Organ Donor, Part 6

I'm betting you didn't think I could go all day with nothing but generic organ albums, but here we are. I've got this one more for you, then I'm done. I don't think there are any more organ records in the pile for this year. In fact, the pile is finally starting to grow thin. This might be the last day I push out six different shares for you. That's not too big a problem since the visitor count dropped like a rock once Christmas came and went. But I appreciate the few of you who are still hanging around, this is all for you. And for your listening pleasure, this is The Organ Orchestra-That Happy Christmas Feeling (RCA Camden CAL 542, Mono, 1959). I'm sure this one exists in Stereo, and I probably have a copy somewhere in my library, but all I could lay my hands on were about five copies in Mono. Oh well, I'll keep an eye out and maybe upgrade this next year.

1. Sleigh Ride
2. Greensleeves
3. Winter Wonderland
4. White Christmas
5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
6. That Christmas Feeling
7. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. You're All I Want For Christmas
10. Jingle Bells

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Organ Donor, Part 5

Up next is a group of crazy medleys played on a crazy organ by a crazy organist. Beyond that, I don't know much to share with you. This is The Organ Masters-Merry Christmas! (RCA Camden CAS-2517, Stereo, 1971). I see references online to this actually being Dick Hyman, but there's nothing on the record to indicate that. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

1. Medley: Jingle Bells; Silver Bells
2. Medley: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day; It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas; Pine Cones And Holly Berries
3. Medley: Frosty The Snowman; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer; Sleigh Bells And Cinnamon
4. Medley: Welcome Christmas (From Dr. Seuss' "How The Grinch Stole Christmas"); What's New About Christmas This Year?; Happy Holiday
5. Medley: (There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays; I'll Be Home For Christmas
6. Medley: White Christmas; The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
7. Medley: The First Noel; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; O Come, All Ye Faithful
8. Medley: O Holy Night; Silent Night; Do You Hear What I Hear
9. Medley: A Christmas Carol; Carol Of The Bells

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Organ Donor, Part 4

More magic, more organ here for you now. No boring story about this one I'm afraid. This is The Magic Organ-The Musical Magic Of Christmas (Ranwood R2001, Stereo). There's some overlap between this record and that last one, I'm afraid. By my count five of the songs are repeated. Sorry about that.

1. Jingle Bells
2. Joy To The World
3. Here Comes Santa Claus
4. Silent Night
5. Frosty The Snow Man
6. Winter Wonderland
7. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
8. Oh Holy Night
9. Christmas Waltz
10. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

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Organ Donor, Part 3

From a Happy Organ we move now to a Magic Organ. Not sure what the difference is as it sounds pretty similar to me. Don't forget, I told you it's all generic stuff today and I meant it. This is The Magic Organ-A Magic Christmas (Ranwood R-8136, Stereo, 1974). I just remembered that I had a hard time with this record, there was a pretty bad warp right at the edge and the first track on each side wouldn't play. Several months later a second copy turned up in the archives and I was able to get a good rip from that version. So if it sounds like slightly different sound on some of the tracks, that's why.

1. Magic Christmas
2. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3. Jingle Bells
4. Blue Christmas
5. Joy To The World
6. White Christmas
7. Here Comes Santa Claus
8. Silent Night
9. Silver Bells
10. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
11. I'll Be Home For Christmas
12. Adeste Fideles
13. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

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Organ Donor, Part 2

If you liked that last generic organ album, you'll appreciate this one as well. Part of that is due to the fact that this one reprises eleven of the twelve tracks on that previous LP, but it adds nine new tracks. I suspect those nine tracks came from an album I don't have by these guys, so this comp will have to do for now. Don't forget that Bob Kames was a part of the duo that brought you this LP, so if you're a fan of his organ stylings, you'll enjoy this record. This is Happy Organ-20 Christmas Favorites (GNP Crescendo GNPS-2138, Stereo, 1980).

1. White Christmas
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. Frosty The Snowman
5. The First Noel
6. Here Comes Santa Claus
7. O' Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
10. A Marshmallow World
11. There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays
12. Silver Bells
13. The Chipmunk Song
14. Jingle Bells
15. Holiday Polka
16. Christmas Waltz
17. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer
18. Christmas Island
19. Let It Snow
20. Silent Night

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Organ Donor, Part 1

Today's theme is Christmas music from the organ. I've got all sorts of generic organ music for you today, records that could have been performed by just about anybody, and probably were. There's no telling who was behind the keyboard on these releases, though I've got one big name that does turn up. This first record is credited only to Happy Organ, but a close reading of the credits reveals that there were two organists involved and one of them was blog-favorite Bob Kames. I don't think any of his solo organ records are currently available to be downloaded around here, they're pretty old shares, but I hope to get some of them remastered for you next year. In the meantime, this LP is going to be your best bet. This is Happy Organ-All-Time Christmas Favorites (Sunnywale/GRT 9330-303, Stereo, 1976).

1. Silent Night
2. O Christmas Tree
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. The First Noel
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Christmas Island
7. Let It Snow
8. White Christmas
9. Jingle Bells
10. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
11. Silver Bells
12. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

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Cana-Day, Part 10

The final record in the organ portion of our Canadian content day, as well as the final record I have from Lucien Hetu is up now. We're moving on into the 70's here, as you can tell by the fashion on display on the cover. The music is still everything you could want it to be. This is Lucien Hétu-Un Noël d'Amour (RCA Gala (Canada) CGPS-391, Stereo, 1972). I do have one more of his records, but it's a two-fer that combines two of the records I've already shared. I didn't figure it was worth the effort on that one, so I just skipped it.

1. Jingle Bell Rock
2. Noel De L'Ouest (Out Of The East)
3. Parade Des Soldats De Bois (Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers)
4. The Christmas Song
5. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
6. Le Sentier De Neige
7. Les Douze Coups de Noël (The Twelve Days Of Christmas)
8. My Favorite Things
9. Les Voix De Noel (Do You Hear What I Hear)
10. Un Noel D'Amour

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Cana-Day, Part 8

Back to the Canadian organ here for part six of our tribute to the Christmas records of Canada. No Lucien Hetu this time (but he's coming back sooner or later), instead we get a double shot of Fernand Lapierre. Well, not really twice the music, but two different versions of the same record. You see, he's cleverly dubbed a little bit of cocktail lounge sound over the entire length of the record to try and make it sounds like the soundtrack to an elegant night out on the town. The problem to my ears is that whoever did the work used a short loop of sound effect that is clearly repeating over and over and over again to the point of annoyance. I guess it was too hard to create a longer loop that you wouldn't notice. So I made a version where each whole side is one long track (as if you were listening to the side all the way through on your own personal record player) and a version where it's cut into tracks with only a small bit of the loop the fades out at the end of the track. I think it's a little less annoying that way, but your mileage may vary. This is Fernand Lapierre á l'orgue Hammond-Noël Avec Fernand Lapierre (Trans-Canada Maximum (Canada) TCM 968, Stereo).

1. Le Party De La Veille
2. C'Est Noël Rock
3. Joyeux Noël
4. Merci Noël
5. La Neige
6. Dansons Autour Du Sapin Vert
7. Noël Des Pauvres
8. J'Ai Vu Maman Embrasser Le Père Noël
9. Noël Blanc
10. Pot-Pourri De Valses

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Cana-Day, Part 6

I'm back with more Canadian content, back with more Canadian organ music and back with more from Lucien Hetu. (How many different series am I trying to run today?) If you like what you've gotten from him before, then you're going to love this because it's more of the same. I don't think that's a bad thing, do you? This is Lucien Hétu-Joyeux Noël (RCA Victor Serie Gala (Canada) CGPS-240, Stereo, 1966)

1. Joyeux Noël
2. Le Bonhomme De Neige
3. Noël C'Est L'Amour
4. Cloches De Noël
5. La Parenté
6. Sainte Nuit!
7. J'Ai Vu Maman Et Le Père Noël (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)
8. Noëls D'Autrefois
9. Les Noëls Avec Toi
10. Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bells)

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Cana-Day, Part 4

Music from Canada, part four. Hope you're holding on tight because it's a wild ride. Up next is another organ extravaganza for Christmas. This is Guy Lemaire-Point d'Orgue Noël (Les Danse Disques-Bec (Canada) DB-6, Stereo, 1976)

1. Noël Blanc (White Christmas)
2. Les Plaisirs D'Hiver (Winter Wonderland)
3. Le Petit Renne Au Nez Rouge (Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer)
4. Quand La Neige Tombe (Let It Snow)
5. Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas)
6. Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bell)
7. Le Père Noël Arrive Ce Soir (Santa Claus Is Coming To Town)
8. Le Bonhomme Hiver (Frosty The Snowman)
9. Cloches D'Argent (Silver Bells)
10. Promenade En Traîneau (Sleigh Ride)

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Cana-Day, Part 2

Part two of our salute to the music of Canada begins our subsection devoted to swingin' organ music. There's no shortage of Christmas organ on the record shelves in Canada if my own collection is any indication. I'll begin with the first of several new shares from Lucien Hetu (a name that has graced the blog before). I knew he was prolific but I had no idea until I started digging. Stay tuned all day for the continuing story of this wizard of the keys. We begin with this gorgeous LP from 1963. This is Lucien Hétu-Meilleurs Voeux de Lucien Hétu à l'Orgue de Théâtre Rialto de Gulbransen (RCA Victor Serie Gala (Canada) CGPS 132, Stereo, 1963).

1. Promenade En Traîneau (Sleigh Ride)
2. Quand Il Neige (Let It Snow)
3. Valse Des Patineurs (Skaters Waltz)
4. Katia (Il Peut Neiger)
5. Neige Sous Mes Pas
6. Noël Blanc (White Christmas)
7. Mon Noël D'Enfant
8. Noël Des Pauvres
9. Dans L'Temps Du Jour De L'an
10. Dans L'Temps Des Fêtes

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Up The Steeple

From the deep archives of organ & chime music for Christmas in my back bedroom, here's a duet LP that features an interesting cover. The music isn't too bad, but it's hard to tell one of these records from another if you know what I mean. This is Georgiana Bowen & Gladys Csehy-Christmas Steepletime (Singspiration Steepletime Hi-Fi Series LP 144, Mono, 1957)

1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. The First Noel
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
5. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. Joy To The World
8. Good Christian Men Rejoice
9. Silent Night
10. O Holy Night
11. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
12. Away In A Manger
13. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
14. Angels We Have Heard On High
15. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
16. There's A Song In The Air
17. Angels From The Realms Of Glory
18. O Sanctissima

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Audiographed Part 2

Next up on the list of autographed records I have for today is by someone I doubt you've ever heard of before. You may have never heard of her, but this one is well worth a listen, I believe. Your mileage may vary, but I think you'll enjoy it. This is Carolyn Watts (The Country Organist) Plays Christmas Favorites (CCC (Triple C) CCC-4501-S, Stereo). Oh look, there's the autograph right on the front cover.

1. Carolyn's Intro
2. White Christmas
3. Angels We Have Heard
4. The Little Drummer Boy
5. Joy To The World
6. Silver Bells
7. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
8. Winter Wonderland
9. The First Noel
10. The Christmas Song
11. O Come All Ye Faithful
12. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
13. Silent Night

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Better Organ 2

Whatever you do, don't say I'm not giving you enough organ music for Christmas. Here's another one that I haven't shared before, though I don't know how I've avoided it all these years. And sure enough, it has another foil cover! Must be a trend. This is The Organ And Chimes Of Edmund Francis-Merry Christmas (Imperial LP-12250, Stereo, 1964). Enjoy!

1. We Wish You A Merry Christmas; O Tannenbaum; The Wassail Song
2. O Come All Ye Faithful; O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Silent Night
4. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing; Angels We Have Heard On High
5. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; I Saw Three Ships
6. Carol Of The Bells; We Three Kings
7. Joy To The World; Carol Of The Drum; Deck The Halls
8. O Holy Night; Christ Was Born On Christmas Day
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Good King Wenceslas
10. The First Noel; Away In A Manger
11. Twelve Days Of Christmas

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Look, I've got a bonus label for you from an audition copy of the record! I'm full of surprises!

Better Organ

Here's another organ album for you from the late 50's, when such things were pretty popular for some reason. No idea why people wanted to listen to such albums, but I suspect it hearkened back to an earlier time when you went to church on Christmas Eve and that's the sort of music you heard. All I know for sure is that at one time, organs were a very popular form of entertainment, and from my vantage point, even more popular at Christmas time. I remember there used to be an organ store in every mall that would often have somebody out front playing whenever you walked by, trying to entice you into the store for a purchase and to sign up for lessons. You don't see that anymore, and only rarely see new Christmas organ albums. Point is, there's a lot of this music out there, so I'm going to share some of it with you. This is John Gart At The Conn Electronic Organ With The Yuletiders-Silent Night (Kapp KS-3045, Stereo, 1959). Enjoy! Huh, just noticed this one has a foil cover, same as the last. I had a couple copies that didn't have the foil cover, but they were all mono. The stereo ones I had weren't in the greatest shape.

1. Adeste Fideles; The First Noel; Joy To The World
2. Silver Bells
3. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!; Frosty The Snowman; Winter Wonderland
4. Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem; Away In A Manger
5. Deck The Halls; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Good King Wenceslaus; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Hark The Herald Angels Sing
6. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
7. Silent Night
8. Sleighride
9. White Christmas
10. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; Jolly Old St Nicholas; Angels We Have Heard On High
11. I'll Be Home For Christmas; It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
12. Oh, Holy Night
13. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
14. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer; Jingle Bells

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Bad Organ

I am going to share a few good organ records with you today, but this is not one of those. I wouldn't have paid any attention to it but it had this grandiose textured foil cover that I thought was pretty neat (the scan really doesn't do it any justice, it's cooler in person). But the cover may be the bast thing about it. The music inside is nothing special and was probably released a dozen times by the budget labels. But I recorded it, and you're going to get it. This is Gerald Eason On The Organ-Robert Knott On The Carillon-Organ And Chimes For Christmas (Baronet B 1003, Mono). Enjoy, if you can!

1. Silent Night
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. Angels We Have Heard On High
5. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
6. O Tannenbaum
7. We Three Kings
8. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
9. O Come All Ye Faithful
10. O Holy Night
11. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
13. The First Noel
14. Joy To The World
15. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly
16. Away In A Manger
17. What Child Is This?
18. Angels From The Realms Of Glory

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Panama, Panama-a

Time to visit the small Central American country of Panama at Christmas time. This is a snappy little organ album from the Canal Zone, which I thought I had shared with you before, but I guess not. I can't find it on the blog, though I did have a copy of it on my computer. Maybe I recorded it but never shared it. I did find this one, maybe that's what I was thinking of. Anyhow, you'll enjoy this if you like the organ records around here. If not, then it may not be your thing. This is Lucho Azcarraga Y Su Conjunto-Navidades En Panama (Christmas In Panama) Con Lucho Azcarraga (Panama LA-2001, Mono, 1964). Enjoy!

1. Venid Pastorcillos
2. Jingle Bells
3. Holy Night
4. Joy To The World
5. Bells Of St. Mary's
6. O Christmas Tree
7. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
8. Cancion De Cuna
9. White Christmas
10. A Belen
11. Christmas Morn Is Come Again
12. Noche De Paz
13. O Come All Ye Faithful
14. Away In A Manger
15. Ese Precioso Niño

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Hi Ho Hi-Fi

I've shared out a lot of organ and chime records over the years, but this one has always stood out to me. Not because of the music I'm afraid, but because I like the cover and because it has the phrase Hi-Fi in the title. How can you go wrong with that? This was first shared in 2008 but I've remastered it and I'm bringing it back tonight. This is Hank Sylvern-Christmas In Hi-Fi: Organ Bells Chimes (ABC-Paramount ABC-146, Mono, 1956). Enjoy!

1. Joy To The World
2. Away In A Manger
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4. The First Noël
5. Deck The Hall
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
9. Jingle Bells
10. The Cherry Tree Carol
11. O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
12. Silent Night

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The Return of Chimeatron!

Here's a weird remaster for you of something I first shared way, way back in 2008. I was pretty excited at the time to have found a record that promised "Chimes by Chimeatron", but it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped. It's pretty much just your standard organ & chimes LP, perhaps a bit slower than most, but nothing special. I still think about it occasionally, and decided to revisit it this year when I was looking for stuff to redo. It's not as bad as I remember, but that may just be because I'm older and can appreciate some things that I didn't like when I was younger. At least this time I got a stereo cover, though I believe my old copy had stereo sound in the grooves with a mono jacket and labels. Quality control and all that... Anyhow, this is your daily remaster, George Chiainia At The Organ And Chimes-Chimes By "Chimeatron"-Music Of The Holiday Season (Colonial ST-LP-772, Stereo, 1965). You might remember the Colonial label from some of those international records I shared yesterday. There was a six-page catalog in this record that listed many of the other releases on Colonial at the time, and I couldn't find any of those Christmas releases on it. So I'm guessing they must date after this one. There's a copy of that catalog in the download if you'd like to take a look. I love to find ephemera inside record jackets, and always try to scan it so you can enjoy it as well.

1. White Christmas
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. Oh Holy Night
5. Joy To The World
6. Angels We Have Heard On High
7. Away In The Manger
8. Noel
9. Silent Night
10. Jingle Bells
11. Oh How Joyfully
12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
13. In Dulce Jubilo
14. Beautiful Savior
15. We Three Kings
16. Lo How A Rose

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Re-Ramona

I'm going to go ahead and get today's remaster out of the way early because I have a big series to share with you today, all new, and I don't want to have to interrupt the flow of music later on in the day. This beautiful slab of red vinyl features some nice Christmas organ, if there really is such a thing. If that's your bag, then you'll really like this one, first shared out in 2007, but remastered this year just for your enjoyment. This is Ramona Gerhard-Christmas In Hi-Fi With Ramona Gerhard At The World's Largest Theatre Organ (Soma MG 1202, Mono, 1956).

1. Medley: Silent Night; O Tannenbaum; We Three Kings; Deck The Halls With Holly
2. Ave Maria
3. Christmas Song
4. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
5. Medley: O' Little Town Of Bethlehem; Jolly Old St. Nicholas; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; We Wish You A Merry Christmas
6. White Christmas
7. Sleigh Ride
8. Noel, Noel

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And look, I have an alternate cover for you as well! Now if I could dig up my copy of the non-LP single side that was a gift to the blog a few years ago to remaster as well... Maybe next year.