Monday, December 07, 2020

13-Polka Christmas

Is there anything that says Christmas more than a peppy polka? I don't think so!  Get up from your seat and dance a while to these awesome slices of Christmas revelry, sourced from, you guessed it, The Internet Archive, and their deep collection of vintage 78s. Even though some of these have the same name, I don't think they're all the same song. I've tried to keep duplicates to a minimum this year, but things happen.

MEGA

Update-4 Jan 2023-Added tracklist to allow searching.

1. Frankie Yankovic And His Yanks-Vocal Chorus By Frankie Yankovic And Bud Griebel-Christmas Polka
2. Freddy Martin And His Orchestra-Vocal Refrain By Merv Griffin And The Martin Men-Merry Christmas Polka
3. Eddie Habat And His Polka Orchestra-Polka Vocal By Bob And Millie Holt-Santa Claus Polka
4. The Globe Trotters-Sleigh Ride Polka
5. The Modernaires Featuring Hal Dickinson-Orchestra Under The Direction Of Lou Bring-The Jingle Bell Polka
6. Dinah Shore With Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires-Orchestra Under The Direction Of Harry Zimmerman-The Merry Christmas Polka
7. Benny Strong And His Orchestra-The Merry Christmas Polka
8. Joe Biviano With RCA Victor Accordion Orchestra-Wooden Soldier Polka (Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers)
9. Jimmy Wakely With Cowboy Band-Christmas Polka
10. Margaret Whiting And The Mellomen With Frank DeVol And His Orchestra-Mistletoe Kiss Polka
11. Jerry Dostal And His Polka Band-Snow Man Polka











18 comments:

  1. Nothing like polkas to brighten up anyone's day, especially when you include one from Cleveland!

    By the way, I like it when old record labels restate the obvious in their credits, such as "Merry Christmas Polka (Polka)" in case we were concerned that the Merry Christmas Polka was actually a waltz.

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  2. Which one is Cleveland?

    Well, there are about a million big band records where they note that the vocalist is the same person credited with the entire record... i.e. Fred and his orchestra, vocal chorus by Fred. :)

    Thanks for the comment, Buster!

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  3. Oh, the maker of every other Polka record in the world. Well, back in the day. Later it was Jimmy Sturr. Not sure who holds the title these days. :)

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  4. Polkas for this holiday season seem out of season. In most sparsely populated Covid-observant households like mine, I'd think the few people there would be inclined to waltzes, fox trots and tangoes. However, these would be perfect for one of Mike Pompeo's overcrowded White House parties. No gift keeps giving more than Coronavirus. Anyway, I'm glad you excavated these. You've kept me from a "treasure" hunt I have never ever wanted to undertake. Please keep up this Christmas shellacking. It's nice to find likable examples of genres I hate.

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  5. These are good ones, because most (if not all) of them are vocal versions. I get tired of finding polkas with great titles, only to find out they're instrumental and have nothing to do with the title.

    There are plenty more of these out there, I'm sure. You'd be hard pressed to collect up all of the Christmas Polkas out there.

    More Christmas dance steps to come later in the season. :)

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  6. I'm so tired from polka'in' around the tree today that I need to rest for a while for sure!, thanks for that workout....these are wonderful. I keep telling myself to stop collecting tracks but then you go and drop things like this in my lap - hoo boy....

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  7. Hmmm... Where else have I heard Merv's "Merry Christmas Polka" before this season? (-:

    Great selection. Cool to hear other "pop" version of this number. Frankie Y. apparently didn't record the number until 1951, though it seems to be associated with him.

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  8. And how come MEGA likes you and Buster but hassled me to the point of having to leave? I'm sure it was nothing personal, but...

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  9. I'm no big polka fan but I will check this out. Nothing says I have to KEEP it, right?

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  10. This batch is especially fun. Thanks, Ernie!

    A college friend of mine grew up with Freddy Martin's version of "Merry Christmas Polka" on a compilation and introduced me to it. We're both totally amused by the overly-boisterous laugh after the "happy and gay" line...which to us sounds a tad like Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West.

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  11. Thanks for the comments all!

    Lee, as usual, beat me to the punch. Here's a link to his post featuring Merv Griffin, which probably sounds better than my hack job. :) http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2020/12/more-christmas-78s-christmas-favorites.html

    Pete-That's just not right...

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  12. Now that I belatedly look over the contents one more time, I note that Eddie Habat is on the list. That makes two bandleaders from Cleveland, the other being Frankie Yankovic.

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  13. Doesn't all polka music somehow trace itself back to Cleveland? Well, Chicago maybe. :)

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  14. The Chicago school tends to be Polish (L'il Wally), and the Cleveland style is Solvenian-Bohemian.

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  15. I can't tell the difference between a hambone, a polka, or any of the other styles. They sound about the same to me. :(

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