King The Second

I bet you didn't expect a second LP from the King Family today, did you? Well, I'm just full of surpises. Interesting how all the little kids in the cover photo on this one are looking at something over to their left instead of looking at the camera. I guess that's what happens when you have that many kids all together. There is quite a bit of overlap between this LP and the other one. One thing I didn't mention before is the song Hear The Sledges With The Bells, found on both LPs, which was based on a work by Edgar Allen Poe! I don't know how much liberty they took with his original work, but it's odd that an author more closely tied to Halloween would have authored a Christmas carol. But enough of the blah-blah-blah. Please give a listen to Christmas With The King Family With The Alvino Rey Orchestra, Conducted By Ralph Carmichael, Vocal Direction By Jimmy Joyce (Warner Brothers W 1627, 1965). More from Jimmy Joyce coming up before Christmas, I hope.

Note-The track list on the sleeve gets the first track on each side wrong. What did you expect? Quality control from a major label?

Update: Looks like this one is coming out on CD for the 2009 Christmas season. That means I'm pulling down the share, and I encourage you to go out and buy the CD. If we don't buy these things when they come out through legitimate channels, then they'll quite releasing them...

Christmas LP Cover Of The Year

I mentioned to you just a few minutes ago that Alvino Rey released one Christmas LP (in 1959), and this is it. It was released under the name Ira Ironstrings due to contract issues, and the secret was help pretty tightly until quite recently. When I got this LP several years ago, no one had ever heard of it. In the meantime, plenty of people have discovered it, and it's even been released on CD. So you should go out and buy it because it's really good. It's wacky, fun, intense stuff. Trust me, if you've enjoyed any of the stuff I've shared out, this is much, much, much better than any of it. I notice the CD reissue has a big record company logo slapped over the cool cover art, so be sure to save this picture so you can appreciate the unadorned cover.

King Me!

Today's tunes come from an LP of tunes taken from the King Family Christmas special, circa 1968. I'd heard lots of talk about this music being pretty bad, or even downright unlistenable, so I was a little hesitant to record it, or even listen to it. So it came as quite a shock when I discovered it's actually pretty good. There are some great arrangements on here, and I think there is some of that early 'NOW' sound creeping in around the edges. I don't know a lot about the King Family, other than they were some sort of music prodigies from a really big family. And they seem to have married well. One of the in-laws was Alvino Rey! You can here his influence every now and then in these songs, a little guitar bit here and there. Mr. Rey recorded one pseudonymous Christmas LP, which I'd love to share with you, but it's out on CD now, and you should go buy it. (More on that shortly.) Anyhow, please download and give a listen to A King Family Christmas (Fleetwood FCLP 3038 or 3031, c. 1968). I discovered the two different covers and different catalog numbers contained the same music when I went to record them this morning. I was confused because the one below specifically says Volume 2 on the cover. Maybe this is volume 2 of the previously shared Robert Way LP, which was also from Mobil. Hmmm... Either way, the music and the back covers are the same on both. But stay tuned, I've got more from the King Family coming soon!


Update: Looks like this one is coming out on CD for the 2009 Christmas season, or maybe it's the very similar release on Warner Bros. Either way, I'm pulling down the share, and I encourage you to go out and buy the CD. If we don't buy these things when they come out through legitimate channels, then they'll quite releasing them...

Oodles of Doodles CLXIX-Christmas 2005

Been a while since I've shared a Christmas doodle with you, so here's one from the LP I just featured, Woody The Woodchuck-Christmas Sing Song (Premier XM 6). I think this doodle actually shows up on quite a few records from Premiere, sort of a generic filler doodle. But I like it, with the reindeer all decorated up for Christmas.

PS-This is my 600th post since starting the blog back in March. Not too shabby, eh?

Woodchuck Trumps Grasshoppers

Here's another LP that takes a page from Ross Bagdasarian's book and creates some high pitched animal sing-alongs. This time the little creature is a woodchuck, though, which creates all sorts of comic possibilities that just aren't there when dealing with chipmunks. Unfortunately, those possibilities remain unexplored here. Most of these songs are sung straight, although there are a few twists here and there. Pay close attention to The Twelve Days Of Christmas and O Tannenbaum. For some strange reason, they sing the Chipmunk Song complete with David Seville's parts intact, even going so far as to call themselves Alvin, Simon & Theodore, when the label clearly identifies them as Woody, Milty & Chuck! Anyhow, this is light years better than that terrible Happy Crickets LP I told you not to download last week. This one has some nice arrangements, some actual singing, and even a little bit of charm. Hard to believe, I know, but you'll see. Please download and give a listen to Woody The Woodchuck-Christmas Sing Song aka Christmas With Woody The Woodchuck (Premiere XM 6).

UPDATE: This one is now available as a download from Amazon. If you want it, you gotta go over there and get it from them, not from me.

Six Suns

They said it couldn't be done! But here it is, the other Christmas recording from The Three Suns! This completes the set, assuming you were able to get A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas elsewhere. I think there are only 18 minutes of music here, but it's so worth it to have the complete set. So please download The Three Suns Present Your Christmas Favorites (RCA Victor WP 250). Just for the record, this is a set of three 45 RPM, 7" singles in a box. I also found a Brazilian copy of the third record in the original generic Discos RCA Victor sleeve. I think it's the same music, though...

A Little Bit More Organ

I almost didn't post anything else tonight. I lost two hours trying to fix a mistake I made on a post from the first of the week, and then I had to scan the back of a record that I had forgotten to do, and now it's late and I'm tired. But I didn't want to let you guys down, so here's a single to see you through to the weekend. I know how you love your organ tunes, so here's Bob Coe At The Pipe Organ-White Christmas/Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Leaf R 6126). The A and B sides are reversed on the actual vinyl from what it says on the sleeve, so you can flip for which order you want to play it in. I don't know anything else about Mr. Coe, other than he has a full-length Christmas LP on Leaf that I'd like to hear. Anyone out there in Wisconsin have that one?

Buy Our Organ, Please

Once upon a time, everyone had a piano in their home. Later, people had organs in their homes. Nowadays, we have CD players and TVs and iPods and Sega. But back to the organs for a sec. This LP was designed to help sell those organs. I don't know if this was given away to customers, or sold in the organ stores, or what, but the ultimate goal was to get you to buy an organ from Kimball so that you could play like the artists on this record. I'm guessing it didn't work too well for Kimball, because they seem to be out of business. So if you should listen to this LP and decide you want to go get an organ, you're going to have to find a different organ manufacturer. Please give a listen to A Kimball Christmas (KPO 82-004, 1982).

Buck & Susan (Not Roy)

Here's some more Christmas goodness from 1971 for you. A little-known Christmas album from Buck Owens, this time with the relatively unknown Susan Raye. I don't know what possessed Buck to remake some of his earlier Christmas hits as duets, but that's exactly what happened. Must have been love, I guess. Anyhow, I don't think there's anything on here that you haven't already heard on Buck's two earlier Christmas albums, and he does remake his biggest hits here, including Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy, Santa's Gonna Come In A Stagecoach and One Of Everything You Got. So download and give a little listen to this curiosity that the CD industry has forgotten about, Merry Christmas From Buck Owens & Susan Raye (Capitol ST-837, 1971).

What's up with these two albums from 1971? Neither one of them has a cover that is even the least little bit Christmassy. I almost feel bad posting them. But the music should make up for the lack of festive covers today.

Lynn (Not Loni)

Here's another requested LP! I couldn't believe that this wasn't available on CD. I found some indication that it used to be, though, and it's a shame it's out of print. Many folks out there think that Ding-A-Ling The Christmas Bell is a holiday classic. You may be able to find it on a few compilations, but then you'd miss out on other classics like Mr. Mistletoe and A Whistle And A Whisker Away. So why don't you treat yourself to a little bit of early 70s crossover country? Please download and listen to Lynn Anderson-The Christmas Album (Columbia C 30957, 1971).

(I apologize for the quality of the scan. My copy of the sleeve is pretty beat up. The record has some rough spots, too, but not so much that you won't enjoy it.)

Christmas Sharity Recap, Week Three

Another week, another pile of shares. Once again, here's a handy list of all the things I've shared out this week, as well as updates on the previous couple of weeks. Since I'm using RapidShare, all these files will continue to be available until they go 30 days without any downloads. And the way things are going around here, that may not happen until sometime in June... Also, don't forget about all those great albums from the prior couple of weeks! I don't see those download numbers going up very much on those. There has been a lot of sharing going on around here, so don't miss out on some of those earlier albums.

A Christmas Sampler (0)
Christmas; Time For Song Featuring Thurlow Spurr And The Spurrlows Singing 12 Seasonal Favorites! (30)
Dennis Day Sings "Christmas Is For The Family" Featuring Lou Hollingsworth At The Wurlitzer Electronic Organ & The Vail Boys Choir With Full Orchestra (78)
Robert Way Orchestra And Chorus-New England Sleigh Ride Volume 1 (78)
Christmas With The Happy Crickets (62) (Why do you people keep downloading this? It's no good, folks!)
The Voices Of Walter Schumann-The Voices Of Christmas (107)
The Three Suns-The Sounds Of Christmas (146)
The Three Suns-Christmas Party (124)
Billy Crystal-The Christmas Song (97)
Lorne Greene-Must Be Santa (97)
Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-'Twas The Night Before Christmas (116)
Sing And Rejoice! Christmas Carols Played by Dick Leibert At the Organ of the Radio City Music Hall New York City (57)
Dick Leibert At The Console-The Happy Hits Of Christmas (Christmas Evergreens Played On The Radio City Music Hall Organ) (87)
Dick Leibert-The Sound Of Christmas On The Radio City Music Hall Organ (105)
George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ-Merry Christmas (115)

Here're all the items from two weeks ago

Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas ( 76[corrected version]+66[original bad version])
Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (123)
The Caroleer Singers And Orchestra-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (115)
The Caroleers-'Twas The Night Before Christmas (133)
The Snap-On Male Chorus-Carols Of Christmas (97)
Menudo-Feliz Navidad (79)
Hugo Winterhalter-Christmas Magic (135)
Hugo Winterhalter-Sleigh Ride (Bonus Track!) (105)
Kathy Dunn-Santaville/In The Valley Of Santa Claus (93)
Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra-The Christmas Album (98)
Raymond LeFevre And His Orchestra-Merry Christmas (138)
Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (111)
Yogi Yorgesson-Yingle Bells (133)
The Ray Charles Singers-Winter Wonderland (127)
The Ray Charles Singers-Here We Come A-Caroling (129)

And from three weeks ago:

George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (114)
Avon Goes On Record 1968 (97)
Sy Mann-Everybody's Christmas Favorites Organ & Chimes (116)
The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (175)
101 Strings-Christmas Moods, aka The Glory of Christmas (97)
Cyril Stapleton And His Orchestra With Children's Chorus-Children's Christmas Album (85)
Muzak Christmas (110)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (171)
Charo-(Mamacita) ¿Donde Esta Santa Claus? (169)
Christmas With Big Tiny Little (164)
Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (109)
The Rainbow Sound Of Bianco His Harp And Orchestra-Joy To The World (104)
Ruth Welcome-Christmas In Zitherland (113)

And one single download from Thanksgiving Day:

Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (62)

Business As Usual

As expected, the moon rose this evening. And as usual, I had to try to shoot it. It's not quite full yet, I think that's tomorrow night. I'll try it again then if it's clear. When I first walked out the door from work, there were a couple of thin clouds right across the fave of the moon, and I thought it would make a great shot. but by the time I got the camera out and switched lenses, they were gone. So all I got was the plain moon.

Various and Sundry Artists

I think this is the first various artists record I've shared with you this season. And I chose it for a couple of reasons. First, it features two tracks by the previously highlighted Dick Leibert. He had an LP out on Westminster that I have been unable to find, and it predates all of the RCA ones that I shared with you earlier. Secondly, it has a track from the impossible-to-find Ferrante & Teicher LP Adventure In Carols. I'm sure you've grabbed that LP from any of a number of places on the internet, but I always like to have an original of something I like. Thirdly, there are several other interesting tracks on here, ranging from choral music to organ tracks to some Christmas bell ringing, and even a short narration by Sherlock Holmes himself, Basil Rathbone. So it's a pretty good, yet unknown LP. I think the only LP I own that has a track featured here is America's Children Sing Xmas Carols, and I need to record that one for you. But anyhow, I know you're itching to give it a listen, so here's A Christmas Sampler (Westminster WP S-2). What do you think?

A Spur That Doesn't Jingle-Jangle

Another oddball LP for you guys today. I was drawn by it's cover, which I think you'll agree is quite, ummm, hip, for an episode of the Brady Bunch maybe. The lead artist, Thurlow Spurr, is better known for his religious recordings (and the label on this is Word, also known for their religious releases), but this one is more of a choral work, really, with happy Christmas music. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an LP must surely be worth about half a million words. So I'll quit talking and let you look and listen for yourself. Please download and give a listen to Christmas; Time For Song Featuring Thurlow Spurr And The Spurrlows Singing 12 Seasonal Favorites! (Word Records, WST-8310-LP, c. 1966). Enjoy!

Must Be Santa

Can you tell who that is in the Santa suit above? Yep, it's your old pal Jack Benny. The family you see belongs to Dennis Day, who was a singer on Jack Benny's TV program. That's a pretty large family! Looks close at the boy in the center, and you'll see he's got a black eye. Maybe he didn't want to come to the photo shoot, and Dad had to persuade him a little. No, no, I'm sure that's not the case. Anyhow, the LP for the evening is Dennis Day Sings "Christmas Is For The Family" Featuring Lou Hollingsworth At The Wurlitzer Electronic Organ & The Vail Boys Choir With Full Orchestra (Design Records DLP-X-1). This particular LP is mono, but I have a stereo version also (SDLP X-1). I tried to record the stereo one, but it was just too noisy. Besides, I don't think it's real stereo. The actual label on the vinyl says "In AuthentiPhonic Stereo Process", which sounds like fake stereo to me... (The LP scan is a combination of the stereo cover, with the Stereo-Spectrum label across the top, and the mono cover, with the Jack Benny note at the bottom.) Anyhow, give it a listen and see what you think. Most of it is Mr. Day doing what he does best, which really doesn't do much for me, but there are a few short bits with Jack Benny that make this more than worth the price of admission.

[Also, before you send me an email, there is no bit of Jack Benny dialogue at the start of side two as mentioned on the back sleeve. Don't know why it says that. Well, yes I do, it's because this label is owned by Pickwick, one of the worst record labels of all time. We're lucky they spelled Jack Benny correctly.]

Right Of Way

Many of the albums I've shared with you so far have been familiar names, if not familiar music. This one is from way out in left field, but it was a nice surprise. I believe this was given away at Mobil stations sometime in the late 60s, early 70s. I listened to it because I thought it odd that many of the songs appeared to be originals, as opposed to most giveaway albums which are littered with covers of old public-domain tunes. So download and give a listen to Robert Way Orchestra And Chorus-New England Sleigh Ride Volume 1 (Fleetwood FCL3023). Anybody know who this Robert Way is? And are there other volumes of this, or was the Volume 1 moniker just very optimistic? And is that a two-horse open sleigh on the front? That's just not right...

Update Oct 2009: Looks like Robert Way is in the process of remastering and re-releasing this on CD, so head on over there and get a copy of this great music from the man who created it!

Danger! Do Not Download!!

I have this terrible fear that you folks are going to download whatever I throw up here. So here is a test. Do not download this album! It is bad! The arrangements are terrible. The singing is monotone clap-trap, and it's often pitched so high that dogs run howlng from the room! If you thought the Chipmunks were bad, these crickets make the Chipmunks look like Elvis being backed by the Beatles. But I'm afraid there is no stopping you. This is Christmas With The Happy Crickets (International Award Series AKX-9) or it's (Grand Prix Series KX-9). The music is the same, but the covers are different. I recorded one side of each, since I couldn't get a good dub from both sides of either record. Side one is from the green record, and it sounds muddy with lots of surface noise. Side two is from the yellow copy, and it sounds good, but side one had terrible pops all through the record. And if you look close at the green cover, in the upper right, it says "Wanda Haynes 12/14/67". That's my aunt, and I assume the date she got the record. Don't know if it was new then, but at least we know it's that old. Remember, Don't download or listen to this! It's Bad!

Five Suns

OK, I promise, this is the last Three Suns post of the day. I found yet another cover for their LP, this time with a slight name change. This is The Sound Of Christmas With The Three Suns (RCA Camden CAL 633). And the music on here is the same as the LP I shared out yesterday. So that's three different covers for this one. That's odd for RCA. Now Pickwick or somebody I could understand, but RCA?

Which one is your favorite? I like the second one, but that may just be because I don't have it. :)

Four Suns

OK, it's pretty rare that I post something that doesn't belong to me, but a fan was nice enough to send me this alternate cover for The Three Suns-The Sounds Of Christmas LP that I shared with you yesterday. I've never seen this one, but I thought it was pretty cool. Anybody else seen this one? Is it common, rare? Perhaps it's a non-US release? Anyone have an idea?

No Suns

Did you catch the sunset this evening?

I'm Hearing Voices

After the instrumental excesses of The Three Suns yesterday, today I'm going to give you some vocalese, courtesy of Walter Schumann. This guy hired some really talented people to sing on here. Go give it a listen and let me know what you think. Here's The Voices Of Walter Schumann-The Voices Of Christmas (RCA Victor LPM-1141, 1955). My fave track on here is Christmas Gift. It made my CD this year. :)

Update: I've made another mistake. Or, a mistake was made somewhere. One of the MP3 files I originally shared out seems to have been corrupt. So the first 129 downloaders need to come back and get the corrected track 9 here. I've corrected the link above, so if you're getting it for the first time, it should be correct. I'm using different software now, so the files are in mono instead of fake stereo, which means they are half the original size. I also don't love the file names not including the artist, but you should be able to figure it out. Let me know if you have any problems with the ID tags, please. Thanks to Deb for finding the problem!

Double update: It's on CD now!!! So no more free download. Go buy this classic LP on CD here.

Three Suns

OK, just to get this out of the way, there is no download here. I'm only teasing you with a nice cover. All of the tracks on this EP were released on the last LP I showed you, The Sounds Of Christmas. But I had this cover and I liked it, and I figured maybe you would too. Also from 1955 (obviously), this is The Three Suns-White Christmas (RCA Victor EPA-655, 1955). If you want to recreate this EP, just grab the following six tracks from the previous LP, and play 'em: Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Der Tannenbaum (Christmas Tree); Greensleeves; White Christmas.

Two Suns

Continuing on with the Three Sun mini-marathon, here's the boys on a long-player from 1955. I believe all of the tracks on this one are different takes from the previous issue, even though there is some overlap in the song selection. Still in mono, though. Living Stereo is still, what, two or three years ahead of them? But the arrangements are starting to get a little more out there, and the sound is much fuller. Please download and enjoy The Three Suns-The Sounds Of Christmas (RCA Victor LPM-1132, 1955).

The artist who created the painting for this cover is Doris Lee. I don't know if she made this painting for the cover, or is RCA leased the image. Either way, it's a nice image.

Almost forgot to mention... I found two slightly different back covers for this record in the archives, so I included both in the Zip file. I think they just advertise different records, but I was bored, so I scanned it in for you. Welcome to my world...

One Sun

Since we're having a Christmas party around here anyway, why not invite The Three Suns? These guys know how to have a party! This is an early 10" record from the boys. They weren't up to their late 50s/early 60s spaciness yet, and Living Stereo hadn't even been invented, but you can see the seeds of things to come in the recordings on this mid-sized slab of vinyl. So please download and give a listen to The Three Suns-Christmas Party (RCA Victor LPM -3056, 1952). These guys had about half a dozen different Christmas releases over their career, and I've got several of them to share. Stay tuned!

December, The Third Week

The year is coming to a close really, really fast, so I don't have a lot of calendar pages left to share with you. But some of the ones I have left are pretty good, like this one. Here you have a sunrise over the Sunshine Skyway bridge across Tampa Bay. In the foreground you have a guy doing a little kite surfing. The most amazing part about this picture is the fact that I was up early enough to catch this!

You Sound Mahvelous!!

There seems to be no end to the people who have released Christmas songs. But for all those people who haven't released Christmas music, there is always this single from Billy Crystal, in which he does imitations of them. Much of the track is done as Sammy Davis, Jr., but he also throws in his Howard Cossell, some Ali, and plenty of the mah-velous Fernando. Please download and enjoy Billy Crystal-The Christmas Song (A&M AM-2795, 1985).

And if you're looking for Christmas singles of your own, you should visit Banana Records. I don't know if they list much online, but at their store (in St. Pete, Florida), they have about 16 boxes of Christmas 45s in stock. You can drop a lot of money real fast. And don't expect many bargains. You're there for the selection, not the prices. But oh, what a selection!

Ponderosa (Not Gunsmoke)

You're probably looking at this cover and thinking "Is he still doing Christmas? That doesn't look very Christmassy", but you'd be wrong. For on the innocent looking single pictured above can be found a couple of previously unknown Lorne Greene tracks in celebration of Christmas. You all of course know about the Ponderosa Christmas album, and the Lorne Greene solo Christmas album (which you can get over on the forums at FaLaLaLaLa) and then there are the radio spots he did back in the 80s. But this single was something that had escaped my notice until today. Please give a listen to Lorne Greene-Must Be Santa (RCA Victor 47-9037, 1966). This record is from Canada, same as Lorne, so maybe this never came out in the US. (I wish I had gotten this record a couple of months ago. Must Be Santa is on my annual Christmas CD, but by Mitch Miller. I would much rather have gotten this version on there. It's a better take on the song, and plus it's Lorne Greene!!!)

You Asked For It, You Got It

I asked if anybody had any requests the other day, and this is one of the albums that someone asked for. I would have bet money that this was on CD, but it turns out that it isn't. This record has been re-released several times over the years, but the one you see in the scan is the issue I recorded. I believe it was originally available as Decca DL 8171 & later MCA 517, but you are about to download and listen to Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-'Twas The Night Before Christmas (MCA 15016), the copy I had that was in the best condition. And believe it or not, Fred had recorded this entire album earlier for Decca (as an LP, and sets of either 45s or 78s), which I may also share out if I get the time. You can buy a CD with the same tracks (and more!) here, made up of versions performed by Waring, et. al, from radio broadcasts. The cover you see above is by Norman Rockwell, and is owned by Hallmark Cards.

If you don't listen to any other tracks on this record, listen to Rudolph. Spike Jones must have been in the room along with one of the Chipmunks when they recorded this!

The Last Of Leibert

The last, earliest, and probably least, of the organ records by Dick Leibert today is this EP from 1951. Keep in mind that the material found this record is from 10 years earlier than the other two, and the musical world had been turned on it's ear during those years. The organ sound during those intervening years seems to have gone from the rather stiff and staid funereal tones here to the playful and swinging instrument you heard on The Happy Hits of Christmas. So just keep that in mind when you download and listen to Sing And Rejoice! Christmas Carols Played by Dick Leibert At the Organ of the Radio City Music Hall New York City (RCA Victor EPB 3056, 1951). FYI this is a gatefold sleeve containing 2-7" 45 rpm records. The back was just ads for other records, so I didn't include a scan of that. There are 8 tracks in total, each a medley of two songs.

Rockettes Red Glare

I'm just teasing you by showing you this cover. I can't share the LP, but I can encourage you to go out and buy it on CD (only $10!). I doubt if the small CD packaging can do justice to this lovely gatefold cover image though. And, as you might have guessed, our friend Dick Leibert plays the organ on this recording of the annual Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. This is Christmas Holidays At Radio City Music Hall by The Radio City Music Hall Symphony Orchestra under the Direction of Raymond Paige, Richard Leibert at the Grand Organ & The Radio City Music Hall Choral Ensemble (RCA Victor LOP-1010, 1958). The inside of this gatefold features a booklet with lots of behind-the-scenes shots of the process behind bringing the show to the stage. And of course more pictures of the Rockettes, which was probably why most guys bought this record in the first place.

Organ Transplant

As promised, here's yet another organ LP, and yet another record by Dick Leibert recorded at Radio City Music Hall. This one is quite a bit more jaunty than the last, which you'd expect from an LP titled Happy Hits Of Christmas. I had this LP for years before I listened to it, and I was sorry I waited so long before I finally put it on and gave it a spin. Be sure you don't make the same mistake I did. When you download it, be sure you give it a listen. Here's Dick Leibert At The Console-The Happy Hits Of Christmas (Christmas Evergreens Played On The Radio City Music Hall Organ) (RCA Victor LSP-2771, 1963). Enjoy!

Shouldn't It Be Organ City Music Hall?

I know how much you folks love the organ sounds of Christmas, so here is the first of not one, not two, but three records by the long-time organist at Radio City Music Hall, Dick Leibert. Dick's organ playing shows up on dozens of LPs recorded at Radio City, from the 50's right through to the 70's, and maybe earlier and later, but those are the only ones I've found so far. I doubt I'll get all three of them up today, but I should be good for at least two. And here is the first. Please download and give a listen to Dick Leibert-The Sound Of Christmas On The Radio City Music Hall Organ (RCA Victor LSP-2558, 1962).

Oodles of Doodles CLXIII-Christmas 2005

From the flip side of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (RCA Camden CAS-1101, 1968), this is The Sugarplum Fairy. She hosts this record of stories designed to get little tots to go to sleep on the night before Christmas. I don't know how well that plan worked, either for parents to get their excited kids to sleep, or for RCA to sell a record designed to be played once a year, but at least we get a nice doodle.

Suggestion Box

Anybody out there have any suggestions of what you'd like to hear for Christmas? I've got plenty of vintage vinyl laying around here (That's just the Christmas platters you're looking at below. Well, most of the Christmas platters...), and I'll never get to all of it. But if there's something specific you're looking for, please drop me a line, leave a comment, or stick a note on my windshield. I make no guarantees, but it never hurts to know what you folks are actually interested in.

If you'd like to say thanks for the tunes, you could find me a copy of Greetings From The McGuire Sisters. That's the LP I've been hunting for quite a while now. I don't know if it's actually any good, but I'd like to hear it someday. So if you have that one, please share!

More Organ

Here's a little more organ Christmas music for you! I think you're going to like it. This is Merry Christmas from George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ (High Fidelity Recordings R-706, 1956). Dig it!

Update-I left out the scan of the flip side on this LP. You can download it here. Sorry about that.

Update (13 Oct 08): This one is now available as a legal download! So go get it! Here's a link to Amazon, but it's also available elsewhere.

Christmas Sharity Recap, Week Two

Here's another update of what I've posted so far. You can print this out and check things off as you download them if you'd like. Or maybe not. I just don't want you to miss any of the yuletide goodies. In the last week I've posted:

Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas (37 [corrected version]+66[original bad version])
Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (95)
The Caroleer Singers And Orchestra-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (86)
The Caroleers-'Twas The Night Before Christmas (105)
The Snap-On Male Chorus-Carols Of Christmas (61)
Menudo-Feliz Navidad (53)
Hugo Winterhalter-Christmas Magic (87)
Hugo Winterhalter-Sleigh Ride (Bonus Track!) (78)
Kathy Dunn-Santaville/In The Valley Of Santa Claus (61)
Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra-The Christmas Album (69)
Raymond LeFevre And His Orchestra-Merry Christmas (97)
Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (61)
Yogi Yorgesson-Yingle Bells (60)
The Ray Charles Singers-Winter Wonderland (39)
The Ray Charles Singers-Here We Come A-Caroling (13)

The numbers in parentheses are the number of total downloads as of today, so if you want to stick to just what's popular, look for the big numbers. Of course, then you're going to miss some of the weirder stuff, so I recommend you download it all and give it a spin at least once.

And in case you're playing catch-up, here's the stuff from last week, with updated download numbers:

George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (92)
Avon Goes On Record 1968 (73)
Sy Mann-Everybody's Christmas Favorites Organ & Chimes (94)
The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (132)
101 Strings-Christmas Moods, aka The Glory of Christmas (78)
Cyril Stapleton And His Orchestra With Children's Chorus-Children's Christmas Album (70)
Muzak Christmas (82)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (119)
Charo-(Mamacita) ¿Donde Esta Santa Claus? (126)
Christmas With Big Tiny Little (127)
Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (86)
The Rainbow Sound Of Bianco His Harp And Orchestra-Joy To The World (72)
Ruth Welcome-Christmas In Zitherland (79)

And the Thanksgiving posted that started it all off, Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (53)

More Of The Same Other Ray

As promised, here's the second Ray Charles LP released in 1956 for Christmas. I don't know how great of a marketing decision that was, but for those of us who enjoy the music today, it was pretty nice. I can't imagine what Christmas was like 49 years ago, but I'm sure it was a bit different from today. That's our Ray on the front cover, by the way, there on the left. So now you know for sure it's not the usual Ray Charles. Please download and enjoy The Ray Charles Singers-Here We Come A-Caroling (MGM E3467, 1956).

I forgot to mention that I shared an interesting cover from The Ray Charles Singers earlier this year.

Another Ray Charles

Here's the first of a double-shot from Ray Charles today. No, it's not that Ray Charles, it's the chorus leader Ray Charles. He's much more white-bread. This LP is really more seasonal than the other one you'll see pop up here later (from the same year, no less!), but it's still pretty good, and has some traditional holiday carols. Please download and give a listen to The Ray Charles Singers-Winter Wonderland (MGM E3387, 1956). This is from before the days when The Ray Charles Singers became staples of Enoch Light's various record labels. Suprisingly enough though, some of the other folks who would record for Enoch Light also show up on this record, including Dick Hyman and Tony Mottola.

Long Before Fargo

From way, way, way back in 1951, this is Yogi Yorgesson With Johnny Duffy And The Scandahoovians-Yingle Bells (Capitol EAP 1-461, 1951). As I mentioned, I don't have many singles, but when I found this one at the expensive record store a couple of weekends ago, I couldn't resist. It looks like this was out on CD once, paired up with a few Stan Freberg tracks, but it seems to be out of print now. I know some of the tracks have been anthologized here and there as well, but not all of them. And I believe Dr. Demento wears the grooves out of his copy come Christmas time. I don't think you'll mistake this version for a clean copy from CD. But hopefully if you're like me, a little vinyl crackle makes you feel all warm and tingly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Wrap Your Tongue Around This

Last night it was French orchestra leaders, tonight it's a clarinetist from the French Quarter. How's that for a segue? Give a little listen to Candy Clarinet by Pete Fountain (Coral 57487). There's an advertisement on the back of this one for the previously featured Christmas With Big Tiny Little, and for the much-desired-by-me (hint, hint, hint) Greetings From The McGuire Sisters, both on Coral Records.

Noel Deux

More Christmas music for you from France. It must have been a really swinging place in the seventies, that's all I can say. Please download and give a listen to Raymond LeFevre And His Orchestra-Merry Christmas (4 Corners Of The World FCS-4257). And if you don't believe this music is going to be any good, just check out the conductor on the back cover shown below.

See what I mean! He looks like the bad guy from a Matt Helm film!

Noel

Here's a little bit of French flair for your Christmas listening pleasure. This is Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra-The Christmas Album (Philips PHS 600-255, 1967).

Polar Plate?

I like to imagine that if Santa had a tag on his sleigh, it might be shaped like this. It would probably be personalized, though. Maybe NTY OR NC, or maybe ELF 01. Something like that...

Dunn With Santa

I'm afraid I don't have very many Christmas 45's. They seem to be rather hard to come by anymore. I found this one in a pile of stuff I bought some time ago, but I must have forgotten all about it. But lucky for you I stumbled across it yesterday. Two delightful tracks about Santa. Well, more like Santa the place, not Santa the Claus. Listen to it, and you'll understand. This is from Kathy Dunn (Santaville Records K80W-4901/2). I wish I knew a year on this. Anybody have a clue? In fact, I'd like to know anything about this release. Google is coming up blank on this one. I'll have to break out the books.

If you want more Christmas singles, go see Lee!

December, Week Two

This week we have a calendar page picture from Fort Desoto, again. What is this, the fifth, sixth or seventh picture from up there? Well, I suppose if you didn't know it was from there, you couldn't tell just by looking. What you see here is a tight shot of a sea urchin shell against an old piece of brick in a breakwater. I love the way the pale purple stands out against the orange.

"Summer"-Halter

OK, Since you'll all been so good the past few minutes, here's a bonus track for that previous Hugo Winterhalter post. This is Sleigh Ride from his LP Wish You Were Here (RCA Victor LPM-1904, 1959). I don't know how a holiday song got stuck on there, but you're the beneficiary of his mistake. Enjoy!

If you're curious, I posted a doodle from the flip side of this LP earlier this year.

"Winter"-Halter, Get It?

Well, since my Up With People post was a bust, here's a second choice. A lot smoother than those singing teens, this is Hugo Winterhalter-Christmas Magic (RCA Camden CAL-449, 1958). This is a pretty sweet album, I think you'll enjoy it. And if you folks are good, I'll throw in a bonus track later. :)

Up With Christmas!

They keep bringing back the seventies, but they never talk about Up With People! I wonder why that is? I'm guessing it's the polyester clothes. I'll keep watching VH1 for a mention on I Love The 70's, while you download and listen to Up With People-Merry Christmas To You All (Pace Records 1105, 1968).

Well, nevermind. I just found a website where they sell the Up With People music on CD, and it looks to be legit. You'll have to go over there and buy this fine music on CD. It probably sounds better anyway... And I would have sworn this was 70s vintage. Guess not.

Moonset

I shot this last night, right before the boat parade down in Venice, FL. The sun had been down for about 15 minutes, and the moon was fast on it's tail. Those clouds on the horizon were the only ones I saw all day.