longer with us.  I dated this to 1962 based on the RCA pressing data, and that feels pretty close.  I couldn't find hide not hair of this record on the internet, which is just the sort of thing I love to share with you around here!  I'm sure this came in a sleeve way back when, and I'd love to find that, too, but in the meantime, you can listen to Christmas Party-Holiday Songs By Bing Crosby And The Lennon Sisters For Country Beautiful (RCA Victor Custom Record Dept. 7" 33 RPM NO8Q-4527/4528, Mono, 1962).  FYI, Bing sings White Christmas and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen here, while The Lennon Sisters sing Winter Wonderland.  There's lots of talking over the music, so I didn't split anything out, it's just Side 1 and Side 2.  Can anyone ID that instrumental version of White Christmas that opens the record?  It's typical late 50's-early 60's sparking Beautiful Music stuff.

Zippyshare

Four Calling Birds

Another 45 for you, a pretty obscure one at that.  No hits on the artist, no hits on the producer/songwriter (Otis Fuller), or at least no hits other than this record.  The catalog number on the label doesn't even match anything else in the Dig discography.  Maybe it's a bootleg, but I can't imagine why anyone would fake something like this.  Is Jewel related to Guy?  If so, I couldn't find any info online.  This is another one I'm hoping someone can come along and fill me in on.  Enjoy Jewel Lombardo-Christmas Melody b/w Christmas Lullaby (Dig ZY-95006 7" 45 RPM, Mono).  Everything in the discography appears to have been released between 1955 and 1957, so this is somewhere in that period most likely.

Zippyshare

Three French Hens

It's been a great year for singles around here, and tonight is certainly no exception to that.  I've got a huge pile of 45's that I'm always adding to, and I'm always saying I need to record more of it.  The stuff I've shared this year has made exactly no dent in the pile, but it's better than nothing.  This 45 tonight is something I didn't even know I had, but I found it tonight while trying to clean out a box of stuff  I bought a while back.  Turns out the A-side of this single is a track that wasn't on Booker T. & The M.G.'s great Christmas LP (though the B-side is from that album), and it features Isaac Hayes on piano, so I'm pretty surprised it's as obscure as it is.  Do yourself a favor and download Booker T. & The M.G.'s-Winter Snow b/w Silver Bells (Stax 7" 45 RPM 45-236, Mono, 1967). Plenty of organ here, but no chimes, sorry.

Zippyshare

Two Turtle Doves

Happy Boxing Day, or, of you prefer, the second day of Christmas!  Wasn't sure if I'd be able to get anything up for you today, as I was busy boxing up records all day to make some room for the new AC unit.  But I've done all I can do since I ran out of boxes.  Hopefully I can finish up tomorrow and get the install scheduled.  Hoping to get this taken care of before the year ends, but I'm running out of time.  Anyhow, I've got this little seven inch record for you tonight, featuring four songs.  No picture sleeve, I'm afraid, so there's a lot of info missing, but everyone loves a little souvenir from one of the famous TV preachers.  This time it's Oral Roberts.  And the share is Bob Daniels & Abundant Life Choir-Season's Greetings From Oral Roberts (Abundant Life Recordings 7" 33 RPM No Number, Mono, 1961).

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
2. Silent Night
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. O Holy Night

Zippyshare

No White Christmas

Here's another single for you, something a little out of the ordinary, a little newer than the usual share around here, but something I think you'll enjoy nonetheless.  I saw this single shared out at another blog, and realized that I had seen it somewhere recently.  Turned out it was in the stack of random stuff I had bought at Banana's recently, but hadn't listened to it yet.  It just happens to be a very early synth record, one of the very first Christmas records I've ever heard that sounds like this.  Just download it, you'll see.  We didn't get a White Christmas today here in Central Florida, but you get one from me.  This is Camille-White Christmas b/w Snowbelle (EMI 7" 45 RPM EMI 5014, Produced For Camille By Karl Jenkins, Mike Ratledge And Mike Thorne, Stereo, 1979).  If anybody knows anything about this single, please share, it's a bit of a mystery.

Zippyshare

The Voice Of Christmas

One of my favorite finds this year was a V-disc from World War II featuring a track by Bing Crosby.  I see these V-discs every once in a while, but this is the first time I've ever seen a Christmas one. I'm sure there are plenty of them out there, and people have collected them up and put together collections and done all sorts of things with them, but this is the first one I've ever done anything with, and I'm sharing it with you guys for Christmas.  I'm writing this up ahead of time, but shortly after Midnight Christmas morning, this is going to pop up at the blog as my gift to you.  I had a little trouble getting the EQ right on this one, so I had to get a little help from my friends Lee (at Music You Possibly Won't) and Buster (over at Big 10-Inch Record).  I don't remember who's work I used, so I'm going to credit them both and thank them very much for their help.  These records were new technology at the time and the sound isn't what you might hope for, but it's performances you're unlikely to find elsewhere. Bing only sings one song here, the other two are just by 'Chorus And Organ', not a very popular group, I'm afraid.  But it's Christmas.  So Merry Christmas to you!  This is V-Disc No. 48 (V-Disc VP 140/141, Mono).

1. Bing Crosby, Chorus And Orchestra-Silent Night
2. Chorus And Organ-Joy To The World
3. Chorus And Organ-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Zippyshare

A Christmas Riddle

Perhaps to make up a bit for that last post which featured no Nelson Riddle Christmas music whatsoever, here's a brand new rip of his 1970 Christmas LP for Avon.  I happened to stumble across a nice clean copy of this yesterday, complete with some inserts that I don't think I had the last time I ripped and shared this in 2006.  There's a custom inner sleeve and two different letters from Avon President Fred G. Fusee for your enjoyment.  Oh, and some music, the only solo Christmas music recorded by Nelson Riddle, as far as I know.  Well, he did The Christmas Song on a tribute to Nat King Cole, but this is a full album.  Perhaps a few years after his heyday, but it's still well worth a listen!  This is The Nelson Riddle Orchestra And Chorus-Avon Wishes You A Happy Holiday and A Joyous New Year (Avon AV 10170, Stereo, 1970). I think there's more Avon in the archives here, if you're interested.

1. Happy Holiday
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. O Holy Night
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Carol Of The Bells
7. Ave Maria
8. Here We Come A-Caroling
9. What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
11. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
12. Do You Hear What I Hear
13. Go Tell It On The Mountain

Zippyshare

And if anyone is looking for the traditional Christmas Eve visit from The Sugarplum Fairy, look here.

Not Christmas, Part 2

Here's another entry into the new series of Christmas records that don't have any Christmas content.  This time it's from the fine folks at the National Tuberculosis Association and their annual Christmas Seals campaign.  You get two 15 minute radio shows featuring Patti Page and Nelson Riddle (separately, not together) telling you all about the joys of using Christmas Seals, but not using any Christmas music to do so.  To say I was disappointed by that is an understatement.  But there's still some good stuff here, if only for the spoken word bits.  Just remember, if you're going to pay big bucks for part of this series on eBay, you may not get what you're after.  This is For Christmas Seals 1958-The Patti Page Show/The Nelson Riddle Show (National Tuberculosis Association J8MR-8705/8706 (Style B), Mono, 1958).

Zippyshare

Not Christmas, Part 1

Just to mix things up, here's a great share that really has nothing to do with Christmas, but how can you go wrong with that great cover shot?  This is a record featuring the sound of the Cadillac & Lake City Locomotive Number Two as it makes it's run on a winter day, sometime in the very early Seventies.  Already at that point, people realized that the era of the steam locomotive was fast coming to an end, and recordings like this began to pop up in an effort to hold onto some of that time.  Such locomotives are even harder to find these days, exclusively limited to museums and passenger excursions.  We have one that occasionally runs not to far from me, but they don't run the steam train except on special occasions once or twice a year.  I know this isn't the Christmas music you've come to expect this time of year, but for some of you this will be an interesting listen.  Please enjoy A Winter Run On The Cadillac & Lake City Railway (Marker Productions (Detroit, Michigan) MP-1001, Stereo, 1971).  The label lists tracks, but the breaks on the vinyl didn't come close to matching, so I just left it as side 1 and side 2.

Zippyshare

Back In July

I've been meaning to remind you about all the Christmas In July posts for a while now, but forgetting is all I seem to do about it.  So while I'm thinking about it, do yourself a favor, go back to the first day in July and work your way through almost two months of daily posts of Christmas music from non-Christmas albums.  It goes on for a long time, just keep clicking 'Newer Posts' at the bottom to get to the next page.  I'm amazed that all those posts still have active downloads this time of year, they usually go away after a couple of months never to return but they've all survived to Christmas in December this year! You could also start at the end and work your way backwards, I suppose.  You'll still get all the same stuff, but you'll start with Chanukah In August and be a little confused for the first couple of days.  Whichever direction you go, you're going to wind up with over 600 songs from a world of Holiday music you never knew existed!

From The Friendly Skies

Another of the records I ripped earlier this year and then didn't think about until earlier tonight, this is something a little out of left field.  Jimmie McDonald appears to have been (is?) a preacher who released a series of albums in the 60's, including another Christmas record I've never seen (anyone, anyone?).  None of this is mentioned on this album, though, making me wonder who it was aimed at.  Was he trying to start a second career in more secular stuff?  Escape from a past, maybe a recording contract gone south?  I don't know, and I couldn't find any answers in a cursory Google search.  As per usual, anyone who knows more, please share in the comments!  The liner notes refer to McDonald as "the black Mario Lanza", and I can see the comparison.  His is a very operatic voice, and he lets it soar sometimes.  The conductor on this is Captain Bill Barron, pilot for Delta by day, orchestra director by night.  No sign of him on the internets, either.  The name of the record label, JAM, is probably just Jimmie's initials, and the catalog number is 1001, so this is very likely the first (only?) release on a vanity label.  I didn't do much repair work to the cover, since it was pretty beat up.  Sorry about the WDBF (formerly of Delray Beach, Florida.  DBF, get it?) stamp right in the middle of his forehead, I bet someone thought they were being really funny when they did that.  I did remove two more stamps from the back cover, though, so there's that.  Still interested?  Please be my guest, this is Jimmie McDonald And His Singers With Bill Barron Conducting The Orchestra-Spending Christmas With You (Jam Records JM 1001, Stereo, early to mid-70's I'm guessing, based on the sideburns).  Two of the songs are originals by Barron, so you've probably never heard them before.  That's something, I suppose.

1. O Holy Night
2. The First Noel
3. Sweet Baby Jesus
4. While Shepherds Watched
5. Joy, Joy, Sing Hallelujah
6. Silent Night
7. Away In A Manger
8. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
9. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
10. Go Tell It On The Mountain

Zippyshare

Nothing New From Hugo

I just noticed that I had ripped a couple of singles from Hugo Winterhalter at some point this year, so I figured I'd go ahead and scan them for sharing here.  I've shared these with you before, but it was way back in 2012 (though I think the cha cha tracks date back to 2007 when I ripped them from a single that was pressed off-center!), so I thought new rips might be in order, especially after I scored new copies of the singles.  Nothing here you haven't heard, but hopefully it sounds a little better this time around.  Don't forget there are a whole passel of Hugo tracks still available in a post from last year, though you might want to sub these new rips in there in place of the old ones. Please enjoy Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra And Chorus-Blue Christmas b/w White Christmas (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 447-0875, Mono, 1950) and Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra-The Christmas Song Cha Cha b/w Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Cha Cha (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 47-7397, Mono, 1958).

Zippyshare

Not Jiminy

A share from the request lines, one that I hadn't thought of for a long time, so it got my attention.  When I first posted this back in 2012, I didn't know who Abbe Lane was, but now that I do, I'm always on the lookout for her stuff. She was one of the wives of Xavier Cugat, performing vocals on a few of his 1950's albums, and she released a couple solo albums on RCA that are worth your time to track down.  Unfortunately, her tracks is one of several that aren't exactly Christmas songs, but enjoyable nonetheless.  There are lots of other names on here, from Danny & Marlo Thomas to Ed Ames & The Norman Luboff Choir.  (Speaking of Luboff, I just reupped an old share that I re-released last year that you might enjoy as a companion to this one.)  So if you don't have it already, please download and enjoy Cricket On The Hearth (RCA Victor LSO-1140, Stereo, 1967).

1. Danny Thomas-The First Christmas
2. Ed Ames-Don't Give Your Love Away
3. Abbe Lane-Fish 'N' Chips
4. Maury Laws Orchestra-A Waltz For Christmas
5. Danny Thomas-Through My Eyes
6. Marlo Thomas-That Was Yesterday
7. Danny Thomas & The Norman Luboff Choir-Cricket On The Hearth
8. Marlo Thomas-Smiles Go With Tears
9. Maury Laws Orchestra-Parade Of The Toys
10. Ed Ames-Through My Eyes
11. The Norman Luboff Choir-The First Christmas


Zippyshare