Saturday, December 30, 2006

Fall Arrives In Florida


Here you go, the day before New Year's Eve, and Fall finally gets here. At least it gets here for this one poor leaf on a sea grape. Can you tell I haven't been out shooting for a while? I get so excited when I get out behind the lens. I'm hoping to be able to do it again tomorrow. I may even get up before sunrise and try to get some really great pictures of the sun coming up. We'll have to wait and see how ambitious I am at 5 in the morning.

An Aquatic Elf?


See what I miss when I don't leave the house for a while? This mermaid Santa was down on Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach atop one of the stores. I suppose this is the sort of thing I give up when I stay home for a month and post Christmas music to the blog. Not that it's a bad thing, sharing out all that music, but you should know the sort of things I have to give up in exchange for it.

Bird Of The Day


Anyone who's familiar with the blog knows that I can't pass a bird without taking a picture. Which sometimes makes it difficult to get anywhere in a hurry. Today I got some great shots of this vulture circling overhead. Luckily, I don't think he was looking for me in particular...

The Weathervanes Of Manatee County


Maybe it was the heat, or the salt air, or the smell of Coppertone, but I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the weathervanes around Bradenton Beach. I thought I could find more than this, but all I spotted were these four. And two of them are dolphins. But here they are. I noticed that only one of them actually had the four points of the compass correctly oriented for some reason. Laziness, I suppose.


Back To The Beach


I went out to take some pictures today for what seems like the first time in ages. You'll no doubt be happy to know that the beach is still there. The sand is still white, the sea is still green, and the sky is still blue. And I still can't keep the horizon straight...

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Oodles Of Doodles CCXI

Here are a couple of doodles that I scanned way back in August, but never shared with you. I'm going to try to do a better job of getting these doodles to you for a while. It keeps me off the streets and out of trouble, I suppose. These little bits of cover art hail from The South Seacombers-South Sea Moods (RCA Victor LPM-1698, 1958). Doesn't the girl above remind you of Tropic-Ana, the mascot for Tropicana from many years ago? Maybe that's just me.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Waltz Time

I found another LP cover done by Demilio, though it's not signed anywhere I can see. The style is unmistakable, though. I don't know what it is about the people with the big oval heads that I like, but they are irresistible. And no, the oval heads don't really remind me of Stewie Griffin. This detail is from the cover of Mantovani And His Orchestra-Waltz Time (London LL 1094)

Almost forgot, here are links to the other record covers I've found by this same illustrator:
Edmundo Ros And His Orchestra-Ros Mambos
Robert Farnon And His Orchestra-Two Cigarettes In The Dark
Stanley Black And His Orchestra-Some Enchanted Evening

Monday, December 25, 2006

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 25

Here you go, the very last track on my Christmas compilation, 25 Days Of Christmas. I hope you've enjoyed this collection of off-beat tracks as much as I have. It hardly seems like I've shared out 25 different tracks. (Maybe that's because I shared out two tracks twice...) Sometime in the next week or so, I'll try to get some art made up for it, so don't forget to check back. For tonight's track, I decided to bring you something from my namesake, Tennessee Ernie, who oddly enough is not credited with his last name on this early release. You'll enjoy this track, I'm sure, especially if you're like me and spent most of today with family gathered around a number of different dining room tables. This track reminds me of both Grandpa Jones from Hee Haw, and a Christmas track from Bing Crosby called Christmas Dinner, Country Style, but this precedes both of them by quite a few years. I guess it's all about the food as much as it is the presents. Oh, and of course the fellowship. And the love. And all the other stuff that comes together this one time of year. So here's my last track for you, Tennessee Ernie-Christmas Dinner (Capitol 7" 45 RPM single F1830, 1951). I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Previous tracks:

Harry Kari-Oh! Oh! Don't Ever Go
Dorothy Collins-Mister Santa
Connie Canuso-Somebody Painted Rudolph's Nose A Chocolate Brown
Sandy Offenheim-If Snowflakes Fell In Flavours
Up With People-Jingle Bell Beat
The Ames Brothers-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Jimmy Boyd-Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney
Lou Monte-Italian Jingle Bells
Les Paul-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Harmonicats-Winter Wonderland
Steve Allen and Ricky Vera-Can I Wait Up For Santa Claus?
Ricardo Montalban & Randy Newman-La Campanilla
Ralph Carmichael-The New Hallelujah
Lawrence Welk With The Lennon Sisters-Santa From Santa Fe
Billy May-March Of The Toys
The Davis Sisters-The Christmas Boogie
Anna Russell-Please Santa Claus
Kathy Dunn-Santaville
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel
The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Merry Christmas To You

Here's the last full record I wanted to share with you this year. I shared out a single track from it last Christmas, but this year you get the whole thing. Trust me, you'll love it. Here's Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer And Other Christmas Favorites (Wonderland WLP 148). I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!

The Week With Christmas!

For those of you who have been waiting for it, here's the picture from this week's calendar page. Not very Christmas-like, is it? This iguana makes his home on Gasparilla Island, near Boca Grande. Oh, and the picture below? That's the very first page of next year's calendar, which my Grandmother will get as a Christmas present later this morning. So don't let the cat out of the bag. I guess this one isn't a very Christmassy picture either. This is the St. Pete Pier.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Christmas Sharity Recap 2006-Week Five

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm almost done posting for this season. I think I have one record to post tomorrow, and I assure you, it's nothing special. But to help you get caught up, here's the complete list of what I've shared out this year. I get nervous when I stop and look at this list. It's been a lot of work, but it's also been a lot of fun. I don't know how I'm going to do this next year...

Week The Fifth:

Thurlow Spurr And The Spurrlows-Christmas; Time For Song (rerun) (131)
Christmas Surprises From The Ralph Hunter Choir (rerun) (145)
Thurlow Spurr And The Spurrlows-Go Tell It On The Mountain (47)
Domenico Savino-Music For Christmas Eve (78)
Domenico Savino-Hi-Fi Christmas Party (mono-74) (stereo-102)
Yogi Yorgesson-Yingle Bells (rerun) (145)
John Klein-Let's Ring The Bells All Around The Christmas Tree (61)
John Klein-Noel Bells (56)
Robert Way-New England Sleigh Ride (rerun) (91)
Ruth Welcome-Christmas In Zitherland (rerun) (110)
John Klein-The Bells Of Christmas (42)
Herbie Koch-Christmas Bells Of Stone Mountain (55)
Raymond LeFevre-Merry Christmas (rerun) (151)
Henri Rene-Home For Christmas (109)
Paul Mauriat-The Christmas Album (rerun-20) (Remaster-87)
Jimmy Roselli-The Christmas Album (113)
David Rose-Merry Christmas To You (73)
Lionel Barrymore-A Christmas Carol (49)
Gary Mann-Blues For Baby Jesus (47)
Loretta Young-The Littlest Angel/Gregory Peck-Lullaby Of Christmas (34)
Sy Mann-Everybody's Christmas Favorites (Rerun-mono) (stereo-31)
Gisele MacKenzie-Joyeux Noel (rerun) (63)
Gisele MacKenzie-Christmas With Gisele (45)
The McGuire Sisters-What Child Is This (15)
The McGuire Sisters-Ave Maria (12)
The McGuire Sisters-Greetings From The McGuire Sisters (39)
'Twas The Night Before Christmas (9)

Week The Fourth:

The Best Of Christmas In July 2006 (rerun) (139)
John Davidson-My Christmas Favorites (rerun) (64)
The Mexicali Brass-Winter Wonderland (100)
Christmas With The Mexicali Brass (113)
Tijuana Voices Sing Merry Christmas! (128)
A King Family Christmas (rerun) (78)
Christmas With The King Family (rerun) (69)
Marilyn King-My Favorite Things (rerun) (24)
The Rainbow Sound Of Bianco-Joy To The World (Stereo-54) (rerun-Mono-15)
A Visit From Saint Nicholas (67)
Lorne Greene-Must Be Santa (rerun) (150)
The Ray Charles Singers-Christmas At Home (92)
Felix Slatkin-Season's Greetings (102)
Lynn Anderson-The Christmas Album (rerun) (123)
Merry Christmas From Buck Owens And Susan Raye (rerun) (99)
Mitch Miller-Christmas Songs And Carols (102)
Merry Christmas With The KE-Notes (66)
The Jimmy Joyce Singers With Orchestra by Billy May-A Christmas To Remember (rerun) (136)
The Pied Pipers Sing Favorite Christmas Carols (rerun) (124)
The Moishe Oysher Chanukah Party (93)
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Carols (69)
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Songs-Volume 2 (58)
The Caroleers-Twas The Night Before Christmas (rerun) (96)
The Caroleer Singers And Orchestra-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (rerun) (86)
Christmas With The Don Les Harmonicats (77)
Nelson Riddle-Avon Wishes You A Happy Holiday And A Joyous New Year (112)
Nelson Riddle-The Christmas Song (57)
Hugo Winterhalter-Christmas Magic (rerun) (109)
Hugo Winterhalter-Sleigh Ride (rerun) (52)
Hugo Winterhalter-Blue Christmas b/w White Christmas (52)

Week The Third:

Muzak Christmas (rerun) (100)
Bob Coe-White Christmas/Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (rerun) (??)
Richard Keys Biggs-Christmas Bells (51)
The Sisters Of Divine Providence-Christmas Mosaic (76)
The Happy Crickets-Christmas With The Happy Crickets (rerun) (100)
Woody The Woodchuck-Christmas Sing Song (rerun) (25)
The Surfers-Christmas From Hawaii (rerun) (175)
Emilien Allard-Noels au Carillon de l'Oratoire Saint-Joseph (86)
Skitch Henderson-Winter Holiday (88)
The Ray Charles Singers-Winter Wonderland (rerun) (138)
The Ray Charles Singers-Here We Come A-Caroling (rerun) (145)
George Feyer-Echoes Of Christmas (rerun) (101)
Arthur Lynds Bigelow-Ring! Christmas Bells (64)
Christmas In Cleveland (50)
Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas (rerun) (85)
Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (rerun) (83)
The Three Suns-Uncle Mistletoe/Sleigh Ride (107)
Leo Addeo-Organ And Chimes Play Christmas Carols (51)
The John McCarthy Chorale-Merry Christmas Sing Along (38)
The Town Pipers-Christmas Greetings (rerun) (79)
Big Tiny Little-Christmas With Big Tiny Little (rerun) (147)
George Wright-Merry Christmas (rerun-stereo-54) (mono-23)
George Wright-Christmas Time (50)
The Sandpipers-Frosty The Snowman (rerun) (96)
101 Strings-Christmas Moods (rerun) (100)
The Lighthouse Singers-Christmas Carols Volume II (65)
Lew White-Christmas Time (38)
Billy Crystal-The Christmas Song (rerun) (122)
Merry Christmas From The Command Family Of Recording Stars (16)
Ashley Miller-Christmas Carols (65)
Songs To Sing At Christmas Time (112)

Week The Second:

Merry Christmas From... (rerun) (27)
Dennis Day-Christmas Is For The Family (rerun) (103)
Holiday People-Holiday Disco (101)
Max Fagen-Christmas Disco Party (145)
Warner Bros Stars-We Wish You A Merry Christmas (73)
Ephrem Zimbalist, Jr.-Adeste Fidelis (55)
Walter Schuman-The Voices Of Christmas (rerun) (198)
Mitch Miller-Be A Santa (84)
Cyril Stapleton-Children's Christmas Album (rerun) (71)
Ethel Smith-Christmas Music (10)
Godfrey Malcolm & Fredrico-Chimes Of Christmas (68)
Menudo-Feliz Navidad (rerun) (54)
Jose Melis-Christmas With Melis (122)
Charo-(Mamcita) Donde Esta Santa Claus (rerun) (240)
Bruce Woodman-Christmas Carols With A Latin Lilt (74)
60 French Girls & The Christmas Bell Ringers-Joyeaux Noel (rerun) (123)
Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart-Hark The Herald Angels Swing (rerun) (114)
William Clauson-Canciones De Navidad (52)
Natal No Brasil (65)
The Snap-On Male Chorus-Carols Of Christmas (rerun) (63)
A Kimball Christmas (rerun) (48)
Christmas Classics 1963 (83)
Frank Chacksfield-Music For A Merry Christmas (110)
The Three Suns-Christmas Party (rerun) (119)
The Three Suns-Your Christmas Favorites (rerun) (45)
The Three Suns-The Sounds Of Christmas (rerun) (75)
The Three Suns-Raggin' The Scales (72)
Lester Lanin-Christmas Dance Party (127)
A Christmas Sampler (rerun) (56)
Dick Leibert-Sing And Rejoice (rerun) (35)
Dick Leibert-The Sound Of Christmas (rerun) (25)
Dick Leibert-The Happy Hits Of Christmas (rerun) (77)
Dick Leibert-A Merry Wurlitzer Christmas (81)
Buddy Cole-The Organ Plays At Christmas (30)
Buddy Cole At The Pipe Organ-Pipes And Chimes For Christmas (52)

Week The First:

Ray Conrad-The Cotton Pickin' Lift Tower (39)
Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind (23)
Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (Rerun) (39)
The Merriest Of Christmas Pops (168)
Fred Waring-Twas The Night Before Christmas (Rerun) (216)
Fred Waring-Nutcracker Suite (78)
Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (Rerun) (35)
David Wayne Narrates The Little Star Of Bethlehem (42)
Eddie Layton-Organ Music For Christmas (75)
Mike Douglas-My Kind Of Christmas (Rerun) (131)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye (131)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Serenade (104)
Sammy Kaye-Year 'Round Favorites (52)
The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (Rerun, Remastered) (244)
Avon Campaign 21 (Rerun) (58)
Danny Robinson-Deck The Halls (71)
Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (Rerun) (54)
A Family Christmas Album (72)
Slim Boyd-Christmas Country Style (135)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (Rerun) (204)

There you have it. What a list! I hope you found something good in there. Don't forget, the numbers in parantheses are the number of times a track has been downloaded as of tonight. Well, approximately. I've lost count on some of them for various reasons.

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 24

Christmas Eve, and that means this is the next-to-the-last song for my compilation, 25 Days Of Christmas. I'm back to the singles again, this time on Capitol, and an artist you've heard here before, but may not realize it. Turns out that tonight's artist and the one featured here are one in the same. Hard to believe but true. Check it out. Go ahead, I'll wait. Now do you believe me? OK then, please download Harry Kari And His Six Saki Sippers-Oh! Oh! Don't Ever Go (Capitol 7" 45 rpm F2618, 1953). A little bit of ethnic humor here, so I hope you're not offended. It's just Christmas as seen through the eyes of someone who's new to the game. I think you'll enjoy it.

Previous tracks:
Dorothy Collins-Mister Santa
Connie Canuso-Somebody Painted Rudolph's Nose A Chocolate Brown
Sandy Offenheim-If Snowflakes Fell In Flavours
Up With People-Jingle Bell Beat
The Ames Brothers-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Jimmy Boyd-Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney
Lou Monte-Italian Jingle Bells
Les Paul-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Harmonicats-Winter Wonderland
Steve Allen and Ricky Vera-Can I Wait Up For Santa Claus?
Ricardo Montalban & Randy Newman-La Campanilla
Ralph Carmichael-The New Hallelujah
Lawrence Welk With The Lennon Sisters-Santa From Santa Fe
Billy May-March Of The Toys
The Davis Sisters-The Christmas Boogie
Anna Russell-Please Santa Claus
Kathy Dunn-Santaville
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel
The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Twas The Night Before Christmas

This record was requested last year when I posted the doodle from the flip side. The copy I had then was in terrible shape, so I wasn't able to record it until I finally found a nicer copy this year. This recording is designed to be played only once a year, on Christmas Eve, to help put excited little children to bed. And that's why it's here. Download and play it for your little ones, and maybe they'll be a little easier to get to bed tonight. I know I'll sleep better tonight, knowing I'm finally done with all my Christmas work. Here's your link-'Twas The Night Before Christmas (RCA Camden CAS-1101, 1968). And to all a good night!

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 23

Here is another track from this massive compilation of Christmas tunes called One Hundred Favorite Songs Of Christmas (MCA Special Markets SR 8726 DXS 504). (The other track I shared from this compilation is here.) Whenever I need an interesting tune, I know I can find something interesting in here. Shame that the quality of the tracks is pretty poor due to their cramming 100 tracks on 8 sides... The track I want to share with you today is a version of what was my favorite Christmas song for many years. I had no idea that anyone other than Lenny Dee had ever recorded it, but someone at FaLaLaLaLa showed me the error of my ways. This wasn't the version they mentioned, which means there is yet another version out there somewhere. The life of a completist is never easy. Here's a great track for my 25 Days Of Christmas collection, Dorothy Collins-Mister Santa. Dig that great xylophone action! (I recorded this track five different ways, and processed it half a dozen more ways, but I still think the recorded sound is much thinner than what I was hearing when I played the vinyl. It's in fake stereo, which I thought might be the problem, but recording it in stereo or mono didn't seem to make any difference. Anybody have an idea what may be going wrong here? It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't sound right, either...) One more track later today and I'll be all caught up on my compilation!

Previous tracks:

Connie Canuso-Somebody Painted Rudolph's Nose A Chocolate Brown
Sandy Offenheim-If Snowflakes Fell In Flavours
Up With People-Jingle Bell Beat
The Ames Brothers-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Jimmy Boyd-Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney
Lou Monte-Italian Jingle Bells
Les Paul-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Harmonicats-Winter Wonderland
Steve Allen and Ricky Vera-Can I Wait Up For Santa Claus?
Ricardo Montalban & Randy Newman-La Campanilla
Ralph Carmichael-The New Hallelujah
Lawrence Welk With The Lennon Sisters-Santa From Santa Fe
Billy May-March Of The Toys
The Davis Sisters-The Christmas Boogie
Anna Russell-Please Santa Claus
Kathy Dunn-Santaville
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel
The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes

Three McGuire Sisters

About five years ago, I started to make a Christmas CD. I had boxes and boxes of Christmas records to choose from, and grabbed tracks from many of them. That was the year I finally realized that there was much better stuff in all those dusty old records than on the shiny new CDs in the other room. One of the things I grabbed to audition was a box set of five records called One Hundred Favorite Songs Of Christmas on MCA. I grabbed a few songs from this set before I stumbled across a song called The Cactus Christmas Tree. It was the exact sort of song I was looking for that year, something that wasn't the usual version of the same old carol, yet had the unmistakable feel of a Christmas song. Less than halfway through the track though, the record skipped, and skipped badly. I spent two hours trying to get the track to record, but never did succeed. A few minutes on the internet told me the track was originally from The McGuire Sisters album you see above. Simple enough, I'd start looking for that record. Five years later, I still hadn't found the record. Well, at least not a copy I could afford. It turned out to be quite rare and valuable. Whenever one popped up on eBay, I'd put in a bid and loose at the last second after a flurry of bids that usually drove the price up into the $50 range. Then finally, just a few weeks ago, a member of FaLaLaLaLa put up a copy for auction. I put in my usual bid, then sat there at the end of the auction, waiting to see who'd come along this time and take the record from my grasp. Perhaps it was a minor Christmas miracle, but no one else bid. I won the auction, and three days later, I had the record in my hands. As soon as I got it on the turntable, I knew this was the record I wanted to share with my friends. So please be my guest and download this great record that has remained virtually unheard since it's release in 1958. It's a great mix of secular and religious music, with a little help from Neal Hefti and Dick Jacobs. I almost didn't share this one with you folks, since it turns out a CD released this year has some, but not all, of the tracks. (That CD also has a version of Frosty The Snowman from sources unknown, so you need to go buy it!) But I decided to go ahead and get this out there anyway, I just saved it for the day before Christmas, so only those folks who are really looking for it will stumble across it. Consider this my present to you. Here is The McGuire Sisters-Greeting From The McGuire Sisters (Coral CRL 57225, 1958). Enjoy!

Update: This one is out on CD now, although it's a little hard to tell. There's a collection on the Jasmine label that includes all the songs from this LP, plus all the songs from the Christmas With Arthur Godfrey LP. Not sure how the McGuire Sisters got stuck on there, but who am I to question how such things work. You can order this from Amazon via this link. Wait, maybe I'm mistaken. Try this disc instead.

Two McGuire Sisters

Here's another great track from the one and only McGuire Sisters. (I'm building to something here, can you tell?) Don't waste a moment, go download The McGuire Sisters-Ave Maria from Christmas Through The Years (MCA Special Markets For First Financial Marketing Group DL 734596) in glorious simulated stereo. This compilation of artists originally on the Decca, Coral and Kapp labels borrows it's cover from an original Christmas LP from Wayne King. I did a terrible job of scanning the cover, I'm afraid. The text is much easier to read on the original, as the sky is much darker than it appears above. So keep in mind if you're flipping through stacks of dusty vinyl looking for this one that it doesn't really look like this...

One McGuire Sister

Here's a great track from blog favorite The McGuire Sisters. This track originally hails from a compilation of holiday tracks from Frank Sinatra's Reprise label. I'd love to share this whole LP, but chunks of it have shown up on CD over the years. Maybe someday they'll release the whole thing... I did want to share all three different covers I've found for it though. So have a look at those, if you'd like. But first, download this track, The McGuire Sisters-What Child Is This from Frank Sinatra And His Friends Want You To Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Reprise R9-50,001, 1963). Note on the cover above that this record cost $5.98 when it was new. That's the stereo price. I've got a mono copy somewhere, and it's a dollar less...

At Long Last

I've been getting requests for this LP since I shared out the doodle on the back of it way back in July of 2005. Problem is, it's not in very good shape. I had to work at it to get a non-skipping rip. But one night I finally got it, so now I can share it with you. If there are any skips in there now, I don't know about them, and you're just going to have to live with them. I do wish this was a stereo version, but beggars can't be choosers. Oh, just for the record, I paid $1 for this vinyl four or five years ago. I had no idea what it was, or who it was, I just liked the goofy cover with the dogs and the girl who got the fur coat that she wanted for Christmas. Who knew it was so good! Here's Gisele MacKenzie-Christmas With Gisele (RCA Victor LPM-2006, Mono, 1959). Don't miss the EP from Gisele that I just posted from last year. I think it's got some of the tracks that later showed up on this LP, but at least you get a cover from this same photo shoot.

Update: Looks like someone finally wised up about this record. It's now available for download on iTunes. So I can't share it anymore, but you can download a nice MP3 version of it.

Twas The Day Before Christmas


Finally, the big day is almost here, and that means I have to get rid of all the Christmas music I have lined up to share. Oh, and I have this one last record from last year to share out. Why did I wait until this last day to put this one back up? Well, you'll see. Hurry up and download Gisele MacKenzie-Joyeux Noel (Vik EXA-271, 1957). Everyone loves Gisele, right?

Update: Looks like someone finally wised up about this record. It's now available for download on iTunes. So I can't share it anymore, but you can download a nice MP3 version of it. Actually, what they've got is the whole LP that this EP is pulled from, but you get the idea.

25 Days Of Christmas-Day 22

I'm trying to get caught up on my tracks for 25 Days Of Christmas, so here's your second selection for today. Wait, it's 6 minutes after midnight, which means it's now tomorrow. So you're going to get more than one track today instead of yesterday. Oh, well. Tonight's track is from 45, a seldom-seen single that I stumbled across last year. Help yourself to this little tale of poor Rudolph and his run-in with some vandals: Connie Canuso-Somebody Painted Rudolph's Nose A Chocolate Brown (Applause 8-1246). The flip side of my copy is badly damaged. I got it to play through, but it sounds like somebody took a wire brush to it. So if anybody has a cleaner copy, I'd sure appreciate a copy. That side is Santa Claus And His Sleigh. Thanks!

Previous tracks:

Sandy Offenheim-If Snowflakes Fell In Flavours
Up With People-Jingle Bell Beat
The Ames Brothers-Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Jimmy Boyd-Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney
Lou Monte-Italian Jingle Bells
Les Paul-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Harmonicats-Winter Wonderland
Steve Allen and Ricky Vera-Can I Wait Up For Santa Claus?
Ricardo Montalban & Randy Newman-La Campanilla
Ralph Carmichael-The New Hallelujah
Lawrence Welk With The Lennon Sisters-Santa From Santa Fe
Billy May-March Of The Toys
The Davis Sisters-The Christmas Boogie
Anna Russell-Please Santa Claus
Kathy Dunn-Santaville
The Williams Brothers-The Holiday Season
The Ed Sullivan Orchestra-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Banjo Barons-Jolly Old St. Nick & Jingle Bells
Johnny Brandon-Santa Claus, Jr.
Johnny Mathis-Have Reindeer, Will Travel
The Crew-Cuts-Twinkle Toes