Zottola (Not Mottola)

Following up on that last post featuring a bit of Tony Mottola, here's a guy you've probably never heard of called Glenn Zottola. Don't feel bad, though, I'd never heard of him, either, until I found this record.  I'm the sort of guy who will buy just about any record that purports to be Christmas music if the price is right.  And by right, I mean cheap.  I can buy Christmas records all day long at the Goodwill, Salvation Army and other thrift stores, and at $1 each, I can get a lot more music than $0.99 for a download.  So I wind up with a lot of interesting stuff, much of which I never do anything with, but sometimes I put on a record that seems a little more interesting than the others, and that's how I came to play this one.  And I liked what I heard.  It's pretty light jazz, at least to my ears.  But several of the tracks feature vocalist Maxine Sullivan, and she's just great.  I may be wrong, but I don't think she ever recorded a Christmas record of her own, so this may be the only holiday music she left behind, and I see that she passed away the year after this record was released.  Everything I know about this record comes from that sticker on the front cover.  It was released by radio station WYRS in Stamford, CT (though it seems to have moved since 1986).  I like how the label and catalog number have been integrated into the street sign of the cover art, too, that's a nice touch.  I could go on and on, but you need to download and listen to this one.  If anyone knows anything more about this record, this radio station, Glenn or Maxine, please don't keep it to yourself.  Please download and enjoy Glenn Zottola And His Allstars Featuring Maxine Sullivan-Christmas In Jazztime (Dreamstreet DR-110, for WYRS 96.7 FM, Stamford, CT, Stereo, 1986).

1. Let It Snow
2. Jolly Old St. Nick (with Maxine)
3. Winter Wonderland
4. White Christmas (with Maxine)
5. Silent Night
6. Jingle Bells (with Maxine)
7. Christmas Song
8. Greensleeves
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

MediaFire

Burl

First off, apologies for not posting anything at all yesterday. I was tired from working all day, and to tell the truth, I'm pretty tired tonight, too, but I've got to get something up for you guys. And what a something I have tonight. For the first time since 2007, I've found a Christmas release from Burl Ives that I don't think has seen the light of day since it's release in the early seventies.  The record in question is a collection of Christmas songs claiming to the favorites of US presidents past (and at the time, some fairly present).  There's nothing on here that's going to take the place of Holly Jolly Christmas in the national psyche, but for those who love a Burl Ives song at Christmas, this is a great discovery.  But there is a bit of a mystery that needs to be worked out, and perhaps my readers can help.  I've found mentions of this record online in a few spots, but it shows a different catalog number, and I think it mentioned narration.  My record doesn't have any narration, just the music.  Is it possible there were two different releases of this record?  Mine's an old library copy (you can see the stamp on the label scan below, and I think there was a card taped to the back side that was pulled off causing a giant gap in the liner notes...sorry), and perhaps those were different than the versions sold to the general public?  Anyone have this record or remember it?  Anyone?  OK, anyhow, this is Burl Ives, Music Conducted By Tony Mottola-Christmas At The White House (Caedmon TC 9102, Stereo, 1972).  Listening to this as I post it, I remembered that at least one of the songs is performed to a non-traditional melody.  And there are some interesting stories in the liner notes about how they decided what songs were favorites of what presidents, and how they found some of the more obscure songs.  Interesting stuff to a Christmas music buff, I think you'll really enjoy this.

1. The Little Drummer Boy (Richard M. Nixon)
2. Joy To The World (John Adams)
3. Adeste Fideles (Thomas Jefferson)
4. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Zachary Taylor)
5. While Shepherds Watch'd Their Flocks By Night (George Washington)
6. Silent Night (Lyndon B. Johnson)
7. Christmas On The Sea (Theodore Roosevelt)
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are (Abraham Lincoln)
9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Ulysses S. Grant)
10. Shout The Glad Tidings (Andrew Jackson)
11. Silver Bells (John F. Kennedy)
12. Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Laden (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

MediaFire

PS-I forgot I shared another rare Burl Ives track back at Christmas And A Half of 2008, but I don't think the share is any good anymore. Perhaps I should repost that one sometime...  Or the Monkey Joe track for that matter.

Rerun Ralph

Is it possible that I didn't reshare this with you last year?  Shame on me, this is one of those records that needs to be shared every five minutes until someone gets wise and re-issues it for real.  I've been singing the praises of this LP since 2005, even finding a cleaner copy and re-recording it for you in 2008, which is the version I'm sharing with you again tonight.  I'm not going to tell you all about it, you can go read all those other posts if you want.  Just trust me when I tell you that you should have this in your collection.  This is The Ralph Hunter Choir-Christmas Surprises From The Ralph Hunter Choir (RCA Victor LSP-2063, Stereo, 1959).  Oh, and it was rereleased as Living Voices Sing Christmas Music (RCA Camden CAS 725, Stereo, 1962), with a different cover but it's the same music.  That's why that other cover is stuck down at the bottom of this post.

1. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
2. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
3. Jingle Bells
4. Winter Wonderland
5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
6. White Christmas
7. Wassail Song
8. Carol Medley: Joy To The World; God Rest ye Merry, Gentlemen; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
9. The First Noel
10. Indian Christmas Carol
11. Latin Lullaby (Cancion De Cuna)
12. Silent Night

MediaFire



PS. You can find more Ralph Hunter here and here.

Old Wayne

As I mentioned in my last post, here's a really old share from 2006 that hasn't been seen since.  David Wayne narrates a couple of Christmas stories for you here, but it's been so long since I've listened to them that I can't tell you much about them.  Maybe this is something you had as a child and you'll enjoy hearing it again.  If you like it, leave me a note.  :)  This is David Wayne Narrates The Little Star Of Bethlehem & The Toy Box, John L. Eastman Conducting The Cricket Symphony (Cricket CR-X1, Mono, 1959).

1. The Little Star Of Bethlehem
2. The Toy Box

MediaFire

Masterwork

I knew it was going to be like this.  It's hard to post anything when you don't get off work until after dark.  But I'm going to try to soldier on.  Tonight is a little something I thought was pretty special, for a couple different reasons.  First, it's pretty rare that I see a record I've never seen before, and such was the case with this one.  And when I found the sleeve, it didn't have the right record in it.  I went through an entire rack of records looking for the sleeve that matched the record I found in this one, in hopes that this record was in that sleeve, and thankfully that's where I found it.  Second, if you look close at the album cover, you'll see a few familiar names.  David Wayne has narrated another record I've shared here before (I should probably throw that one up again, I think I remember someone asking for it).  Ralph Hunter is the man behind the incredible Christmas Surprises, a favorite share every year.  And Ashley Miller has an organ track on a Command LP that I've shared here as well.  And Norman Vincent Peale, well, I think he wrote the story, but for the most part I think they just attached his name for the star power.  This appears to be a tie-in to a book he wrote and released in 1956 that didn't prove to be quite the big deal that had been anticipated.  But it makes for a nice share.  This is The Coming Of The King-The Story Of The Nativity In Music And Words (Columbia Masterworks ML 5165, Mono, 1956).  Side one is the story of The Nativity, narrated by David Wayne, choir conducted by Ralph Hunter and organ by Ashley Miller.  The flip side is a nice selection of carols by The Columbia Carolers.  All good stuff.

1. The Coming Of The King
2. Silent Night
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
5. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
6. The First Nowell
7. Deck The Hall
8. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
9. Good King Wenceslas
10. O Come All Ye Faithful
11. Joy To The World
12. The Coming Of The King

MediaFire

Remastered Strings

Hey, check it out, it's a remastered version of a share from 2008, and not only does it sound better, none of the tracks skip this time around!   I really wanted to share this out back then because I thought it was nice and I'd only ever seen the one copy, but I was disappointed when three of the tracks skipped badly.  After going three years and never seeing another copy (although I did find two EPs pulled from the LP, but they only covered two of the three skipping tracks), I took another stab at my only copy of the record using two different turntables and a few tricks I've picked up in the meantime, and I got a good rip!  So be sure you grab this one and replace your old copy.  This is The Somerset Strings-Music For Christmas At Home (Epic LN 3159, Mono, 1955).

1. Sleigh Ride
2. White Christmas
3. Silent Night, Holy Night
4. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
5. Good King Wenceslas
6. The First Nowell
7. Jingle Bells
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
9. Once In Royal David's City
10. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
11. Away In A Manger
12. O Come All Ye Faithful

MediaFire

A Klein Rerun-Volume One

Someone all the way from Chile asked for this one to come back, along with all my other old John Klein shares.  So I'm going to see what I can do here over the next few days.  In the meantime, here's a record I first shared back in 2006 in mono, then I upgraded to a stereo version in 2008.  This is the stereo version, oh, and it's also got a little insert in the ZIP file that I found in the original LP.  Please enjoy  John Klein, Orchestra And Chorus Arranged And Conducted By Henri Rene-Let's Ring The Bells All Around The Christmas Tree (RCA Victor LSP-2914, Stereo, 1964).

1. Silent Night; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; We Wish You A Merry Christmas
2. All Around The Christmas Tree
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Joy To The World; Adeste Fideles; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. The Little Drummer Boy
6. O Holy Night
7. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen; O Christmas Tree; Deck The Halls
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. Greensleeves
10. Away In A Manger; The First Noel; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
11. The Christmas Song
12. Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod)

MediaFire

Starlight, Starbright

This was one of those records where as soon as I picked it up, I knew I'd be sharing it come Christmas time.  It's a 10" album, usually the purview of my friend Buster, but I'm gonna share this one out anyway.  Even if you don't like the choral music on this one, you've got to love that cover!  This is Carols For Christmas By The Starlighters Chorus (Capitol 10" 33 RPM H9007, Mono, 1949).

1. Joy To The World
2. Deck The Halls
3. The First Noel
4. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
6. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
7. O Come All Ye Faithful
8. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
9. Gather 'Round The Christmas Tree
10. Silent Night

MediaFire

Seasonings

For those of you that make mix tapes (I doubt if anyone actually makes tapes anymore, really), or at least compilations, here are some public service announcements from your friends, The Seventh-Day Adventists.  For whatever reason, these remind me of Growing Pains, so I'm guessing they're from that same time frame, the early to mid-80's.  Some of these are really, umm, reaching.  Try 'em on for size and let me know what you think.  This is Seasonings-Thirty Second Seasonal PSA's Produced By The Seventh-Day Adventists (A Sunspot Production 7" 33 RPM SP-1046, Stereo).

1. Jamie's Letter
2. Santa & Bobby
3. Papa & Tony
4. Neighbors
5. Warm Hugs
6. Holiday Salute
7. Mistletoe
8. Runaway
9. Worried Helen
10. The Christmas Story
11. Grandma's Gift
12. The Bell Ringer

MediaFire

Technical Note:  I hate records with locked grooves!  Oh, there was a postcard in the sleeve that you were supposed to return after you played the messages, but whoever got this one never sent it back.  I scanned it and put it in the download folder for you.  I knew you'd want to see that, too.

Louisiana Christmas

OK, my last post of a handful of singles went over pretty well, so here are a few more for you, all with a cajun/Louisiana bent to them.  This is dedicated to Mom and Dad who just got back from spending Thanksgiving in the Louisiana bayou.  First up is Cajun Night Before Christmas by Dave Pettijean with background music by Ronnie Kole (Viko 45-200, Stereo).  Short, but sweet. (The flip side of this one was something about crawfish, not at all Christmassy.)

Second is a single from former journalist and LSU professor Jules A. d'Hemecourt, IV performing 12 Days Of Christmas and another take on Cajun Night Before Christmas (Te-Jules 12373, Mono).  I think this is my favorite of the Night Before Christmas versions.  I've got a Justin Wilson one somewhere, too, but I'm not going to share that one.  Sorry.

And since Ronnie Kole showed up on that first record up above, here's a Christmas single he released with his trio on Paula, Silent Night, Holy Night backed with Winter Wonderland (Paula 317, Mono, 1970).  Not sure when I've ever heard drum fills like this on a Christmas record.

Go get your Cajun on!

MediaFire

And for those of you who dig the music of Louisiana, I recommend you go spend a lot of time at The Singing Bones, a fellow blog that's dedicated to the great 45s with that music flavored by gumbo and alligator.  I don't know if she ever shares out any Christmas music, but the music there is all well worth hearing.

From The Request Lines

I get lots of requests to repost stuff during the year, but by the time the season rolls around, I've forgotten about most of them.  So sorry if I don't repost the stuff you're asking about in August.  But someone asked for this one to come back today, and here it is. First shared out in mono back in 2007, then upgraded to stereo in 2008, this is Arthur Godfrey With The Richard Wolfe Children's Chorus-All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth (RCA Camden CAS-1092, Stereo, 1967).

1. Christmas Is For Children
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
3. Frosty The Snow Man*
4. A Holly Jolly Christmas*
5. Medley: Jingle Bells; Jolly Old St. Nicolas; Up On The Housetop; We Wish You A Merry Christmas
6. All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
7. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town*
8. Suzy Snowflake*
9. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
10. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas*

*Arthur Godfrey solo, no children on these.

MediaFire

Jazzband Redux

Here is the first of the records I've re-recorded for sharing this year.  I shared this record in my very first year of Christmas sharity, and I've brought it back in that same old tired recording ever since.  But this year, I went back and recorded it again, well, actually, I recorded another copy I've found since then that I thought looked a little better.  I didn't rescan the cover, and the front is exactly the same as the back, so that's why it isn't in there.  I did add scans for the labels, for those of you who enjoy such things.  Anyhow, this is The World's Greatest Jazzband Of Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart-Hark The Herald Angels Swing (2011 Remaster) (World Jazz WJLP 5-2, Stereo, 1972).  I know you'll enjoy this new and improved recording.

MediaFire

1. Hark The Herald Angels Swing
2. Little Drummer Boy
3. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
4. Silent Night
5. Joy To The World
6. Jingle Bells
7. White Christmas
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. The Christmas Song
10. Winter Wonderland
11. Deck The Halls

Hip Christmas

I finally remembered to update my links over on the right side of the blog this morning, getting rid of some old sites that aren't around anymore and adding one that really deserves your attention.  Randy over at Hip Christmas (and before that the Christmas part of Randy's Rodeo) is a really great collection of info about Christmas songs.  While I tend to dwell on things that were released ages ago, he collects info on stuff that was released just yesterday, although he doesn't ignore the old stuff.  He's even got a few downloads hidden away if you look around.  So head on over to Hip Christmas when you get the chance, you won't regret it.  And tell him Ernie sent you.  And that he should send all his cool (err, I mean hip) music to me!

Alberghetti (Not Spaghetti)

Here's a little album that I didn't know existed before I flipped across it almost a year ago.  Anna Maria Alberghetti must have seemed like the next big thing for a while back in the 60's, but then she sort of faded from view as far as I knew.  She had a Christmas song on one of those Goodyear collections, and a few LPs with no Christmas content that I'm aware of.  This one seems to have come along pretty late in the game, 1984 to be exact, and it's not even a full LP of AMA.  The flip side is by some singer who came and went without much of a trace, Reino Moisio.  Perhaps someone out there knows more about this record than I do, and I hope they chime in with some info.  That big gold sticker on the front "The Gold Seal Christmas Classic Album" sort of makes me think this was a free promo giveaway for something or somebody, and I see copies online with other stickers along those lines.  I also suspect this could have been a vehicle attempting to launch the career of Mr. Moisio by grabbing at the coattails of Ms. Alberghetti.  Well, download it and read all the stuff on the back, search the Google and come to your own conclusions.  All I can tell you is that it's some nice Christmas music.  This is Merry Christmas From Anna Maria Alberghetti And Introducing Reino Moisio (Celebrity House TW 2001, Stereo, 1984).

MediaFire

Whoops, I forgot that I was supposed to be listing all the songs when I post these records.  I knew I was finishing up the posts too quick...

1. Ave Maria
2. My Favorite Things
3. The Little Drummer Boy
4. Medley: O Holy Night; Silent Night; We Wish You A Merry Christmas
5. Ode To Joy
6. Medley: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Deck The Hall; Joy To The World
7. Glory To God
8. Angels We Have Heard On High
9. The Holy City
10. Reprise: Ode To Joy; Joy To The World; The Holy City

1-4: Anna Maria Alberghetti
5-10: Reino Moisio

Christmas Sisters

One of my goals this year was to record more singles.  Over the years, I've pretty much stuck to the Christmas albums, because that's what I had, it's what I could find, and they were easier.  But this year, I vowed I would get a stack of singles ready for the holiday season and share them with you.  There seems to be a much great variety of stuff on the small records, or maybe it's just new to my ears.  I think more of it is available to be shared because they are harder to find, so that's a big plus for me.  Today I've got three little records for you, two by The Lennon Sisters and one from Ruby Wright that the Lennon Sisters copied.  First up is Christmas Moon b/w Peppy The Peppermint Bear (Dot 45-16017, Mono, 1959).  I think I shared the Peppy song with you a long time ago in a Christmas And A Half post, but you probably missed it.  Here it is again with better sound, so don't miss it.  If you look close at the label, the credit is actually to Lawrence Welk Presents The Lennon Sisters.  Now that's control! Be careful, though.  This record provided 105% of your daily recommended allowance of harpsichord.  So if you're sensitive, better to only listen to one side a day.

Next up is another, earlier single from the Sisters, Let's Light The Christmas Tree b/w Merry, Merry Christmas (Brunswick 9-55044, Mono, 1957).  The orchestra is handled by George Cates, another cohort of Lawrence Welk, but at least Welk's name isn't on this one directly.  If you look closer still, you'll see both tracks are credited to Ruth Lyons, a name that should be familiar to Christmas music fans everywhere.  It turns out this this single is a side-for-side copy of another record, one directly created by Ruth.

I won't bore you with the story of how this record came to be made, but you can read all about it over at The Captain's excellent Christmas Yuleblog.  As you can see, sort of, both sides are the same as both sides of the Lennon Sisters disc.  Yes, there's a bit of title economizing on the wordy Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Xmas, which I guess also allowed them to spell out all of Christmas as well.  This record has been shared out quite a few times in many places all over the internets (including over at Lee's place just this morning...), but I wanted to do it again, just so you can compare and contrast with the Lennons above.  For the search engines, this is Let's Light The Christmas Tree b/w Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Xmas by Ruby Wright With Cliff Lash And His Orchestra And The Dick Noel Singers (Fraternity F-787, Mono,  1957).

And, if you've read all that, then you deserve to be able to download the music.  Here you go...

MediaFire

Local Christmas

Here's the first of many old reshares this year, this one first appearing at Ernie (Not Bert) in 2008.  This is an organ LP from a small town about 50 miles north of here, one of two Christmas records released by Terry Charles.  Last time I checked, the other one was available from either his website, or the website of the group that owns the organ, I don't remember which.  Perhaps I should look that up again before I share this, as it might now be off-limits.  Nope, looks like this one is still un-released. I'm not going to say too much about this LP, you can always read what I wrote back in '08 or '09.  I know these organ records aren't exactly my most popular shares, but they do have their appeals.  If this appeals to you, then please be my guest and download Terry Charles-Christmas With Terry Charles-Wurlitzer Pipe Organ (Private Pressing SYB-635/636, Stereo).

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. The First Noel
4. Angels We Have Heard On High
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
6. As With Gladness Men Of Old
7. Angels From The Realms Of Glory
8. Joy To The World
9. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
10. Silver Bells
11. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
12. I'll Be Home For Christmas
13. Silent Night
14. O Holy Night

MediaFire

Christmas With Elvis

What better way to kick off the 2011 Christmas sharity season than with Elvis?  But since I don't want to get my humble blog closed down by RCA Victor, I'm going to have to go with Elvis, Jr. and not the boy from Tupelo.  I stumbled across this LP a few months ago at one of my regular Goodwill haunts, flipping past it the first time without the name Elvis registering, but my subconscious kicked in and made me flip back to it.  And I'm glad it did, because it's certainly something worth sharing out here.  You can check out the website of Elvis, Jr. here, but there's no mention made of this LP.  I don't know that I quite believe the story told over there, but you can read it and make up your own mind.  For me, I'll go back and listen to my gatefold copy of Elvis' Christmas Album at least twice before I listen to this one again.  But your mileage may vary.  This is Christmas Blessings From Elvis Jr (Son Records BS 003, Stereo, 1986).

MediaFire

Welcome Christmas 2011

Well, Thanksgiving is drawing to a close, although all this turkey in my belly will take a week or more to finish digesting.  And around here, the end of Thanksgiving means the beginning of Christmas, thus the Jack Davis Santa Claus above.  It's going to be a wild wacky month around here.  I've got lots of things to share, both old and new (well, newly recorded), but not a lot of time to share it in.  Work has been demanding a lot of my time lately, so I don't have as many things ready to go as I would like, and little free time to post the things I do have.  So if it seems a little thin around here this year, that's why.  If you're looking for a ton of stuff to download, check out all the stuff from last year, most of the shares on MediaFire are still good.  I'm going to try to avoid wasting my time re-posting all of those things and stick to the newer stuff or the older things that haven't been available for a while.  We'll see how that goes.  Anyhow, I don't want to blather on all night, I'll have more than enough chances to chat during the month.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and you've got a great Christmas to look forward to.  Let's jump in!

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!  For the umpteenth year in a row, I'm celebrating the beginning of the Christmas music season by sharing a small handful of Thanksgiving songs that I've collected, including one new one this year.  Most of the things I'm sharing with you here are the same as last year, including my favorite Thanksgiving song of all, Thanksgiving Day Parade by the pseudonymous Spencer Ross.  You can read all about the reruns (and the story of who Spencer Ross really is) at my post from last year.  The new track is Thanksgiving by Charles Dorian And His Orchestra from the LP Calendar Sketches (Dot DLP-3046, Mono, 1957).  I found this one back during the Christmas in July celebration, but I've held onto it until now.  So here's the download link for the collection of six tracks.

MediaFire

Yes, just one download site this year.  Uploading to three sites took forever last year, and all of those shares were gone in a few months, except the ones on MediaFire.  So they're getting all my business this year.  Here's a list of the other tracks in the download, all the same as last year.

Thanksgiving Day Parade by Spencer Ross (Columbia 4-41532 7" 45 RPM single, Mono, 1960)
The Pete King Orchestra And Chorale-Bless This House from Songs To Celebrate (Kapp KS-3284, 1962, Stereo)
Timothy Turkey performed by Rosemarie Jun & Robert Spiro from the LP Children Sing Around The Year (Decca DL 4406, 1963, Mono) 
The Big Clown Balloons-The Merrill Stanton Voices from the LP Meredith Willson's Here's Love (Columbia Special Products CSRP 8899, 1963, Stereo)
Thanksgiving Day, from the LP Hits From The Gang Shows (Fontanta 680932TL TFL.5104, Mono) credited to Ken Jones

Thanksgiving

Is tomorrow really Thanksgiving?  It's really snuck up on me this year.  Well, I guess I knew it was coming, I've just been so busy with work lately that I haven't been able to do much preparation.  Maybe I should have tried to get Photoshop installed on this new computer sometime between June and now.  Should have got that big 11x17 scanner that I kept looking at.  But we'll see what happens.  Stay tuned and hope for the best.

Lady Of Liberty

Oh, look, there's the Statue of Liberty! Wait, this isn't New York Harbor.

Ahhh, that's better. And not quite so green.

Central Park East

OK, I guess there really isn't a Central Park East, but I was in Central Park at the wrong time of day to get a shot this nicely lit of Central Park West. This is the skyline along, I think, 5th Avenue, looking out East across the Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. (You can call her Jackie O. for short.) Is the Guggenheim in this shot?  Yes, I think it is, but only the roof, which doesn't stand out like it should.

A Surprise Gehry

I didn't have much of an itinerary when I visited NYC recently. I had a short list of places I wanted to visit, but no map or timetable to see them. One of the items on that list was a new park that runs up the West side of middle Manhattan called the High Line. It's an old railroad thoroughfare that's 2-3 stories off the ground and had been abandoned for some time. They've recently opened sections of it up as a park, and I was able to walk the whole length of it one morning. At the time, I didn't know anything about this white building that I saw from the High Line and took exactly two pictures of, but I recognized it from a picture someone showed me later on while we were discussing a lack of Frank Gehry architecture in the city. Turns out, this is one of his buildings and I didn't even know it. I believe it's called The IAC Building, and from the looks of some other pictures I've seen around the web of it, I'm looking at the wrong side. I saw at least one other Gehry building in NYC, hopefully I'll get that one thrown up here for you someday.

315 Bowery

I'm not a fashionable type person, so John Varvatos means nothing to me. But the address of this store in NYC, 315 Bowery, now that means a little something. This is the place that for many years was called CBGB's.

Still No Answer

So, the classic question, who's buried in Grant's Tomb? I'm still not sure. This is Grant's Tomb, located on the West side of Manhattan, pretty close to due West of the Apollo Theater that I just showed you, along Riverside Drive, near Columbia University. Unfortunately, it was closed while I was there, so I didn't get to see if President Ulysses S. Grant is actually buried there. I'm pretty sure he is, but I have no proof. This is not the first presidential grave I've visited, now that I think about it.

Live At The Apollo

The farthest North I went in Manhattan during my NY trip? 125th Street, Harlem, and the Apollo Theater. Didn't get a chance to go in it though, but there it is.

Busy Busy

NYC is a busy place, there's no doubt about that, but I couldn't seem to catch that on film (well, on memory card, but you get the idea). This was probably the closest I came to capturing the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps. The only thing that might have made this a better shot would be a blurry taxi zooming past in the foreground. I actually got that in a later shot on the next corner, but I didn't like the street scene so much in that one. This is looking north up Broadway as I approached Canal Street. I wish I had been able to geotag my photos, in a couple of years, I won't have any idea where some of these shots were taken. Love the way the Chrysler Building pokes it's spire up at the end of the street.

Back From The Big Apple

Well, I made it back from NYC yesterday. I was so tired I went straight to bed and didn't even copy my pictures over to the computer. I must have walked thirty miles in three days and four nights, but it was all worth it. I saw some amazing things, shot a little over 4000 pictures and made it home in one piece. I've got some nasty blisters on my feet, though, but I'll heal. Stay tuned for more great pictures from all over the island of Manhattan!  This is the view of lower Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry as it approaches the terminal.  Not a lot of stuff to point out here except for the new World Trade Center being built at Ground Zero, that's the building left of center with the crane on top.  It's still got a long way to go but you can see it's already getting up there.  The Staten Island Ferry docks at the short white building left of center at the waterline, and the green building next to that on the right is where the other, smaller ferries dock.  The green trees mark Battery Park, and I think the low building at dead center is the Coast Guard Station.

CSI: NY

Yes, I am headed back to NYC this weekend. And for me, CSI stands for Camera Specific Itinerary. I know, it's a stretch, but still... I've got 20-30 places I want to see, spread out all over Manhattan and a couple of spots in the other boroughs. Oh, and two places in Jersey, we'll see how that goes, though. Wish me luck, and I'll try to get some pictures up next week for your enjoyment. This shot is from my last visit in '08, looking back towards uptown from the Brooklyn Bridge. At least I think that's where I was. I need a camera that geotags...