The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 11

Some really top-shelf stuff tonight, all recorded by me back in 2013, but not shared with you until now.

Track one is the great German version of The Little Drummer Boy entitled Der Trommelmann by Marlene Dietrich Mit Orchester from her LP Die Neue Marlene-Marlene Deitrich Singt Chansons (Electrola-Odeon (Germany) STE-73788, Stereo, 1964).  I've had this track forever on various comps, but never the original LP from which it was drawn.

Second is a version of Greensleeves, from The Arthur Lyman Group and their LP Cotton Fields (HiFi Life SL1010, Stereo, 1963).  This certainly would not sound out of place on Lyman's Christmas LP.

Third we have Judy Holliday & Gerry Mulligan performing an original composition called It Must Be Christmas released on Holliday With Mulligan (DRG Records SL 5191, Stereo, 1980).  This appears to have been originally recorded back in 1961, but not released for nearly 20 years.  Not sure as to the reason, but it's a good song that should be better know.

Fourth is White Christmas, another track from Eddie Fisher With Axel Stordahl And His Orchestra and their album The 21 Academy Award Winning Songs, 1934-1954 (RCA Victor LOC-1024, Mono, 1955).  Short and sweet.

Fifth and last is Jingle Bells Mambo, a great take on a classic song by Pete Rugolo And His Orchestra, taken from his album Adventures In Rhythm (Columbia CL 604, Mono, 1955).  I shared this out once before on a Christmas compilation Jen and I put together for our first Christmas together, so you've probably heard it before.  I couldn't resist sharing it again because it's so good.

There you have it.  Five great tracks that have been in the vault for a while, but now they're out there for you to enjoy.  Here's the download link, see you tomorrow.

The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 10

Here we are, 33 and 1/3% of the way there.  Well, sort of.  Anyhow, here're five good tracks for the 10th of July.

In the words of Kris Kristofferson, Jesus was a Capricorn, and so I think that makes a song called Capricorn a good track for the blog.  Well, at least it's a seasonal track.  This is from Any Time (Mercury SR 60073, Stereo, 1959) by Hal Mooney And His Orchestra.  I ripped the whole record, I have a thing for LPs with a theme and all unique music, and this one features all twelve signs of the zodiac..  I can think of a few others from this same era, one of all famous male singers, one of all pretty famous girl names, one of colors, quite a few of drinks, you get the idea.

Track the second is Happy Christmas by Romaine Sala, Soprano; James A. Miller, Tenor & Recorder; Samuel Lehman, Boy Soprano; Mary Oyer, Cello; Charles Burkhart, Piano & Recorder; Helen S. Miller, Piano (whew!) from the LP Happy Time Nursery Songs (Herald Press 10" 33 RPM HP 1001-33 1/3 , Mono).  I think this record was designed to accompany a song book you could buy with all sorts of nice little songs.  Short versions, but sweet.  More to come from this one.

Track three is Jonah Jones doing The Bells Of St. Mary's from Jazz Bonus (Capitol ST 1773, Stereo, 1962).  As is the case every year, I recorded this track in mono earlier, then stumbled across the stereo version.  I didn't realize it until I tried to save the file and it said the name was a duplicate.  So if I accidentally share the mono version with you later on, I apologize.

Number four, and the start of the rerun tracks, is The Dukes Of Dixieland and Clara Ward And Her Gospel Singers performing Go Where I Send Thee from the album We Gotta Shout! (Columbia CS 8842, Stereo, 1963).  And indeed, they do shout.  If you don't remember this one from before, play it loud.

Track five is sort of a rerun, but I first shared it from a 78 copy many years ago.  I think it was one of the first things I ripped from a 78, in fact.  This time around, I found it included as a track on a collection of square dance tunes called, appropriately enough, Square Dances (RCA Victor LPM-1238, Mono, 1956), performed by Carson Robison And His Pleasant Valley Boys, Calls By Lawrence V. Loy.  Pretty cool.

There you go, a pretty diverse selection tonight.  Here's the download link, now go get some sleep, tiger.

The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 09

Boy, do I have some goodies for you today!  If you don't like some of these tracks, you don't like Christmas!

Track one, and clearly the best, is Blossom Dearie and Bob Dorough dueting on Baby It's Cold Outside, from Blossom's live LP Needlepoint Magic (Daffodil BMD 105, Stereo, 1979).  I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing when I picked this up, I imagined I was the only person in the world who knew it existed.  Then I saw it show up on a Christmas comp last year.  Oh, well, I'll keep digging.  If neither of those names means anything to you, hit up the Google.

Track dos is Hallelujah (from the chorus of the same name) as performed by The Elmer Iseler Singers And The "Synthescope" Digital Synthesizer Ensemble from the album The Electronic Messiah (Moss Music Group, CBC Series D-MMG 113, Stereo, 1982).  A little later than the time period I usually feature around here, but I couldn't resist.

Track three is Jingle Bells as performed by The Hi-Lo's.  Well, that's what the label says.  Pretty sure this isn't the group you might think of when I say it's The Hi-Lo's.  What do you expect from a budget label?  Anyhow, I snagged this from Reflection In Rhythm With The Hi-Lo's! (Tiara TST 559, Stereo).  Well, at least it's a Christmas song.

Track four is If Winter Comes (Summer Will Come Again), a winter-themed selection by The Tyree Glenn Quintet from Let's Have A Ball (Roulette R 25115, Mono, 1958). Nice enough, I suppose.

Track number five is The Wedding Of The Painted Doll by Lawrence Welk, His Accordion And Orchestra, a rerun from Nimble Fingers (Coral 2x7" 45 RPM EC-82005, Mono, 1955).  Still got a track off this one to go, so you have that to look forward to.

There you go, some good stuff, some bad stuff, and some stuff in between.  And four new tracks, how about that?  Here's the download link, get after it!

The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 08

After listening to all that Christmas music on CaptOT's radio show last night, I'm more determined than ever to get through the whole month here.  So I need to get busy and record a ton more vinyl so I don't run out of shares.  But first, there's today's music...

Track one is something I just sat down and recorded.  Great title, but it doesn't really sound too much like Christmas music.  This is Santa Claus Blues by Turk Murphy And His Jazz Band from When The Saints Go Marching In (Philips B 07035 L (Holland), Mono, 1954).  How did I come across a copy of this from Holland when it was realeased right here in the USA on Columbia?  Who knows?  I may have seen it a dozen times before I noticed a Christmas In July track on it.  Serendipity plays into a lot of what I do.

Track two is by the great Lighthouse Singers.  Years ago, I found a small 7" EP by them that was full of Christmas music.  Took me forever, but I eventually found their full LP and shared it here at the blog.  And for those of you that downloaded it back then, here's a bonus track for you.  Ave Maria from their LP Songs Of Reverence (Vik (RCA) SPV-1, Mono, 1955).

Track three, and the start of tonight's reruns is Baby, It's Cold Outside by Marty Gold And His Orchestra from one of his entries in the Stereo Action series, Stereo Action Goes Hollywood (RCA Victor LSA-2381, Stereo, 1961).  I think I've now found two or three records from the series in mono, which kinda defeats the purpose...  One of them may be a sampler for radio stations, which I can kinda understand if they wanted the stuff to get played, but the other two look like regular consumer releases.

Track four, the great Chet Atkins with Dennis Farnon And His Orchestra doing Greensleeves from the album Chet Atkins In Hollywood (RCA Victor LSP-1993 RE, Stereo, 1961).  Funny, two tracks in a row from LPs with Hollywood in the title.  I didn't plan that, honest.

Track five, and maybe the best here, is The Bells Of St. Mary's by David Carroll And His Orchestra from the LP RePercussion (Mercury MG 20389, Mono, 1958).  It start out and ends kinda slow, but that middle section swings.  Give it a listen.  Lots of percussion all-stars in his orchestra for this LP.

And that's it.  Here's the download link, give 'em a listen, lemme know what you think in the comments.

The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 07

Got some good stuff for you tonight.  So when you're done listening to CaptOT's Christmas In July radio special, download my stuff and give it a listen.

We begin with a track from The Anita Kerr Singers With Orchestra called Snowbound from one of their very rare LPs for SESAC entitled Love--Well Seasoned (Sesac N-2609/10, Mono).  Not sure how many of these records she made, but there's a full-Christmas one and this seasonal one, and they're next to impossible to find.  I was so excited when I found it, it was one of the big reasons I wanted to share out Christmas this July.  Give it a listen, you can't go wrong.

Track two is Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year by Leslie Uggams-Arranged And Conducted By Glenn Osser (who backed Jane Froman earlier this month) from the album So In Love (Columbia CS 8871, Stereo, 1963).  Leslie recorded some Christmas music early in her career, but never a Christmas album, so this will have to do.

Track three begins the repeats, it's My Favorite Things by The Lennon Sisters-Arranged And Conducted By Jimmie Haskell from The Lennon Sisters' Favorites (Dot DLP 25481, Stereo, 1963).  I'm not going to get into an argument about whether or not this is a Christmas song, but it fills the blog.  :)

Track four is Snowfall by George Shearing-String Choir Conducted By Billy May from the album The Shearing Touch (Capitol ST1472, Stereo, 1960).  I guess this one shows up plenty of places, so you don't really need me to tell you about it.

Track the fifth is The Skater's Waltz by Will Glahé And His Orchestra, taken from the LP The New Beer Barrel Polka (London Phase 4 SP 44069, Stereo, 1965).  I love those fancy Phase 4 albums, with their far-out 4 on the covers.

There you go, some good stuff in there tonight.  Here's your download link, enjoy!

Christmas In July, Radio Style

Those of you near a radio tonight, or, more likely, near a computer, can listen to a Christmas In July special by our good buddy CaptOT!  He's doing an all-request show, and yours truly made a request.  So maybe he'll play my song from among the thousands of requests I'm sure he received.  So head on over to WBOI and give him a listen.  He's on from 8 to 10, EDT.  Tell him Ernie sent you, not Bert.

The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 06

A quickie tonight, I've got other stuff to do...

Track one is the new selection, another track from Red Carter and his half-Christmas LP Santa's Musical Grog (Frog Recording, Ltd. RG 001, Stereo).  Tonight's selection is Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.  Did I mention before that side one is subtitled Santa's Selections?

And track two is sort of a rerun, but when I shared it out before it had a skip in it.  I've since found a better copy of it, so you can give it a listen now without fear of missing a revolution of the record.  Here is a 27:21 version of The Nutcracker Suite narrated by Captain Kangaroo himself, Bob Keeshan, also starring "Full Orchestra And The Sandpiper Chorus".  The LP is A Child's Introduction To The Nutcracker Suite (Golden Records LP 143, Mono, 1958).  I think this is a reissue, not the original from 1958, but that was the best date I could find.

And because it's such a long track, that's all I'm sharing tonight.  Put it on and let it play.  Here's the download link.  See you all tomorrow.

The Return Of Christmas In July-Day 05

What a long, strange Fourth it's been.  Not that I did anything at all today, but still.  Let's just jump right into some music.

First off with some new stuff.  Track one is Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Les Brown And His Band Of Renown from the LP All-Weather Music (Coral CRL 57039, Mono, 1956).  Good stuff.

Number two is Chet Baker And The Carmel Strings, a little West Coast jazz take on Christmas Song, from Quietly There (World Pacific WPS-21847, Stereo, 1966). More good stuff.

Number three begins the reruns, but they're good stuff. Latin Snowfall is a bit from the soundtrack to the movie Charade by Henry Mancini And His Orchestra (RCA Victor LSP-2755, Stereo, 1963).  An oldie but a goodie.

Number four is Eddie Fisher With Axel Stordahl And His Orchestra performing Baby, It's Cold Outside from the LP The 21 Academy Award Winning Songs, 1934-1954 (RCA Victor LOC-1024, Mono, 1955).  With so many songs on one LP, it's a bit short, but sweet.

Last, and certainly not least, a nice rerun but this time in Stereo, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Sarah Vaughan & Billy Eckstine-Orchestra Conducted By Hal Mooney, from the LP The Best Of Irving Berlin (Mercury SR-60002, Stereo, 1958).  This LP was originally released only in mono, but I guess they recorded it on multitrack so they could go back and do stereo mixes.  I remember the LP was missing a track that the mono version had, but this was, for my money, the best song on there.  Really good stuff!

All five of these songs were ripped from my vinyl back in 2013, but I never shared them until now.  Here's the download link, enjoy!