Christmas In July 2026-Part 38

38 days into this and we're still truckin'! If I had more material we'd keep going but we're rapidly looking at a dwindling pile of Christmas music from non-Christmas records. This stuff is hard to find and even when I do find it they aren't giving it away for free. So the end is near, as the signs say, but it's not today. Here's another download for you. 

1. Marian McPartland-The Things We Did Last Summer (Willow Creek And Other Ballads, 1985)

A nice piano version of this track, and it comes with another story about a record skipping. This one looked shiny and mint, but it had a skip in the first minute or so of the song that I just couldn't work around. I played it backwards and it skipped in a different place. Then I tried splicing the backwards bit into the forward bit but for some reason the two versions sounded different. I've not had that happen before and I'm wondering if I've got something out of adjustment. I was about to throw in the towel and put this record in the small pile of things I just couldn't record this season (I think there are three records in the pile o' shame), then I remembered the conical needle. I normally use an elliptical needle as it's a little more sensitive and provides a greater frequency range, but it's much more delicate and susceptible to skipping. Sure enough, the conical needle sat down in the groove and refused to be pushed out, giving me a complete recording that sounded good to my ears. I hate having to switch back and forth (I think that's how some things get out of adjustment) but I did it and saved another record from the reject pile.

2. Carmen Cavallaro-I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (The Best Of Carmen Cavallaro-The Poet Of The Piano, 1965)

A fake electronic stereo version of this old chestnut. This was a big double album with all the 'hits' on it, but it didn't look familiar. Not sure if I've ever shared it before.

3. Jose Fajardo-Lead Vocals: Jose "Pepe" Cordo-Navidad Con Amor (Selecciones Clasicas, 1977)

The highlighted LP cover up at the top of the post provided this track for us. Lucky for me, I spotted the word Navidad right there on the front cover and grabbed it. I love hearing new Christmas music like this where you're not expecting it. And it's a pretty good song to boot!

4. Clebanoff And His Orchestra-Bobsled (Strings Afire, 1962)

An old favorite around here, I think I may have shared this track out in the very first season of Christmas in July back in 2006. (There was a Christmas in July during 2005, but it didn't involve any sharity, it was just some doodle images from the back side of Christmas LPs, something I used to share a lot of in the early days.) Anyhow, I've always loved this track and when I saw this budget reissue of the LP I figured I'd revisit it for you and share it in FLAC.

5. The Shawnee Choir With The Shawnee Youth Choir-Earl Willhoite, Director-A Christmas Legend (Christmas And Concert Songs For Mixed Chorus)

You'll notice that that's only one track by this group in the folder today. We've finally worked out way through the majority of the LP side and we're able to drop back down to the one-a-day rate that I prefer.

6. Raymond Lewenthal-Piano-Greensleeves (Moonlight And Keyboard, 1957)

Today must be an unofficial piano day. This is the third piano-centric track I've noticed in today's playlist. Hope you enjoy that sort of thing because you're getting plenty of it today.

7. Jamestown High School A Cappella Choir 1990-1991-Madrigal Singers-James A. Bogey, Conductor-A Gallery Carol (Songs Of '91, 1991)

This was the only think left in the unshared pile from last year that was not tied to Jenson Publications. If memory serves, it was an entire LP of Christmas music that I found in a 2-LP set from this school choir. That's still within the rules here for July, but it feels a little like I'm bending them. If you like this group and you want to hear more, you'll have to go back to last year and start downloading.

8. Jaime Mendoza-Nava And His Orchestra-The Big White Land (The Savage Wild, 1970)

Here's the second and last track I am going to share from this obscure soundtrack. I like to pick up just about every soundtrack I see, you never know when something is going to turn up just out of the blue on there. I can't tell you how many great tunes I've discovered hiding in soundtrack albums. If you wanna check out the movie in question, here;s a link to the page for it at IMDB. It looks like there's a bad print of it on YouTube and DVDs exist. Lemme know how it is.

9. Unknown Artists-O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Songs For Kindergarten Children, 1970)

Another record that we've been sharing two tracks a day from and are now down to just the one. And an actual honest-to-goodness Christmas song this time. Good stuff!

10. Jenson Publications-Trilogy Of Carols (Superior New Works For Concert Band-Vol. IX, 1981)

And the last track of the day is from a group that we've boon doing two-a-day from, although they haven't always been from the same album. It's hard to space these things out properly when you don't have all the tracks available from day one. And even then, I know there were quite a few days during the month when I shared out more than one version of the same song in a day. I hate doing that, but I don't pay enough attention to my selections each day to prevent it from happening. Maybe I need an assistant to help me work on this stuff. Nah, that takes all the fun out of it.

That's it for today, hope you found something great in the stack. Not many more days to go, but keep coming back until I tell you to stop. You'll know it's the end, believe me. 

MEGA