Pete Plays

Always a fine compliment to Big Tiny Little, this LP by Pete Fountain is making a return visit to the blog this year.  I first shared this with you back in that golden year of 2005 from a mono copy, which I upgraded in 2007 to stereo, and that's what you're hearing tonight.  I can't say too much more about this record than what I've said before.  I can tell you that Pete Fountain is quite the survivor.  He's still doing his thing after all these years, even after his home was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.  Here is Pete Fountain-Candy Clarinet (Coral CRL 757487, Stereo, 1966).

1. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
2. Santa Claus Medley: Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Jingle Bells
3. Winter Wonderland
4. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
5. Blue Christmas
6. Candy Clarinet
7. Jingle Bell Rock
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. The Little Drummer Boy
10. Silver Bells
11. White Christmas
12. Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Wrap It Up! Week One

Well, that's the end of the first four days of Christmas 2010.  Are you having a good time yet?  I know I'm glad to be able to finally share some of this stuff I've been working on.  It's hard to keep track of so many things as they start to really pile up, and I don't want to jump the gun before Thanksgiving, either.  So when the season starts, I really have a lot of momentum built up.  That's why you've been seeing eight or more shares a day for the first few days.  That's going to slow down quite a bit tomorrow as I have to go back to work, but never fear, there's still plenty of good stuff in Santa's sack for the rest of the season.  I don't always get to do it, but I like to take a few minutes at the end of each week during the season and recap all the good stuff I've shared.  That gives me a chance to reflect on just how much I've gotten out there (sometimes it seems like I'm not busy enough if I don't spend every waking minute at the computer) and it lets you check to see if you missed something in all the holiday rush.  So let's take a look at all the stuff that's come out since last Thursday, Turkey Day.

Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade, Etc
Squanto And The First Thanksgiving (Rerun)
Thanksgiving For King
Lollipop Dragon Helps Santa/Thanksgiving In Tum Tum
Christmas Around The World
James A. Linen-Time For Christmas
Fred Waring-Twas The Night Before Christmas (Remaster!)
Fred Waring-Christmas Time (Rerun)
Raymond Lefevre-Merry Christmas (Remaster!)
Paul Mauriat-The Christmas Album (Remaster!)
Paul Mauriat-Joyeux Noel
Les Djinns Singers-Joyeaux Noel (Rerun)
Mireille Mathieu-Mireille Mathieu's Christmas
The Merriest Time!
Skitch Henderson-Winter Holiday (Rerun)
Elliot Lawrence-Christmas Just A Minute (Remaster!)
Holiday Greetings From The Epic, Portrait And CBS Associated Family
The Best For '89 From The Entire Capitol Family
Holiday Greetings Voice Tracks
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Carols (Rerun)
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Songs (Rerun)
Fontanna-Christmas At Home (Rerun)
Carols Of Christmas And The Stories Behind Them
The Best Of Christmas In July 2006 From Ernie (Not Bert) (Rerun)
Dino Martinelli-Plays Music For Christmas (Now In Stereo)
John Donnelly & Sons-Sing It Outdoors (Rerun)
Sammy Kaye-I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas (Remaster!)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye (Rerun)
Sammy Kaye-Christmas Serenade (Rerun)
Sammy Kaye-Year 'Round Favorites (Rerun)
The Gregory Orchestra And Chorus-David Frost Introduces A Christmas Record For Oxfam
Sing Along With Santa's Pixie Helpers-The Animals' Christmas Song b/w The Christmas Song Cha Cha Cha?
When Singers Meet, Inc., Mass Choir-Joy To The World
Santa's Snowmen-Swing Along With Santa's Snowmen (Rerun)
Big Tiny Little-Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Remaster!)

Wow, that's a lot of stuff, especially for only four days.  I'll be lucky if I don't drop dead before the end of the month.  Seriously, stay tuned for many more great shares, both new and old.  I've got plenty of goodies to last all the way through Christmas day.  And thanks for all the comments, those really make my day.  Nothing nicer than waking up to a dozen positive emails in the morning.  :)

New Big & Tiny

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

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

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Snowmen, Not Pixies

I was reminded of this old share when I threw up a single by Santa's Pixie Helpers a minute ago.  I thought that the two groups might be one in the same, but that single isn't on here as far as I can tell. This is one of those budget label albums that never went very far, and when I shared it out here back in 2007 it went even less far.  But I'm bringing it back for another go 'round, and maybe this time some one who's been looking for it since they were a little kid will find it and enjoy it.  Please download and enjoy, Swing Along With Santa's Snowmen (Craftsmen C 8040, Mono).

1. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. Sleigh Ride
3. O Come All Ye Faithful-Silent Night
4. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
5. Frosty The Snow Man
6. Joy To The World
7. Jingle Bells
8. Deck The Halls

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

That Gospel Sound

I don't think I've ever shared anything quite like this record with you.  This is gospel music, in the most direct sense of the word.  Just download it and listen, you'll see what I mean.  If you let it, it will creep into your soul and lift you up to a higher place.  I wanted to open with this on Thursday, that's how much I liked it, but I wanted to wait until Sunday, just because it reminds me of Sunday.  Please download When Singers Meet, Inc. Mass Choir-Joy To The World (Jubilee Gospel 6000, Stereo).

1. In The City Of David
2. We Three Kings
3. Silent Night
4. Away In A Manger
5. Joy To The World
6. He's A Wonder
7. Jesus A Wonderful Child
8. Hark The Herald Angels
9. If He Gives Me Strength

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Cha Cha Cha?

Your single of the day for today is this cute little number from the fine budget-label folks at Precision Radiation Instruments.  Unlike their normal push-it-out-the-door cover recordings, this little ditty features a bit of thought and some actual songwriting.  Side one is a cute song about what all the animals want for Christmas that really, really gets into your head.  I sang this for days after I recorded it, sometimes with the actual words, and sometimes with animal rhymes I made up myself ( a whirly bird...for the myna bird...).  The B side is a chipmunk-voiced take on The Christmas Song with a bit of cha cha cha thrown in.  Not too bad.  I've seen these songs on full albums put out by the same cheap label, I may even have shared them under a different name, I need to check, but when I saw the single, I thought it was too cute to pass up.  This is Sing Along With Santa's Pixie Helpers-The Animals' Christmas Song b/w The Christmas Song Cha Cha Cha? (PRI 45-S 320, Mono, 1960).

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

What's An Oxfam?

 I very nearly flipped past this one in the stack I was flipping through.  It didn't look much like a Christmas record, and sometimes when I get on autopilot, that's all I'm keying off of.  But something in my head clicked and I flipped back to it, and I'm glad I did.  This record was released in support of Oxfam charities back in 1967, features some really great versions of your favorite Christmas tunes, and even has a spoken introduction by David Frost, well known English television personality and brother of seasonal troublemaker Jack Frost.  I had some issues with trying to put a date on this one, as it clearly says 1961 on the label, but all of the info I could find online said 1967.  That's a pretty big difference, but I finally decided it had to be 1967 based on David Frost's career arc.  Perhaps the music was recorded earlier, or the arrangements were copyrighted then or something, I don't know.  Anyhow, the music is really good, I'm sure you will enjoy it.  And Oxfam is still a going concern, so if you're so inclined, you can visit their website and make a donation if you enjoy the music.  This is The Gregory Orchestra And Chorus-David Frost Introduces A Christmas Record For Oxfam (Flamingo (Philips) SPL.155, 1967, Stereo).

1. David Frost-Oxfam Introduction
2. I Saw Three Ships
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. Silent Night, Holy Night
5. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night
6. Once In Royal David's City
7. Away In A Manger
8. The Holly And The Ivy
9. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
10. Here We Come A-Wassailing
11. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
12. The First Noel
13.  O Come, All Ye Faithful

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Bonus Sammy

Real quick, here are a couple of bonus Sammy Kaye frocks from the above collection of 45 RPM records.  Only two of the tracks are Christmas related, so this probably belongs more in the Christmas-In-July stuff than here, but I've shared it here in the past and I'm grandfathering it in.  Here are two tracks from Sammy Kaye And His Orchestra-Year 'Round Favorites With Sammy Kaye And His Orchestra (RCA Victor WP 184, 3x7", Mono, 1949).

5. White Christmas
6. Winter Wonderland

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

(Blank) (Blank)

While I'm sharing out Sammy Kaye, I may as well through this golden oldie up, too.  This is Sammy from way back in 1951, but I first shared it in 2006 and I'm bringin' it back in 2010.  Go get a copy of  Sammy Kaye-Christmas Serenade (Columbia B-285, 4-7", Mono, 1951) for yourself.

1. Silent Night, Holy Night
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. White Christmas
4. Winter Wonderland
5. Frosty The Snowman
6. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
7. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
8. Jingle Bells
9. Joy To The World
10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
11. O Come All Ye Faithful

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

From (Blank)

Here's another great collection of Christmas tunes, again from Sammy Kaye.  He's jumped labels from Columbia to Decca now, and things are in stereo.  I guess that means all bets are off, and he can record new stuff, old stuff, whatever Sammy wants.  All in all, it's pretty good stuff.  I first shared this with you back in 2006, but here it is again.  This is Sammy Kaye And His Orchestra-Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye (Decca DL 74070, Stereo, 1960).

1. White Christmas
2. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
3. Christmas Child (Loo, Loo, Loo)
4. Medley: The First Nowell-It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. Medley: O Little Town Of Bethlehem-O Come All Ye Faithful
6. Silent Night
7. It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas
8. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. Silver Bells
10. Sleigh Ride
11. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
12. (Joyeux Noel, Buona Natale, Feliz Navidad) A Merry Christmas (To You)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

To (Blank)

From the stack of things that really didn't need a remastering, here's a remaster of last year's Sammy Kaye share.  So why did this rate a remaster when great artists like Eddie Dunstedter or Ruth Welcome didn't get done?  Well, it turned out I still had the WAV files I recorded last year on my hard drive, and I just ran them through ClickRepair.  I'm sure you'll be able to hear a difference, though.  This is Sammy Kaye And His Orchestra-I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas (Columbia CL 1035, Mono, 1957).

1. I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. Santa, Santa, Santa Claus
5. Frosty, The Snowman
6. Jingle Bells
7. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
8. All Around The Christmas Tree
9. The Christmas Song
10. White Christmas
11. Silent Night, Holy Night; O Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. Joy To The World; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; O Come, All Ye Faithful
13. I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Singin' Outside

I love to share stuff that no one has ever seen before.  It's hard to find things that fit that description, but this record came close.  It's an advertising jingle for a company I'd never heard of.  When I first posted it on 2007, I thought it was just one of those neat, unknown things that I like, but no one else would care about.  Boy, was I wrong.  I get comments and email on a fairly regular basis from people who grew up hearing some of the jingles from this record on TV and radio.  I'd never heard any of them before, but I guess I just lived in the wrong spot.  And being on groovy green vinyl didn't hurt anything.  So for a little something that you may or may not have ever heard before, please download John Donnelly & Sons-Sing It Outdoors (No Catalog Number, Mono).

1. Sing It Outdoors
2. Deck The Halls
3. O Tannenbaum
4. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
5. The Friendly Beasts
6. Les Agnes Dans Nos Campagnes
7. Maria Und Joseph
8. Nu Ar Det Jul Icen
9. Twelve Days Of Christmas
10. What Child Is This
11. Unto Us A Boy Was Born
12. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
13. Silent Night
14. Sing It Outdoors

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Dino Is Back And In Stereo

I saw someone searching for this record in the logs, so I figured I'd go ahead and get it up here. This is a new rip of a stereo version to replace the mono version I first shared back in 2008.  I don't think it was ever a very popular download, but I thought it was good enough to revisit when I found a stereo copy this past year.  In fact, I may have had the stereo copy longer than that, intending to share it last year, but my hard drive failure precluded most of my sharing then. Anyhow, I've got it all recorded and ready to share with you this year.  I think you'll enjoy it if you give it a chance.  Please download Dino Martinelli-Dino Martinelli Plays Music For Christmas (Harmony (Columbia) HS 11010, Stereo, 1959).

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. What Child Is This
3. The First Noel
4. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
5. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
6. The Coventry Carol
7. Silent Night, Holy Night
8. O Come, All Ye Faithful
9. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
10. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
11. Joy To The World
12. O Holy Night

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

July 2006

There may be a few of you out there who have just stumbled across my little blog this holiday season.  If so, then you might not know what goes on around in the hot summertime.  When it gets too hot to go out and take pictures, I turn to my record collection and look for Christmas music.  But not the easy-to-find stuff, I look for Christmas songs on non-Christmas albums.  And I've been doing this since 2006 now.  I've shared out almost 1000 songs that could be interpreted as Christmas music, but almost none of them have been from Christmas albums.  (Some of them turn out to be also found on Christmas albums, but I sourced them from a non-Christmas record.)  After all of the rapid-fire sharing during the month, I sort through what I found and shared, winnowing it down to the very best tracks, and I put together a compilation of the year's best stuff.  This is that collection from 2006.  Please be my guest and download The Best Of Christmas In July 2006 From Ernie (Not Bert).  All the tracks are listed below, and linked to the day when I first shared out the song in question.  I doubt if all of those downloads are still available, but some of them are.  Lots of good music in the downloads that are still active.

1. Clebanoff-Bobsled
2. Ted Heath/Edmundo Ros-Baby It's Cold Outside
3. Lionel Hampton-Gin For Christmas
4. Marty Gold-High On A Windy Hill
5. Eastman-Rochester Pops-Brazilian Sleigh Bells
6. Dinah Washington-I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
7. Henry Mancini-Latin Snowfall
8. Yuji Takizawa & His Blue Bones Orchestra-White X-mas
9. Will Glahé-The Skater's Waltz
10. Esquivel-Sun Valley Ski Run
11. Billy Vaughn-The Chipmunk Song
12. Percy Faith-Little Bells And Big Bells (Glocke Und Glockchen)
13. Lawrence Welk-The Merry Christmas Polka
14. Jerry Murad's Electronic Harmonicats-March Of The Toys
15. Richard Hayman & His Harmonica Orchestra-Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
16. Ian Fraser & His Orchestra-Sleigh Ride
17. Eddie Layton-Winter Wonderland
18. The Smothers Brothers-Swiss Christmas
19. David Rose-Christmas Tree
20. Eydie Gormé-Winter Night
21. Bernie Green With The Stereo Mad-Men-The Skater And His Dog
22. Enoch Light & The Brass Menagerie-My Favorite Things
23. The Four Freshmen-Santa Claus Is Flat Gonna Come To Town
24. David Carroll-The Ski Song (Slalom)
25. The Monterey Brass-We Need A Little Christmas
26. The Three Suns-Busy Holiday
27. Six Fat Dutchmen-Sleigh Bell
28. Billy May-Snowfall Cha-Cha
29. Dick Schory's New Percussion Ensemble-Holiday In A Hurry
30. Armengol-Ave Maria
31. The Crew-Cuts-Auld Lang Syne

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Stay tuned, more of these great collections to come!  (Got to give credit to my buddy CaptOT for that cover.  Captain, where are you?)

Behind The Music, Carol Style

I thought I'd go ahead and share this one out since it's got a lot of spoken-word on it, and you guys might like to use that for your mix tapes and stuff.  When I'm looking for music to record for Christmas, I search far And wide.  Thrift stores, junk stores, record stores.  OK, not so wide, but far.  This record turned in my own collection where it appears to have been for years and years without my paying any attention to it, then one day I looked at it and said "What's this then?".  It's a recording of a handful of carols, and a narrator who tells you the history as it was then known behind that carol.  Sort of self-explanatory, but I still gotta say it.  I think some of the stories have changed over the years, as research has proven or disproven things that were once believed to be true, but they're close enough for government work. Please help yourself to a copy of Carols Of Christmas And The Stories Behind Them (Christian Home Music-Produced For The Radio And Television Commission Of The Southern Baptist Convention, PR4M-1528 & 1529, 1963, Mono).  All narration is by Nicholas Ramsey, vocals as indicated.

1. The Story Of 'Away In A Manger'
2. The Baptist Hour Choir-Away In A Manger
3. The Story Of 'Hark, The Herald Angels Sing'
4. The Baptist Hour Choir-Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
5. The Story Of 'It Came Upon The Midnight Clear'
6. The Baptist Hour Choir-It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
7. The Story Of ' We Three Kings'
8. The Baptist Hour Choir-We Three Kings
9. The Story Of 'O Holy Night'
10. Joe Ann Shelton-O Holy Night
11. The Story Of 'O Come All Ye Faithful'
12. Cody Garner-O Come All Ye Faithful
13. The Story Of 'O Little Town Of Bethlehem'
14. Cody Garner-O Little Town Of Bethlehem
15. The Story Of 'I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day'
16. Oris Baldwin & Loeen Bushman-I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

I need an intern who can type all this stuff up for me. :)

Christmas Baby

Someone left a comment a couple of weeks ago asking about this record.  I guess the download had expired, and she couldn't download it.  Well, because she asked nicely, here it is again.  This low-budget LP was first shared by me back in 2008, and I'm bringin' it to you again this year.  This is Fontanna, His Orchestra And Chorus-Christmas At Home (Masterseal MS-81, Mono, 1958).

1. Silent Night
2. Joy To The World
3. Let It Snow
4. Snow Flakes
5. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
6. You Are All I Want For Xmas
7. Adeste Fidelis (sic)
8. White Christmas
9. Winter Wonderland
10. I'll Be Home For Xmas
11. One Little Candle
12. Silver Bells
13. Night Before Xmas
14. We Three Kings Of Orient Are

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

The Most Popular Share

I don't know why, I don't know how, but this is my most popular share ever, based on the number of downloads.  Well, volume one is the most popular, with volume two not far behind it.  I first shared these out back in 2006 (here and here), though not all at once like here.  Since then they've proven immensely popular.  So join the crowd and download Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Carols (Roulette SR 25097, Stereo, 1959) and Saint Patrick's Cathedral Choir Sings Christmas Songs-Volume 2 (Roulette SR 25142, Stereo, 1961). You'll enjoy them, I'm sure.

Volume 1:
1. The First Noel
2. Come To The Manger
3. Carol Of The Russian Children
4. Gesu Bambino
5. Jesu, Thou Dear Babe Divine
6. The March of The Kings
7. Silent Night
8. Joy To The World
9. Carol Of The Bells
10. The Sleep Of The Child, Jesus
11. That Christmas Long Ago
12. Carol Of The Drum

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Volume 2:
1. Oh Come All Ye Faithful
2. The Christmas Hymn
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. The Christmas Carol Of The Indian
5. The Innkeeper's Carol
6. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
8. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
9. Angels We Have Heard On High
10. Carol Of The Birds
11. Lo, How A Rose
12. Oh Holy Night

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Greetings 3

I've been sitting on this one for years, waiting for the time when I could get a decent recording of it, and the technology finally caught up with me this year.  The locked grooves on this glowing green 7" have caused me trouble for years, but thanks to ClickRepair this year, I was able to turn a loud mess into a reasonable share.  I hope you'll agree with me that it was worth the wait.  I've got quite a few promo 45s from Columbia around this same time period on this same green vinyl.  It's a different shade than the green 45s RCA put out a few years earlier, though it's not quite as bright as my scan makes it out to be.  Close, though.  Enough blabbing, here are a few more holiday greetings from your favorite stars on Columbia in the early sixties.  Please enjoy Holiday Greetings Voice Tracks (Columbia 7" 45 RPM JZSP 111921/2 Green Vinyl Promo).  If any of you include any of these (or any other of my shares) in a mix, lemme know about it!  I'd love to see what you've done with any of my babies.  Leave a comment pointing me (and others) towards the download, or send me a CD in the mail, I love to get mail!  :)

1. Jimmy Dean
2. Jerry Vale (2x)
3. Andy Williams
4. Patti Page (2x)
5. Percy Faith (3x)
6. Ray Conniff (4x)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

PS-I'm counting this as the third in a maybe-series of singles this year. One 7" a day keeps the RIAA away.

Greetings 2

Why stop at only one record full of Christmas greetings when you have two?  There not much more I can say about this one that I didn't say about the first one, except this is a year later, and doesn't feature anything so exciting as the Alice Cooper or Weird Al tracks from that last one.  Still, who wouldn't want to receive Christmas greetings from Willie Dixon or Steve Miller?  And I think the Paul Shaffer bit is pretty good, too.  It's short but sweet, this one.  (Thankfully, there's nothing here as bad as Living Colour on that last one.)  Go download The Best For '89 From The Entire Capitol Family (Capitol 12" 33 RPM SPRO-79471 (Same on both sides), 1989, Stereo).  This came in a plain red sleeve that I didn't scan, since it was plain.  Sorry.

1. Paul Shaffer
2. Anne Murray
3. Peter Blakeley
4. Steve Miller
5. Heart
6. Shadowfax
7. Crowded House (2x)
8. Megadeth
9. Flesh For Lulu
10. Climie Fisher
11. Johnny Clegg & Savuka
12. View From The Hill
13. Sequal
14. The Reivers
15. Melba Moore
16. Hazell Dean
17. Pat McLaughlin
18. Aslan
19. Tracie Spencer
20. Suave
21. Poison
22. Pete Bardens
23. Willie Dixon
24. Chapter 8
25. 101 North
26. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
27. Bert Robinson
28. MC Hammer & The Posse
29. Richard Thompson

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Greetings 1

While it's still early in the sharity season, and you've still got a chance to use them, I'd like to share out the first of a few records that I've got featuring recording artists telling you how to spend your holidays.  Most of them want you to enjoy yourself, or spend time with your family, that sort of boring thing, but some of them are a bit cooler.  In fact, the one I'm sharing with you now features perhaps the coolest greeting ever, from the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Who wouldn't want to have safe, sane, social and Santafied season?  That's worth the price of admission alone.  Dig it!  This is from quite a bit later than my usual record shares, but I'm sure you can forgive me once you find your favorite artist on here.  Please download Holiday Greetings From The Epic, Portrait and CBS Associated Family (CBS Records EAS 1393 12" Same On Both Sides, 1988, Stereo).  I'm not looking forward to typing out the names of all these artists, but here goes...

1. Gregg Allman of The Gregg Allman Band
2. Billy Always
3. Basia
4. Robin Zandar of Cheap Trick
5. Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick
6. Cherrelle
7. Alice Cooper (2x)
8. Gloria Estefan (3x)
9. Europe (2x)
10. The Fabulous Thunderbirds
11. The Godfathers
12. Peter Coyne of The Godfathers
13. Gregory Hines
14. Insiders
15. Living Colour
16. Alexander O'Neal
17. Ozzy Osbourne (2x)
18. Quiet Riot (2x)
19. The Rave-Ups
20. Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon
21. Rhythm Cords
22. Dan Siegel
23. Slammin' Watusis (2x)
24. Henry Lee Summer (2x)
25. Jim Peterik of Survivor
26. Tony Terry
27. 'Til Tuesday
28. Luther Vandross (2x)
29. Gino Vanelli
30. Stevie Ray Vaughan (2x)
31. Weird Al Yankovic (3x)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Better Minute

I forgot all about this record when I made my earlier comments about SESAC.  I thought this was a really big deal when I first posted it last year, and I still think it's great this year.  I recently ran it through ClickRepair when I found the original WAV files on my hard drive, so it sounds better than ever.  Then I really got lucky and found the old empty sleeve I had from many years ago, so I was able to get a better scan of the back cover, so that's new, too!  (Actually, the back cover on that copy wasn't great either, but between the two of them, you'll get one that looks just fine.)  So for a handful of quick Christmas jingles that wouldn't be out of place on anyone's mixtape, please download Elliot Lawrence And His Orchestra-Christmas Just A Minute! (Sesac PA 221/222, Mono).

1. Jingle Bells
2. Jumpin' At The Toy Shop
3. Toyland
4. Dancing Snowflake
5. Santa's Mambo
6. Ring-Around-The-Snowman
7. Deck The Halls
8. Auld Lang Syne
9. The Bell Carol
10. Silent Night
11. Joy To The World
12. We Three Kings
13. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
14. Adeste Fideles
15. The First Noel
16. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Half A Skitch More

Since my last post featured a track by Skitch Henderson (and I think he shows up in at least one future post I've got in the pipeline), here's a re-share of the Snow Holiday half of his 1962 LP for Columbia, Winter Holiday.  The other half of the album was subtitled Sun Holiday, and it's more along the lines of songs about places you might want to go on holiday, so I didn't include it.  I first shared this out back in 2006,  so I've had it around for a while.  There're a few more Skitch tracks around here, especially during Christmas In July, so you might want to use that search bar up top there to find them.  It's too late and I'm too far behind to do the work for you.  Sorry.  Now go download Skitch Henderson With The New York Philharmonic-Winter Holiday (Columbia MS 6381, Stereo, 1962).

1. Winter Wonderland
2. Moonlight In Vermont
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Winter Holiday
5. Around The Bonfire
6. Home Again
7. Troika

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Merriest, Indeed!

This is part two in my might-be-a-series-of-single releases this year.  I haven't decided if I want to try and keep up with it every day, but until I decide not to, I have to put something up each day, right?  This is a 4-song EP from the somewhat odd SESAC company.  I'm not sure if I have their story straight or not.  They don't seem to have released any commercial records, everything I've found by them has been of some sort of promotional nature.  It's all been fairly big-name artists, though, each one moonlighting from their regular label.  This time you get the great Skitch Henderson, Richard Maltby, and some vocal group called The Honey Dreamers who aren't bad, but I've never heard of them.  The selections aren't strictly Christmas, but they're certainly festive enough that no one will know the difference if you drop one into the mix.  It's short but sweet.  Please download and enjoy The Merriest Time! (Repertory/Sesac AD-35 7" 45 RPM, Mono).  If anybody has any more info about this release, or the SESAC/Repertory company in general, please don't be shy, share with me!

1. The Honey Dreamers With Richard Maltby And His Orchestra-Wild Bells
2. Richard Maltby And His Orchestra-Jangle Waltz
3. Richard Maltby And His Orchestra-Skater's Holiday
4. Skitch Henderson And His Orchestra-The Merry Bells

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Be sure to follow label instructions, this record is designed for repeated listening!

Not For Share

If you've enjoyed all the French-centric shares today, then you might also enjoy this LP by French-Canadian songstress Gisele MacKenzie. I used to share it out around these parts, but it's now available for download from iTunes, so that means I can't give it to you for free anymore.  By all accounts, my rip of the LP sounded better than their official download, but I can't break the rules just because something sounds bad.  Go on over there and give it a listen, I suspect you might enjoy it enough to pay $5.99 for the whole LP.  Now if I could just figure out how to link to iTunes when none of their links seems to work in a regular browser...  Let's try this.  This was Gisele MacKenzie-Christmas With Gisele (RCA Victor LPM-2006, Mono, 1959)

Francophone New 2

 My fifth, and unless I think of anymore, final, French Christmas record of the day is this contribution from Mireille Mathieu.  Mireille is still an active artist today, but her only Christmas music on CD appears to be German, which is just a little odd.  After I'd recorded this record, I found a Spanish 7" that featured four of the tracks from this American 12", and on the 7", they credit the orchestra to Paul Mauriat.  There is no mention of Mr. Mauriat on my record, so you won't find his name anywhere on the MP3s I'm sharing.  To my ears, it sounds like it could certainly be him, and the time period is right as well.  So if you want to stick his name on these tracks alongside Mireille, please be my guest.  This is Mireille Mathieu-Mireille Mathieu's Christmas (Capitol ST-490 (Recorded In France), 1968, Stereo).

1. Noël Blanc (White Christmas)
2. Petit Papa Noël (Little Santa Claus)
3. Noël D'Aubervilliers (Christmas In Aubervilliers)
4. La Cambo Mi Fai Maou (Song Of The Shepherds)
5. Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant (The Holy Child Is Born)
6. Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bells)
7. Douce Nuit (Silent Night)
8. Rin Rin (Maria, Maria)
9. Les Enfants De Noël (The Children's Christmas)
10. Les Agnes Dans Nos Campagnes (Gloria In Excelsis Deo)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Francophone 3

Continuing on with today's French theme, here's a great little record featuring five dozen French girls.  I've never listened to it and tried to count how many women I hear singing, so I guess I'm going to have to take their word for it.  This is another of those records I've been sharing since my inaugural year, 2005, so I think it's badly in need of a remaster.  But until then you'll have to listen to this, my original rip of  Les Djinnes Singers-60 French Girls With The Christmas Bell Ringers-Joyeaux Noel (ABC Paramount ABCS 397, 1961, Stereo).  Note that there are actually two separate and distinct artists on this records, The Les Djinns Singers and The Christmas Bell Ringers.  I suspect that ABC Paramount didn't have enough leased French Christmas music to put out a full record at the time by a single artist, so they had to consolidate two smaller releases into one album.


01. Les Djinns Singers-Minuit, Chretriens (O, Holy Night)
02. Les Djinns Singers-Nuit Des Nuit (Silent Night)
03. Christmas Bell Ringers-Good King Wenceslas
04. Les Djinns Singers-Il Est Ne Divin Enfant (He Is Born A Divine Child)
05. Les Djinns Singers-Noel 'Trois Anges Sont Venus Ce Soir' (Christmas 'Three Angels We've Seen This Night')
06. Christmas Bell Ringers-Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
07. Les Djinns Singers-Non Beau Sapin (O Tannenbaum)
08. Les Djinns Singers-Pour Noel (For Christmas)
09. Christmas Bell Ringers-God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. Les Djinns Singers-Noel, C'est L'Amour (Christmas, This Is Love)
11. Les Djinns Singers-Noel Blanc (White Christmas)
12. Christmas Bell Ringers-O, Come All Ye Faithful

Come to think of it, I haven't seen my copy of this record in quite a while.  I need to keep my eyes open for it.  I think I've seen a mono copy recently, but not the stereo one. You can see more of those candles down at the bottom on the cover of the mono version, I remember that...

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Francophone New

I'd always heard rumors of a second Paul Mauriat Christmas album, but I didn't believe them.  Surely a Christmas collector as avid as myself would have stumbled across it by now.  But then, there it was.  In a stack of otherwise uninteresting records, there was a second Paul Mauriat Christmas album!  I had to run right home and listen do it, as I find myself doing with way too many Christmas records.  Unfortunately, to my ears, this one is also inferior to the previous one, and there is a bit of overlap, but it's still worth having.  There's also the added use of a chorus, which I don't think was present on the other album, maybe that will appeal to you some.  So if you're as curious about it as I was, please be sure to download Paul Mauriat Orchestra And Chorus-Joyeux Noel (Fantasy 8389, Stereo, 1968).

1. It Is Midnight
2. The Holy Child Is Born
3. Adeste Fideles
4. Gloria In Excelsis
5. O Tannenbaum
6. White Christmas
7. Christmas Prayer
8. Three Angels Have Come This Evening
9. Shepherd, Let Us Leave The Watch
10. Silent Night, Holy Night

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Francophone 2

From Raymond Lefevre I always roll into Paul Mauriat, so why should this year be any different.  And like the Lefevre record, I've re-ripped this one this year for your increased listening pleasure.  These are some of the best instrumental versions of these tracks to be found anywhere, certainly among those versions with a French accent.  I know, it's hard for music to have a French accent, but listen to these and you'll see what I mean.  I shared this out my first year, and strangely enough, it didn't get any comments in that first year.  Hopefully, it's grown on you since then.  Please download the new and improved Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra-The Christmas Album (Philips PHS 600-255, Stereo, 1967).

1. Jingle Bells
2. White Christmas
3. Trois Anges Sont Venus (Three Angels Appeared)
4. Silent Night, Holy Night
5. Rin Rin
6. Entre Le Boeuf Et L'ane Gris (Among The Cattle And The Grey Donkey)
7. Gloria In Excelsis Deo
8. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant (The Divine Infant Is Born)
9. O' Tannenbaum (O' Christmas Tree)
10. Adeste Fideles
11. O' Holy Night
12. Petit Papa Noel (Little Father Christmas)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

PS-If you want a great version of Little Drummer Boy as done by Mr. Mauriat, be sure to check out this day back during Christmas In July (and August and September). It's a really great addition to this album. And stay tuned for a little something new from Paul later...

Francophone 1

One of my favorite album covers to feature each year is this one.  The music is pretty good, too.  I've shared this out every single year since 2005, and every year it's been a big hit.  This year I'm proud to say that I've re-recorded it, so it's going to sound a little bit better than it has in the past.  I think it's in a higher bitrate than it was in the past, too.  The cover doesn't look any better to my eyes, but my Photoshop skills aren't increasing as fast as my audio recording skills.  Maybe someday I'll find a nicer copy of the cover.  This is Raymond LeFevre And His Orchestra-Merry Christmas (4 Corners Of The World FCS-4257, 1968, Stereo).

1. Silver Bells
2. White Christmas
3. Jingle Bells
4. Little Father Christmas
5. O Tannenbaum
6. Angels We Have Heard On High
7. Silent Night
8. O Holy Night
9. He Is Born The Child Of God
10. Three Angels Came That Night
11. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

The Other Waring

One of the things I probably should have remastered for sharing this year was this companion piece to that last Fred Waring record I shared out.  This one was recorded and released in the same year, so I'm assuming that the Stereo designation on this copy is Fake Stereo.  I first recorded and shared this back in 2007, so my rip has been around for a while now.  It's got some good stuff on it, and it goes really well with that other recording.  This is Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-Christmas Time (Decca DL 78172, Fake Stereo, 1955).

1. When Angels Sang Of Peace
2. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
3. Deck The Hall
4. Joy To The World
5. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
6. The Coventry Carol
7. A Music Christmas Card-O Christmas Tree-The Sleigh
8. Kentucky Wassail Song-Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
10. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
11. Heigh Ho The Holly-See Amid The Winter's Snow
12. Behold That Star-Carols Of The Bells
13. Luther's Cradle Hymn
14. Alleluia
15. Gloria In Excelsis

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

Revised Waring

Since I gave you that Fred Waring-narrated promo disc a couple of posts ago, I thought I'd go ahead and give you my revamped version of his greatest Christmas record ever, and one that somehow still isn't available on CD.  My original rip of this from 5 years ago is my second most popular download ever, and I hope this new rip sounds better than that old one, inspiring another thousand or more downloads.  For those who don't recognize the cover by sight, this is Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians-'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Decca DL 8171, Mono, 1955)

1. Jingle Bells
2. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
3. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
5. Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)
6. Beautiful Savior
7. The First Nowell; O, Little Town Of Bethlehem; Carol Of The Bells
8. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)
9. Oh Gathering Clouds
10. Silent Night

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire

A Little Bit More World

While I'm thinking about Capitol's Capitol Of The World series, here's a neat little item that pulls some tracks from those albums.  It's a cardboard disc from Time Magazine, introduced by James A. Linen, the then-current publisher.  I don't know when this came out, or how it got distributed.  Maybe it was included with the magazine at some point, or perhaps it was a gift to new subscribers, I'm not sure.  Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.  I got some pretty good sound out of it for being plastic-coated cardboard, and probably over 50 years old.  Go download my first single of the season, Time For Christmas.

RapidShare
MegaUpload
MediaFire