Christmas In July 2012-Day 7

Today makes the one week point of the Christmas In July celebration here at Ernie (Not Bert), and what a week it's been!  Certainly the most prolific ever, with more shares per inch than most Fortune 500 companies.  We've still got a long way to go though, so be sure to pace yourself.  On with the show!

1. All Creatures Now Are Merry-Minded by 1978 Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor, another track from the LP University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM4471, Stereo, 1979).  Nice track that's new to my ears.  Oh, and all the music tonight is in stereo to make for them all being in mono yesterday.

2. Ave Maria by Brad White & Lee Eisenstein from their album Old Friends (W.E. Records WE1001, Stereo, 1983).  This is a custom pressing that I'd never seen before.  I think you'll like this version.

3. Baby, It's Cold Outside by Gordon Jenkins, the second track I'm sharing from Gordon Jenkins Conducts 26 Years Of Academy Award Winning Songs (CG CGS 3002, Stereo, 1959).  Is this a rerun, I'm not sure...  This is a little bouncier than I remember.  I like it!

4. Bobsled from Clebanoff And His Orchestra and the LP Strings Afire (Mercury PPS 6019, Stereo, 1961).  I know this is a rerun, and really good one at that.  If this track doesn't put you on the fast track down a snow-covered mountain, you should have your hearing checked.

5. The Bells Of St. Mary's by Del Wood and her LP Rags To Riches (RCA Victor LSP-1633, Stereo, 1959).  Another version of the classic.

6. Christmas Carols by The Budapest Children's Choir-Valeria Botka And Dr. Laszlo Czanyi, Directors, yet another track from The Budapest Children's Choir At Carnegie Hall (RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2861 (From Part 4 "Winter"), Stereo, 1966).  Nice straightforward title.

7. Go Tell It On The Mountain by The World Action Singers Of Oral Roberts University-Joyce Lampkin, Soloist from the LP Oral Roberts Presents (Light LS-5520-LP, Stereo, 1969).  All the other 'soloists' on this LP were children of Oral Roberts.  So there.

8. Go Where I Send Thee by The Dukes Of Dixieland and Clara Ward And Her Gospel Singers, quite a nice surprise from the album We Gotta Shout (Columbia CS 8842, Stereo, 1963).  It's always nice to find something like this hidden away on a mainstream album.

9. Let There Be Peace On Earth, a little bit of celebrity vocal from Eddie Albert-Conducted By Milton Rogers and the album Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' (Hamilton HLP 12103 (Reissue of Dot DLP 25109), Stereo, 1959).  I know this is a rerun, but I grabbed it from a reissue this time.  I don't know when this reissue came out, the 1959 date is the original.

10. The Marvelous Toy from The Chad Mitchell Trio and their LP Singin' Our Minds (Mercury SR 60838, Stereo, 1963).  Another rerun, written by Tom Paxton.

11. Satin Doll, not a Christmas song from Rudy Rosa With Dave Walshaw, local entertainer, and the album A Musical Climax With Rudy Rosa And His Custom X-66 Hammond Organ And Synthesizer Complex (Rudy Rosa 777-MC, Stereo, 1977).  I wasn't sure he was from around here until I noticed a picture on the back of the sleeve that showed a local pass where I like to go shooting occasionally.

12. Snow Deer by Joe "Fingers" Carr And Ira Ironstrings from the LP Together For The Last Time-Volume 1 (Warner Bros WS1389, Stereo, 1960).  I had a mono version of this recorded and ready to go, then I found the stereo had been in my collection all along and was about 2 feet from the computer.  I guess you have to pay attention...

13. Waltz Of The Flowers (Nutcracker Suite), a rerun by David Rose And His Orchestra-Tenor Sax Solo By Bob Cooper from the LP Concert With A Beat! (MGM SE3852, Stereo, 1960).  I ripped this from a record that I brought back from my recent trip to Atlanta.  I think it was one of the only records I brought back with any Christmas In July content, but I brought a whole bunch of pure Christmas stuff.  That should pay dividends come the holiday season.

And that's it, 13 tracks tonight for a total of 95 for the week.  Not too bad.  Download and enjoy!

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Christmas In July 2012-Part 6

I'm a little late tonight, but I've been busy recording more music to share with you guys.  Tonight you get fourteen tracks because I was able to record 14 tracks!  Not the same fourteen, though, only one of them is something I recorded tonight, but you'll get the other 13 eventually.  Let's dive into this pile head first, shall we?  (Oh, and it's theme night!  The theme is "mono".  How's that for adding a little spice?)

1. Angelus Ad Pastores (The Angel To The Shepherds) by The Trapp Family Singers-Dr. Franz Wasner, Conductor from the compilation album The Best Of The Trapp Family Singers (MCA 2xLP MCA2-4048, Mono, 1973).  OK, so this is what I recorded tonight, over a dozen Christmas carols from the family of the real-life Baron Von Trapp.  I'll sprinkle them into the mix as the month goes on, I think you'll be impressed by some of them.

2. Baby It's Cold Outside Cha Cha by Enoch Light And The Light Brigade from Happy Cha Cha's-Volume 2 (Grand Award GA 33-191, Mono, 1959).  I thought I'd shared this before, but I can't find it in the archives.  Now I need to find the stereo version...

3. A Child's Christmas by Emlyn Williams from A Boy Growing Up (Argo RG 547, Mono, 1968).  Yep, it's a cover of the Dylan Thomas poem.  Is a recitation of someone else's poem considered a cover?  Hmm...

4. Doll Dance by The Triads from the LP Sunrise Serenade (Waldorf Music Hall MHK 33-1229, Mono, 1958).  Not bad...very reminiscent of what The Harmonicats or even The Three Suns were doing at the time, which is probably the whole point of the thing.

5. Giddi-Up by Children's Choir Under The Direction Of Mabel Stewart Boyter and the album A Joyful Sound-Songs For Children (Word W-3137-LP, Mono, 1961).  I'd never heard the song before, and I like it!

6. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring by The Salvation Army New York Staff Band & Male Chorus from Classics In Brass (Triumphonic LP-7, Mono).  Do all recordings of Salvation Army bands sound like this?  Don't they rehearse?

7. June In January, a rerun from Don, Dick 'N Jimmy from the LP Spring Fever (Crown CLP 5005, Mono, 1957).  Yes, at one time the notorious budget label Crown actually recorded and released original stuff.  Hard to believe, but true.

8. Our Winter Love by Robert Maxwell, His Harp And Orchestra from A Song For All Seasons (Decca DL 4609, Mono, 1965).  Pretty sure this is a rerun.

9. Silent Night from Mahalia Jackson and her album Just As I Am (Kenwood/Nashboro LP 479 (Reissue of Apollo LP from 1958), Mono, 1964).  You can't go wrong with just about anything Mahalia ever released.

10. The Snow Queen by Ireene Wicker, The Singing Lady, Accompanied By Samuel Sanders from the LP Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales (Simon Says M-38, produced By Record Guild Of America, Distributed By ABC-Paramount, Mono).  Yep, same Ireene Wicker we highlighted during Christmas, and the second long spoken-word track of the night.

11. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year by The Four Lads With Ray Ellis And His Orchestra from The Four Lads Sing Frank Loesser (Columbia CL 1045, Mono, 1957).  Another rerun, hopefully sounding a bit better this time around.

12. That's What I Want For Christmas as performed by it's author, Irving Caesar, from the LP And Then I Wrote... (Coral CRL 57083, Mono, 1956).  This album appears to be part of a series featuring popular songwriters where they tell stories and perform their well-known songs.  I know there's at least one more in the set that features an artist known for his Christmas repertoire, and I'm keeping my eyes peeled for it.  I found this one in a small antique mall with one booth of records.  I payed too much money for it, but I knew it would be a great addition to Christmas In July, and you guys are worth it.

13. Wedding Of The Painted Doll by Leon Berry, from an album released before his Audio Fidelity heyday, Glockenspiels, Trap And Plenty Of Pipes With leon Berry At The Hub Rink Chicago-Volume 1 (Replica 33x2501, Mono).  I'm not sure exactly when this came out, but I know it's early.  I think he recorded this song again later, too.

14. White Christmas by the General Electric Transcription Orchestra from Ronald Reagan Recommends Award Winning Music From Hollywood (General Electric GE-1001, Mono, 1957).  Yep, there's a big picture of then-actor, later Governor, later President Ronald Reagan on the cover of this one.  I think this may have been a giveaway with some GE appliance, but I don't know that for a fact.  I had a copy of this many years ago before I shared Christmas stuff, but I haven't seen it in years.  I was excited when this one turned up recently in a thrift store, so I went ahead and bought another copy.

And that's it.  Another wide slice of Christmas music from all over the chart tonight, I hope you enjoy it.

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Christmas In July 2012-Part 5

Has it been five days already?  I guess so.  Still a long way to go this month.  Let's jump right in...

1. Look Ahead by The Mariners With Orchestra And Chorus Under The Direction Of Archie Bleyer, Introduction By Arthur Godfrey from Arthur Godfrey's TV Calendar Show (Columbia CL 521, Mono, 1953).  There are three Christmassy tracks on this record, two of which I shared with you last year, one of which kept skipping on me, so I didn't share it.  Not long after that share, I found a very clean copy for a quarter, so here you go.  This may have been a good last-day-of-the-month track, but I thought of that too late.

2. Love-In (December) by Hal Blaine from his album Psychedelic Percussion (Dunhill 50019, Mono, 1967).  Another little blast of psychedelia for your yuletide.

3. The March Of The Siamese Children by Joe "Fingers" Carr from Honky-Tonk Street Parade (Capitol T809, Mono, 1957).  Not really Christmas related, but it always reminds me of March Of The Wooden Soldiers, and it has everything to do with Children, so I throw it in here.

4. Oh, You Beautiful Doll performed by Russ Carlyle And His Orchestra from Russ Carlyle And His Orchestra At Roseland Dance City (ABC-Paramount ABC-253, Mono, 1959).  Well, it has 'doll' in the title...

5. Pure As The Driven Snow by Dorothy Shay The Park Avenue Hillbilly from the reissue LP Coming 'Round The Mountain (Harmony (Columbia) HL 7017, Mono, 1957).  Dorothy Shay has been a little project of mine this year, I've tracked down some of her original 78s and a 10" LP on Capitol.  This isn't much to do with Christmas, but it does mention snow.  I've done worse.

6. Skater's Waltz by 110 Strings, budget label goodness from the 7" record Waltz Favorites (Tops Compact LP 7" 33 RPM 706, Mono).  I think this is the second track this year from a 7" record.  I've seen what I think is this same recording on 12", but ripping the 7" gives me something to talk about.

7. Super Skier, a track about hitting the slopes by The Chad Mitchell Trio from their live LP Mighty Day On Campus (Kapp KL-1262, Mono, 1962).  This track is co-written by Bob Gibson, but I don't remember it featuring on his ski-themed album.

8. Be A Santa by Percy Faith And His Orchestra from the LP Subways Are For Sleeping (Columbia CS 8533, Stereo, 1961).  I've been hunting for this for ages, ever since I first found out he recorded it.  This has to be one of the harder to find Percy Faith records as far as I'm concerned.  But here it is!

9. Bring A Torch, Jeannette Isabella by Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor, another track from the LP University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM4471, Stereo, 1979).  I've never been exactly clear on what's going on in this song...

10. Come And Adore by St. Olaf Lutheran Choir-Conducted By Olaf C. Christiansen from the LP Fifty Golden Years (Mercury SR 60728, Stereo, 1962).  I think this is a rerun...

11. December by Count Basie & The Mills Brothers from their LP The Board Of Directors (Dot DLP 25838, Stereo, 1968).  I know this one is a rerun, possibly one of the best tracks I shared out in 2010, I think it was.  Hopefully, it sounds a bit better this time around.

12. The First Noel by Funtastic 25 and the album Funtastic 25 Children's Songs Volume 2 (ERA BU 4952, Stereo, 1982).  Sometimes, you find Christmas music in the weirdest places.  This record aimed at kids featured a Christmas song at the end of both sides.  Very odd, but I'll take what I can get.  I'm not even sure the name of the group is supposed to be Funtastic 25, but that was all I could figure out from the way it was written on the LP cover and the vinyl.

And that's it for tonight.  I've got to go see if the washer is going to work after I replaced the control panel.  I think it's still got problems, but we'll see.  Here's your link...

MediaFire

Christmas In July 2012-Part 4

Hello, kiddies, it's that time again, time for another edition of Christmas in July!  It's July 4th, but it's raining outside, so fireworks may not be an option this evening.  If you're rained out, put on some nice Christmas music and take a rest from the heat before you have to get up and go back to work tomorrow.  Let's see what old Ernie Claus has in his bag for you tonight.

1. Satin Doll from Art Mooney And His Orchestra from Jump For Joy! (Kapp KS-3405, Stereo, 1964).  A swingin' version of the Ellington number.  Not much to do with Christmas, but nice.

2. It Happened In Sun Valley by Bob Scobey's Frisco Jazz Band-Vocal By Clancy Hayes from the LP Swingin' On The Golden Gate (RCA Victor LPM-1448, Mono, 1957).  I like this song, I don't think you hear it enough.

3. The Deepening Snow by Bobby Bare from the album Constant Sorrow (RCA Victor LSP-3395, Stereo, 1965), on which Bobby pretends he's Johnny Cash judging by the cover.  Lots of Dylan covers on this one, too.

4. Christmas Carol by Children's Choir Under The Direction Of Mabel Stewart Boyter from A Joyful Sound-Songs For Children (Word W-3137-LP, Mono, 1961).  Another nice track from this LP.

5. Boar's Head Carol by Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor from their LP University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM4471, Stereo, 1979).  Another track from another LP that I got a whole handful of tracks from.  How else do you think I share out so much music?

6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem by The Choir Of The First Presbyterian Church Of Dearborn-Alexander J. Turco, Organist And Director from Carols And Anthems (Artie Fields Productions H-1496/1497, Stereo, 1967).  Yes, third track in a row...

7. One Little Candle performed by Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-Joe Marine, Soloist from their album Songs Of Inspiration (Decca DL 8709, Mono, 1958).  I appear to have misspelled Inspiration in the track tags.  What kind of shoddy job am I doing here?  Couple more Fred Waring songs coming up later on in the month.

8. O Come, O Come Emmanuel by James W. Keane from the carillon LP Bells Over Rochester-The World Famous City's Carillon (Tom Jones Recording Studio TJS-11975-A/B, Stereo, 1975).  I always try to squeeze a few carillon tracks in here for you, I hope you appreciate that.  :)

9. Everyday Is Christmas, a classic from Joe Bushkin With Rhythm Accompaniment from the album Piano Music For Two (Columbia CL 602, Mono, 1954).  I think I've shared this before, but not from this LP.

10. June In January from Leo Addeo And His Orchestra and the LP Great Standards With A Hawaiian Touch (RCA Camden CAL-672, Mono, 1962).  Good luck finding a Leo Addeo album that doesn't feature music somehow tied to Hawaii.  They exist, but there aren't many.  Not that it's a bad thing, I'm just mentioning it.

11. Exotic Night, and oddly titled version of What Child Is This?, which is actually just different lyrics for the ancient tune Greensleeves, performed by Martin Denny from the album Exotica Classica-For Those In Love (Liberty LRP-3513, Mono, 1967).  I shared this out ages ago, only in Stereo.  Perhaps I should have waited to find a stereo copy before re-doing it, but I figured why not?  I get impatient sometimes.  Oh, and I couldn't find my original copy.  It's here somewhere, but finding anything in this collection is a challenge.

12. Baby, It's Cold Outside from Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme from the LP We Got Us (ABC-Paramount ABC-300, Mono, 1960).  Speaking of stereo/mono, this is something I've kept an eye out for in stereo for ages, but never found one.  I'll just have to keep looking, I guess...  Oh, this one is a rerun as well.

13. Toyland-March Of The Toys by The Troubadors from the LP Great Melodies From The Operettas Of The Century (Kapp KL-1098, Mono, 1960).  Nice version, this.

14. Danse Arabe (From "The Nutcracker") by Xavier Cugat And His Orchestra from The King Plays Some Aces (RCA Victor LSP-1882, Stereo, 1958).  A rerun, but still nice.  As far as I know, other than a couple pieces from The Nutcracker on this LP, Xavier Cugat never recorded any Christmas music.  Anyone care to prove me wrong?

There you go.  How's everyone liking the music this year?  I think there's some good music here, some good sound, and a nice selection.  I love being able to bring you long and varied playlists, you can really enjoy each download on it's own, listening to half an hour or so worth of music at a time.  Lemme know what you think.  Here's the linky-link for tonight.

MediaFire

Happy Independence Day, America!

Celebration!

Here are a few pictures from last night's pre-Fourth fireworks show. Nothing too special, but you'll get the idea. Now if I don't feel like going out tonight for the big show, at least I've got it covered.

Christmas In July 2012-Day 3

Day the third!  14 more tracks to make you forget that it's over 100 outside.  I'm off shortly to shoot some fireworks on the night before the big night.  I always try to get it out of the way early whenever possible.  We'll see how it goes.  So I need to throw tonight's tracks up quickly here.

1. Some Winter On Nantucket Town by Abe King from his album Nantucket (Abe King WFH 1, Stereo, 1975).  Strictly instrumental, very 70's sounding, but not very Christmassy.

2. & 3.  The Tender Snowdrop (and it's introduction) by Anna Russell With Eugene Rankin from her LP Anna Russell's Guide To Concert Audiences (Columbia Masterworks ML 4928, Mono, 1954).  She's not very well known today, but in certain circles back in the mid-fifties, Anna Russell was the bomb.  Or so it appears from her records.

4. Ave Maria by The Budapest Children's Choir-Valeria Botka And Dr. Laszlo Czanyi, Directors, another track from their LP The Budapest Children's Choir At Carnegie Hall (RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2861 (From Part 2 "Summer"), Stereo, 1966).  Not bad, not good.

5. Traineau (The Sleigh Ride) by The Camarata Contemporary Chamber Orchestra from the electronic LP The Electronic Spirit Of Erik Satie Featuring The Moog Synthesizer (Deram/London XDES 18066  (Excerpt from Sports & Divertissment), Stereo, 1972).  What a surprise this was!  You did see the word 'Moog' in there, didn't you?  Short, but sweet.

6. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers by Ethel Smith from Bright And Breezy (Decca DL 8799, Mono, 1958).  A rerun from back in the day, but still better than anything on her Christmas LP.

7. Frost Over London by George Martin And His Orchestra from his somewhat hard-to-find LP London By George (United Artists UAS 6647, Stereo, 1968).  I was a little disappointed to find that the frost of the title isn't on a field of pumpkins, but refers to David Frost.  I guess all of George Martin's LPs are hard to find, due to their Beatles connection.

8. White Christmas from Gordon Jenkins and his album Gordon Jenkins Conducts 26 Years Of Academy Award Winning Songs (CG CGS 3002, Stereo, 1959).  I don't know, some budget LP from somewhere or other.  I guess Gordon had a few down years in his career and got his name attached to a few shady deals.

9. Doll Dance by Gus Farney from Gus Farney At The Giant Five Manual Wurlitzer Pipe Organ (Warner Bros W 1409, Mono, 1961).  I loves me anything from the WB label in those early years!

10. The Toy Drum by The Harry Simeone Chorale from the double LP The Magic Of Their Singing (20th Century Fox 2xLP TCF 108-2S, Stereo, 1961).  These guys put out a ton of product, but no one has any memory of anything other than The Little Drummer Boy.  Shame, that.

11. Skating Princess (Eisprinzessin) by Helmut Zacharias And His Magic Violins from the album Magic Violins (Decca DL 8431, Mono, 1957).  Not bad, not bad.  I think I need to take a closer look at what I'm sharing out.  I don't seem to be putting up enough repeats.  If I don't spread things out a bit, it'll be 100% repeats at the end, and no one wants that.

12. The Frozen Logger by Jimmie Rodgers With Joe Reisman's Orchestra And Chorus from the LP At Home With Jimmie Rodgers-An Evening Of Folk Songs (Roulette SR 25128, Stereo, 1960).  This is the first of a few versions I've found this year of this tale of a very cold-tolerant logger.  Oddly enough, I think my collection is still missing a stereo copy of Jimmie full-length Christmas effort.  I've got a mono copy, and a cover-only for the stereo version, but no music.  And while I'm whining, I need a copy of the Bonnie Guitar LP, too.  :)

13. My Favorite Things by The New Group and their album What's New (Roulette R 25270, Mono, 1964).  Not the best possible group name they could have picked.  Who expects a second or third album from The New Group?

14. Masters In This Hall, a nice track by the 1978 Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor from the privately pressed LP University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM4471, Stereo, 1979).  I've got a bunch of tracks from this one, so I hope you like it.

Short but sweet tonight, I've got to go get ready to take some pictures.  Hope you have a great night, and don't forget to come back again tomorrow for more.

MediaFire

Christmas In July 2012-Part 2

I've got the tracks selected, the MP3s made, the ZIP file uploaded, all I have to do is list out all the songs and we're ready to go.  What's on tap for today?

1. Powder by The American Breed from the LP Pumpkin, Powder, Scarlet & Green (Acta A-38006, Stereo, 1968).  It's short, a little psychedelic, and the perfect mood-setter for a Christmas night.  OK, maybe not perfect, but it'll do.

2. Winter World Of Love from Billy Vaughn and his album of the same name (Dot DLP25975, Stereo, 1970).  This one is a rerun from way back when, but I wanted to bring it back in much nicer sound.  I've learned so much over the years, I think I'm making much better recordings now than I was four or five years ago.  Maybe by the time I'm sixty, I'll figure out exactly what I'm doing around here.

3. Away In A Manger by The Choir Of The First Presbyterian Church Of Dearborn-Alexander J. Turco, Organist And Director from the album Carols And Anthems (Artie Fields Productions H-1496/1497, Stereo, 1967).  I tried to stay away from some of the church records, but I can't help myself.  This one is nicely recorded, I think you'll enjoy it.

4. Little Abou The Camel by The Continental Symphony Orchestra, Narrated By Art Gilmore And Don Wilson from Classics For Children Volume 2 (Capitol T3248, Mono, 1957).  I noticed just today that this track appears to have been taken from an earlier kiddie record that's been shared over at Kiddie Records Weekly.  That issue only mentions Don Wilson, so he's probably the narrator on this track.  The story doesn't have anything to do with Christmas, but the music is adapted from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.

5. It Happened In Sun Valley (Open) by Hap Miller And The Hap Miller Sun Valley Orchestra from the LP of the same name (Stanal Records S-1010, Stereo, 1964).  This is one of several Sun Valley-themed tracks from a record put out by a group who actually performed in the actual Sun Valley.  Some cool tracks here that I'll get to you as the month goes on.

6. Frost Flowers, a song by Ichiro Masuda Quintet from the LP Midnight Vibraphone (JVC-Nivico (Japan) SJV 248, Stereo, 1967).  Yes, I've traveled all the way to Japan to bring you interesting music for Christmas in July!

7. The Reason Everybody Likes Christmas by Jim Mandell With Mary Hylan & Debby James from Action Songs For Holidays And Special Days (Tom Thumb T 312, Stereo, 1979).  Great title for a Christmas song, but I'm not sure the execution is there.  Oh, well.

8. Sleigh Ride by Kurt Wege And His Orchestra, a rerun around here from 21 Channel Sound-A Leroy Anderson Concert (MGM SE 4075, Stereo, 1962).  Sleigh Ride is one of the easier to find Christmas tracks, since it shows up on all sorts of Leroy Anderson tribute albums.  Nice version, though.  Looks like I misspelled Orchestra in the track tags, though.  Sorry...

9. Six Weeks Every Summer, Christmas Every Other Year, a country weeper by Mary-Jane And Carol Neal from the album Country To Classic-An Evening With Mary-Jane And Carol Neal (International Composers 2xLP ICI 613, Stereo. 1981).  I'd never heard this song before, but it looks like it's made the rounds before, covered here by a lounge act of questionable talent.

10. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring by The Roger Wagner Chorale With The Capitol Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Roger Wagner, taken from the LP Holy, Holy, Holy (Capitol P8498, Mono, 1959).  I think this is a rerun, but I'm not certain.  All I can say for sure about this version is that it's very long.

11. Song Of Mary by St. Olaf Lutheran Choir-Conducted By Olaf C. Christiansen, and the album is Fifty Golden Years (Mercury SR 60728, Stereo, 1962), the first of a handful of tracks from these guys from two different albums.  I wasn't certain it was two different albums until I finally sat down to record them and compared the track list.  I think both covers have the same, or at least similar stained glass windows on the covers.

12. Snowflake Polka by Walter Ostanek And His Polka Kings from Polka Party (Arc A-609, Mono, 1965).  Arc is a Canadian label that specializes in Canadian content, with a broad range of product.  Remember that Christmas In An English Pub LP I shared out a couple years back?  Yep, that was Arc.

13. 'Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime (AKA Huron Carol) by Winifred Smith from the album Ethnic Folk Songs From The South (The Tennessee Squire Association 630-D-2211, Mono).  Last but not least is a great Christmas carol that you don't hear too often.

That's it, thirteen more tracks.  Hope you're enjoying them.  And thanks for all the comments yesterday!  Keep 'em comin', and I'll keep sharin' the tunes!

MediaFire

Christmas In July 2012-Part 1

You know what day this is, right?  It's July the first, and that must mean it's time to begin celebrating Christmas in July here at Ernie (Not Bert)!  Every July since 2006, I've spent the month sharing little bits of Christmas music with you, but not the same albums I share out during December.  No, July is reserved for bits of non-Christmas albums that are a bit Christmassy, either because they sound a little like Christmas, they mention Christmas, or perhaps they are honest-to-goodness Christmas songs tucked away where you might otherwise never find them.  It's a fun little hobby of mine, to find these things that others have overlooked, record them from the original vinyl and share them with the world.  I hope you'll enjoy them.  This year, I've worked especially hard not only to find these hidden gems, but to get most of them recorded ahead of time, thus allowing me to know about how many I have to share, and to maximize my sharity per day.  I think I'm going to set another record this year, beating last year's mark of 427 tracks!  With this many songs in the folder, my goal is to share a minimum of 12 tracks per day, which is basically an entire Christmas album!  You'll find I'm not a very good sequencer, though, so don't expect the smooth flow of a classic Christmas album.  It's more likely to resemble a thrown-together album from your favorite budget label, with different styles, types, volumes, eras, etc, all thrown into a single playlist, but mixed with a little love.  As usual, all tracks come from my own personal record collection, ripped by my own two hands from a cranky old Numark turntable, recorded into Audacity, filtered through ClickRepair, tagged & MP3d in iTunes and shared out via MediaFire.  Any questions, just ask.  Oh, there is no album artwork, mostly because I'm too lazy to scan the hundreds and hundreds of album covers necessary.  What else?  Same as last year, I've going back and re-recorded a lot of tracks that I shared in previous years, either because I found a new, cleaner copy, a stereo copy, or just because I think I do a better job now than then.  I hope to keep these reruns to less than half of the shares, but I think you'll enjoy the old stuff anyway as a reminder of what great music is out there.  So, without too much ado, welcome to Christmas in July 2012, and let's jump into the deep end!

01. Snow by The Budapest Children's Choir-Valeria Botka And Dr. Laszlo Czanyi, Directors from the album The Budapest Children's Choir At Carnegie Hall (RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2861 (From Part 4 "Winter"), Stereo, 1966). Since most of the east coast of America is in the middle of a heatwave, why not start out with some snow-themed tracks? These should held cool you down and get you in the mood.

02. Snow-Snow by Monte Kelly from Sensations In Sound And Moods I Love (Essex Records 2x7" 45 RPM Es-Exp-111, Mono, 1954), a set of two 7" records that I found without sleeves. Interesting, but I wish I knew more about this.

03. Snowbound by John Davidson-Arranged And Conducted By Nick Perito from what I believe is his first album The Young Warm Sound Of John Davidson (Colpix SCP 485, Stereo, 1965). You did know that John Davidson was a singer before he was a gameshow host, right? This tune was the title track for a Ferrante & Teicher seasonal LP before this version, and the common thread is writer and bandleader Nick Perito, who worked on both albums.

04. Winter Song by The Gene Lowell Chorus from Halls Of Ivy (Warner Bros WS 1244, Stereo, 1959). This is the first song I'm sure is a rerun from days of old. This is one of those songs that I keep an eye out because it's fairly likely to turn up outside of the usual Christmas or seasonal albums.

05. The Friendly Beasts by Children's Choir Under The Direction Of Mabel Stewart Boyter from A Joyful Sound-Songs For Children (Word W-3137-LP, Mono, 1961). The month is young and this is my second share of children singing. Hopefully, this trend isn't too annoying. At least they are professional children on a real label, not some vanity pressing from a junior high school. But don't worry, I've got plenty of those waiting for you, too.

06. Hallelujah by The Eric Rogers Chorale And Orchestra from the album Glory, Glory, Hallelujah (London Phase 4 SP 44028, Stereo, 1963). The first appearance of the Handel classic this month, and most certainly not the last.

07. Wedding Of The Painted Doll from Fred Hartley and the LP The Twin Pianos Of Fred Hartley (Richmond (London) RPS 39003, Stereo, 1962). Not really a Christmas tune, but I've been fairly liberal with the themes of dolls and toys in my collecting this year. I hope you don't mind.

08. Bells Of St. Mary's, played by Jerry Byrd on his album Satin Strings Of Steel (Monument MLP 8033 (Reissue of Memories Of Maria MLP 4008), Mono, 1962). I like to find versions of familiar songs on unfamiliar instruments, or at least in unusual settings, and this song on the steel guitar fits in with that theme quite nicely. Can you dig it?

09. Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy by guitarist Laurindo Almeida from Reverie For Spanish Guitar (Capitol SP 8571, Stereo, 1961). You're going to see lots of songs from The Nutcracker show up around here during Christmas in July. I've tried to keep it tamped down to a dull roar, and I don't remember recording any entire side-long versions this year, but you never know. If I ever run short of tracks, there are a whole lot more dime-store versions in the pile to be recorded.

10. Ave Maria by Lawrence Welk-Violin Solo By Dick Kesner-Vocal By The Glee Club from Songs Of Faith (Coral CRL 57191, Mono, 1957). The first of many different versions of this song, as well as others of the same name. I can't even keep track of them all. Are they all Christmas, well, sorta.

11. Greenwillow Christmas (Carol) by The Melachrino Strings from Music From Frank Loesser's Greenwillow (RCA Victor LSP-2229, Stereo, 1960). A rerun around these parts, but this time in Stereo, so certainly worth a reshare.

12. Good Night Sweet Mind by Ogden Nash With Music Composed And Conducted By Glenn Osser from The Fanciful World Of Ogden Nash (Capitol SW 1570, Stereo, 1961). I just found this LP yesterday, and I went ahead and recorded the whole thing! Ogden Nash is just great in my humble opinion, and I hope you think so as well. This is the first of two tracks I'll share with you this month, and this one didn't pop out at me as being appropriate until I heard it. You'll wonder why it's here until he gets into his story a bit, then you'll understand immediately. The cover on this one is by Hirschfeld, with his very recognizable fluid style and NINA in the haircut. Should I mention the great Ogden Nash Christmas album?

13., 14. & 15.Introduction To 'A Visit From St Nicholas', A Visit From St. Nicholas, Segue-From Christmas To The Civil War (Excerpt) by the great Vincent Price from the LP America The Beautiful (Columbia Masterworks ML 5668, Mono, 1961). Wow, this is what makes hunting for Christmas music so much fun. I was so excited when I found this album last year, I almost shared it out during Christmas, but I knew it would make a great contribution to Christmas in July, so I held off. Why I'd never heard of this before, I have no idea. I mean, one of the greatest masters of American horror, a movie icon, and he recorded a Christmas story! This is just great. I've broken it into three tracks, an introduction, the story, and a coda that links this to the next recitation on the album. Those of you wanting to put this on your own Christmas albums will probably just want to use that middle one, but I wanted you to get the full experience.

OK, that's day one and a whole lot of typing. I hope I can keep this up. Sharing 12 or more tracks for day is a whole lot more work than two or three. We'll see. But remember, comments are like fuel to bloggers. Here's the link, see you all tomorrow.

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