Christmas In July 2019-Part 57
Time for another installment of Christmas Songs That You've Never Heard Before...In July! Actually, I just call it Christmas In July for short.
1. Unknown Artist-Bells Of St Mary's from Organ Melodies From Hobby-Lesson Course For Wurlitzer Organs (Rite Record Productions For The Wurlitzer Company 12183/12184, Mono). A record that showed you all the wonderful songs you could play on your new home Wurlitzer organ!
2. Len Krisson-Greensleeves from Organ Moods With Len Krisson (Hurrah (Pickwick) H-1016, Mono, 1962). More organ music from a budget reissue of a budget label. It doesn't get any more bottom of the barrel than this.
3. Regina Music Box-Hark The Herald Angels Sing from The Charm Of The Old Music Box-Rare Old Music Boxes From The A. Hacker Collection (Yesterday's Amusements/Premier Film & Recording Corporation 13993, Mono). From the organ we move along to the music box. Not the worst possible transition...
4. The Ray Charles Singers-June In January from Lovelier Than Ever (Metro (MGM) M-562, Mono, 1965). The other Ray Charles gets his months seriously mixed up, but it's a nice tune.
5. Wesley Seminary Singers-J. Edward Moyer, Director-O. Alan Lumpkin, Soloist-Mary Had A Baby from Surely The Lord Is In This Place (Capitol Custom PB-832/833 Wesley Theological Seminary-Washinton, D.C., Mono). From our nation's capitol. Well, assuming you're in the USA, as most of my visitors are. But we get visitors occasionally from all over the world!
6. Leonard Pennario, Pianist-Troïka En Traîneaux (Sleigh Ride) Op. 37a, No. 11 from Humoresque (RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2731, Stereo, 1964). How do you take a sleigh ride on a piano? Well, here's your answer right here.
7. The Ringers On-The-Green-Variations On A French Carol from Ring And Sing-A Festival Of Music (Dharma GFL 1077 (Morristown, New Jersey), Stereo). More handbell music from my favorite handbell group!
8. Unknown Artist-We Three Kings from Hal Leonard Presents Choral Spectrum 1990-Senior Edition (Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 2xLP HLP-60, Stereo, 1990). I can't believe how many of these demo recordings I ripped this year. I should have stopped at less than half. Sorry.
9. Connee Boswell, Orchestra Conducted By Warren Vincent-White Christmas from Miss Connee Boswell Sings Irving Berlin-A Golden Anniversary Tribute (Design Stereo Spectrum Records SS 26, Stereo, 1958). From a budget label before they went seriously off into the budget depths and still had a few scruples left.
10. Gordon Bok-Wind And Snow from Coaster-The Adventure Of The John F. Leavitt (Atlantic Film Group AFG-1-001, Stereo, 1981). Soundtrack for a movie that I've never heard of.
And that's it. Gotta be something in there you'll enjoy. Thanks for stopping by. Here's the link to the download. Enjoy!
Back when I was in college, I was the campus newspaper's music editor - among other chores - so I got all the free records, most of which were crappy. One was called "Gordon's Buster," the sole LP by one Gordon Alexander. I thought it was a terrible album but I kept it because one of the song titles was, "A Bunch Of Us Were Sitting Around A Candle In San Francisco Getting Stoned And I Hope You're There The Next Time," which I thought was weird. I may still have the record, and now it has been re-released!
ReplyDeleteThis has no relevance to the Gordon who can be found in your playlist, Gordon Bok, other than it made me think of Gordon's Buster (no relation). I do have a Gordon Bok record, too, but it does not contain anything like "A Bunch Of Us Were Sitting Around A Candle In San Francisco Getting Stoned And I Hope You're There The Next Time." He records things like "Sabin, The Woodfitter."
These musings make me feel like I am channelling barba.
I didn't believe you, but I looked it up and sure enough, there it is. I don't believe most of the stuff Barba posts, either, but every time I check, it's real...
ReplyDeleteErnie, an earnest request. I, like you, am an inveterate Christmas music collector. Only I spend most of my time foraging in the era of the 78, 45 and early LP. While searching on the Internet Archive the other day, I came across a scratchy Fred Waring version of "Winter Wonderland," paired with "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings," made for Decca Records around 1948. Although you have posted Waring's later version for Capitol, the Decca version is, to my ears, vastly superior--and "My Heart Sings" one of the best recordings of this lovely song I have ever heard. Could you, perchance, clean up the Internet Archive version or furnish a transfer from your own copy of this wonderful record (that is, should you own it). This is the kind of glorious rarity that I would ask Buster for, and would think Lee would have on hand. But you've been chosen to be humbly implored my first time around. If you don't know of this record, I am bringing true glad tidings. I am sure Ray Charles had this version in mid- or back-mind when he made his classic choral recording in 1956. In any case, thanks for the many sleigh rides in July. It was 97F here yesterday. The heat has relented a tad bit today. But Christmas music really cools things off.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye out. Looks like it came out on 45 a bit later.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.discogs.com/Fred-Waring-The-Pennsylvanians-All-Of-A-Sudden-My-Heart-Sings-Winter-Wonderland/master/907985
This didn't show up on one of his many Decca Christmas LPs?
The Decca "Winter Wonderland" was on a CD anthology called, "The Best of Fred Waring," but I think it has been long out-of-print. "My Hearts Sings" never made it to LP or CD. I'm even surprised there's a 45, although Decca did reissue "Winter Wonderland" in 1950. Maybe that's the 45.
ReplyDelete