Christmas In July 2026-Part 23

Day 23, who remembers the KLF, aka The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu? Their magic number was 23. I guess that doesn't matter much but it was the only thing that came to mind today. There is a little bit of a theme today, many of the tracks are by unknown singer-songwriter types with songs that have a winter connection of some sort. Enjoy!

1. The Kinsman Quartet-Go Tell It On The Mountain (The Kinsman Quartet, 1971)

This was a lot more interesting than I was expecting. They did a good job with this arrangement.

2. Gordon Bok With Ann Mayo Muir-Snow Gull (Bay Of Fundy And Other Songs, 1975)

This is more in the folk vein that the singer-songwriter category, but I thought it sort of fit in.

3. Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers-The Winter It Is Past (Off The Map, 1986)

The first of the themed selections today. No idea who these guys are, which is the same with all the artists today. Maybe someone who is familiar with one or both of these folks can chime in with some info.

4. Jim Reeves-The Blizzard (40 Golden Greats, 1975)

Not a singer-songwriter, he just kind of snuck in here because I needed another song. But always good to hear from him.

5. Richard And Miche-In Silence Of Snow (Take A Chance, 1983)

I got the impression from the cover image that these two were married, but I have no idea really.

6. Toy Band-Theme III (March And Dance With Toy Band-My First Golden Record Library Volume 10)

Our daily Greensleeves bit with an excerpt of story on top for good measure. I warned you there were a lot of these bits...

7. Eli Kaniel-The Insulted Winter (Eli Kaniel Sings For You, 1973)

Not sure if he wrote this or not, but I sort of figured it fit in here. I assume that's Hebrew he's singing since this LP is from Israel. Not sure what he means by Insulted Winter, and I don't speak the language so someone is going to have to explain it to me.

8. Odetta-Chilly Winds (Odetta At The Gate Of Horn, 1957)

Back to the folky stuff here with the well-known Odetta. Is this the oldest track in the pile today, I think it is.

9. Marsha Malamet-Coney Island Winter (Coney Island Winter, 1969)

The title track to our headlining LP today. I've visited Coney Island in the winter, and it really does look pretty lonely like that. Not like the beaches here in Florida where it's always a bit crowded.

10. Malcolm Dalglish & Grey Larsen-Christ Child's Lullaby (Banish Misfortune, 1977)

Our last selection today and the last of the themed selections.  Again, if you know who any of these folks are, please chime in and tell us all about them I love to hear about the folks whose music I share.

That reminds me, I got a comment recently on an old post from 2018 (which was actually a rerun from 2008) by a guy who's father played on the record in question. We exchanged a couple of emails and I was able to ID another Christmas record in the collection that featured his father's playing (actually the exact same tracks, but that's a long story). I love it when stuff like that happens, even if it takes eighteen years. Don't make me wait that long to hear about someone in today's share!

MEGA