Christmas In July 2026-Part 4

Good morning, and a very happy Independence Day to all my American visitors! Today marks 250 years since our Declaration of Independence from England was signed. It's a really big deal for us no matter what sort of troubles we may be facing currently. I remember the 200th anniversary as being a bit more festive than this one, but I was a kid so who knows. I can remember all the fire hydrants being painted red, white and blue, as well as getting to tour the Freedom Train when it came to town. (I recently found the ticket for the visit to the Freedom Train and I saw it in December of 1976, so the year was almost over before it came to town, but I still got to see it.) For the occasion, I was excited to find a Bicentennial-related record with a Christmas song to share with you today.

1. Bowmar Orchestral Library-Suite From Amahl And The Night Visitors: Introduction; March Of The Three Kings; Dance Of The Shepherds (Stories In Ballet And Opera)

We start out with a track from one of those demo records. This one is kind of interesting though, as it's a suite of carols from a musical that was a really popular Christmas TV broadcast back in the early days of television but is seldom heard today.

2. Ahmad Jamal Trio-Moonlight In Vermont (But Not For Me-Ahmad Jamal Trio At The Pershing, 1958)

Yes, I know, you don't think this is a Christmas song, but I need to share something with you and this is it. Some versions are more Christmassy, I'll admit that.

3. Madison Junior And Senior Choir, David Alan Ayers-Director-Jingle Bells Calypso (The Joy Of Christmas And Greats From America Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow)

Another school record where one full side is Christmas music. We'll hear from this one a lot over the next few weeks.

4. The Airmen Of Note-Chief Warrant Officer Bob Bunton, Director-Greensleeves (Here Come The Airmen Of Note, 1968)

I was pretty excited to see this double album in a crate a few months ago, even more so when I saw a track I could share with you here. Bonus!

5. The 100-Voice Collegians of Word Of Life Bible Institute-Soloist: Craig Blair-Christmastime (Let Freedom Ring-A Bicentennial Musical By Harry Bollback, 1976)

This is the track from the Bicentennial-themed record displayed and mentioned up top. I'll note that it's arranged by Christine Wyrtzen, someone from whom we've shared a Christmas record in the past. (We've actually shared this track with you before, back in 2011, which I didn't realize it when I found a copy of this record again recently. Hard to remember what all I've found and shared after doing this for more than 20 years now.)

6. The Art Van Damme Quintet-The Things We Did Last Summer (They're Playing Our Song, 1958)

This is the first of two versions of this track by the same artist, each taken from a different double album. I almost didn't pick up both because I figured they had to be the same recording. I was glad I grabbed them both because they were unique (and the other one is in stereo!)

7. The Arlingtones, Jay Giallombardo-Director-Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers (A Chorus For All Seasons)

Another barbershop track from these guys. Love that winter scene on the cover, them skiing in their best barbershop singing attire.

8. The Northern Illinois University Wind Ensemble-Stephen Squires, Conductor-A Yuletide Showcase (Alfred Concert Band Music (1988), 1988)

You might not recognize it because it has an actual band name attached to it, but this is from another one of those demo records where they want to sell you their arrangements of the songs.

9. Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation-What Month Was Jesus Born In (Savor The Flavors For Chorale Ensemble 1977-1978, 1977)

Another demo record, but with a small twist. This one was arranged by Anita Kerr and featured on one of her Christmas albums.

10. Jenson Publications-Silver Bells (Jenson Publications Presents...Warner Bros. Finest For Concert Band, 1983)

Yes, it's another demo recording and there's nothing special about this one. Sorry. 

MEGA

Christmas In July 2026-Part 3

Dunno know about you, but I got the day off of work today since July 4th falls on a Saturday. I know some people who didn't get any holiday this week because of that, but our company moved the day off the Friday. So while I sit at home doing nothing, you can listen to some out-of-season Christmas music. Or if you prefer, just download it and listen to it when the season finally rolls around, it's up to you. So what have I got for you today? Let's dive in and see!

1. Antonio Curbello, Tenor & Cesar Morales, Organist-Ave Maria (Marist Sings AKA Cantos Marianos)

This record probably excites me a lot more than it's going to excite you. The singer here, also known as Tony Curbello used to preform at The Columbia, a fancy Cuban restaurant in Ybor City near Tampa. He released a few records advertising that fact on the cover and I'd buy the records from the cheap bins because I knew about the Columbia restaurant and enjoyed having them. Never listened to them because it wasn't my type of music, but that's the sort of thing you do when you're me. I'd never seen this one before was was excited when it popped up and had some music I could share with you here. Imagine eating your ropa vieja and listening to this guy serenade you.

2. 1969 Clear Fork Concert Choir, Eileen Craven-Director-Snow, Snow, Beautiful Snow (1969 Clear Fork Concert Choir Presents "Good News", 1969)

This record was in a company sleeve with no information other than the name of the pressing outfit on it. Sometimes I take the time to look at those and occasionally I'm rewarded with something worth sharing. I think this was a pretty good find, and it was the only appropriate selection on the record. Enjoy!

3. Claude Thornhill And His Orchestra-Snowfall (Dance To The Sound Of Claude Thornhill And His Orchestra, 1959)

Shared this one with you a bunch in the past, but I can't walk past a Claude Thornhill record without looking for Snowfall. I've got another version of it in the can already for sharing later this month when we need another quick cool-me-down.

4. Bob Bradburn-Jolly Old St. Nicholas (Happy Holiday With CHQT Radio's Bob Bradburn And The Jasper Place High School Stage Band)

A record with one side by a high school band and the other side by a Canadian DJ. For whatever reason, the DJ side is all Christmas music while the band side is not. So that puts it into the Christmas in July pile. You'll hear more from this one as the month goes on. I think you've actually heard one of the songs on the LP here before, actually. If you want to skip ahead, go here.

5. The Concordia College Choir-Victor Hildner, Director-Masters In This Hall (The Concordia College Choir, 1956)

A record from a popular college choir that doesn't show up at Discogs for whatever reason. I should enter in all the stuff I find that's not listed there, but I'm too busy recording new music. Maybe someday. Anyhow, one whole side of this record was Christmas music, so you're going to see plenty of tracks from it over the course of the month.

6. The Choir Of Leeds Parish Church-Directed By Simon Lindley-Michael Harris, Organ-How Far Is It To Bethlehem? (Favourite Hymns And Christmas Carols, 1984)

I found this record in the stacks earlier in the year and was going to record it for Christmas sharing, then I realized only one side was Christmas music and that meant I was able to put it in the July pile. Like the previous LP, you'll be hearing bits from this one all month long.

7. Eydie Gormé-June In January (Love Is A Season, 1959)

A rerun LP, but one I always grab when I see it. This time it has a different cover from what I usually see, though you don't know that because I only started sharing pictures of the records last year. And this copy is mono, so sorry about that. But it's good stuff, and we'll eventually get to the cut that may be one of the best Christmas in July tracks I've ever found!

8. Hope Publishing Company, Somerset Press, Agape-Christmas Gloria (The Very Best Sacred Choral Music, 1979)

Another track from this demo recording designed to sell you on this companies arrangements. I think we're going to see a lot more from this one.

9. The Arlingtones, Jay Giallombardo-Director, Quartet: L. Weaver, J. McCormick, F. Tullar, J. Casaletto-Jingle Bells (A Chorus For All Seasons)

This is the LP shown at the top of the post. Whenever I see an album that talks about the seasons, I pick it up and check for Christmas music. Usually about 25% of the records focuses on winter and the holidays (like Eydie Gorme above), but in this case it featured an entire side of Christmas tunes, all done in barbershop harmony. We'll return to this one a bunch, I promise.

10. Jenson Publications-All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth (Jenson Publications Presents...Warner Bros. Finest For Concert Band, 1983)

Bringing up the rear is another demo record to sell sheet music. But at least it gets us to 10 tracks today, a number I think I can maintain the whole season, which isn't too shabby. Enjoy! 

MEGA

Christmas In July 2026-Part 2

Time for day two of the annual Christmas in July celebration here at the blog. I'm ramping things up ever so slightly and giving you one more song than I did yesterday. Two of them are still Thanksgiving songs though. One of those is from an album I featured yesterday and one of them is a duplicate song from what I gave you yesterday. I try not to duplicate things in these shares if I can avoid it but that gets harder and harder as the month goes on if I don't plan it out very carefully. Let's take a look at what's in the pile today!

1. The Ralph Carmichael Singers And Orchestra-Colorado Ski Song (Songs Of Colorado)

I think this is the only skiing song I have in the stack this month unless something else turns up, but it's a good one and I made it part of a brief theme today. We'll see what other song ties in with this one shortly. Skiing may not be the same as Christmas, but it's a winter sport and I'm going to lump it in there.

2. Bowmar Orchestral Library-Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy (Stories In Ballet And Opera)

A song from The Nutcracker as arranged by some company that wanted you to buy their sheet music.

3. Hope Publishing Company, Somerset Press, Agape-Night Of Wonder (The Very Best Sacred Choral Music, 1979)

More music from someone selling you sheet music.

4. Unknown Artists-The Big Clown Balloons (From The Score Of Meredith Willson's Here's Love 10" 33 RPM)

The first Thanksgiving song of the day from a mystery LP I just found a few days ago. More about this one later in the month, I promise. Still trying to research it.

5. Jim Weatherly-(Apples Won't Grow In) Colorado Snow (The People Some People Choose To Love, 1976)

The second (and last) song that fits the theme today, songs about Colorado, if two songs count as a theme. I could point you towards an entire Colorado Christmas album if that would help...

6. Unknown Artist-Over The River And Through The Woods (Mockingbird Flight, 1975)

This one is a classic Thanksgiving song that is nevertheless rarely recorded. It's from the LP shown at the top of the post, actually a collection of six records aimed for the classroom. It's also the last Thanksgiving song of the season unless a new record comes into the collection. Everything else I've recorded is more Christmas or winter themed.

7. Gooding Amusement's German Organ-I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus (Christmas With The Gooding Band Organ, 1984)

This is the first song I've shared from this album this year, but I've shared it out in past seasons. I was excited to find a new copy this year and revisit it.

8. Charter Wind Ensemble Under The Direction Of Caesar Giovannini And Bill Holcombe-American Christmas Folk Suite (Charter Sound Series Volume 5-Concert Band, 1973)

Yes, more music from people trying to sell you sheet music. Seems like a lot of these tracks but it's way, way less than last year. Trust me.

9. The JM Choral Group-Novices And Postulates Of The Religious Of Jesus And Mary-Mother Marie Laetitia, R.J.M., Director-The Little Drummer Boy (Patterns In Song, 1960)

Everybody loves the singing nuns, right? Not as exciting as flying nuns, but still good. 

MEGA

Christmas In July 2026-Part 1

Hello! Welcome to the 2026 edition of Christmas in July! It's the time of year when I share out Christmas music that comes from albums you don't normally think of as Christmas records. Well, today is a bit different as I'm throwing a few Thanksgiving songs into the pile for you. I figure the Christmas season usually starts with Thanksgiving, so why not start out Christmas in July the same way? (Fair warning, there will also be New Year's songs at the end, so don't be surprised.) If you've joined us before for the month-long celebration, it's likely to be business as usual around here, I don't think I'm doing anything different this year than last year. But if this is your first time around these parts, just grab hold of something and try to keep up. You're going to get a batch of holiday music every day, much of which you've never heard before. Well, that's not entirely true. Some of the tracks will be repeats of things I've shared in the past because I happened to find new copies of the records sometime in the past twelve months. When I find a new copy (and it's cheap enough), I'll buy it and record the song again. Sometimes it comes out better the second time, sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes I'm not still sharing the old versions and there's always someone who wants those old recordings. I don't generally share out old posts again, so this may be your only chance to get those songs. Anyhow, just stay tuned and come back each and every day of the month, you'll figure it out quickly enough. All the songs here were recorded from my vinyl here within the past month, none of it is stolen from anywhere else. The pictures of the albums are my copies and as you'll see, they're frequently in dodgy shape. I don't take a lot of time for the images in July, unlike December when I scan front, back and labels, then Photoshop them to remove defects as best I can. These are quick photos that tend to show warts and all. But they're a nice little guide to give you something to look at while you listen. I've gone on long enough, let's get into the songs. 

 1. Al Gregory Conducts The 1967-68 Meadowland Junior High School Band-Trombone Toboggan (Sounds Of The Lancers, 1968)

We start out with a typical record for around these parts, a local high school recording of a song that sort of made me think of winter. So in my mind that counts as a Christmas song. You'll get used to that as the month goes on.

2. Poldi Zeitlin, Pianist-The New Doll (Tchaikovsky 24 Pieces For The Piano-Masterwork Series For The Young Musician, 1952)

Up next is another Christmas-adjacent song, it's about a doll and it was written by noted Christmas composer Tchaikovsky. This record had a lot of tracks on it that I felt appropriate, so you'll be seeing this name again and again this season.

3. The Merrill Stanton Voices-The Big Clown Balloons (Meredith Willson's Here's Love, 1963)

This is the track from the LP shown up at the top of the post. I've shared tracks out from it many times, frequently in stereo, so don't get too excited about this mono copy. It's the first of the Thanksgiving tracks I'm giving you today. Doesn't look like a Thanksgiving track, does it? Well, the play it's from is a version of the movie Miracle On 34th Street, a Christmas movie if there ever was one. And those balloons they're singing about are in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. So there you go!

4. Eddie Layton At The Hammond Organ-Button Up Your Overcoat (Skatin' With Layton, 1960)

Another song that's been featured here over and over again, but a good one. I couldn't pass up a nice stereo copy of the LP.

5. Lynn Roberts, Carmen Baron & Juda Campbell-The Turkey Wobble (Holiday Songs For All Occasions, 1978)

Another Thanksgiving track, and one I think has been shared here before. You should enjoy it anyway.

6. Stuttgart Festival Band-William Harrison, Conductor-Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Have Band Will Travel-Music Minus One Trombone)

A new Thanksgiving song from an LP designed to help new trombone players learn to play. Odd place to find a Thanksgiving (or Christmas) song, but they turn up all over the place, you just never know.

7. Unknown Artist-Five Fat Turkeys (Mockingbird Flight, 1975)

A new-to-the-blog Thanksgiving song from a six-record set I found at the Salvation Army store last month. I'm serious when I say you never know what you're going to find. It takes me forever to go through the crates sometimes because I want to pick up every unfamiliar record and scan through the contents to see if there's something I can use. And I always get excited when I find something good. People look at me funny sometimes.

8. Hope Publishing Company, Somerset Press, Agape-I Saw Three Ships (The Very Best Sacred Choral Music, 1979)

Last but not least is a Christmas song from a publishers demo recording. I share a lot of these lately, since it kind of helps to pad out the volume of what I can put out there. It's hard to find new stuff sometimes, and if I can find a few of these records I feel a little better about the quantity of stuff I'm sharing. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're not. Give it a listen and see what you think! 

MEGA 

Until We Meet Again

I normally leave the last post of the season up until Christmas in July begins, but I wanted to do something slightly different this year and leave you with some pictures of what's coming. Stay tuned and you'll get a chance to see what all these records have in common. The records above seem to be chosen at random, and the ones below appear to be Christmas records, but nothing here is what it seems. Stay tuned for Christmas in July!

And So It Goes

I hate to say it, but I've got to wrap this season up. It's been a long, long trip, but a good one. I'm getting more and more tired of trying to keep up, and the coffers are just about empty anyway, so I'm going to end it with one more installment of one of my favorite series of the season, The Salvation Army 'Army of Stars'. Sometime before Christmas I entered a bid at an eBay auction for what I believe is the very last entry in the original series of LPs, and I won. The record was delivered to my mailbox while we were celebrating Christmas in Santa Fe, so I didn't get it until after our return. A few weeks later I was able to rip it, then a few weeks after that I cut it into tracks and put the artwork together. I've held onto it since then because I knew I wanted to end the season with it. The guest star on this edition is Vincent Price, someone who previously appeared on the 1963 edition of the record, albeit extremely briefly. (If you want to hear more Vincent Price, check out his narration of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas on one of my Christmas in July best-of collections, it's awesome!) He's got a lot more bits on this record, I'm happy to say, but that's about all this edition has going for it. After a few listens and a bit of research, I discovered that much of the music here is recycled from an earlier Ralph Carmichael project, something we shared with you here back in 2023. If you don't believe me, download both records and compare. The Lennon Sisters rate a credit right there on the rear label, but you have to hunt bit before you'll find Doc Severinsen's name on the sleeve. Turns out he's mentioned in the thank you section down at the bottom in the fine print, but his name shows up in the credits on the label in reasonable sized letters. His trumpet in Sleigh Ride is unmistakable though, so I knew he was there from the get-go and that's what led me to that earlier appearance. Dunno what possessed Ralph Carmichael to forego the making of new music for this record, but I suspect there was a lot going on with The Salvation Army over the course of the last few records in the set. You could sort of sense that corners were being cut as often as possible (they skipped 1984 entirely) and I'm not surprised the series ended after this installment. (I've seen a few records and CDs after this one that mention Army Of Stars, but they seem to be callbacks to this series, not actual annual installments. If I'm wrong, then please show me the documentation, I'd love to try and find more records and extend the series, but I really think this is the end.) Anyhow, this is The Family At Christmas (The Salvation Army Army Of Stars No Number, Stereo, 1986).

1. General Eva Burrows-Christmas Greetings
2. The Ralph Carmichael Chorus-We'll Dress This House
3. Vincent Price-Christmas
4. The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra-Inspirational World Of Music
5. Vincent Price-Army
6. Lennon Sisters With The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra-What Child Is This
7. Vincent Price And Sunshine And Snowflakes Childrens Choir-Children; Over In Bethlehem
8. Vincent Price And The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra-Angels; Angels We Have Heard On High
9. Vincent Price And Sunshine And Snowflakes Childrens Choir-Tinsel; Where's Christmas
10. The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra And Chorus-Wonderful World Of Christmas Medley
11. The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra And Chorus-Winter Medley: White Christmas; Winter Wonderland; Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas; Let It Snow, Let It Snow; The Christmas Song; Jingle Bells
12. Sunshine And Snowflakes Childrens Choir-Happy Birthday Baby Jesus
13. The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra And Chorus-Soloist: Doc Severinsen-Sleigh Ride
14. Vincent Price And The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra-Bethlehem; Away In A Manger
15. Vincent Price And The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra And Chorus-Youth; Some Children See Him
16. Vincent Price-Oddities
17. The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra And Chorus-Little Drummer Boy
18. General Eva Burrows With The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra-The Family At Christmas

I thought this record was edited pretty tightly, so I've prepared a version of the record with the two sides presented as single tracks. I know some people like to listen to the show as it might have been played on the air while others like to be able to listen to individual songs. You can download it either way from the following links.

MEGA (Cut)

MEGA (Uncut)

In case you missed it earlier in the season, I shared out all the other entries in the Army of Stars series that I had in my collection, the first that I know of to appear on a vinyl LP in 1963, up through the one that came out right before this current share in 1985. There were quite a few that came out as radio station transcription discs before this, and my friend Buster was nice enough to share one of those giant 16" diameter record sets over at his blog that coincided with my posting here. Here's the whole list of what we shared, along with links if you missed all these postings.

1949 (At Buster's place)

1963

1964

1965 (this is the only year I'm missing, anyone want to make a contribution?)

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976 and 1976 (there appears to be a radio version of this collection, but I don't have it)

1977 and 1977 (they released a home version and a radio version of the collection this year)

1978

1979

1980

1981 and 1981 (believe it or not, they released two different collections this year)

1982

1983

1984 (there doesn't seem to be a 1984 release, but I'd loved to be proven wrong if you can find one)

1985

1986 (whoops, got carried away there, 1986 is the post you're reading here)

There, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has supported me this long Christmas season. I had no intention of dragging it out this long, but it's been a lot of fun. I knew that if I left all these recent shares incomplete in the folder without sharing them, they might never see the light of day. I'm only leaving about a dozen or so records in the folders untouched, most of those are more recent things that have been reissued on CD or are available for download somewhere. I just recorded them because I wanted to listen to them. I may never finish chopping them up because I've already started recording albums for sharing at Christmas this coming season. We'll see what happens. Christmas in July is not all that far away now so I hope to see you guys again real soon. Thanks again for your support!

Veo Returns

If the cover on this share looks familiar, it's because I shared a record with the exact same stock cover yesterday. Funny how that happens sometimes. If any of it sounds familiar, it's because I shared a record by the music director of this church with you many years ago, a much more professional studio production, though still very much a religious record. Going back and re-reading what I wrote about that record, I see that I mentioned already having this album. That was almost seven years ago, so I've had this record in the stacks for a long time without actually getting to it. That's typical. Sometimes I bring stuff home from the store and record it right away, other times it sits in a pile for a very long time before I pay it any attention. That's just the way it goes. The tracks here are as they were presented on the vinyl, sort of long blocks of different groups doing a few songs each. I didn't try to cut it into actual individual songs, I hope you don't mind too much. I was having a little trouble finding time to get to this one and it was just easier that way. Not sure if I hear any of the magic that made that other album by Veo Gray so interesting, but give it a listen and see what you think. This is Christmas...Around The World (Century 25800, Mono, 1966). There was a program for a live performance of this material in the sleeve of the album, I scanned that for you as well. Love to find little bits of history like that to make the record feel more personal.

1. Cherub Choir-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Mrs. Joe B, Crace, Piano-O Come Let Us Sing Unto The Lord; The Donkey; Away In A Manger; Jesus Was Born In Bethlehem
2. Sunshine Choir-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Mrs. Lloyd Williamson, Piano-Shepherds Went To Bethlehem; Where Was Jesus Born That Night; Lovely Christmas Tree; Little Baby Jesus
3. Carol Choir-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Renee Millard, Piano-Ronald Doyle, Flute-As Lately We Watched; March Of The 3 Kings
4. Jr High Choir-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Renee Millard, Piano-Silent Night; Calypso Noel; Christmas Thanksgiving
5. Chapel Belles-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-What Child Is This; Carol Of The Bells
6. Chapel Choir-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Mrs. L.L. Batts, Piano-Ring Silver Bells; Carol Of The Shepherds; Rise Up Shepherds And Foller; Sing Gloria
7. Church Choir-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Mrs. Batts, Organ-Mrs. Veo Gray, Piano-Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella; Good Christian Men, Rejoice; Do You Hear What I Hear?
8. Multiple Choirs-First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida-Veo Gray, Director-Mrs. Batts & Mrs. Gray, Piano-O Holy Night

MEGA

Ed Town

Time to get back into the junior high school musicals with this release from a school near Niagara Falls in New York state. Not sure how important that is in the scheme of things, but I like to know where a record came from. I'm sure the reason I picked this one up is the stock photo on the front cover, something we've seen more than once, though I doubt I can point to too many examples. Hard to search for shares based on a cover image. Don't have too much to say about the music here, other than I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you like this sort of thing. This is Edward Town Junior High School Music Department-Prelude To Christmas (Century 32773, Stereo).

1. Go Where I Send Thee
2. Pablo, The Reindeer
3. Jingle Bells
4. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
5. Fum, Fum, Fum
6. Fruit Cake
7. O Holy Night
8. Do You Hear What I Hear?
9. Silver Bells
10. Let There Be Peace On Earth
11. Wintry Scene
12. Prelude To Christmas
13. Beguine For Flutes
14. Christmas Song
15. Three Songs For Christmas
16. The Toy Shop

MEGA

Third Time's A Charm

Following up on those last two shares today, this is yet another release of what I believe is the same material (plus a few tracks of similar origin, one of which doesn't have anything to do with Christmas), though with no artist attribution whatsoever. You can probably figure out who's who on here based on those last two records and the known contributions from Enoch Light, as well as connections to his many labels. But I'm too lazy for all of that, I'm just going to throw it up here and let you worry about all figuring out the details. This is Unknown Artists-Sounds Of Christmas (AKA The Sound Of Christmas) (Brigade) (Brigade P-1301-M (Reissue of material on the Waldorf label), Mono). It might help to know that the Brigade label reissued quite a few items that originally came out of the Waldorf Music Hall/Grand Award labels. I'm sure it had something to do with out buddy Enoch Light, but I don't know what the connection was. Note also that is says Stereo on the cover, but these tracks are certainly mono.

1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
2. The Christmas Song
3. White Christmas
4. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
5. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
6. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
7. Frosty The Snowman
8. Sleigh Ride
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
10. Jingle Bells
11. Winter Wonderland
12. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
13. The Place Where I Worship
14. When Christmas Comes To Our House
15. Adeste Fidelis
16. O Christmas Tree
17. Christmas Has Come Again
18. All Around The Christmas Tree

MEGA

Songs To Sing

Someone pointed out that I had shared out that last record before, only in a different guise, and they were correct. I had even gone ahead and re-recorded that version for sharing this year and it had slipped my mind. So here, without much ado, is Songs To Sing At Christmas Time (AKA Christmas Comes To Our House) (Grand Award G.A. 33-348, Mono). You'd think I could have come up with a better cover to scan than this one, but I'm afraid this is all I could find in the archives. Not to say I don't have a better one somewhere, but who knows where it is. For the record, I shared this out back in 2006 for the first time.

1. Enoch Light Orchestra & Chorus-Sleigh Ride
2. Artie Malvin-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
3. Artie Malvin-The Night Before Christmas
4. Artie Malvin-Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
5. Lois Winter & Loren Becker-Winter Wonderland
6. Enoch Light Orchestra & Chorus-When Christmas Comes To Our House
7. Mike Stewart-Frosty, The Snowman
8. Enoch Light Orchestra & Chorus-Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. Enoch Light Orchestra & Chorus-White Christmas
10. Mike Stewart-Jolly Old St. Nicholas
11. Enoch Light Orchestra & Chorus-Christmas Has Come Again
12. Enoch Light Orchestra & Chorus-Jingle Bells

MEGA

Easter Enoch

I've never had the opportunity to post a Christmas record on Easter before. It sort of bookends the two seasons, we started with the birth of Jesus, and we're still going on the day he came back from the dead. Well, we actually started on Thanksgiving, but that's too many holidays to try to bring together. My offering today is a record that I promised I'd share with you in a post of a 10" version of this record back on December 10th. Sorry I've not gotten to it until now, it's just not been at the forefront of my attention for some reason. It's an early recording that Enoch Light had a big hand in before he started his audiophile Command label. The music here really sounds like Christmas in the 1950's to me. The songs just sound like I imagine that time period to sound like. It's tough to explain, but give it a listen and maybe you'll understand what I mean. I don't know if it's the instrumentation, the recording techniques, the song selection, the vocal technique or a combination of all of the above and more, but it really makes me imagine I'm there in that time. These songs and these versions have really been through the wringer over the years, with many straight reissues coming out as well as many anonymous reissues where the names of these folks are deemed unimportant. Other than Enoch Light, these performers disappeared from our consciousness over the years, and that's a shame. There are lots of talented people at work here, and they made some good music. If you get a chance today, please download and give a listen to Christmas Holiday (Waldorf Music Hall MHK 33-1231, Mono).

1. Artie Malvin-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-White Christmas
3. Artie Malvin-T'was The Night Before Christmas
4. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-When Christmas Comes To Our House
5. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-Adeste Fideles
6. Mike Stewart-Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
7. Artie Malvin-Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
8. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
9. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-Sleigh Ride
10. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-Christmas Has Come Again
11. Mike Stewart-Frosty, The Snow Man
12. Enoch Light Orchestra And Chorus-Jingle Bells

MEGA