Around The World

 I've decided to kick things off this year with a Capitol promo LP put out way, way back in 1957.  I found this at a Goodwill store back in the summer, and had to drive straight home to listen to it.  These promo LPs are almost as rare as hen's teeth, and records that feature unreleased stuff are even fewer and farther between.  This one doesn't feature any music that you can't find elsewhere, but it's got a lot of narration by the great Fred Waring, and for me, that's worth the price of admission.  The first side features songs from the Capitol Of The World series, which put out it's first batch of Christmas records in 1957.  Side 2 features cuts from then-new albums that would all become obsolete the next year with the rollout of stereo.  I'm going to give you the whole thing, and there are some tracks here that you can find on CD out there, so you have to promise run out and buy them at your earliest convenience if you don't already have them.  Deal?  OK, here's the track list:

Side 1

1. Fred Waring-Narration
2. Christmas In Italy-Buon Natale
3. Fred Waring-Narration
4. Christmas In Sweden-Julpotpourri Danser
5. Fred Waring-Narration
6. Christmas In England-The First Noel-Away In A Manger-Bring In The Holly Bough Medley
7. Fred Waring-Narration
8. Christmas In Germany-O Tannenbaum
9. Fred Waring-Narration
10. Christmas In Holland-Gloria In Escelsis Deo
11. Fred Waring-Narration
12. Christmas In Spain-Villancico Del Vestitidito
13. Fred Waring-Narration
14. Christmas In France-Dans Cette Etable
15. Fred Waring-Narration
16. Christmas In Mexico-Aldehuela De Belem
17. Fred Waring-Narration
18. Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians-The Christmas Song

Side 2

1. Fred Waring-Narration
2. The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra-The First Noel
3. Fred Waring-Narration
4. The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra-Hark The Herald Angels Sing
5. Fred Waring-Narration
6. Frank Sinatra-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
7. Fred Waring-Narration
8. Frank Sinatra-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
9. Fred Waring-Narration
10. The Roger Wagner Chorale-Adeste Fidelis
11. Fred Waring-Narration
12. Jackie Gleason-Winter Wonderland
13. Fred Waring-Narration
14. Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians-Sleigh Ride
15. Fred Waring-Narration
16. Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians-Silver Bells

If any of that looks interesting to you, please download Christmas Around The World-Selections From New Capitol Christmas Albums 1957 (Capitol Records PRO 424 (Christmas Around The World)/425 (Christmas In Hi-Fi), 1957, Mono).

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If that picture of Fred on the cover up above looks familiar, that's because they cribbed it from this other Fred Waring release of 1957, Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians In Hi-Fi. And somehow I wound up scanning an English pressing of the stereo copy. Odd...

Welcome To Christmas 2010!!

OK, this is your official welcome message to Christmas 2010 at Ernie (Not Bert)!  This year has been a long time coming after the hard drive debacle of last year that greatly curtailed my sharing.  This year, I've backed everything up double, got a lot of stuff already zipped up and ready to go, so it promises to be a bang up year.  This is my sixth year of trying to share the greatest lost Christmas music in the known universe with you.  My goal is to share music that has fallen through the cracks, stuff that was once important to someone, but has somehow been forgotten in this era of MP3s and digital downloads.  I've got full albums and singles, vinyl both thick and thin, a cardboard flexidisc, and who knows what else to share with you this year.  I took some time to re-record some of my old favorite shares this year, so you're going to see a lot of those as well as lots of new stuff.  As usual, all shares are zipped up and comes with images of the cover and label.  Most of the current shares are MP3 files at 192 Kpbs stereo, 96 mono.  Everything I give you was recorded by me from my own records, unless I mention otherwise, but that's pretty few and far between.  I've got a couple of things in here this year where folks have given me records, and I really appreciate their generosity, I'll give credit where credit is due when I post those.  I also hope to point you to some of my own favorite sharity sites on the internet, places where you can go and get records that are probably better than the ones I share.  One thing I don't do is share CDs, or records that are available on CD.  I don't care how hard you may have to work to find the CD, I'm not going to send you a copy of it, so please don't ask.  Lots of things I've shared in the past are now on CD, or available for legal download somewhere like iTunes or Amazon.  I'll try to point you to those places when I can if you're looking for something that used to be shared here.  It's a good thing when labels take the time to restore their old stuff, so I enjoy seeing old stuff made available again.  Often I wish they'd do a better job of it, but something is better than nothing.  Anyhow, I'm blathering, so let me just say thank you to all the folks who come by during the season.  I enjoy all the music I record, and I hope you do too.

The Last Thanksgiving Soundtrack

I promise, this is the last filmstrip soundtrack about Thanksgiving I have to share with you today.  And I'm going to hold off a while on the Christmas filmstrip soundtracks I have ready to go, just to give you a bit of a break.  In fact, this 12" record has a Thanksgiving story on one side, and a Christmas story on the other, and I'm going to give both of them to you, how's that?  So technically, this is my first Christmas share!  I'd hoped to have something better as my first, but this is what happens when you don't think these things through.  Please download Lollipop Dragon Helps Santa b/w Thanksgiving In Tum Tum from the series Holiday Adventures Of The Lollipop Dragon (Singer/SVE L 106-4RR, Mono).  It's not that bad, really...

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Another Thanksgiving Soundtrack

Yes, it's another soundtrack to yet another filmstrip about Thanksgiving.  This time it's Thanksgiving For King (Singer/SVE A107-3RR, Mono), a nice story about a boy and his bird.  It's a tad predictable, but think about the audience this was intended for.  The narrator here is Mary Skol, and if you should happen to notice this is side two, you might be interested in knowing that the flip side was Rumplestiltskin.  It appears to be from a series called Children's Stories, but this was the only record from that series among the many soundtracks I've found.

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Have at it!

Ye Olde Thanksgiving Share

First shared out two years ago, this is the soundtrack to one of those filmstrips you used to dread watching in grade school.  At least I dreaded watching them.  They were only about two steps above a travelogue slide show at your aunt's house, and that was only the good ones.  I've never found any of these with the original film strips, but I'm not sure what I'd do with them if I did.  Heaven knows how hard they'd be to scan.  Someday, maybe.  Until then, why don't you go ahead and download Maurice Copeland-Narrator & Adele Scott-Organist, Squanto And The First Thanksgiving (Society For Visual Education XTAC-83759 (One Sided 12" 33 RPM), Mono).  I've stumbled across a few more of these in the past year, so if you like this sort of thing, stay tuned.  If not, come back tomorrow...

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It's Thanksgiving!! Finally!

Well, here we are, the day I thought would never come, or the day I knew would sneak up on me before I could get ready for it.  Either way, it's finally Thanksgiving, and that means the beginning of the Christmas sharity season.  As I've done now for six years (it only seems like forever), I kick off the season with my favorite Thanksgiving song, Thanksgiving Day Parade by Spencer Ross (Columbia 4-41532 7" 45 RPM single, Mono, 1960).  I re-recorded my single this year to see if i could get a little better sound out of it (as I did with many, many of my old shares this year.  You'll see...).  I started using a great little program called ClickRepair this year, which does a really, really good job of, umm, removing clicks (more on that later).  To this day, I don't know anything else about Spencer Ross, so maybe it's high time I did a little serious checking.  Hmmm, according to this article in the Billboard archives (more on those later, too...), Spencer Ross was a pseudonym for someone named Bob Mersey.  The flip side of this record, Tracy's Theme, was the 'hit', this side seems to have disappeared until I found it.  And Spencer Ross disappeared, too, although that article mentions a follow-up coming soon on a different label.  All these years and I never bothered to look that up...  Anyhow, I've also got a couple of new tracks this year for you that I'm throwing into the download as well, just to make it worth your while.  First up is The Pete King Orchestra And Chorale (whose Christmas LP is a big favorite around these parts) with Bless This House from Songs To Celebrate (Kapp KS-3284, 1962, Stereo).  I shared another track from that LP with you back during Christmas In July (and August and September...), so the LP may sound familiar to you.  Next up is a children's ditty called Timothy Turkey performed by Rosemarie Jun & Robert Spiro from the LP Children Sing Around The Year (Decca DL 4406, 1963, Mono).  Again, you first saw a track from this LP back in August as part of Christmas In July (and August and September).  OK, that's three tracks, but you also get two tracks that I shared out new last year for Thanksgiving, bringing the total here to 5.  Not bad for the first share of the year.  Those two tracks are The Big Clown Balloons, performed by The Merrill Stanton Voices from the LP Meredith Willson's Here's Love (Columbia Special Products CSRP 8899, 1963, Stereo) and Thanksgiving Day, from the LP Hits From The Gang Shows (Fontanta 680932TL TFL.5104, Mono). credited to Ken Jones. Look at me, I've rambled on for an hour about five measly tracks. How am I ever going to get through the season?  OK, now to the downloads.  I know many of you hate RapidShare.  So I'm going to try a couple of other download services this year, all of the in parallel for as long as I can keep it up.  RapidShare is still my default sharing site, mostly because I have a pre-paid membership which makes it really easy to use, but that's of no use to you if you can't download my shares.  There are three links to the download below, get it from wherever you feel is easiest.

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And there you have it.  Be sure to check back often as it's all down hill from here to Christmas Day!

Soon, Very Soon

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  That's when the blog comes back to life.  Go buy yourself an external hard drive now.  :)

Chanukah On Labor Day-Part 2

Well, I know it's a long way from Labor Day, but it's still part two of what I started way back then.  Been real busy trying to get ready for Christmas if you've been wondering what I'm up to.  I've got tons to do between now and then, so blog posts are going to be pretty light for a while.  But come Christmas, hold on to your hats!  Tonight I've got five more Chanukah songs that I recorded for you back in August that I should have shared with you in September, but here it is October.  Oh, well.  Track one is Hanukkah Song by John Klein from his LP Around The World On A Carillon (Columbia "Adventures In Sound" WL 135 (Vinyl is marked XLP 43458 from Schulmerich, no mention of Columbia), Mono)).  This is probably my favorite of the bunch, just because it's John Klein.  The other four tracks are all by The Jack Elliot Orchestra And Chorus from their album Hebrew Holidays In Song (Capitol ST 2167, Stereo, 1964).  The titles are Maoz Tzur (Rock Of Ages), S'Vivon (Dreidel), Mi Y'Malel (Who Can Retell) and Chanukah, Oy, Chanukah.  I wasn't sure those were all Chanukah songs, but the back of the label was nice enough to tell me which songs were appropriate for what holiday.  Anyhow, there's the last half of something I started last month.  Here's the download link, hope you enjoy them!

Chanukah From 2009-Better Late Than Never

I'm finding that I was quite the slacker last year.  Not only did I never share out the 32nd day of Christmas In July, I also skimped on my Chanukah shares for the month.  I found these three tracks a couple of weeks ago, and I figure it's high time I get them out there for you to enjoy.  First up is Kathy Lecinski with Chanukah Oh Chanukah from her album Look At The Holidays (A Good Apple Record PB 1586, Stereo, 1982).  Next up is The Lockhart Cougar Chorus with Chanukah Holiday from their record Lockhart Cougar Chorus 82-83 (Private Pressing, Marion C. Cabrera, Principal; Krystyn Arnold, Director, Stereo, 1983).  Last and best is The Weavers doing Mi Y'Malel from The Weavers On Tour (Vanguard VRS-9013, Mono, 1957).  Sorry it's taken me so long to get these up.  Here's the download link, I hope you enjoy them.

Chanukah On Labor Day-Part 1

As I'm searching for Christmas music from non-Christmas albums to share out during my Christmas in July celebration, I occasionally come across Chanukah songs as well, although they are few and far between.  And I usually share them out on the first day of August, as soon as my July celebration ends.  But Christmas in July ran all the way into September this year, so this time around you get Chanukah on Labor Day.  Simple, eh?  So what do you get?  Four tracks from the album Hanukkah And Other Hebrew Songs (Tylent TT-1013, Stereo, 1972) by The Gerald Dargis Chorale And Orchestra.  Those four tracks are: Hanukkah Song, A Song Of Hanukkah, and two medleys, Haukkah Holiday: 1. Hanukkah 2. Light The Menorah and Two Songs For Hanukkah: 1. Candlelight 2. Spin My Top.  On top of all that, you get to hear The Weavers performing Sholom Chaverim from their album The Weavers At Carnegie Hall (Vanguard VRS-9010, Mono, 1957).  I think that one alone is worth the price of admission, which is free.  Hope you enjoy these songs, here's the download link!

Christmas In July 2009-The Missing Thirty-Second Day

I just noticed that I never posted my 32nd day last year.  And I thought I lost it in the big computer crash of '09, but there is was in a folder of old shares!  So here, with only a year and a month's delay is Christmas In July 2009-Day 32!  Just so you don't have to read my blatherings, here's the download link at the beginning.  Now, if I can figure out what's in the file, and why I waited until the end of the month to share it...  Let's see, 16 files in there, so you get more than this year.  I see three tracks from Brass Of The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, Conducted By Alfred Newman from the album Hallelujah! (Capitol SP8529, Stereo, 1960).  I think these are stereo versions to replace mono ones I'd shared previously.  The three tracks are Hallelujah from The Messiah, We Three Kings Of Orient Are and Deck The Hall.  Next are a couple of tracks by Ruby Murray With The Norrie Paramor Orchestra, Christmastime In Ireland and Christmas In Killarney, from Irish-And Proud Of It (Parlophone (EMI) P-33SX 1402, Mono, 1962).  Not sure why I recorded these, since I think I have them in stereo someplace...  Sixth is another version of My Favorite Things from the album My Favorite Things (Decca DL 78975, Stereo) by The Stratford Strings.  Again, no idea why I recorded this and didn't share it (or did I?).  Seventh and eighth are March Of The Toys by Billy May And His Big Band first from Hey It's May (Pickwick SPC-3010, Fake Stereo) and again from Pow! (Capitol Star Line T1377, Mono).  I remember looking for a stereo copy of this, and finding out it was fake stereo, and then finding the non-budget label record it had been released earlier on.  Now this one I do remember, it's a stereo copy of the great David Rose track The Christmas Tree from David Rose Plays David Rose (MGM SE3748, Stereo, 1959).  This is a good one!  Number ten is a cleaner copy of Baby, It's Cold Outside by Meri Ellen And Her Cohorts Featuring Don Elliot from The Hi-Fi Antics Of Meri Ellen And Her Cohorts (Design DLP 63, Mono, 1958).  I always liked this track.  Two tracks from The Chad Mitchell Trio in what I think may have been slightly improved sound from my old share, The Marvelous Toy and Twelve Days from Singing Our Minds (Mercury SR 60838, Stereo, 1963).  Lucky thirteen is a slightly cleaner rip of Ave Maria from 29 Strings And Then Some (RCA Victor LPM-1457, Mono, 1957) by Mario Ruiz Armengol And His Orchestra.  14 and 15 are Snowfall and Winter Wonderland, both by Dennis Farnon And His Orchestra from The Enchanted Woods (RCA Victor LSP-1897, Stereo, 1959).  This was either me finding a stereo copy, or forgetting that I'd already recorded and shared it in stereo.  Only some basic research will solve that mystery, and I'm awfully lazy!  Last up is what I think was supposed to be a cleaner copy of The Three Suns' Busy Holiday from either For Listening And Dancing or Twilight Time & Body And Soul (Pickwick PTP 2012, Mono), a Pickwick double album release that combines two earlier budget releases.  The records themselves still had the names of the single-disc releases, but they were stuck in the double LP sleeves.  Budget albums are a world unto themselves sometimes.  And there you go, 16 tracks that have waited more than a year to be released, hope it was worth the wait. (In case you're looking down here at the end for it, I included the download link at the top of this post just to confuse you!)

Christmas In July (In September)-The Thirty-Second Day

Just in case you thought it was over, I'm back with more Christmas goodies for you.  As I often try to do, I like to share a little bit more with you on the thirty-second day, and it's mostly versions of things that I've already shared with you, but that may sound a little better, or may be in stereo instead of an earlier mono version I shared out, or even stuff that I just didn't want to share the rest of the month.  So today I've got 15 tracks for you, which should bring my total shared for the month to just over 200.  Hope you got the whole set.  Let's begin with a unique track that I just couldn't see much reason to share during the regular month.  It's Harry Nilsson singing Remember Christmas from the LP Son Of Dracula (Rapple ABL 1-0220, Stereo, 1974).  There's nothing in this song about Christmas that I can hear, and even the label only refers to it as Remember Christmas in one spot.  Elsewhere, it's called Remember.  So this may be a track you decide not to keep.  Track two is a much better sounding version of Bing Crosby singing The Secret Of Christmas, which I first shared here.  This is from the soundtrack to the movie Say One For Me (Columbia CL 1337, Mono, 1959).  I actually recorded a couple of other songs from this soundtrack that may show up some time in the future.  Turns out this LP is available in stereo, but it's really hard to find.  If you like, you can download it from iTunes, but I think that's cheating.  Next up is a version of Sleigh Ride from an LP called Leroy Anderson Favorites (Treasure Productions TLP807, Mono).  Turned out that it's the same as a version of Sleigh Ride I had shared from another budget release, but I can't find which one right at the moment.  That's what happens when you share out too many versions of the same song.  It's not any better this time around.  Next up are two stereo tracks by The Gene Lowell Chorus from Halls Of Ivy (Warner Bros WS 1244, Stereo, 1959) which I had previously given you in mono.  They are Auld Lang Syne and Winter Song, both worthy additions to their full-length Christmas album.  Another two tracks making their stereo re-debut are Auld Lang Syne and Snowfall, this time by the All-Star Orchestra Conducted By Bobby Byrne from The Great Themes Of America's Greatest Bands (Grand Award GA 225 SD, Stereo, 1959).  Good stuff.  Now how about a stereo copy of Blue Holiday by Andre Previn And David Rose?  This time around it's from Like Blue (MGM SE 2811, Stereo, 1960), while the mono version I shared was from a re-issue called The Previn Scene.  Odd...  Next up are a couple of Christmas tracks by Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians from a best-of LP that was available only at their concerts, A Very Special Hour With Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians (MCA Special Markets 2xLP DXS-511, Fake Stereo).  I thought these might be different versions than the ones on the Waring Christmas LPs, but they're just the same old The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) (Gordon Goodman is credited as soloist on this one) and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (this one co-credits The Teen Trio & Poley McClintock).  A really good track that I just didn't think I could get away with sharing during the month is a version of Holiday For Strings by Hal Mooney And His Orchestra from the LP I pulled two other tracks from, Woodwinds & Percussion (Mercury PPS 6013, Stereo, 1961).  Even though I shared a couple of version of this David Rose classic last year, I know it's not really a Christmas song.  But this is a great version!  How about a clean stereo version of the great Latin Snowfall by Henry Mancini And His Orchestra from the soundtrack to Charade (RCA Victor LSP-2755, Stereo, 1963)?  Don't know why it took me so long to find this in stereo, but it sure was worth the wait, I love this track!  Some times I don't pay attention to what I'm recording until it's too late.  So you get a copy of My Favorite Things as performed by The Trapp Family Singers And Chorus that's exactly the same as the one I shared before.  Actually, I think the reason I couldn't tell at first that I'd already recorded it was because I didn't enter the LP title and catalog info into that old post, so let me be sure to put it in here.  This is from The Sound Of Music (Warner Bros WS 1377, Stereo, 1960).  Another old fave that I found a stereo version of this year is The Ski Song (Slalom) by David Carroll And His Orchestra from the LP Contrasts (Mercury Wing SRW 12508, Stereo, 1959).  Another stereo newbie here is a medley called Skye Boat Song-Bonnie Dundee-Hundred Pipers-Auld Lang Syne by The Dagenham Girl Pipers from The World Famous Dagenham Girl Pipers (Capitol ST 10125, Stereo, 1958).  Pretty impressive, if you like bagpipes.  I was starting to think this list would never end, but that's the end of it.  Now I have to go back and add boldface and italic, then put in some hyperlinks to the original shares and any extraneous stuff that I mentioned, oh, and add the download link, almost forgot that.

Christmas In July (In September)-The Thirty-First Day

Well, here we are, the last day of the 'month'.  I thought it would never get here.  As is my tradition, I like to share New Years songs with you on the last day of the month, so that's what you get tonight.  I'm sure you'll enjoy them all just as much as all the Christmas stuff I've already doled out.  Well, maybe not this first track.  It's a radio commercial by Henry Morgan called New Year's Resolution from the LP The Best Of Henry Morgan 1946-47 (Command Performance Records LP-2, Mono).  I had hoped it would be a little funny skit, but it's just a slightly humorous ad for some brand of razor.  Oh, well, live and learn.  Next up, and infinitely more interesting is Let Us All Sing Auld Lang Syne by Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians from Alma Mater Memories (Capitol ST1949, Stereo, 1963).  Nice little song here.  And lastly, I've got four different versions of Auld Lang Syne, which pales in comparison to the sixteen (!) versions I gave you back in 2008, but it's still not too shabby.  Version one is by The Ferko String Band Under The Direction Of Capt. Joseph A. Ferko from the LP The Ferko String Band Volume No. 3 (Regent MG 6085, Mono).  Version two is performed on a Swiss Coffin Music Box, from an album I've shared from earlier this year, The Story Of The Music Box (Book Records 10" Collector's Series #1011, Mono, 1952).  Version three is a short one from Irving Fields And His Trio and their album Year Round Party Fun (Oceanic OCP 511, Mono).  I think we've heard from Irving Fields already this year (and last!).  Version four is by the great Pete King Orchestra And Chorale, the album is Songs To Celebrate (Kapp KS-3284, Stereo, 1962).  This is a great companion to their Christmas LP.  And there you have it, six tracks to help you ring in the new year.  Here's the download link, don't party too hard at midnight tonight.

The Missing Shares

Hmmm, yesterday I had 629 shares hosted at RapidShare, and today, after uploading Christmas In July 2010-Day 30, I see that I only have 391 shares hosted.  If those are really all gone, I'm going to be pretty ticked off.  I'm hoping it's just a transient thing, perhaps a server down or something.  Heaven knows how I'll figure out what's there and what's gone...  If anybody notices something that's missing, gimme a buzz.

Christmas In July (In September)-The Thirtieth Day

Well, here we go, the first day of Christmas In July In September.  If I'd known it was going to drag out this far, I might have just canceled it for the season.  But here we are, well over a month past our Best-By date, and I can finally see the end.  So here goes...  Let's begin with a version of the Hallelujah Chorus as performed by The Baptist Bible College Choir-S.K. Grundy, Director.  This comes from their LP The Little Brown Church In The Dale (Diadem DLP 145, Mono, 1962).  Nothing too exciting here, let's move on to another bible college, this time in Detroit, The Detroit Bible College Choir, Leon Anderson-Director.  This time the song is Christmas Cantata (III Movement), and I don't know if it's much better.  The LP is Gloria In Excelsis Deo Chorale (Custom Pressed By Recorded Publications Company AZB-55371/55372 (Recorded From Client's Furnished Tape), Stereo, 1961).  At least we get another interesting quote from the label, this time the pressing company distancing themselves from the recording.  You gotta have faith in your product!  Next up is Sun Valley Jump by Glenn Miller And His Orchestra.  I know, I'm stretching the Christmas connection here to the breaking point, but I always associate this song with It Happened In Sun Valley, and that's a nice winter song, so why not this one, too?  I pulled this from Glenn Miller's Original Film Soundtracks Volume 2 (20th Fox FOX 3021, Mono, 1959).  We get into a little bit more of a true Christmas mood next with Mary Had A Baby by that group I first brought to you yesterday, Obernkirchen Children's Choir-James Benner, Piano-Edith Moller, Conductor, and their album Obernkirchen Children's Choir In Japan AKA Holiday In Japan (Westminster Gold (ABC) WGS 8238, Stereo, 1973).  And then we go back into the organ music you all love so dearly with Tom Hazleton performing something called Our Winter World Of Love.  This is from the LP What The World Needs Now Is...-Tom Hazleton At The Unit Orchestra (Concert Recordings CR-0117, Stereo, 1972), a record where all the tracks feature the word Love in their title.  How quaint.  And that's your five tracks for tonight.  But since you've been a good audience, and not complained that I've taken too long to get these shares posted, here's a bonus track.  It's Lawrence Welk And His Champagne Music performing a medley called Viennese Waltz Time: Blue Danube, Skater's Waltz, Estudiantina.  This is from his LP Mr. Music Maker (Dot DLP 25164, Stereo, 1959).  That's it for tonight, check back tomorrow for the end of Christmas In July In September!  Oh, almost forgot, here's the download link.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Ninth Day

Hooray!  Welcome to the end of Christmas in July in August!  Not that I'm done with my original Christmas in July, it's just that tomorrow is September, and that means we aren't in August anymore.  But however you look at it, we're getting pretty close to the end.  And tonight is a little special in that you get six tracks instead of the normal five.  Why is that, you ask?  Because I'm bringing you both part one and part two of Dickie Goodman's Santa And The Satellite!  I remember this being a lot more exciting when I was a kid, but times change.  I pulled this from the LP Mr. Jaws And Other Fables By Dickie Goodman (Cash/Private Stock CR 6000, Stereo, 1975).  Track three is Babes In Toyland: In The Toymakers Workshop; Never Mind Bo-Peep; Go To Sleep, Slumber Deep; Toyland; I Can't Do That Sum, a nice medley from the Victor Herbert show, performed here by Nathaniel Shillkret And His Orchestra With Soloists from the LP The Music Of Victor Herbert AKA Listen To The Music Of Victor Herbert (RCA Camden CAL 228, Mono).  I've got two different copies of this record, with slightly different covers and titles.  The main cover illustration is by Jim Flora, by the way, so you don't see too many of these floating around.  Track four is a different version of Ave Maria than the ones I usually find, this one written by Arcadelt and performed by the Obernkirchen Children's Choir-James Benner, Piano-Edith Moller, Conductor.  I found this on the LP Obernkirchen Children's Choir In Japan AKA Holiday In Japan (Westminster Gold (ABC) WGS 8238, Stereo, 1973).  More from this one tomorrow.  Track five is Christmas Morn, Hymn 23 from the album His Arm Encircles Me-Hymns And Solo Settings For Poems By Mary Baker Eddy Recorded In The Mother Church (This Recording Is Produced By The Trustees Under The Will Of Mary Baker G. Eddy, Manufactured By Columbia Record Productions XCSV 140999/141000, Stereo).  The artists are John Robert Dunlap, Accompanied By Ralph Jerles On The Mother Church Organ.  I'm afraid I can't understand half of what he's singing here...  Last track is a peppy string-laced version of Greensleeves by Enoch Light And His Vibrant Strings.  Never seen any other albums credited to that particular ensemble, but that's the credit on this LP, Something To Remember You By (Grand Award GA 242 SD, Stereo, 1959).  I've tried to stay away from too many versions of Greensleeves (AKA What Child Is This) this year, but I thought this one was worth mentioning.  And that's it for tonight.  Here's the download link.  Come on back tomorrow for the first day of Christmas In July In September!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Eighth Day

Twenty Eight down, just a few more to go.  Five good ones for you today.  Well, a couple of good ones and some filler.  It's late, what did you expect?  Let's start with Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring by none other than The Trapp Family Singers With Father Franz Wasner, Conductor.  The album is Sing Along With The Trapp Family (Baronet B-101, Mono), but I don't know much about it.  I've seen Trapp family recordings on RCA Victor, Decca and Warner Bros, but Baronet is new to me.  Track two is a cover of Latin-American Christmas Lullaby, one of the originals off the great Ralph Hunter Christmas album that I've been bringing to you for a couple of years now.  This version is by Columbiana County Choir-Ferris Ohl, Guest Conductor from the LP Sounds Of Music-Eighth Annual Columbiana County Music Festival (Century Custom Recording Service V14354, Mono, 1962).  Good to see that someone was paying attention to Ralph Hunter back then.  Next up is Ding Dong Merrily On High, another track from The Choir Of Malvern College Chapel With The Choir Of Hillstone School, Organist-Nigel Hancock and their album Music From Malvern College Chapel (Wealden Studios (UK) WS 175, Stereo, 1978).  I believe this is the last track from that one that I'm sharing.  Fourth is a version of Jingle Bells as it might have been played on a theater organ back during the silent film era.  This is from the LP Music For Silents (Malar MAS-2027, Stereo, 1977) and is performed by Gaylord Carter who apparently used to accompany those silent films.  The final track for tonight is My Favorite Things by Dimitri's Hollywood Orchestra & Chorus from their low-budget album Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound Of Music (Clarion 602, Stereo).  The less said about this one, the better.  And that's it for tonight.  Here's the download link, see you back here tomorrow.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Seventh Day

Number 27, here we go!  Track one tonight is In The Vinter, perhaps best described as an ethnic comedy performed by Oscar Brand with Dave Sear from the LP Absolute Nonsense (Riverside RLP 12-825, Mono, 1958).  Short but sweet.  The second song is the ubiquitous Skaters Waltz, this time performed by the Continental Orchestra from Waltz Time (RCA Camden CAL-149, Mono, 1957).  My ear tells me that this was recorded much earlier than 1957, but that's when it got put onto this record.  Track Three is a version of Away In A Manger by The Choir Of Malvern College Chapel With The Choir Of Hillstone School, Organist-Nigel Hancock from their album Music From Malvern Chapel (Wealden Studios (UK) Ws 175. Stereo, 1978).  I think this is the third share from this LP, and I'm not done yet.  Track four is a long Christmas Carol Sing-A-Long by Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra-Julius Rudel, Musical Director, from the album Christmas In Concert And More... (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra/Buffalo Savings Bank (No Catalog Number), Stereo, 1979).  You've heard from this LP before, but this is the last time it shows up this year.  Last is a little something called The Great Snowman.  Unfortunately, it's not the kind of snowman that you might find at Christmas time, but I decided to throw it in anyway.  This is by The Geezinslaw Brothers and their LP The Geezinslaw Brothers And Chubby (Capitol ST 2885, Stereo, 1968).  That's it for tonight.  I think this makes 7 posts in a row, or at least something pretty close, or not at all.  I'm really trying to get this thing closed out.  Here's the download link, see you next time!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Sixth Day

Is that right, twenty-six?  Getting towards the end now.  What have I got tonight?  Let's begin with The Weavers singing Go Where I Send Thee from the classic The Weavers At Carnegie Hall (Vanguard VRS-9010, Mono, 1957).  Track two is Nutcracker Suite: Trepak, Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies, Dance Of The Flutes, Waltz Of The Flowers by Reginald Voort and his LP Waltz And Ballet (Cook Laboratories 1058, Mono, 1956).  Up third is Buddy Clark and Dinah Shore With Orchestra by Ted Dale doing the old chestnut for duet Baby It's Cold Outside from Buddy Clark's Greatest Hits (Columbia CS 9434, Fake Stereo).  When I recorded this, I knew something was missing.  It turns out they've edited the first 8 seconds or so of the song out of there.  So I dropped in a version I had that included the opening as I first heard it.  Somewhere around here I've got the original 78, so I'll have to listen to that someday to be sure I've got the whole thing.  Fourthly, we've got The Holly And The Ivy from that record you first heard yesterday, Music From Malvern College Chapel (Wealden Studios (UK) WS 175, Stereo, 1978).  The performers here are The Choir Of Malvern College Chapel With The Choir Of Hillstone School, Organist-Nigel Hancock.  Last up is Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring by Milford Myrhe from A Carillon Recital At The Bok Singing Tower (Morse's Music MM-2000, Stereo).  Milford seems to have taken over the post of Chief Carilloner at Bok Tower from Anton Brees upon his death in 1967.  That's it for tonight.  Here's the download link, have a good evening.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Fifth Day

Whew!  Day 25.  Let's go.  Track one is Benny Goodman And His Orchestra doing My Favorite Things.  I haven't brought you too many versions of this song this year, so I hope you'll let me get away with this one.  I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to share any Benny Goodman here at the blog before, so enjoy this.  It's from The Sound Of Music (MGM E3810, Mono, 1959). Track two is by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra-Julius Rudel, Musical Director and their album is Christmas In Concert And More... (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra/Buffalo Savings Bank (No Catalog Number), Stereo, 1979).  This is a locally produced album, probably sold only around the Buffalo area, so I was lucky to find it.  Tonight you'll hear a medley of March and Waltz from The Nutcracker Suite, and there's another medley from it coming up soon.  Third is Once In Royal David's City by The Choir Of Malvern College Chapel With The Choir Of Hillstone School, Organist-Nigel Hancock from the LP Music From Malvern College Chapel (Wealden Studios (UK) WS 175, Stereo, 1978).  This one came to me all the way from Merrie Olde England, which is a lot further away than Buffalo NY.  Fourth is Jimmy Ruth And Rusty telling you a little Christmas Story, the second track I've shared from their record, Special Occasions-Songs & Stories For Children (Singchord (Zondervan) ZLP 967, Stereo, 1977).  Fifth and finally is Mr. Tony Bennett performing a song called Tell Her It's Snowing from his LP Listen Easy (MGM/Verve MV-5094, Stereo, 1973).  The orchestra on this is by Don Costa, so enjoy it.  I'm not a huge fan of Tony Bennett, but he's all right, I suppose.  Hope you enjoy tonight's selection of music.  Here's the download link.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Fourth Day

Diving right in, you get twelve tracks tonight from side A of an LP entitled Christmas With The Gooding Band Organ (Gooding Amusement, Columbus Ohio 850C-3214, Stereo), commemorating 75 years of the Gooding Amusement Company.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to have survived much past whenever that 75th anniversary was, because I can only find mentions of them here and there on the internet.  Heaven knows what happened to the great old band organ (built in Germany in 1910, so it would be 100 years old this year) you'll here in these tracks, hopefully it ended up in the collection of some museum somewhere.  The twelve tracks are all fairly short, most of them under two minutes in length.  Side two is random songs that didn't have anything to do with Christmas, so I figured this would fit in with Christmas in July instead of Christmas in December.  Anyhow, the twelve songs are Silent Night, Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Frostie, The Snowman, A Little Boy's Christmas, Silver Bells, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Here Comes Santa Claus, Christmas Medley, I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus, Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer and Winter Wonderland.  I think you'll really enjoy this one.  Here's the download link, see you later, alligator!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Third Day

Welcome to day 23!  Ready for some more scratchy Christmas music?  Here we go...  Track one is Lullaby For Christmas by Adele Silke, Soprano & Richard Bailey, Pianist, from the album Nursery Songs And Rhythms (Judson Records H8-OP-2535/6, Mono).  Track two is the great Ethel Smith in a track I've been hunting for a long time now, Sleigh Ride, from her album Galloping Fingers (Decca DL 8456, Mono, 1957).  Good version.  Third is The Winter's Past-Rhapsody For Oboe And Strings by Howard Hanson Conducting The Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra.  The LP is entitled Americana For Solo Winds And String Orchestra (Mercury MG50076 (American Music Festival Series Volume 4 [grab volume 2 here]), Mono, 1954).  I'm not certain of that 1954 date, but I found an identically named LP with a different catalog number from that year, so I'm running with it.  I apologize for the horrible scratchy noise recurring for the first minute or so of this song.  There were two pieces of packaging tape stuck on this record, extending maybe 3/8 of an inch in from the edge.  I removed the tape, but I couldn't do much with the residue it left deep in the grooves.  Try to imagine it without that horrible noise...  Fourthly, we have Hank Snow, again from his LP Snow In All Seasons (RCA Victor LSP-4122, Stereo, 1969), this time with Roses In The Snow.  I think this is my last track by Hank this year.  Last is Skater's Boogie from 12 Great Hits In Ragtime (Dot DLP 25433, Stereo, 1963) by Jo Ann Castle.  This may be my favorite version of this great waltz this year.  So if any of that sounds at all interesting to you, please click this download link.  Thank you, please come again!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-Second Day

Day 22, it's all downhill from here.  What have I got for you?  Let's start with Jingles, The Christmas Clown by Richard Robinson & William Reeve.  This is the second track I've brought you from Songs For Children With Special Needs 3 (Bowmar 122, Mono).  This isn't the happiest song in the world...  Track two is Snowflower Polka by Dorine from Polka Favorites Volume 1-All Star Concertina (Recar PF4001, Mono).  Now we're starting to get happy!  Track three is happy, but in a much different way.  You have to listen closely to the lyrics on this one.  The track is called Winter and it's by the Dunster Dunces from Harvard and their LP Songs From All Corners ("Pressed but not recorded by Columbia Records" XTV 64384/64385, Mono, 1960).  Track four is another track by Belles & Beaus and their LP Canfield Choral Music Dept. Presents The English Handbell Sounds Of The Belles & Beaus (Canfield High School 7074N4, Stereo, 1974).  This time around it's Christmas Lullaby, and I think this is the last track from them that I have to share.  And the last track for this evening is The Little Drummer Boy by The Daughters Of The Cross With Peter Knight & His Orchestra from their LP Go Tell It On The Mountain (Chapter 1 (London) CPS 39002, Stereo, 1969).  I think this is the third and last track I'm sharing from this LP.  There you have it, five more Christmas songs for your collection.  Here's the download link, see you all tomorrow.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twenty-First Day

Day 21, I can see the end from here.  Unfortunately, it's not gonna  be in August.  Christmas in September, anyone?  Anyhow, ten tracks tonight from an album of carillon music from The Singing Tower at Luray Caverns in Virginia.  The carillonneur is Charles T. Chapman and the LP is entitled simply Carillon Music (Alive 1034M, Mono).  The songs are The Bells Of Saint Mary's, Adeste Fideles, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Joy TO The World, Fairest Lord Jesus, I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In, The First Noel, Hark The Herald Angels Sing and Silent Night.  If that sounds like something you want to hear, here's the download link.  Enjoy!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Twentieth Day

Day 20, we're getting there!  What's in the list today?  We start with another selection from Children Sing Around The Year (Decca DL 4406, Mono, 1963), Medley: (a) Christmas Is Peppermint Candy (b) Ringa-Linga-Ling (c) Christmas Is A Love, sung by Rosemarie Jun And Robert Spiro.  Track two is another Hank Snow track from Snow In All Seasons (RCA Victor LSP-4122, Stereo, 1969), At The First Fall Of Snow.  Thirdly, we have Away In A Manger by Rusty from Special Occasions-Songs & Stories For Children (Singchord (Zondervan) ZLP 967, Stereo, 1977).  Fourth is The Strugglers playing Bonnie Lassie while the crown sings Jingle Bells from Two Beers And Everybody Sings (Warner Bros WS 1257, Stereo, 1959).  Lastly, and probably best, we've got Johnny Winter performing the classic Please Come Home For Christmas.  I'd heard of this, but never seen it until a couple of days ago when the LP turned up at the thrift store.  Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good.  This is from First Winter (Buddha BDS 7513, Stereo, 1969), a collection of early tracks released after Winter had his first big record.  That's it for today, here's the download link.  See you next week.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Nineteenth Day

Sorry I missed yesterday, I was over at Lee's blog causing trouble.  But I'm back tonight with five more Christmas sounds for your August enjoyment.  Let's begin, shall we?  Track one is something called Bad Bad Winter by Kay Weaver from an LP she shares with someone named Ralph Lowe called The Now Sounds Of Today (Columbine CRH-198, Stereo).  There's nothing much I can tell you about this LP, could be some sort of song-poem thing, could be a vanity release, not sure.  The two artists don't seem to perform together anywhere on the LP, so I don't even know what their relationship is.  Up next is Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy by Arthur Fiedler And The Boston Pops Orchestra.  I think I already shared something with you from this album, Evening At Pops (Polydor PD 5032, Stereo, 1972). (Nope, looks like I haven't, but I will...)  Track three is Mary's Little Boy Child by The Daughters Of The Cross With Peter Knight & His Orchestra.  Again, I think I've shared another track from this album, Go Tell It On The Mountain (Chapter 1 (London) CPS 39002, Stereo, 1969), with you.  Good stuff here.  Track four is the first of several tracks by Hank Snow From his LP Snow In All Seasons (RCA Victor LSP-4122, Stereo, 1969).  This one is Snowbird, but I don't think it has anything to do with Anne Murray.  (Someone correct me if I'm wrong...)  Last up is White Christmas by Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians.  I pulled this from a medley of Irving Berlin hits on the album Berlin By Lombardo (Capitol ST1019, Stereo, 1958).  Short but sweet.  That concludes this evening's sharity.  Here's the download link, see you again real soon.

Christmas In July (In August)-The Eighteenth Day

Another day, another five Christmas songs.  Let's go...  Track one is Christmas Lullaby by Richard Robinson & William Reeve from Songs For Children With Special Needs 3 (Bowmar 122, Mono).  I've no idea where I find some of this stuff...  Track two is Ice Princess by Helmut Zacharias And His Magic Violins from Happy-Go-Lucky (Polydor (Germany) 46048 LPHM, Mono).  Track three is March Of The Toys by the great Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra from Tribute To Dorsey, Volume II (RCA Victor LPM-1433, Mono, 1957, originally recorded August 1939).  Track four is Tchaikowsky: Medley From "The Nutcracker Suite" by The Tiffany Strings from their album The Tiffany Strings Play Popular Themes From The Classics (Tiffany 1011, Mono).  And that brings us to the final track, a 22 minute opus by the one and only Walter Carlos entitled Winter, consisting of an entire side of his double LP Sonic Seasonings (Columbia PG 31234, Stereo, 1972).  I personally didn't find this to be very wintery, and parts of it are downright boring, but you might like it.  That's it, four short tracks and one really long one for you.  Here's the download link, enjoy the music!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Seventeenth Day

New posts three days in a row?  That must be some sort of record, at least of late.  But here I am, with my third day of new Christmas music for you.  I'm gonna jump right in with track number one.  It's Gloria In Excelsis by Students Of The General Theological Seminary Of The Protestant Episcopal Church-Directed By H. Bruce Lederhouse from Rejoice! Music For The Worship Of God In The Twentieth Century (Scepter 527, Mono).  No idea that this was going to feature the banjo when I bought it, but that's the sort of pleasant surprise that makes this job worthwhile.  Track two is Sleigh Ride from Richard Ellsasser and his album Leroy Anderson Favorites-Richard Ellsasser Playing The Baldwin Electronic Organ (MGM E3174, Mono, 1955).  I shared a whole winter-themed LP from Mr. Ellsasser a year or two ago, and according to the liner notes on the back of this LP, he's got a Christmas record floating around somewhere out there.  To the thrift store!  Track three is Christmas Song, performed here by Charlie Francis from Hits Made Famous By Nat King Cole (Spin-O-Rama S-145, Stereo).  Not the worst version out there, especially for such a budget label.  Number four is I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing In Perfect Harmony/Put Your Hand In The Hand by the Warren Willis Singers from Warren Willis Singers Send Love (No Label WS32172, Stereo).  There's not much about this group on the back sleeve, other than a mention that they're from the area in Florida where I grew up.  Odd, since I found this over on the East coast.  Last, we have some more handbell music from Belles & Beaus and their LP Canfield Choral Music Dept. Presents The English Handbell Sounds Of The Belles & Beaus (Canfield High School 7074N4, Stereo, 1976).  This time it's Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers.  That's all for today, here's the download link, enjoy!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Sixteenth Day

I believe that post number sixteen is the halfway point for this celebration of Christmas in July. Of course, it's the middle of August, so that means it's going to take forever to finish up. So I'd best get busy. Track one today is a medley of two tracks called Roll Up The Snow and Wonderful World Of Winter, performed by Rosemarie Jun and Robert Spiro. No idea who they are but the writer of these tracks, as well as the rest of the album is Helen Horn aka Pretty Penny (The liner notes peg her as well-known, but the internet is coming up with nothing...). The album is Children Sing Around The Year (Decca DL 4406, Mono, 1963). Track two is a second track by Don, Dick and Jimmy from their album Spring Fever (Crown CLP 5005, Mono, 1957). This time around it's Out In The Cold Again. Third we have Eugene Ettore & Louis Scalera performing Snow-Ride from New Organ Magic (Sano Corp. 1001, Mono). This appears to be a promotional item from Sano Corp, makers of an all-electronic organ that looks a whole lot like an accordion to me. Track four is the great Edmundo Ros And His Orchestra playing My Favorite Things from The Sound Of Music In Latin Tempos For Dancing (London PS-198, Stereo, 1960). This sounds awful familiar, but I can't find any evidence that I've shared it before... Last, we've got another track by Hugo Winterhalter from his LP A Season For My Beloved (ABC-Paramount ABCS-447, Stereo, 1963), this time it's The Things We Did Last Summer, and I think it's the last track I have for you from that LP. So, here's the download link, have at it. See you all later!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Fifteenth Day

No, I'm not giving up yet.  I've got more Christmas music up my sleeve than most folks and I intend to let a lot of it out.  Today you get six tracks from Ann Blyth that center around one of the other stars of the Christmas season, Jesus' mother, Mary.  These tracks are all from her LP Hail Mary (Everest SDBR 1113, Stereo, 1960) and also feature Orchestra And Chorus By Joe Leahy.  I'd had a copy of this LP for well over a year now, and once I finally went to record it, I found that it was horribly scratchy.  By complete coincidence, I'd seen another copy earlier in the day, but I wasn't sure if I'd bought it or not.  I dug through the days record purchases, and there it was.  Turns out the second copy sounded much better, and that's what you're hearing tonight.  The tracks make up all of side one, and they are Hail Mary, A Child Is Born, Mary's Prayer, Joseph, Go Forth, and My Son.  I'm sure you'll enjoy them.  Here's the download link, have a ball!

Christmas In July (In August)-The Fourteenth Day

Well, here we are, in another month, but we're still celebrating Christmas in July.  Long story...  Hopefully, I can wrap up Christmas in July in time for the real Christmas in December.  I've got five more songs for you today that have at least some little something to do with the holiday season, or maybe just the season itself, we'll see.  Let's begin, shall we?  Track one is The Bells Of St. Mary's by Kenny Baker.  This is from the album Kenny Baker Sings Song Hits Through The Years (RCA Camden CAL-131, Mono).  When I first picked this up, I thought it was the guy who played R2-D2 in Star Wars, but that was a very different Kenny Baker.  Track two is The Skaters--Waltz, Op. 183 by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor, from their LP Hi-Fi 3/4; Waltzes And Songs By Waldteufel And Lehar (Columbia CL 849, Mono).  Nice little version of this perennial favorite.  Third is a nice version of Go Tell It On The Mountain by a group of nuns called The Daughters Of The Cross With Peter Knight And His Orchestra.  The album is also called Go Tell It On The Mountain (Chapter 1 (London) CPS 39002, Stereo, 1969).  Nice little bit of Now Sound in the rhythm on this one.  Fourth up is another track from that great Hugo Winterhalter LP A Season For My Beloved (ABC-Paramount ABCS-447, Stereo, 1963), June In January.  And last, we've got a track from the soundtrack to the movie Giant (Capitol DW 773, Mono, 1956) called Toy Trumpet March-Christmas Morning by Dimitri Tiomkin.  Those are the sorts of tracks that I love to find, something in a spot you'd never think to look.  Anyhow, here's the download link, enjoy the music!

Christmas In July-The Thirteenth Day

OK, I'm back with the last installment of Christmas in July 2010 that will actually fall in July.  Don't worry, though, I'm planning on keeping this train rolling for a while yet.  It's just that we'll be in the wrong month.  Whoever heard of Christmas in August?  So, what have I got for tonight?  Let's begin with Sammy Davis, Jr. And Carmen McRae With Orchestra Directed By Jack Pleis singing that great duo wintertime song Baby It's Cold Outside.  This hails from their LP Boy Meets Girl (Decca DL 8490, Mono, 1957).  Sammy doesn't play it at all straight on this one, and I'm not sure if I like it that way.  But give it a listen.  Track two is the ever popular Skater's Waltz as performed on the organ by Shay Torrent And Ralph Bell from the LP Hammond Organ Fantasies (Mercury MG 20135, Mono, 1956).  Third is Winter Wonderland by Brazen Brass creator Henry Jerome And His Orchestra from Designed For Dancing (Lion (MGM) 10" E70004, Mono, 1954).  Need some fine, quality handbell music?  Track four is Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy as performed on the handbells by a group called Belles & Beaus.  This is from the album Canfield Choral Music Dept. Presents The English Handbell Sounds Of The Belles & Beaus (Canfield High School 7074N4, Stereo, 1976).  At least two places on the LP, they call them handballs, not handbells.  I guess it takes college level private pressings to include spell checking.  Last on tonight's list is something called Vibraholiday by Lionel Hampton With Rhythm And Reeds from Golden Vibes (Columbia CS 8110, Stereo, 1959).  It may not be Christmas but it's nice.  That concludes today's sharity, here's a download link, have a good one.  See you next month!

Christmas In July-The Twelfth Day

Hello?  Anybody still out there?  I've been gone for a bit, but I'm back again.  Got too busy there with some company that came into town, first with getting the place cleaned up and then with hanging out and doing touristy stuff with my guests.  But here I am with five more songs for you to download and enjoy.  I'm going to try and keep going for a while now, and I may have to go out into August, but we'll see.  Anyhow, let's see what sort of goodies I have for you this evening.  After such a long wait, I'm sure anything will sound good.  We begin with Ave Maria (the Schubert one) as performed by Montini And His Orchestra from a very early Westminster LP, Music In The Night (Westminster WP 6005, Mono, 1956).  From there we move into Don, Dick 'N Jimmy performing June In January from their album Spring Fever (Crown CLP 5005, Mono, 1957).  Yep, it's the budget label, but the music is still pretty good.  Next up is a track I teased you with earlier, White Christmas by Matt Dennis from another budget label album, Saturday Date With Matt Dennis (Tops LP1596, Mono, 1957).  And that leads into track four, Dance Of The Toy Flutes from Evening At Pops by Arthur Fiedler And The Boston Pops Orchestra (Polydor PD 5032, Stereo, 1972).  That's a pretty late date for stuff on this blog, don't ya think?  Bringing up the rear is a track from the great Hugo Winterhalter and that album I've shared with you quite a bit this July, A Season For My Beloved (ABC-Paramount ABCS-447, Stereo, 1963).  This time around it's Summer Green & Winter White.  All good stuff and I think you'll enjoy them.  Here's the download link.  I'll try not to wait so long between posts next time.  Thanks for all the concerned comments on that last post.  Sorry I didn't give you any warning about my absence.

Question:  Do any single women ever drop by here?  I'm lonely.  Drop me a line.  I'm serious.  :)

Christmas In July-The Eleventh Day

Well, here I am, falling further and further behind.  But I'm making good progress at getting my place cleaned up for company.  I'm also running out of music to share, so slowing down is really helping to stretch things out.  I've got five songs here for you tonight, but no time to tell you what they are.  I'll eventually get in here and edit this post to tell you what you're downloading, but until then, here's the download link, you'll just have to trust me that it's worth your download.

Christmas In July-The Tenth Day

Another day, more Christmas music. Let's see what's on tap today.  Up first is a song simply entitled Christmas by Fred Karlin.  I found this on Yours, Mine And Ours (United Artists UAS 5181, Stereo, 1968), one of those 60's soundtracks from a movie you've never heard of.  Second is the great Arthur Fielder And The Boston Pops doing their version of the great Christmas commercial song I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing from Evening At Pops (Polydor PD 5032, Stereo, 1972).  Those of you with excellent record collections will know that this record features Julia Child, but apparently only on the first side.  I've had a scratchy copy that skipped badly for a couple of years, but I finally found a clean copy this year, so I'm able to share it with you.  Track three is another track from Woodwinds And Percussion (Mercury PPS 6013, Stereo, 1961) by Hal Mooney And His Orchestra, this time it's I've got My Love To Keep Me Warm.  That seems to be a very popular song around here this year.  Up next is Swiss Sleigh Ride as performed by The Swiss Band Organ, and it's the third track I've shared with you this year from the LP Folk Songs Of The Alps (Tradition (Everest) TR 2081, Stereo, 1968).  Last on the list is Winter Wonderland (sorta...) by ethnic comedians Doug Setterberg & Stan Boreson.  No, this isn't from their Christmas LP, it's from Yust Try To Sing-a-long In Swedish (Golden Crest CR 3079, Stereo).  You'll recognize the tune, but I suspect these aren't the words you remember.  That's it for tonight, here's the download link, see you back here tomorrow.

Christmas In July-The Ninth Day

Good Evening!  Welcome to day nine, which is actually happening on day ten.  Odd, that.  Let's jump right in, shall we?  Track one is a new one from Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra And Chorus.  Surprisingly, this doesn't come from that ABC-Paramount record I've been slowly distributing, but from an RCA budget release called Big And Sweet With A Beat (RCA Camden CAL-443, Mono, 1958).  I'm not sure but I think this LP collects up random sides recorded previously by Mr. Winterhalter.  The track is entitled Blue December, and I think it's a keeper.  Track two is Christmas Night In Harlem by Paul Whiteman & Orchestra With Johnny Mercer And Jack Teagarden from the LP Fiftieth Anniversary (Grand Award 2xLP 33-901, Mono, 1956).  This is a nice collection of remakes in nice sound of tracks from Mr. Whiteman's past.  I was a little shocked to discover a Christmas song hidden in there since I already had a copy of this LP, and had had it for years.  I guess you have to pay attention.  Track three is I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm from Country Club Saturday Night (RCA Camden CAL-332, Mono, 1956) by Jerry Jerome And His Country Club Orchestra.  No idea who these guys are, really.  Track four is Hanover Winter Song by Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians.  Anything by Fred Waring is more than welcome here at the blog.  This comes from his LP Alma Mater Memories (Capitol ST1949, Stereo, 1963).  Track five is another one by The Bellwethers, this time it's Ukranian Carol Of The Bells.  I don't know what makes this Ukranian, it sounds like the same old Carol Of The Bells to me, but perhaps it's originally Ukranian.  Anyhow, this is from The Bells Of Crystal Cathedral (The I.T. Verdin Company/UA Recording UAS-989-9297, Stereo).  Doesn't look like today is the day I'm gonna get caught up around here.  I'm putting records into boxes, and you can only imagine how long that takes...  Anyhow, here's the download link, go get it!

Christmas In July-The Eighth Day

Here we are, celebrating the Eighth day of Christmas in July on July the Ninth.  I know it doesn't make any sense, but I was busy yesterday and didn't get to throw up a share.  I'll try to make that up this weekend and get back on track.  To make up for my tardiness, I'm giving you what I think is my best track of the season, Go Tell It On The Mountain by Brook Benton.  This is a really great song, and it's buried away in the middle of If You Believe (Mercury MG 20619, Mono, 1962), an album of sacred music.  Oh, this is good stuff.  I wish all my finds could be this nice.  Next is a version of the Bing Crosby classic Christmas In Killarney, here performed by The Bill Shepherd Singers from the LP Irish Sing-Along (Decca DL 4053, Mono, 1963).  This one is pretty good, too, but not as good as Bing.  Third is classic piano bar crooner Matt Dennis from a budget label release Saturday Date With Matt Dennis (Tops LP1596, Mono, 1957).  The track is titled Hitch Up The Sleigh, and it's not the only song from this album that you'll hear this month.  Fourth is another track by Hugo Winterhalter from his LP A Season For My Beloved (ABC-Paramount ABCS-447, Stereo, 1963), A Marshmallow World.  That brings us to the final track, Waltz Of The Flowers, a slightly different version by David Rose And His Orchestra, Tenor Sax Solo By Bob Cooper, from the LP Concert With A Beat (MGM SE3852, Stereo, 1960).  The credit for saxophone should tell you that this isn't your normal run of the mill Tchaikovsky.  That's it, five more tracks for your Christmas in July enjoyment.  Here's the download link, see you tomorrow.

Christmas In July-The Seventh Day

Bit of a quicky here tonight, if ten tracks can be considered a quicky.  All ten of these tracks come from the same 10" LP entitled The Story Of The Music Box (Book Records 10" Collector's Series #1011, Mono, 1952).  Oh, the LP comes in the back of a thin, spiral bound book that tells all about the music box.  Neat little package.  The sound is a little rough, too, but there's some nice Christmas carols on here, if music boxes are your thing.  We hear from a few different types of 19th century music boxes here, including the Household Regina, the American Olympia, the Concert Regina and the Console Regina.  Interesting names, those.  The carols in question are Silent Night, O Sanctissima, Song Of The Virgin Mary, Ave Maria-Gounod, Hark The Herald Angels, First Noel, Skaters' Waltz, Adeste Fideles and two version of Jingle Bells.  You'll either like this one or you won't, so if it sounds like your kind of thing, please be my guest.  Here's the download link.  See you back here tomorrow!  Oh, and if you like the idea of a 10" record, head on over to my buddy Buster's place, a little blog called Big 10-Inch Record.  He specializes in them.

Christmas In July-The Sixth Day

Day six already?  This month is flying by.  Another hodge-podge of stuff for you tonight.  Let's begin with the first of three tracks from old pal Hal Mooney And His Orchestra.  Couple years ago I brought you some really great stuff from another of his Mercury LPs, and this year I found another one.  Woodwinds And Percussion (Mercury PPS 6013, Stereo, 1961) is the name of it, and tonight's track from it is Baby, It's Cold Outside.  I think you'll dig this almost as much as the ones from 2008.  Next up is something else from The Bellwethers who you first heard back on the third day of my Christmas bonanza.  This is also from their LP The Bells Of Crystal Cathedral (The I.T. Verdin Company/UA Recording UAS-989-9297, Stereo).  This time it's Good King Wenceslas.  Third on the list today is Ice And Snow by The Swiss Band Organ from the LP Folk Songs Of The Alps (Tradition (Everest) TR 2081, Stereo, 1968).  You heard another track from this LP back on the third also, but by a different group.  Fourth up is a medley of tracks from Greenwillow, the Frank Loesser musical that includes the track Greenwillow Christmas.  I first heard this song in a version by The Browns featuring Jim Ed Brown, and I've always liked it.  I'm sure you'll like this version as performed by Arthur Fiedler And The Boston Pops Orchestra.  This is from their LP Music Of Frank Loesser (RCA Victor LSC-2486, Stereo, 1961).  Last up is our first second version of Snowfall for the year, in a short (and narrated!) version by The Steel Pier Big Band, Directed by Frankie Lester.  This is from the LP The World Famous Steel Pier Big Band (Steel Pier Records SP-1, Stereo, 1973).  This appears to have been released just a couple of years before the Steel Pier in Atlantic City went under for what many believed was the last time.  But it's evidently recently seen a rebirth and is now a tourist trap once again.  Good to know that there's something to do in Atlantic City besides gamble.  That concludes tonight's list.  I hope there's something in there that interests you.  If not, try back tomorrow and I'll hopefully find something that's more to your liking.  Here's the download link, have a good one!

Christmas In July-The Fifth Day

Good day to all!  It's rained here all day long and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of it.  I live in Florida, not some country where they have monsoon season.  But that's neither here nor there, you came 'round for some Christmas music, and I've got some dilly pickles for you tonight.  I don't even know where to start.  How about with a record that I just bought a couple of hours ago, and which is rapidly becoming my favorite find of the season?  It's The Jackie Davis Trio performing The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) from the LP Organistics (Kapp KL-1030, Mono, 1956).  I don't know why I like it so much, but it's got that swingin' organ sound that would explode less than ten years later.  I think you'll enjoy it.  Track two is a bit of a shocker.  How about Frank Sinatra conducting an orchestra performing a 'tone poem' called White, The Young At Heart?  This is from the instrumental LP Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems Of Color (Capitol W375, Mono, 1956).  Something about the sleigh bells in this one makes it sound all Christmassy to me, and I hope you think so as well.  Up next is another organ track that swings quite a bit less than that leadoff track, it's Ray Colignon performing The Skaters (which you may recognize as The Skater's Waltz) from Skating Waltzes-Ray Colignon At The Hammond Organ (Harmony/Columbia HL 7275, Mono, 1960).  It's certainly not the worst version that I've ever shared...  Fourth is That Man Over There from Meredith Wilson's adaptation of Miracle On 34th Street called Here's Love, performed here by Edmundo Ros And His Orchestra from New Sounds Of Broadway (London PS 352, Stereo, 1964).  Anything Christmas related from Mr. Ros is more than welcome here at the blog.  Lastly I've got the first of several tracks from Hugo Winterhalter and his album A Season For My Beloved (ABC-Paramount ABCS-447, Stereo, 1963).  I had no idea this even existed last year, then I found a mono copy.  Some months later I found a second mono copy.  And just last month in Ohio I stumbled across a stereo copy, and that's what you're getting tonight.  As you might have guessed from the title, there are a number of seasonal tracks on this one, and the first one I'm sharing with you in the Claude Thornhill classic Snowfall.  Mr. Winterhalter has been a favorite around the blog.  I've shared his only full-length Christmas release with you before, as well as a single or two and a random track.  All good stuff!  I think that's it for the night.  I'm sure you'll agree that it's a pretty good selection of stuff today, I hope you enjoy it.  Here's the download link, and I'll see you all after work tomorrow.

Happy 4th!

Here are a few shots of the fireworks last night down on Bradenton Beach. I think I was quite lucky to get these shots, because about ten minutes after the show ended, the clouds let go and I got drenched. So that's why you aren't getting any fireworks pictures from tonight. Sorry.

Christmas In July-The Fourth Day

Happy July the 4th to everyone out there in blog land!  I went out last night to try and shoot some fireworks, and I got drenched.  So I'm not even gonna try tonight, I'm gonna sit right here by the computer and share some tunes.  Actually, I'm going to go ahead and share some tunes now, get it out of the way, then I'm probably going to watch some TV.  Tonight you get a side-long version of The Nutcracker Suite from Stanley Black and The London Festival Orchestra.  I ripped this from side 1 of Tchaikovsky-Nutcrackers Suite OP.71/Serenade For Strings In C Major, OP. 48 (Phase 4 SPC 21022, Stereo, 1968).  It's a pretty good version, running a little over 20 minutes.  I didn't want to leave you with just the one version though, so I found an LP copy of the Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians version, which I'd previously shared out from a scratchy old 45 here.  The LP is called A Very Special Hour With Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians (MCS Special Markets 2xLP DXS-511, Simulated Stereo).  Maybe you'll like this rip more than the other one, maybe you won't.  Oh, this LP was marked as being available only at Fred Waring concerts, if you're curious.  So that's it, two versions of The Nutcracker Suite, one fairly straight, one a bit twisted.  Interesting way to celebrate the 234th anniversary of the independence of my nation, but such is my way.  Here's the download link, have a great holiday.  We'll see you back here tomorrow.

Note To Self

Do not start installing that fancy programmable thermostat you bought at Lowe's today after midnight.  You'll forget to turn off the main power when you disconnect the old thermostat, short out the blue wire, and you'll fiddle with the new one (which won't work) until two in the morning as your condo gets steadily hotter.  Then when you give up and put the old one back in, it won't work either.  You'll have to tear apart the air handler after moving a five foot high stack of records.  Inside there you'll find what appears to be a car fuse that looks blown.  Your car doesn't use those types of fuses, but it uses something close, and it has some spares, but not in the right amperage, but close.  Plugging in the incorrect type of the wrong size fuse seems to work, thank goodness, because it's late, and you'll want to go to sleep, but only with cold air blowing on you.  Oh, and the air handler can be working just fine, but it won't blow cool air if you don't put the front cover back on it.  Confound it, I still have to install the new thermostat...

Christmas In July-The Third Day

Gotta get tonight's shares up pretty quick here.  The skies have cleared and I think we might actually get to see some fireworks tonight.  I missed them last night due to the poor weather, and it's predicted to rain again tomorrow.  Tonight may be my only chance to get some pictures.  So let's see what's in the share tonight.  We begin with organist Al Bollington performing Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy from Presenting Al Bollington At The Conn Organ (Decca DL 4223, Mono, 1962).  From there we move to another old classic chestnut, Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers by Irving Fields And His Trio.  This one comes from Irving Fields Favorites (King 703, Mono, 1961).  Next up is The Swiss Bell Ringers doing a song called Carol Of The Bells, but which doesn't sound anything like Carol Of The Bells.  Odd.  I grabbed this one from Folk Songs Of The Alps (Tradition (Everest) TR 2081, Stereo, 1968).  You'll hear a couple more tracks from this one later on, but by a different artist.  Fourth up is a bit of a ringer.  It's Teresa Brewer doing Jingle Bell Rock from The Best Of Teresa Brewer On Coral Records (Coral 2xLP CXB 7, Mono, 1965).  I say it's a ringer because I'm pretty sure they pulled this from Teresa's Christmas LP, which, unfortunately, I don't own.  Lastly tonight, I give you Ding, Dong Merrily On High by The Bellwethers from The Bells Of Crystal Cathedral (The I.T. Verdin Company/UA Recording UAS-989-9297, Stereo).  This little gem appears to be a compilation of tracks from various handbell and carillon recordings all linked to Robert Schuller and his Crystal Cathedral.  I.T. Verdin is a manufacturer of handbells, and this seems to have involved them in some capacity.  But you don't care about all that, you just want some Christmas music in July.  Here's the download link, if I can get Rapidshare to co-operate.  I've uploaded this thing twice and it's still not showing it.  I'll try it again here in a sec.  See you tomorrow!

Christmas In July-The Second Day

Day two, and I've got a special little local treat for you.  One day last year I drove over to the East coast of Florida to see a shuttle launch.  Unfortunately, the launch got scrubbed, but I decided to hang out and hit some thrift stores on the space coast.  That's when I turned up this record, Voices Of Space By The Kennedy Space Center Chorus, Directed By Arthur C. Benington (Century Records 32909, Stereo).  There's mention in the liner notes of the groups formation in 1966, but no mention is made of the moon landing, so I'm pegging this somewhere between '67 and '69.  Track one, side one is a long medley narrated by Bill Larson, and it begins with a clip from Gemini 6 astronaut Walter Shirra.  I've cut it into eight individual tracks, but it's one long track on the record.  I think you'll really enjoy this one.  There's one song in the medley that isn't really Christmas, No Man Is An Island, but that's made up for by a good track that I'd never heard before, We Can't Go Wrong.  The label and sleeve are both devoid of further info on that song, so I'm a little clueless about it.  Give it a listen, maybe you can tell me more about it.  Here's the download link, have a ball.  See you tomorrow!

Christmas In July-The First Day

Yes, I know.  I've been neglecting the blog lately.  I just haven't been in the mood.  I don't know why, it just hasn't been something I felt like messing with.  But suddenly, here it is July, and I've got a tradition to uphold.  For the past three years, I've shared out Christmas music during the month of July.  Not just any Christmas music, but songs that have a holiday bent from albums that don't have anything to do with the holidays.  It's an odd hobby, but it keeps me off the streets.  I don't know that I've got enough music or drive to last me the whole month, but I'm going to give it a go.  I came home from work tonight and ripped five songs for you, and I think I had about ten that I ripped sometime right after Christmas that I'll eventually get to.  That means it's not going to be too many each day.  I'm starting out today with the five I just recorded, and we'll go from there.  So, let's see what's in Santa's bag tonight.  I'm starting off with Julius La Rosa singing one of the hit songs from the Broadway musical Mame, which I'm sure you've already guessed is We Need A Little Christmas.  I grabbed this from his LP You're Gonna Hear From Me (MGM E-4398, Mono, 1966).  From there we move to the great (and long-time blog favorite) Paul Mauriat doing the old Harry Simeone rip-off The Little Drummer Boy.  No idea why this didn't show up on his Christmas record(s), I recorded it off of Listen Too! The Fabulous Paul Mauriat Orchestra (Philips PHS 600-197, Stereo, 1965). Next up is Warren Covington And His Orchestra telling us that Baby It's Cold Outside from his LP Dancing Trombones (Decca DL 74352, Stereo, 1963).  Fourthly we have The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Alfred Newman performing Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers from Marche! (Capitol SP8479, Stereo, 1959).  Lastly, and probably leastly, we have the old chestnut Greensleeves (which has the same tune as What Child Is This) by Jo Basile, His Accordion And Orchestra from the record Around The World With Jo Basile, His Accordion And Orchestra (Audio Fidelity AFSD 6153, Stereo, 1966).  And that's it for the first night.  Nice eclectic mix there.  And here's the download link.  Have at it!  Merry Christmas in July to all of you!