Christmas In July 2019-Part 1

Good Day!  And welcome to the first post of Christmas In July 2019!  It's a continuation of a tradition that started around here back in 2006 and continues to grow each and every year.  If you're new to the whole thing, here are a few details. (The rest of you can skip ahead to the descriptions and download down further.)  Every year in July, I share out songs that I've ripped from my collection of crusty old vinyl.  But not just any songs.  They have to be songs that are somehow associated with Christmas or Winter or even cold weather and ice.  It doesn't take too much for me to throw it in the pile, and you'll see some pretty tenuous connections over the month ahead.  Don't expect perfect sound, or pristine audio, it's all kinda rough and ready though I do my best with what I have.  99% of it is stuff that you aren't going to find at traditional download or streaming sites, so prepare to be amazed.  There's some stuff this year that's really going to knock your socks off, and plenty of stuff that you're going to delete after listening to the first few seconds.  Try to keep an open mind, though.  Anyhow, we'll talk more about everything as the month goes on, so let's just jump in and get our feet wet already.

1. We begin with Up In The Pulpit by The Luther-Annes from the LP Dashing Thru The Church (Fortress Records 12-1143-74/CSM-770, Mono).  I could swear that I'd shared something from this LP before, but I can't find it if I did.  It's not really a Christmas song anyway, but it's sung to the tune of Up On The Housetop, so I'm throwing it in here.  Maybe that's why I didn't share it out before.  This is from a new copy I found recently, as are all the shares here.  Even the rerun songs are from new copies I've discovered. I suppose this song might be funny to the members of this church, but I dunno...

2. Corinne Bucey-Virgin Mary from New Voice In Town (Decca Pink Label Promo DL 4550, Mono, 1964).  Folk albums are a frequent source of songs about the Baby Jesus and his mom.  Whenever I see one, I have to turn it over and check.  When you've been doing this for so many years, you learn some of the little tricks.

3. Large American Regina Music Box-Ave Maria from Music Box Hymnal-Beloved, Sacred And Inspirational Songs (Harmony (Columbia) KH 32551, Stereo, 1973).  Yep, Christmas music as played on a music box.  Frequent visitors won't be surprised by this.

4. Unknown Artist-Bring A Torch from Hal Leonard Presents Choral Spectrum 1990-Senior Edition (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP HLP-60, Stereo, 1990).  For years now, I've had a large stack of these demo albums that music publishers send to music school teachers trying to get them to buy their orchestrations and charts.  And for years I've ignored them, but this year I recorded a large handful of them.  Probably more than you'll want to hear, but there's some interesting stuff in there occasionally.  And 1990 is probably the absolute newest LP that I've shared from.  Well, maybe not, but close.  That's about the point that vinyl sales were starting to be outstripped by CD's, and items like this demo LP were probably switching to tape anyway.

5. Philip Jones Brass Ensemble-Christmas Oratorio-Nun Seid Ihr Wohl Gerochen from Brass Splendor (London Jubilee 411 955-1, Stereo, 1985).  I like to share all types of music around here, so don't be surprised by what you might here.  This is pretty tame.

6. St. Andrew Singers (Grades 9-12)-William Payn, Conductor-Do You Hear What I Hear? from O, Clap Your Hands (Dharma GFL 1057 (Morristown, New Jersey), Stereo).  You're going to hear lots of kids singing this month.  Don't be afraid, some of them are actually good!

7. Lynn Roberts, Carmen Baron & Juda Campbell-Feliz Año Nuevo from Holiday Songs For All Occasions (Kimbo Educational KIM 0805, Stereo, 1978).  You're also going to hear lots of people singing for kids.  Some of these are pretty good, too.  You might even hear something you remember from your own childhood that you'd forgotten.

8. Brook Benton-Arranged And Conducted By Malcolm Dodds-Go Tell It On The Mountain from If You Believe (Mercury SR 60619, Stereo, 1961).  I love finding Christmas tracks from fairly well-known artists that I've never seen or heard before.  I think I've shared this one before, but it's still a good example of what you can discover if you dig.

9. Uncle Dave Macon-Hold On To The Sleigh from The Dixie Dewdrop (Vetco Records LP 101 (Originally Recorded New York, NY, 9/9/26), Mono).  I had heard the name Uncle Dave Macon mentioned in an Archie Campbell song about Christmas at the Grand Old Opry, so I was pretty excited to find something from him I could share here.

10. Billy Mure-Latin Holiday from Supersonic Guitars Vol. 2 (MGM SE3807, Stereo, 1961).  I know it's a different type of holiday, but I just found this one last Saturday at a record store and I couldn't resist throwing it in here for you. You'll see alot of this sort of thing going on around here.

And that's it.  I'm sure you'll find something in there to peek your interest.  Come back often, I've got plenty to share this season.  And leave me a comment telling me your favorites.  I love to hear from you.  Here's the link to the download.  Once you've downloaded the ZIP file, you'll have to unpack it, then the MP3 files will be in the new folder and you can listen to them on your choice of playback software.  Enjoy!