Some days I really just have no idea what is in my collection and what's not.
Two years ago I shared a record that was the third entry in a short series of Christmas records put out by a small grocery chain up north. I had no idea that I already had the second entry in the series right there in my collection all along, just waiting to be rediscovered. I've hunted and hunted and I don't think I have the first record in the series, but I'm going to keep looking. I know it's out there and I have every intention of finding it one of these days, and at a reasonable price. (I'm friends with a record dealer on FB and he has two copies, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay his price knowing that I found two of them for a buck or so each. I'm cheap, what can I say?) Like Walt Harper two years ago, Harold Betters was a jazz musician centered in the Pittsburgh area who released quite a few records on the same Gateway label that produced this record I have for you today. He even appears to have hit the Hot 100 at one time in 1964 according to this
Wikipedia article (which doesn't mention either Christmas album among his discography, though
Discogs does). I think it's a very enjoyable album and not something you're going to come across every day. Please download and enjoy
Harold Betters-
Open Pantry Has Betters Again This Christmas (Gateway for Open Pantry GQP-1034, Stereo, 1968).
1. Little Drummer Boy
2. Joy To The World
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. Winter Wonderland
5. Silver Bells
6. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
7. O Holy Night
8. All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
9. O Come All Ye Faithful
10. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
MEGA
I've actually heard of Harold Betters - Pittsburgh isn't all that far from here. I like the image of him serenading the Open Pantry sign with his trombone. It's odd, but well drawn, although the green sky is not exactly comforting.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the cover was really like that, it's not just my poor Photoshop skills. And I really want to find the last LP in the series. I couldn't bring myself to pay $25 plus shipping though. It's tough to be cheap.
DeleteYou're not cheap - that's overpriced!
DeleteWell, it's a dealer. He has it and I don't. I'm gonna keep hunting and I'll find it someday. I should have tried to trade something for it, that's my favorite way to get more expensive stuff lately. I have a lot of records. :)
DeleteThanks for this. I really liked the other one you shared so looking forward to this one. Good hunting on that third album.
ReplyDeleteIt's out there somewhere, just waiting on me to find it. Maybe this weekend. :)
DeletePopped this on while putting up the tree. Good stuff I'd never have heard without this site. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWish I could fill the blog with such stuff, but finds like this are few and far between these days.
DeleteI'd think that there may be missing (e.g. not recorded on Discogs) records for the years 1970 - 1973 rather than the company released records in 1968/69 and then waited five years to release the next. The fact that they changed recording studio also suggests that.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that's true, but I've never seen any indication of such. I'll keep looking just in case.
DeleteGood luck, you never know what may turn up in an Op Shop.
DeleteFingers crossed!
DeleteI have the Walt Harper LP so I'm excited to hear another Open Pantry jazz Xmas LP. Many thanks. Love the cover illustrations on these LPs, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's good stuff!
DeleteHere is the chart information on Harold's hit that you mentioned in your essay: "Do What You Want (Part One) entered Billboard's Hot 100 chart the first week of November 1964 and peaked at #74 during an 8-week run. Over at the then-recently renamed Record World, It appeared on their survey a month later and stayed there for four weeks, peaking at #84.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info!
DeleteWell Ernie, I guess I will have to listen to this album again. As my MP3 player has the albums in alphabetical order, this came next after Father Martins album. Father Martin was putting me to sleep, and this album did not help to wake me up. It seems everyone here in the comments likes it, so I will add it back onto my MP3 player during Christmas week. By then, maybe I will wake up, hehee...
ReplyDeleteDon't sweat it. If you don't like it, you don't like it. Sometimes you have to be in the right mood to listen to something.
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