Cameo (Not Camo)

Nice little LP here featuring samples played by the arranger from the books they wanted you to buy.  I forget exactly where I found this, but the record sleeve was stuffed with not only the record but also two music books that went along with the two sides of the record.  It was quite the fat package.  I scanned the front of the two books for you as well, but no the back or the sleeve because it's blank.  This is simple solo piano medleys, not sure if it's any good.  I'm sure some of you might like it.  Please download and give a listen to John W. Schaum-Christmas Cameos/More Christmas Cameos (Spin 7245, Mono).  There's 10 medleys on here with 3-4 songs each, I'm too lazy to type them all in.  :(

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While I'm At It

May as well throw up another share from the early years of Warner Bros while I'm at it.  Here are some nice little piano tunes for you, with a great Christmas lilt.  I shared this out back in the dark ages of 2008, seems like only yesterday...  Sorry, got lost in my memories there for a second.  Here is George Greeley With The Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Ted Dale-The Twenty-Two Best Loved Christmas Piano Concertos (Warner Bros WS 1338, Stereo, 1959).

1. Joy To The World; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly; O Christmas Tree; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. All On A Christmas Morning; We'll Dress This House
5. Silent Night; Adeste Fideles
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Away In A Manger; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
7. Carol Of The Drum
8. White Christmas
9. Jingle Bells
10. O Holy Night
11. The First Noel; Auld Lang Syne

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Sing Along

Odd concept here... Instead of people singing along to a normal piano, it's people singing along to a player piano! So does that make it the karaoke of it's day? I mean, canned music is canned music, right? Well, this does have the advantage of vocal arrangements by Mr. Dick Hyman, so that's a good thing.  But still, a player piano?  And to make it even odder, an instrument more closely associated with an earlier century was 'programmed' with a tune from just a few years earlier, The Chipmunk Song.  Bet you never thought you'd hear that coming from a player piano!  (It's questions like that that keep me up at night.)  So here, you go, please download The Piano Rolls And Voices-All Time Christmas Hits (RCA Victor LSP-4000 (Vocal Arrangements By Dick Hyman), Stereo, 1968).

1. Winter Wonderland
2. Silver Bells
3. It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas
4. Sleighride
5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
6. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
7. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
8. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)
9. All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
10. Frosty The Snow Man
11. White Christmas

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Boxing Day With Melis

It may be Boxing Day, but that doesn't mean I can't share out more Christmas music.  I've still got a huge folder filled with goodness that I haven't shared out yet, so I need to empty some of it out.  This was a great share back in 2006, and it's still a great share today, especially in newly remastered form.  I didn't rescan the artwork, though, but even a rescan won't help poor Mr. Melis look any better.  Sorry...  But the music is sweet, there's no doubt about that.  Grab this now, or wait until next year, if you dare.  Hopefully I'll still be here to share this great music with you, but you never know.  This is  José Melis And His Orchestra-Christmas With Melis (Seeco CELP 4230, 1958, Stereo).

1. Sleigh Bells
2. Winter Wonderland
3. The Story Of Christmas
4. Jingle Bells
5. Toy Piano
6. Merry Christmas Music
7. Silent Night
8. Adeste Fidelis
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
11. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
12. Oh! Little Town Of Bethlehem; Noel, Noel; Silent Night

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Warner Pianos

Another in a long line of great albums from the early years of Warner Bros. Records, this time featuring the piano.  George Greeley released a whole series of LPs on Warner Bros, but as far as I know, this was the only Christmas one.  I first shared this with you in 2008, and I'm bringing it back tonight.  This is George Greeley With The Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Ted Dale-The Twenty-Two Best Loved Christmas Piano Concertos (Warner Bros WS 1338, Stereo, 1959).

1. Joy To The World; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly; O Christmas Tree; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. All On A Christmas Morning; We'll Dress This House
5. Silent Night; Adeste Fideles
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Away In A Manger; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
7. Carol Of The Drum
8. White Christmas
9. Jingle Bells
10. O Holy Night
11. The First Noel; Auld Lang Syne

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From Organ To Piano

Let's switch gears here a little, get away from the organs and move on to the piano.  Here's a great record I first shared in 2007, and it's just as great today.  I even gave you two different covers, how nice of a guy am I?  This is Roger Williams With The Concert Grand Orchestra Directed by Frank Hunter & Marty Gold-Christmas Time (Kapp KS-3048, Stereo, 1959).

1. Silent Night
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Winter Wonderland
4. We Three Kings Of Orient Are; The First Noel; Away In A Manger; Angels We Have Heard On High
5. Deck The Hall
6. Adeste Fideles
7. White Christmas
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Christmas Song
10. O Holy Night; Joy To The World; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear; O Sanctissima
11. Jingle Bells
12. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

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New Big & Tiny

Another of the great albums I first shared out way back in 2005 was this great one by 'Big' Tiny Little.  This is the album that will really get your toe tapping for the Christmas season, and now it sounds even better than ever.  This album sits great alongside similar efforts from Al Hirt and Pete Fountain with that New Orleans barroom instrument sound.  Go download yourself a copy of Big Tiny Little-Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Coral CRL 757391, Stereo, 1961).

1. Tiny's Christmas Medley
2. When Santa Claus Does The Polka
3. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. Sleigh Ride
5. Frosty The Snow Man
6. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
7. Silver Bells
8. Santa's Chopsticks
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Here Comes Santa Claus
11. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
12. Jumpin' Jiminy Christmas

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The Piano Keeps Playing

I may as well keep going with the piano Christmas since it seems to be working so well for me. I don't think this one needs too much introduction. If you don't recognize it, go read what I wrote two years ago, other wise, just download Roger Williams With The Concert Grand Orchestra Directed by Frank Hunter & Marty Gold-Christmas Time (Kapp KS-3048, Stereo, 1959). And don't miss the alternate cover below.

1. Silent Night
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Winter Wonderland
4. We Three Kings Of Orient Are; The First Noel; Away In A Manger; Angels We Have Heard On High
5. Deck The Hall
6. Adeste Fideles
7. White Christmas
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Christmas Song
10. O Holy Night; Joy To The World; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear; O Sanctissima
11. Jingle Bells
12. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Christmas Concertos

Here's another great Christmas piano LP, this time with more emphasis on the artist and less on the piano itself. For all I know, this record could have been made on the Siena Pianoforte, they just didn't credit it by name on the jacket. They did, however, credit the artist quite prominently, and with just cause. George Greeley plays some pretty good piano here, and runs through quite a list of Christmas carols. If I could describe any of my shares around here as good background music, this one is it. Please download and play George Greeley With The Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Ted Dale-The Twenty-Two Best Loved Christmas Piano Concertos (Warner Bros WS 1338, Stereo, 1959) in the background. I keep forgetting to mention my previous shares. I first threw this one up on the old blog last year.

1. Joy To The World; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly; O Christmas Tree; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. All On A Christmas Morning; We'll Dress This House
5. Silent Night; Adeste Fideles
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Away In A Manger; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
7. Carol Of The Drum
8. White Christmas
9. Jingle Bells
10. O Holy Night
11. The First Noel; Auld Lang Syne

A Famous Piano?

I've never known exactly what to think of this record. It claims to have been recorded on a famous piano. I guess I should care about that, but I don't. The story associated with it seems too fantastical to be true. For an instrument to have been through that much, how could it possibly sound the same as it once did? Well, I suppose if they can resurrect a crushed Stradivarius from the splinters, anything is possible. I've been wondering about this since 2007 when I first found and shared this LP. It probably won't leave you with any sleepless night, though, so don't hesitate to download and listen to Grace Castagnetta-Christmas On The Siena Pianoforte (Counterpoint/Esoteric (An Everest Records Production), S-2411-53005, Fake Stereo).

1. Joy To The World
2. Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. Christmas Is Here
5. What Child Is This?
6. Deck The Halls
7. Oh, Holy Night
8. Rise Up, Shepherd, An' Foller
9. Away In A Manger
10. Adeste Fideles ("Come All Ye Faithful")
11. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
12. How Brightly Beams The Morning Star
13. I Saw Three Ships
14. Good King Wenceslas
15. The Holly And The Ivy
16. We Three Kings
17. Jingle Bells
18. The First Nowell
19. Silent Night, Holy Night

Big Sound, Tiny Package

This is another LP that I shouldn't have waited so long to share this year. This one will get your toes tapping or my name's not Bert. Wait, it's Ernie, not Bert. Ha-ha, I made a funny. Or a not-so-funny. Anyhow, you won't regret downloading and listening to Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Coral CRL 757391, Stereo, 1961). This was one of the original albums I first shared back in 2005 and I think it's popped up every year since.

1. Tiny's Christmas Medley
2. When Santa Claus Does The Polka
3. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. Sleigh Ride
5. Frosty The Snow Man
6. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
7. Silver Bells
8. Santa's Chopsticks
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Here Comes Santa Claus
11. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
12. Jumpin' Jiminy Christmas

Speaking Of Roger

Since I compared my last share of George Greeley to this Roger Williams share from last year, I figured this was a good time to share it out again. I shared this out on Christmas Eve last year, so I'm sure plenty of folks didn't get a chance to download it or enjoy it before Christmas came and went. So why not get it now while there's still plenty of time to enjoy it. This is Roger Williams With The Concert Grand Orchestra Directed by Frank Hunter & Marty Gold-Christmas Time (Kapp KS-3048, Stereo, 1959). Oh, and I found two different covers for this one, both giant gatefolds that must have cost a fortune when they were new.

1. Silent Night
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Winter Wonderland
4. We Three Kings Of Orient Are; The First Noel; Away In A Manger; Angels We Have Heard On High
5. Deck The Hall
6. Adeste Fideles
7. White Christmas
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Christmas Song
10. O Holy Night; Joy To The World; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear; O Sanctissima
11. Jingle Bells
12. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Speaking Of George

Since I mentioned George Greeley in the post before last (he conducted the orchestra on that Keely Smith track), I figured I'd go ahead and share out his Christmas LP. This is a piano based record, with a full orchestra backing him up. It's pretty good, actually, as such things go. Reminds me a little of that Roger Williams LP I shared out last year (which reminds me that I need to go ahead and reshare that this year. Maybe after this...). That green cover is a shiny foil that doesn't scan too well. It's really much shinier in person, but you get the picture. I love the records from Warner Bros. in their first few yeas of existence. They are all full of interesting and cool stuff, both on the sleeves and in the grooves. I think I've got some more from them to share out before the end of the year, if I get time. But right now, please download George Greeley With The Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Ted Dale-The Twenty-Two Best Loved Christmas Piano Concertos (Warner Bros WS 1338, Stereo, 1959).

1. Joy To The World; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly; O Christmas Tree; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. All On A Christmas Morning; We'll Dress This House
5. Silent Night; Adeste Fideles
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Away In A Manger; We Three Kings Of Orient Are; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
7. Carol Of The Drum
8. White Christmas
9. Jingle Bells
10. O Holy Night
11. The First Noel; Auld Lang Syne

More Piano (No Forte)

Continuing on with the piano sharity tonight, here's a record I shared with you back in 2005 as my very first Christmas record share here at Ernie (Not Bert). Couple of years later I revisited this one, actually cutting it into tracks for the first time. Once you give it a listen, you'll find that's it's really side-long medleys of tinkly cocktail hour piano that are either something you're going to love or hate, there is no middle ground. So if that sounds like something you might enjoy, please download the individual tracks from George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (Vox VX25-010, Mono, 1955) or the two sides all in big long tracks, George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (Vox VX25-010, 1955), it's your choice.

1. Introduction
2. White Christmas
3. Anderson: Sleighride
4. Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)
5. Waldteufel: Skaters Waltz
6. Away In A Manger
7. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
8. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
9. Jingle Bells
10. O Tannenbaum
11. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly
12. O Tannenbaum-Reprise
13. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
14. Winter Wonderland
15. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
16. Noel, Noel
17. Tchaikovsky: Troika (From "The Seasons")
18. Tchaikovsky: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy (From "The Nutcracker")
19. Silent Night, Holy Night

Oh, and if you want a couple of bonus tracks, check out this post and this one from Christmas In July.

Good News And Bad-I received an email from George Feyer's daughter-in-law last night, and she tells me that the family is in the process of making all his recordings available for legal download. That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't share it with you anymore, but I think the good outweighs the bad. So keep checking back and hopefully I'll have some information about when and where you can download some tasty George Feyer.

A Piano Fort?

Here's a curious share from last year featuring the world famous Siena Pianoforte. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I don't know very much about said piano, but apparently it's quite famous. Feel free to leave me a comment if you've ever heard of it. Before I even reshare this one out, I'm going to point you towards a bonus track that I shared out during Christmas In July. I suppose there are folks out there for whom the 19 tracks on this LP will not be enough, so that bonus track makes it an even 20. And once you come back from the hours of fun that is Christmas in July, please download Grace Castagnetta-Christmas On The Siena Pianoforte (Counterpoint/Esoteric (An Everest Records Production). Fake Stereo, S-2411-53005).

1. Joy To The World
2. Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. Christmas Is Here
5. What Child Is This?
6. Deck The Halls
7. Oh, Holy Night
8. Rise Up, Shepherd, An' Foller
9. Away In A Manger
10. Adeste Fideles ("Come All Ye Faithful")
11. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
12. How Brightly Beams The Morning Star
13. I Saw Three Ships
14. Good King Wenceslas
15. The Holly And The Ivy
16. We Three Kings
17. Jingle Bells
18. The First Nowell
19. Silent Night, Holy Night

First Thing In The Morning

I'm getting a late start today, what with all the trouble yesterday. Why not throw up something really great from the past? This LP is up there with the best and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. This is Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Coral CRL 757391, Stereo, 1961). I first shared out Tiny back in 2005, and he's been a perennial favorite ever since. Here's the tracklist for you, so you can see all the great tunes you're downloading.

1. Tiny's Christmas Medley
2. When Santa Claus Does The Polka
3. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. Sleigh Ride
5. Frosty The Snow Man
6. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
7. Silver Bells
8. Santa's Chopsticks
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Here Comes Santa Claus
11. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
12. Jumpin' Jiminy Christmas

Almost Christmas Time

We're down to the last few hours here, and I'm searching for something to share that won't take too much time out of my busy schedule. I still have to get some Christmas presents, check memory cards & batteries, wrap everything, and then get ready to pick it all up and head for my aunt's house tomorrow morning. I wish I could give my family Christmas music for Christmas, but I suspect they're onto me about that. But you, you get Christmas music for Christmas. And here is a classic that's been floating around my collection for years, I've just never taken the time to record it, and even more time-consuming, scan it. This is a huge gatefold, with all sorts of doodles and lyrics inside the gatefold, and it was just intimidating. I think I finally got it this year, though. I also scanned a non-gatefold reissue with the same cover, but a different back cover, so that's in the ZIP file as well. The picture below isn't that other cover, though. It's actually the back side of the cover you see above. I love a release that actually spends as much money on the back cover as on the front! So please be my guest and download the piano artistry of Roger Williams With The Concert Grand Orchestra Directed by Frank Hunter & Marty Gold-Christmas Time (Kapp KS-3048, 1959). I think you'll like it.

Christmas Cut To Pieces

Tonight I'm sharing with you a remastered version of the very first Christmas record I shared with you at the blog. This opened the Christmas sharing on Thanksgiving Day, 2005. (There was a single I posted earlier the same day, but it's Thanksgiving music, so it doesn't count). I was never really happy with my recording of that one, since I had a pretty beat up copy. I finally found a better copy sometime during this last year, so I rerecorded it for you. I also spent a lot of time cutting it up into individual tracks for you. It's presented as two side-long medleys, but with a lot of listening and some zooming in and out, I was able to find good dividing points on all the songs. To me, this makes it much easier to listen to, and I enjoy it more as individual tracks than as long medleys. But I've made both versions available for you as part of my effort to keep everybody happy all of the time! So if you want the new version that's cut into individual tracks, please download George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (Vox VX25-010, 1955). If you want the uncut medleys, please download George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (uncut) (Vox VX25-010, 1955). Which ever version you get, the sound is much better on this version than on the original share.

Good News And Bad-I received an email from George Feyer's daughter-in-law last night, and she tells me that the family is in the process of making all his recordings available for legal download. That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't share it with you anymore, but I think the good outweighs the bad. So keep checking back and hopefully I'll have some information about when and where you can download some tasty George Feyer.

What's A Pianoforte?

I'm not afraid to admit it. I have no idea what a siena pianoforte is. But when I saw this album, I knew I had to buy it just because of the little sleepy guy perched atop the instrument. Turns out that it's a pretty neat little album. Lots of good songs on here in interesting arrangements. It's all played on the magic siena pianoforte, which sounds a lot like a plain piano to me, but I don't have the trained ears of an auteur. Why don't you download and tune your ears to Grace Castagnetta-Christmas On The Siena Pianoforte (Counterpoint/Esoteric (An Everest Records Production) S-2411-53005)? There's some noise on some of the tracks that I wish wasn't there, but you should be able to get the idea.