Nat King Cole left us at the age of 45, leaving many years in which he could have continued to record and grow as an artist. If he's this beloved today, just imagine if he'd been able to record for 20-30 more years at the top of his game. But you never know. Hoping to build on this lost legacy, and especially the Christmas part of that legacy, Nat's brother Freddy brought out this album of original Christmas songs in 1975. Again, if you're not paying particularly close attention, you might mistake this for Nat himself occasionally. All the songs were written by someone named Ray Parker. No idea who that is, or if he has anything to do with Ray Parker, Jr., but I doubt it. There are some good songs on here, but it's still a little hit or miss in places. I think it's well worth a listen or two. If you look in the download, there's a version of the cover with an autograph that may or may not be Freddy's. Hard to tell, but maybe. Anyhow, please download and enjoy
Freddy Cole-
Freddy Cole's Christmas Dreams (Arrikka AS-007, Stereo, 1975).
1. Jingles (The Christmas Cat)
2. Christmas Dreams
3. It's That Holiday Time Once Again
4. A Jack Frost Snow And Merry Christmas Kiss
5. Love And A Merry Christmas
6. All The Bessings Of The Year
7. Christmas Prayer
8. Merry Christmas From A Snowman's Choir
9. Old Days, Old Times And Old Friends
10. Sleepy Christmas Doll
11. Elvin Elf
12. Our Sunday
MEGA
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I'm surprised to be the only one thanking you for this title.. those new Christmas songs are very nice...Freddy does a good job and I wonder if these songs were ever redone by someone else...great share Ernie
ReplyDeleteI thought it was great, but sometimes I share too much... I've never heard any of these tracks elsewhere, which is a shame. Thanks for the note!
DeleteLove these original jazzy upbeat Chistmas tunes. Love LPs like this. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think it's a keeper. A lot of fun!
DeleteSo far, this is an excellent album. All originals too! Freddy and Nat's brother Ike Cole also had a similar timbre and tone as well. Looking forward to giving a more detailed review later. Came out 10 years after Nat's passing on February 15, 1965 from lung cancer.
ReplyDeleteYou can hear the Nat in his voice sometimes which I'm sure was the genesis of this album. I think they talk as much about Nat on the back cover as they do Freddy, which is a shame. The poor guy lived in his brother's shadow his whole life.
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