A Christmas Riddle

Perhaps to make up a bit for that last post which featured no Nelson Riddle Christmas music whatsoever, here's a brand new rip of his 1970 Christmas LP for Avon.  I happened to stumble across a nice clean copy of this yesterday, complete with some inserts that I don't think I had the last time I ripped and shared this in 2006.  There's a custom inner sleeve and two different letters from Avon President Fred G. Fusee for your enjoyment.  Oh, and some music, the only solo Christmas music recorded by Nelson Riddle, as far as I know.  Well, he did The Christmas Song on a tribute to Nat King Cole, but this is a full album.  Perhaps a few years after his heyday, but it's still well worth a listen!  This is The Nelson Riddle Orchestra And Chorus-Avon Wishes You A Happy Holiday and A Joyous New Year (Avon AV 10170, Stereo, 1970). I think there's more Avon in the archives here, if you're interested.

1. Happy Holiday
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. O Holy Night
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Carol Of The Bells
7. Ave Maria
8. Here We Come A-Caroling
9. What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
11. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
12. Do You Hear What I Hear
13. Go Tell It On The Mountain

Zippyshare

And if anyone is looking for the traditional Christmas Eve visit from The Sugarplum Fairy, look here.

Not Christmas, Part 2

Here's another entry into the new series of Christmas records that don't have any Christmas content.  This time it's from the fine folks at the National Tuberculosis Association and their annual Christmas Seals campaign.  You get two 15 minute radio shows featuring Patti Page and Nelson Riddle (separately, not together) telling you all about the joys of using Christmas Seals, but not using any Christmas music to do so.  To say I was disappointed by that is an understatement.  But there's still some good stuff here, if only for the spoken word bits.  Just remember, if you're going to pay big bucks for part of this series on eBay, you may not get what you're after.  This is For Christmas Seals 1958-The Patti Page Show/The Nelson Riddle Show (National Tuberculosis Association J8MR-8705/8706 (Style B), Mono, 1958).

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Not Christmas, Part 1

Just to mix things up, here's a great share that really has nothing to do with Christmas, but how can you go wrong with that great cover shot?  This is a record featuring the sound of the Cadillac & Lake City Locomotive Number Two as it makes it's run on a winter day, sometime in the very early Seventies.  Already at that point, people realized that the era of the steam locomotive was fast coming to an end, and recordings like this began to pop up in an effort to hold onto some of that time.  Such locomotives are even harder to find these days, exclusively limited to museums and passenger excursions.  We have one that occasionally runs not to far from me, but they don't run the steam train except on special occasions once or twice a year.  I know this isn't the Christmas music you've come to expect this time of year, but for some of you this will be an interesting listen.  Please enjoy A Winter Run On The Cadillac & Lake City Railway (Marker Productions (Detroit, Michigan) MP-1001, Stereo, 1971).  The label lists tracks, but the breaks on the vinyl didn't come close to matching, so I just left it as side 1 and side 2.

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Back In July

I've been meaning to remind you about all the Christmas In July posts for a while now, but forgetting is all I seem to do about it.  So while I'm thinking about it, do yourself a favor, go back to the first day in July and work your way through almost two months of daily posts of Christmas music from non-Christmas albums.  It goes on for a long time, just keep clicking 'Newer Posts' at the bottom to get to the next page.  I'm amazed that all those posts still have active downloads this time of year, they usually go away after a couple of months never to return but they've all survived to Christmas in December this year! You could also start at the end and work your way backwards, I suppose.  You'll still get all the same stuff, but you'll start with Chanukah In August and be a little confused for the first couple of days.  Whichever direction you go, you're going to wind up with over 600 songs from a world of Holiday music you never knew existed!

From The Friendly Skies

Another of the records I ripped earlier this year and then didn't think about until earlier tonight, this is something a little out of left field.  Jimmie McDonald appears to have been (is?) a preacher who released a series of albums in the 60's, including another Christmas record I've never seen (anyone, anyone?).  None of this is mentioned on this album, though, making me wonder who it was aimed at.  Was he trying to start a second career in more secular stuff?  Escape from a past, maybe a recording contract gone south?  I don't know, and I couldn't find any answers in a cursory Google search.  As per usual, anyone who knows more, please share in the comments!  The liner notes refer to McDonald as "the black Mario Lanza", and I can see the comparison.  His is a very operatic voice, and he lets it soar sometimes.  The conductor on this is Captain Bill Barron, pilot for Delta by day, orchestra director by night.  No sign of him on the internets, either.  The name of the record label, JAM, is probably just Jimmie's initials, and the catalog number is 1001, so this is very likely the first (only?) release on a vanity label.  I didn't do much repair work to the cover, since it was pretty beat up.  Sorry about the WDBF (formerly of Delray Beach, Florida.  DBF, get it?) stamp right in the middle of his forehead, I bet someone thought they were being really funny when they did that.  I did remove two more stamps from the back cover, though, so there's that.  Still interested?  Please be my guest, this is Jimmie McDonald And His Singers With Bill Barron Conducting The Orchestra-Spending Christmas With You (Jam Records JM 1001, Stereo, early to mid-70's I'm guessing, based on the sideburns).  Two of the songs are originals by Barron, so you've probably never heard them before.  That's something, I suppose.

1. O Holy Night
2. The First Noel
3. Sweet Baby Jesus
4. While Shepherds Watched
5. Joy, Joy, Sing Hallelujah
6. Silent Night
7. Away In A Manger
8. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
9. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
10. Go Tell It On The Mountain

Zippyshare

Nothing New From Hugo

I just noticed that I had ripped a couple of singles from Hugo Winterhalter at some point this year, so I figured I'd go ahead and scan them for sharing here.  I've shared these with you before, but it was way back in 2012 (though I think the cha cha tracks date back to 2007 when I ripped them from a single that was pressed off-center!), so I thought new rips might be in order, especially after I scored new copies of the singles.  Nothing here you haven't heard, but hopefully it sounds a little better this time around.  Don't forget there are a whole passel of Hugo tracks still available in a post from last year, though you might want to sub these new rips in there in place of the old ones. Please enjoy Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra And Chorus-Blue Christmas b/w White Christmas (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 447-0875, Mono, 1950) and Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra-The Christmas Song Cha Cha b/w Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Cha Cha (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 47-7397, Mono, 1958).

Zippyshare

Not Jiminy

A share from the request lines, one that I hadn't thought of for a long time, so it got my attention.  When I first posted this back in 2012, I didn't know who Abbe Lane was, but now that I do, I'm always on the lookout for her stuff. She was one of the wives of Xavier Cugat, performing vocals on a few of his 1950's albums, and she released a couple solo albums on RCA that are worth your time to track down.  Unfortunately, her tracks is one of several that aren't exactly Christmas songs, but enjoyable nonetheless.  There are lots of other names on here, from Danny & Marlo Thomas to Ed Ames & The Norman Luboff Choir.  (Speaking of Luboff, I just reupped an old share that I re-released last year that you might enjoy as a companion to this one.)  So if you don't have it already, please download and enjoy Cricket On The Hearth (RCA Victor LSO-1140, Stereo, 1967).

1. Danny Thomas-The First Christmas
2. Ed Ames-Don't Give Your Love Away
3. Abbe Lane-Fish 'N' Chips
4. Maury Laws Orchestra-A Waltz For Christmas
5. Danny Thomas-Through My Eyes
6. Marlo Thomas-That Was Yesterday
7. Danny Thomas & The Norman Luboff Choir-Cricket On The Hearth
8. Marlo Thomas-Smiles Go With Tears
9. Maury Laws Orchestra-Parade Of The Toys
10. Ed Ames-Through My Eyes
11. The Norman Luboff Choir-The First Christmas


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Billy & Danny

Before the season gets away from me, here's a little gem that I've wanted to share for a long time, but could never find a copy that played decent all the way through. I finally found this one recently, so I was able to get a rip that's worth listening to, and it's actually in stereo!  I thought I had a good rip last year, but at the last minute I realized that it was missing that big "Stereo Motion" banner at the top, and realized it was a mono version.  Oh, well, I had to keep looking.  But this is a good one, you'll enjoy it if you like Christmas stories.  The big name here is Billy Mure, he composed and plays the music behind the stories.  The voice actors are listed on the labels, but I didn't recognize any of the names, save for one Danny Davis, who may or may not be the Nashville horn player. I'm sure someone will come along with some info and let us know if there's anyone else on here worth some more attention.  In the meantime, please enjoy 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (MGM Children's Series CHS-517, Stereo Motion 17 Of A Series, Stereo, 1964).

1. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas

2. The Little Fir Tree

3. The Night The Animals Talked

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Barney & Hector (No Dinosaurs)

Back in the day, there were only three TV channels, and their airtime wasn't dominated by network programming, but consisted of a lot of locally produced programs.  (They also shut down at night when they had nothing to show, believe it or not!) A lot of those local programs left little bits of ephemera behind, and here's a piece of that detritus.  A couple of Christmas songs from a local Tampa Bay TV show that was on the air before I was born.  I never saw it, or if I did, I don't remember.  WFLA was channel 8, and I spent most of my time watching channel 13.  Take a look around YouTube if you want to learn more about Barney & Hector, they seem to have a little presence there.  But if you want to hear them, please download and give a listen to Barney & Hector-The Night Before Christmas b/w Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Fuljac Records 7" 45 RPM FR-6801 (Tampa, Florida), Mono, 1968).

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Secret Share

If you need something more to download, head on over to my buddy Buster's Big 10 Inch blog and get some Ames Brothers that I sent him to complete his collection.  I'm all about helping people complete their collection, especially when I don't have to do a lot of work. :)  And be sure you spend some time downloading all of his excellent Christmas shares if you haven't already.  It's good stuff!

Winter In Florida

For those of you who don't like the organ share, here's a single 45 side that might help ease the pain.  This was the flip side of Betty Johnson's novelty hit, Little Blue Man. It's a song all about the winter season in Miami, about four hours southeast of me, but similar.  We don't get any snow, and it's very rarely cold, but somehow we make do.  This is Betty Johnson With Orchestra Conducted By Charles Grean-Winter In Miami (Atlantic 7" 45 RPM 45-1169, Mono, 1957).

Zippyshare

The Inevitable Organ

You may have thought you were going to get through the entire Christmas season without a new organ share from me, but you were wrong!  This was one of the very first records I bought at the beginning of the year (along with the Jazz At The Olympics record) that I knew I would be sharing out this year.  If not the music, just that cover would be enough to get it near the top of my stack. You know you want to download this to look at it, to gaze at its miniature winter scene, to pore over the details and drink it all in, all while listening to the wonderful music of the Wurlitzer.  That's Christmas, baby! My only regret is that I didn't find a stereo copy, but like all early records on the UA label, they're pretty rare.  I think I was lucky to find this one.  So please download and enjoy Reginald Foort-Christmas In Your Heart (United Artists UAL 4057, Mono, 1959).

1. Joy To The World; O Little Town Of Bethlehem
2. We Three Kings; What Child Is This
3. Deck The Halls
4. O Holy Night
5. Angels We Have Heard On High
6. See Amid The Winter Snow; White Christmas
7. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Away In A Manger; The First Noel
10. Good King Wenceslas; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
11. A Christmas Tree Carol; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
12. Silent Night
13. We Wish You A Merry Christmas; Jingle Bells
14. O Come All Ye Faithful

(Sharp eyed readers will notice that the last two tracks are listed as a single track on the flip side and on the label, but they are two distinct tracks on the vinyl, and the listed time is correct for only the track 13 medley.)

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Half Christmas

Here's a fun share for your Christmas parties, most of which I've probably missed already.  But just in case, you can download this one and play it to get the dancing started.  It's only about half Christmas tunes, with a little bit of seasonal stuff as well, some fake Latin tunes, and all done in fairly long and interesting medleys.  I'm sure this would have gotten even the saddest wallflower up off the sidelines back in the day and out onto the dance floor.  So give a listen, won't you, to Bobby Roberts And His Orchestra-Holiday Music For Happy People (Decca DL 78818, Stereo, 1958).  I had two copies of this, and I'm not sure which one I ripped, but one of them had the neat pink Special Pressing label that I'm showing you below.  Scans of both this and the regular label are in the download.

1. Medley: Jingle Bells; Just In Time; The Best Things In Life Are Free; Jingle Bells
2. Decoraciones De Pascuas
3. Medley: Twelve Days Of Christmas; It's Delovely; I Whistle A Happy Tune; Sunny Side Up
4. Arbol De Navidad
5. Medley: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer; You're The Cream In My Coffee; Are You Havin' Any Fun; Button Up Your Overcoat; Jingle Bells
6. Medley: Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight; The Old Grey Mare; For He's A Jolly Good Fellow; Oh Dem Golden Slippers
7. Ano Nuevo Cha-Cha-Cha
8. Medley: Shall We Dance?; Dancing In The Streets; Bistro Bounce; Dance Only With Me
9. Felicidades Cha-Cha-Cha
10. Medley: Auld Lang Syne; Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here; Goodnight Ladies; Auld Lang Syne

Zippyshare

The Last Jedi

Sorry, no Christmas music for you today.  I wasted the entire day away, but in a good way.  I went to see the new Star Wars movie, and I thought it was so good, I went to see it again.  Really, really good.  Go see it.

A Random List

I've got a bunch of reshares from last year that I've re-upped, but I've not been able to find the time to link them at the old posts.  So here's a big long list of random shares for you.  I'm not even going to tell you what they are.  You want them, click on the link and it will tell you the file name.  Think of it as potluck.  :)

http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/8hqm8mEu/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/bTK8XPKF/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/3zWgZG4u/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/JxbGG4pN/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/uoNQJ52m/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/qiMlJ6Ec/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/z6jLI1U9/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/gRfKlR1c/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/dSkdsjER/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/UgApIhQz/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/2DRcDBwo/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/ciQgvtFB/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/bDeN0rDL/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/CndLWP01/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/LgpwNJyq/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/IZ16TvPr/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/3aLbQtJ5/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/zyfR3wS2/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/PyPUDJEs/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/DHalD7ff/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/htIAmOj2/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/A1o9Xq2w/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/9ulQObdZ/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/1qcJHCdJ/file.html
http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/CTfNpIqM/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/1aCGKRus/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/budo4JTf/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/Vu8lv97N/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/84z3lc2f/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/DjK5srPn/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/lNBVilT5/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/pvbtwmxO/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/gyrj7yKR/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/LFlaFLqu/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/W8mnMb5a/file.html
http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/hu5TGRiH/file.html

I hate to just dump these, but they're about to expire and I don't want to loose them.  Enjoy!

Christmas Talk

Some of you may know what that's a picture of, but I may have to explain it to others.  Back in the sixties, Capitol Records would distribute shows to radio stations highlighting all their new records.  Sometimes they were just albums featuring new tracks, but sometimes they were actual shows with a DJ and interviews of the artists.  Some of these are special seasonal versions, and that's side one of the above record, or as they term it, side 83 since this is the 42nd record in the series.  I've got some of the others, but this is the first Christmas one I've ever found.  Well, that's not true, I've found one of the bare-tracks one, and it's not something I can share.  I did rip it and discovered all the tracks on it are edited versions that cut each song down to about two minutes.  But I digress.  Side one of this LP is a show about Tennessee Ernie Ford's then-new LP The Story of Christmas.  Ernie was accompanied by Roger Wagner on this album, and he shows up here as well, which is no surprise, since the host of the show is his brother, Jack Wagner.  I've left it as one big long track, the same way it was presented on the vinyl.  There's really not much interview here, it's mostly songs from the new album, but it's more than worth a listen.  I also threw in the flip side, which is a show about new releases in Capitol's budget Star Line, but with absolutely no Christmas content.  Please download and give a listen to Jack Wagner-Silver Platter Service Sides 83 & 84 (Capitol PRO 3083/3084, Mono, 1964).

Zippyshare

More Spurrlow

You know me, I'm always trying to complete the set.  And to help you complete your Thurlow Spurr collection, here's an LP he made with someone called Terry Winch.  I'm not the biggest fan of this style of music, but some of you may like it.  I liked his other one much, much better, though that one isn't for everyone, either.  Give it a try, you never know.  This is Thurlow Spurr And Terry Winch-Christmas Is (Melody Music 28 LPS 0246, Stereo, 1981). Recorded this one two years ago, but never got around to finishing it until tonight.  I wanted to make sure I got it out with his other Christmas LP for you.  Pretty sure he has more Christmas music as well, but I don't have any of it.

1. Celebrate Christmas In Your Heart
2. Silent Night
3. Joy To The World/O Come All Ye Faithful
4. The Birthday Of A King/O Holy Night
5. Jesus Is The Prince Of Peace
6. Remember
7. The Star Carol
8. Heaven Our Home
9. Fairest Lord Jesus
10. Medley Of Christmas Carols

Zippyshare

Hunting High And Spurrlow

Let me start over.  I wrote all of this out, then things changed.  I first shared this record with you in 2005, then again in 2006 & 2009.  I then re-recorded it in 2012, but never shared it.  I went to reshare it tonight, but I couldn't find the record to scan the artwork.  Some digging in the archives turned up some raw scans that never got finished, so I did my thing to get you new-ish artwork.  And then I found the original rip from 2012 on the hard drive and re-encoded it to full bitrate, except it's still in stereo and I think the record was in mono. On top of all that, I've always had a hard time with the shares of this particular LP staying up for very long, so if you want it, grab it quick!  This is Christmas; Time For Song Featuring Thurlow Spurr And The Spurrlows Singing 12 Seasonal Favorites! (Chrysler Motors Corporation C-5079 "Not For Resale", Stereo/Mono?, 1963).  Pretty sure this one was a promo deal for The Chrysler Corp back in the day, later released on the Word label with both this cover and another one.  Sorry if all that is clear as mud.  Just download it and give it a listen, it's a fun record.

1. Joy To The World
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Away In A Manger
4. The First Noel
5. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
6. Silent Night, Holy Night
7. Jingle Bells
8. White Christmas
9. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer
10. The Little Drummer Boy
11. Winter Wonderland
12. The Christmas Song

Zippyshare

Montana The New

Here's a little something to go with my last post, though I don't think the two sound much the same.  This is another Christmas record headlined by Vincent Montana, Jr., this time in a much less disco much more smooth jazz vein.  There's certainly some good stuff on here, but it's very different from much of the stuff I share around here.  I'd never seen or heard of this one before, but I happened to stumble across two copies at a little antique mall in Ellicott City, Maryland, this summer.  This one came back with me in my carry-on, as frequently happens with me.  If you like the sound of vibes, I think you'll enjoy this one.  And it's quite long, too, for vinyl.  This is Montana Sextet-Christmas Time Is Here (Philly Sound Works PSW-LP004, Stereo, 1987).  That's much later than I usually like to share, but this it's still thirty years ago...

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. The Christmas Song
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. Christmas Time Is Here (Harp)
5. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
6. Snowfall
7. Little Drummer Boy Jam
8. Christmas Time Is Here (Vibes)

Zippyshare

Montana The Old

I don't think I've given you any disco this year, mostly because I don't think I've found anything new, but here's something from the archives that should scratch that itch.  You may not know the name Vincent Montana, Jr., but you've heard his music.  He was a bigwig involved with the original Philly Sound & a founding member of MFSB, then he went on to found the Salsoul label where he spearheaded Christmas Jollies, the most famous Christmas disco record of all time. Later on he started up a couple other labels, recording this gem along the way.  I first shared this out in 2007, so the sound may be a little rough, but I'm sure there's something here worth listening to.  Please enjoy Montana Orchestra-Merry Christmas (MJS Records MJS 3302, Stereo, 1981) . This may have been a little past the heyday of disco the first time around, but nobody told Montana that disco had died.

1. Montana Christmas Medley
2. Get Down New Year's Eve
3. New Year's Eve One More Time (Reprise)

Zippyshare

The Return Of The King (Sorta) Part 2

Another Elvis-related post from the archives, also first shared in 2011, but this time a full Christmas LP from someone calling themselves Elvis Jr. A name like that carries a lot of weight, and I'm not sure he carried it with dignity and grace here.  But it's still Christmas, and you know how I love Christmas music!  This is Christmas Blessings From Elvis Jr (Son Records BS 003, Stereo, 1986).

1. Silent Night (With Robbie Le Moine)
2. Silver Bells
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Blue Christmas
5. Jingle Bells
6. Rudolph The Red Nose (SIC) Reindeer
7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
8. Frosty The Snowman
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Amazing Grace
11. Peace In The Valley
12. White Christmas

Zippyshare

The Return Of The King (Sorta)

OK, maybe not the return of The King, but at least a tribute to him, and in two different versions!  You can read all of the details about this song and it's dueling versions at the original post from 2011, though I'm afraid there's not much detail there.  Maybe someone will come along this time and tell us all about both of these versions and Ms. Cody.  Maybe...  This is Michelle Cody singing Merry Christmas Elvis (Jimbo 892, Stereo) and Merry Christmas Elvis b/w All I Want For Christmas Is My Daddy (Safari SA 601, Stereo, 1978). Enjoy!

1. Michele Cody-Merry Christmas Elvis (Jimbo Version)
1. Michele Cody-Merry Christmas Elvis (Safari Version)
2. Michele Cody-All I Want For Christmas Is My Daddy

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Apollo II

Here's another entry in my quest to bring back all the old shares that never got any comments.  This time it's from 2011 and features the members of a singing social club from Minneapolis.  That's exactly what you're looking for when it comes to Christmas music, I'm sure, especially if you happened to know someone in the club!  At least it's on the somewhat famous Soma label!  This is Christmas With The Internationally Famous Apollo Club (Soma MG 1216, Mono).

1. Shepherds, Awake
2. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3. Mary Had A Baby
4. Carol Of The Bells
5. Silent Night
6. The Innkeeper's Carol
7. As It Fell Upon The Night
8. O Bone Jesu
9. Oh Come All Ye Faithful
10. Luther's Cradle Hymn
11. Deck The Halls

Zippyshare

Rhymes With Sperry Domo

For the first time this year, I had the artwork for a share done before I recorded a single note.  Mostly because I thought I had already ripped this 45, but I was mistaken.  So when I went to share it, I couldn't find it.  I just sat down and ripped it real quick so I could get something new up tonight.  The title 'Kissing Bridge' may not sound like a Christmas song, but it is. And if you listen closely to the middle of the song, you'll hear a special guest star who shall remain nameless, but he's pretty well-known, I think you'll be able to figure it out.  My copy of this record was in a generic sleeve when I found it, but if you hunt around the net, there is a picture sleeve that features the disembodied, floating, bisected head of said guest artist.  It's weird.  Anyhow, this is The Fontane Sisters With Hugo Winterhalter-Kissing Bridge b/w Silver Bells (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 47-5524, Mono, 1953).

Zippyshare

Great Grant

Another of the small handful of shares that's remained up all year, this was also one of the items that got posted after Christmas last year, so I'm thinking it's doubly worthy of a reshare this season.  I was not aware of any Christmas music from Earl Grant other than his great Christmas album, and a stray track here and there, but then I discovered this Christmas single.  And upon listening to it, I decided it may very well be the greatest Christmas music he ever recorded.  Don't believe me?  Then you'd better download and listen to Earl Grant-Swingin' Christmas b/w Christmas Card (Decca 7" 45 RPM 9-31022, Mono, 1959) as soon as possible!.

1. Swingin' Christmas
2. Christmas Card

Zippyshare

Glen, Not Nelson

From the request lines, one that goes way, way back to 2007, with only a single reposting in 2008, then nothing until now.  Ten years ago really seems like the dark ages now, doesn't it?  This is pretty obscure but it's got a great cover and the nuns do a nice job on the singing.  This is from before ClickRepair, and I can't tell you exactly what bitrate it's at but it's low by today's standards.  But if you're looking for this, you ain't gonna find it too many other places.  This is The Glen Riddle Franciscans-Choral Group-Sisters Of St. Francis-We Sing Of Christmas (Private Pressing LPM-2, Mono).

1. Joy To The World-The First Noel
2. What Child Is This
3. Carol Of The Drum
4. Go Tell It On The Mountain
5. In Dulci Jubilo
6. Carol Of The Friendly Beasts
7. Silent Night
8. Ring Those Christmas Bells
9. Carols: Un Flambeau Jeanette Isabelle-Es Ist Ein' Ros' Entsprugen-Alegria Alegria!
10. I Sing Of A Maiden
11. Sleigh Ride
12. Carol Of The Shepherds
13. O Come, All Ye Faithful

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Re-Minute

Here's another record I was able to re-encode for you at a higher bitrate this year.  At this point I'm not sure when I recorded the vinyl, but the WAV files were still here on my PC and I just made new MP3's at the full-on bitrate.  They are mono, though, so don't expect 320. I first shared this with you in 2009, and here it is again, 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

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John, Not David

A very special selection for you today, at least as far as I'm concerned.  This is a record I'd been looking out for since some years ago when I first learned of it's existence.  This is a sister record to the Burgess Meredith record I've been sharing out for a while now, but it seems to be much rarer.  Both were put out by The E.F. MacDonald Company of Dayton, Ohio.  I'm thinking it was something they sold to other companies to use as a promotional item, the sort of thing your insurance company or favorite car salesman might give to you as a Christmas present.  This one must not have been very popular because it just doesn't turn up in the usual places.  In addition to the Meredith piece, this is the only one I know of that features custom-recorded music.  (There's also one that collects up some great Christmas hits on the Dot label, but nothing unique turns up on that one.)  So if you're interested in such things, and want to hear O. Henry's great Christmas story, The Gift Of The Magi, please download O. Henry's The Gift Of The Magi (The E.F. MacDonald Company EFMX62A\B, Stereo, 1962).

1. The Gift Of The Magi-John Carradine-Original Music Composed, Arranged And Conducted By Joe Reisman
2. Adeste Fidelis-101 Strings
3. O Holy Night-Les Djinns
4. Silent Night-101 Strings
5. Noel-101 Strings
6. He Is Born A Divine Child-Les Djinns
7. Hark The Herald Angels Sing-101 Strings

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You may know who John Carradine is, you may not.  You may know his son David a little bit more.  And it turns out the Les Djinns featured in two songs on the back are the same as those featured on the great Christmas album 60 French Girls-Les Joyeaux Noel.  In fact, they're the same tracks, used through the magic of licensing! And I'm sure that fans of cheap Christmas music need no introduction to 101 Strings!

A Clown For Christmas

I wasn't going to post anything new tonight, but then I remembered that CaptOT was doing his radio show tonight! So I had to sit here at the computer to listen to him, and while I'm listening, I scanned this single in for you. I got this record for free many years ago because it had a hairline crack in it.  I was still able to get a pretty good recording of it, and I think you'll enjoy it.  Couldn't put a date on it, I'm afraid, but maybe some McDonald's expert will come around and tell us exactly when and where this gem came out.  Notice that it's not just from McDonald's, but McDonald's Drive-In Restaurants.  I'm sure that's an important clue to the origin of this record.  Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  This is Ronald McDonald-The Night Before Christmas (Compliments Of McDonald's Drive-In Restaurants, 7" 45 RPM, Mono).

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A Wise Man

I was reminded of this old share from 2011 this morning when my friend Lee over at Music You (Possibly) Won't posted his annual collection of Line Material sides.  It's a great collection of stuff that you should head on over and download if you haven't already.  We spent a few years digging all those up, and I suspect his collection is as large and as good as anyone else, probably better.  Now if someone would just collect up all the paper ephemera that came with those records...  But I digress.  Lee attributes the high quality of those records to the participation of John McCarthy, who to the best of my knowledge released two Christmas records to the American market.  One of those was a unique offering for the RCA Record Club, which you can find at my post from last year, and this one. I won't pretend that this as good as the Line Material sides, but it's the same conductor, so it's at least related a bit. This is The Regency Choir-John McCarthy, Conductor-Three Wise Men (Columbia CS 9382, Stereo, 1966).

1. The Bells Of Christmas
2. Jesus Garcia
3. Silent Night
4. Pat-A-Pat-A-Pan
5. The Bells Of Bethlehem
6. Do You Hear What I Hear?
7. Three Wise Men, Wise Men Three
8. Heavenly Night
9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. O Bambino (One Cold And Blessed Morning)
11. O Come, All Ye Faithful

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