Nat King Cole is one of the great singers, and an even greater icon of Christmas. It wouldn't be Christmas if you didn't hear one of his versions of The Christmas Song or any of the other tracks that he contributed to the season's sound. But I don't think anyone has ever heard of Bishop Caines, if there ever was such a person. So he knew that to appeal to a wider audience, they'd have to put Nat's face on the cover instead of his. And if you heard any of this record at a distance and weren't paying attention, you might think it was something by Nat for a second, but it's really just Bishop doing his best imitation. Give it a listen and see what you think of his attempt at forgery. This is
Bishop Caines-
Christmas Memories Of Nat King Cole (Holiday HDY-1914, Stereo, 1980). Enjoy!
1. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
2. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
3. O Holy Night
4. White Christmas
5. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
7. Jingle Bells
8. The First Noel
9. Count Your Blessings
10. Silent Night
MEGA
Great headline!
ReplyDeleteI was very proud of that. :)
DeleteI'm going to download this just so I change the artist name to Not King Cole. Brilliant.
DeleteI wish I was always this clever. :)
DeleteHi Ernie, I only listened to a few seconds of the first three songs. I will give it a full listen while out shopping.
ReplyDeleteHowever, what I heard in those few seconds did not remind me of Nat, maybe later it will. It reminded me of a real favorite of mine Johnny Mathis. So, I am glad you posted this, because it reminds me to look for my Johnny Mathis Christmas CDs.
I thought the guy was trying pretty hard to sound like Nat. He doesn't, but he's trying...
DeleteThere are at least half of the cuts on this album that Nat either did not record commerically or not at all. I do have a 1992 CD in my collection that features Christmas songs that was taken from Nat's 1957 NBC TV series.
ReplyDeleteYou're not likely to mistake any of these for an actual Nat version, but he's trying his best.
DeleteFor a fake Nat, this guy is doing a good job singing in his style. Fun fact: the instrumental tracks for a lot of the cuts on this album are the same ones that appear on the better-remembered Christmas With Rosemary Clooney album, also on the Holiday label.
ReplyDeleteReally? Huh, I didn't know that, but I guess I'm not surprised.
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