Christmas In July 2018-Day 01

Twelve years I've been doing this, so I'm assuming you need no introduction.  Welcome to Christmas in July 2018!  I just finished recording the 200th track to share this month, so I'm hoping it will be a good one.  Maybe not as good as last year, which was absolutely awesome, but still pretty good.  I've got a huge stack of records here for you, some good, some meh, but all worth a listen.  So let me jump right in.

1. Christmas In July by Wendy Bagwell (And The Sunlighters, though I don't think they're here on this spoken word track) from the album Plain Georgia Gospel (Canaan (Word) CAS-9810, Stereo, 1977).  What better place to start than a track featuring the name of the holiday we're celebrating?

2. Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella by The Placentia Presbyterian Chancel Choir-Ruth White Miller, Director, from Christmas Chimes 'N Other Times (Monarch Records DBP-226, Stereo, 1977). I was able to record 200 tracks already because I concentrated on albums with multiple tracks on them.  This is one of those albums that had a handful of tracks.  I wanted to make sure I was able to spread those throughout the month so they didn't become too monotonous.  They probably still will, but I can only do so much...

3. Ave Maria (Gounod) by Bob Beck At The Outdoor Organ from The Grotto Organs In Reverie (Adon, Oregon Ltd. V8844, Mono).  Sometime last month, I stumbled into a brand new Goodwill, and they had a huge pile of organ records.  So I have many, many, many Christmas songs from organ records to share with you this year.  You'll be so sick of it before the month is out that you'll beg me to stop posting them.  But I've got to get them all out there!

4. [Herald Square Street Sounds At Christmastime] Manhattan [East Side Street Traffic And Fire Engines], a track by Ralph Burns And His Orchestra And Chorus from New York's A Song (Decca DL 79068, Sounds by Joan Franklin, Stereo, 1960).  The song isn't so much Christmas, but the sound effects recorded on the ground in NYC are key.  This is something I recorded years ago, then promptly forgot about...

5. St. Louis Blues by Joe Carroll With The Ray Bryant Quintet from his self-titled LP Joe Carroll (Epic LN 3272, Mono, 1956).  If memory serves, I threw this in because they break into a little bit of Jingle Bells at one point in the song.  This was a great album, I ripped the whole thing.

And now to some boring bits.  I've got dozens of versions of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, some complete, some just a track here or there, and I've been agonizing over how to share them.  Last year I would share a complete version here and there, so I don't want to do that this year.  I'm going to try to share a few tracks each day, maybe a whole set here and there, but with each track by a different artist.  That should mix things up a little bit for you.  By the end of the month, you'll have more versions than you can shake a stick at, but they'll be complete.  So here goes...

6. Arab Dance (Theme Based On The Nutcracker Suite Of Tchaikovsky) by Claude Thornhill And His Orchestra from The Thornhill Sound (Harmony (Columbia) HL 7088, Mono, 1958).  Nice swinging version here, just found and recorded it today.  Though the LP I pulled it from came out in 1958, I believe the recording dates back to 1946.

7. Chinese Dance by Warwick Symphony Orchestra from the LP Nutcracker Suite/Carnival Of The Animals (Camden (RCA) CAL-100, Mono, 1954).  I think this was the very first LP released on RCA Victor's budget subsidiary, Camden.  Cool!

8. Trepak by The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Felix Slatkin from Nutcracker Suite/A Midsummer Night's Dream (Capitol SP8404, Stereo, 1957). A rerun many times over around here, but a great version of this classic.

9. Dance Of The Flutes by Peter Ustinov, a spoken bit from Nutcracker Suite-Between Birthdays-Verses By Ogden Nash (Columbia Masterworks ML 5664, Mono, 1961). This one alternates instrumental bits performed by Andre Kostelanetz with Peter Ustinov reading the verses written by the great Ogden Nash.  Good Stuff!

10. Waltz Of The Flowers by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted By Sir Adrian Boult from the album Sir Adrian Boult Conducts Suites From Tchaikovsky's Ballets The Nutcracker And Sleeping Beauty (Capitol SP 8690, Stereo, 1967). I think I misspelled Tchaikovsky in the download, so you'll want to go in and correct that as soon as you've downloaded it.  Don't want to have a typo in your Christmas library.

And that's it, ten tracks you can download and listen to to get your Christmas in July holiday party started.  Come back every day for more goodies!

Zippyshare

Volume Eleven-Ten Years On

Two posts in one day?  I must be coming down with something.  Anyway, this is the penultimate installment in the For Hi-Fi Living series.  It's also the second collection from Tony Osborne, and also the return of the interludes between songs that were so prevalent in the early volumes but haven't been seen in a bit, this time performed by a celeste.  This one could almost be subtitled "The Songs Of Mack Gordon & Harry Warren" since I think 4 of the 12 songs are written by the pair.  Surely that's not a coincidence, but I find no mention of it on the sleeve.  Perhaps they had a publishing deal with RCA at the time.  And David Rose shows up twice! Anyhow, please download and enjoy Tony Osborne And His Orchestra-A Trip To Romance (RCA Custom RAL-1011, Mono, 1957).

1. The Moon Was Yellow
2. The More I See You
3. Romance
4. You'll Never Know
5. Serenade In Blue
6. Holiday For Strings
7. Fools Rush In
8. Love Me Or Leave Me
9. Our Waltz
10. Little White Lies
11. I Had The Craziest Dream
12. A Little Bit Independent.

Zippyshare

If this is your first time encountering this series, here at the links to the earlier volumes. Get 'em while they last, I don't know if they'll be back in another ten years!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 
10

Painted Passions

Here's a special little treat for you all, if you're paying attention.  I was cleaning up the computer room and found this record that I had set aside to record some time ago, then forgot about.  But here it is in all it's mid-century glory. Discogs tells me this is the second cover, probably a reissue from later on in the fifties, but I still like it.  And as a special bonus, I've dropped in digital versions of all the paintings that are covered here in audio versions! (Though I'm not certain I got the correct Gabrielle by Renoir, he seems to have done quite a few of them.) So download and listen as you look!  This is Henri René And His Orchestra-Passion In Paint (Famous Paintings Set To Music) (RCA Victor LPM-1033, Mono, 1955). I love these experiments of lists set to music. I've got quite a few of them, but this is one of my favorites. And as far as the paintings go, the only one I've seen in person is the Dali, when it was on display at his St. Pete museum alongside the similar Disintigration of Persistence of Memory.  They're both very small.  I may have seen Madame X more recently, but I'm not certain of it.

1. Nude Descending The Stairs (Marcel Duchamp)
2. Gabrielle In An Open Blouse (Pierre August Renoir)
3. The Birth Of Venus (Sandro Botticelli)
4. The Nude Maja (Francisco Goya) (Says Maya on the label, but I think that's incorrect)
5. Girl Before Mirror (Pablo Picasso)
6. At The Moulin Rouge (Henri Toulouse Lautrec)
7. Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci)
8. L' Absinthe (Edgar Degas)
9. Nude On Cushion (Amedeo Modigliani)
10. Madame X (John Singer Sargent)
11. Olympia (Edouard Manet)
12. The Persistence Of Memory (Salvador Dali)

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The Answer!

I have made a discovery that will rock the world!  Many of you are probably familiar with the Phil Harris classic "The Thing" (1950), but the identity of what's in the box Phil finds on that beach has long been a mystery.  Well, I've figured it out.  It turns out the answer is in a song that Phil released the year after "The Thing" came out.  That other song is "Oh, What A Face" from 1951. It's not very PC, but maybe not as bad as some of it's contemporaries.  I've uploaded both songs so you can give them a listen and see if you agree with me.  Just listen to the end of "Oh, What A Face" and you'll see it lines up pretty well with what happens in The Thing.  Give it a listen, then tell me what you think in the comments!

Zippyshare

And now that I have your attention, I have a request.  I've been trying to put together the complete Phil Harris discography on RCA Victor.  I had a couple of good weeks after several years of putting together a record here and there, and I found almost 20 records that I needed, either stuff that was completely new or 7" 45 RPM versions of things I previously had on 10" 78 RPM.  Thinking I must be getting close to having it all, I spent a few hours making a list of all the records I still need to find, and it turns out I'm quite a way from having the complete collection.  Perhaps you have something from the list below?  If so, let's talk.  Some of these things I've never heard, some of them I just want an original single of, on 45 if possible, but many of them came out before the 45 was invented, so I'll take what I can get.

47-2770 Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens b/w Woodman, Spare That Tree (1949)

47-3064 Row Row Row b/w I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None O’ This Jelly Roll (1949)

47-3216 Chattanoogie Shoe-Shine Boy b/w That’s A Plenty (1950)

47-3260 Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette) b/w Crawdad Song (1950)

47-3781 Play A Simple Melody b/w On The Mississippi (1950) Looks like I have this one!

47-4124 The Letter (with Alice Faye) b/w Possibilities (1951)

47-4224 Golden Train b/w Tennessee Hill-Billy Ghost (1951)

47-4584 Hambone (with The Bell Sisters) b/w Mama’s On The Warpath (1952)

47-5615 Take Your Girlie To The Movies (If You Can’t Make Love At Home) b/w I Know An Old Lady (1954)

20-2163 It’s A Good Day b/w The ‘Possum Song (1947) I have this one, is it on 45 anywhere?

20-2198 Poppa Don’t Preach To Me b/w Necessity (1947)

20-2401 Fun And Fancy Free (B-side is by Louis Prima)

20-2614 One More Time b/w Old Time Religion (1947)

20-2715 He’s His Own Grandpa (I’m My Own Grandpa) b/w Never Trust A Woman (1948)

20-3393 The Mountaineer And The Jabberwock b/w Elmer And The Bear (1949)

47-3477 Thank The Man Upstairs b/w I Wish I Were A Goldfish (1949)

20-3708 God’s Country b/w Lazy River (1950)

47-3825 Dig-Dig-Dig Dig For Your Dinner b/w I’ve Been Floating Down The Old Green River (Jul 1950)

20-4225 The Musicians b/w How D’ye Do And Shake Hands (both sides with Betty Hutton, Dinah Shore & Tony Martin) (1951)

47-4750 Potato Chips b/w Under The Lamp Post (1952)

47-4993 Piece A-Puddin’ b/w Hi-Diddle-Diddle (both sides with The Bell Sisters) (Oct 1952)

WBY-87 The Thing (with sound effects) b/w The Mountaineer And The Jabberwock (1958)

599-9048 If You Got Someplace To Go, Go Ahead b/w Pass Around The Basket (two tracks from The RCA Victor Platter Party SPD 6) (1955)

Not a list for the faint of heart, that's for sure, but I think I'm more than halfway. Any help is much appreciated!Once I get the whole collection, which is running about 100 tracks, I think, well, that's going to be a nice share, don't you think?

Volume Ten-Ten Years On

Here I am again, back with another installment in the For Hi-Fi Living series.  This one is quite different from anything else in the series because it's performed on the organ instead of using an orchestra. The name on the front cover is Jocelyn McNeil, but popular scuttlebutt is that this is actually well-known organist George Wright.  You never know how true these stories are, but it's certainly not the first artist in this series that performs under a pseudonym.  This is actually not the record that I bought over a year ago when I found all twelve records in the series in one go.  I found this copy yesterday at a dollar record sale up in St. Pete.  And it looked like it was in really good shape and happened to be the very next installment in the series, so I went ahead and picked it up.  Some of the records I have in this series aren't in the best shape, especially the covers, but I thought this one was pretty nice.  And I think the music came out pretty good.  Download it and let me know what you think!  This is Jocelyn McNeil At The Pipe Organ-Very Hi-Fi Organ (RCA Custom RAL-1010, Mono, 1957).

1. Who's Sorry Now?
2. Sophisticated Lady
3. Pavanne
4. Star Dust
5. The Creole Love Call
6. Home
7. Blue Mirage
8. Jealous
9. I Got Rhythm
10. Emaline
11. Stormy Weather
12. The Dream Of Olwen

Zippyshare

PS-I originally wrote that Dick Leibert was the famous organist moonlighting as Jocelyn McNeil, but someone pointed out that I was mistaken.  It's most likely George Wright, another prolific organist.

The earlier shares are right here, in case you missed them:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Volume Nine-Ten Years On

No, I haven't given up on this series.  I've just been asleep since Christmas.  All that Christmas sharity can take a lot out of a guy.  But I'm back, with yet another installment of the long-term project of sharing all twelve record in this series.  Today it's volume 9, the second set from Jack Say, who some say is actually Jacques Ysaye from France.  I don't know that for fact, but it wouldn't be the only entry in this series released under a pseudonym.  All the tracks on this volume are written by Irving Berlin, who I'm sure you're familiar with, so I won't tell you who he is.  Anyhow, if you want more info, I suggest you look back at the original post of this record, which was now closer to 11 years ago instead of ten.  Time flies when you're having fun.  This is Jack Say And His Orchestra-The Girl That I Marry (The Music Of Irving Berlin) (RCA Custom RAL-1009, Mono, 1957).

1. Soft Lights And Sweet Music
2. Remember
3. Cheek To Cheek
4. How Deep Is The Ocean
5. Say It Isn't So
6. Blue Skies
7. Say It With Music
8. Always
9. Lady Of The Evening
10. The Girl That I Marry
11. A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
12. All By Myself

Zippyshare

If you missed any the earlier volumes in this great series, here are the links to each of them:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Hopefully I can get the last three of these up in a reasonable amount of time.  Maybe.

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Hello!  And welcome to the 12th day of Christmas!  Or Epiphany Eve as it's sometimes called.  Or Little Christmas Eve. Women's Christmas Eve?  Or January 5th, your choice.  Whatever you call it, it's cold outside!  And on the last day of Christmas, I bring you a little Eddie Lawrence, AKA The Old Philosopher.  Once you've heard one of his routines, you've pretty much heard them all.  Just in case you miss a little something in the first one here, there's another one on the flip side for you.  I think I actually shared the A-side of this single with you one time during Christmas in July, so it must have appeared on LP at some point, but this time it's from a smaller, faster record with two dissimilar sides.  Someday I should put together a whole collection of similar songs, but they might wind up all being records by Eddie...  Anyhow, here's Eddie Lawrence-That Holiday Spirit b/w The Merry Old Philosopher (Coral 7" 45 RPM 9-61915, Mono, 1957).

Zippyshare

As it happens, I recently traveled through the town of Tarpon Springs, a Greek community with perhaps the largest Epiphany celebration in this country.  Their tradition is to toss a cross into the local waterway, and boatloads of chosen male children jump in after it.  Whoever comes up with it is given a special blessing and gets all sorts of special chores for the next year.  This statue is out front of the sponsoring church and I happened to catch a picture as we drove by.  As it happens, Epiphany tends to fall on one of the coldest days of the year, and this year is no different.  But I don't think they've ever canceled it or moved it, or even changed the time to later in the afternoon.  I can also remember times in the past where pranksters have salted the water the night before with handfuls of duplicate crosses, leading to no end of confusion.  There have also been fights, tussles and outright unpleasantness over the cross, so it's the same as everything else.

(I just looked it up, and I guess the jumping in the water bit is tomorrow, not today.  I've never actually been, maybe I should jump in the car and head up there...)

Eleven Pipers Piping

Nothing too exciting tonight, I'm afraid.  A 1979 single from Vic Damone, something that I shared the album version of back during Christmas In July.  But I dug up my copy of the single, and I think the A side is a studio version of the track, while the B side seems to be the same thing as found on that LP.  I think it's a nice little song, and hopefully you'll enjoy it.  This is Vic Damone, Arranged & Conducted By Norm Geller With The Sal Carson Orchestra-Christmas In San Francisco b/w Christmas In San Francisco-Live Performance (Rebecca 7" 45 RPM 715, Stereo, 1979).

Zippyshare

Ten Lords A'Leaping

Trying to get this up before the new X Files starts in a few minutes...  I wanted to call this an early single from Jimmie Davis, but checking out his discography, I see stuff going back into the Twenties, so 1953 is hardly early.  I was previously only aware of his two 1960's vintage Christmas albums, and a single Christmas track from the '80s, so this came as quite the surprise when I found it.  For those who don't recognize the name, Jimmie Davis was a country singer who later turned to more religious fare, in the meantime serving two non-consecutive terms as governor of Louisiana.  Not a bad CV!  I don't believe that either of these tracks turned up in his later work, though I did spot a 1957 Christmas single that appears to have been re-recorded on one of his two holiday LPs.  And the songs here are pretty good, I was quite happy about what I found when the needle hit the groove.  This is Jimmie Davis-Christmas Choo Choo b/w I Love To Ride With Santa Claus (Decca 7" 45 RPM 9-28912, Mono, 1953).  You'll notice that the Anita Kerr Singers are credited on side 1.  I guess they are the ones making the train noises... If you want more train songs for Christmas, you can visit my earlier post this year, or maybe head on over to Lee's place for one of his shares earlier this season.

Zippyshare

Nine Ladies Dancing

Tonight's share is brought to you courtesy of Mr. Rosemary Clooney, Jose Ferrer!  As near as I can tell, this was Jose's second Christmas record.  The first he shared with Rosie, but this one seems to be all his.  Well, not all.  The flipside is ambiguously credited to "The Ferrers", which sort of implies maybe he and the Mrs. and some kiddies sing on it, but all I can hear are some generic kids.  So I'm thinking that was just a marketing gimmick.  Anyhow, this is a nice bit of Christmas music from one of my favorite labels, though it's more spoken than sung.  Ferrer was an actor, not a singer, that's why he chose a recitation here, and a famous one at that.  Nice picture sleeve, too!  Please enjoy Jose Ferrer-Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus b/w The Ferrers-Conducted By Darol Rice-Santa's Marching Song (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 47-7823, Mono, 1960).

Zippyshare

Looks like his son, Miguel, passed away in 2017. He was a regular on NCIS: Los Angeles. I wonder if he was one of The Ferrers on the flip side?

Eight Maids A'Milking

For your New Year enjoyment, here's a Christmas character you've probably never heard of before.  Sure, you've heard of Rudolph, Frosty, Uncle Mistletoe and about a million others, but Jake?  Nope.  I'm thinking maybe he's the somewhat sleazy half-brother of Suzy Snowflake, but I don't know that for a fact.  And bonus points for the Chipmunk-esque vocals here!  Welcome to 2018!  This is Bobby Star-Jake The Flake b/w Vel-Mars-Jingle Bells (Continental Arts 7" 45 RPM 575, Mono, 1964).

Zippyshare

Seven Swans A'Swimming

One that's been sitting here on my desk for literally years, waiting it's turn to be ripped and shared, is this 45 by Mike Douglas.  I shared the song on an album with you years ago, but the flipside appears to be an extended version with the background voices and some extra piano bits that's a nice addition to your collection.  (And if you don't remember that album, you might want to check the comments, just sayin'.) The label on this 45 is Image, but the LP label is Word.  That made me think this might be a re-recording until I found an article in Billboard mentioning that Image had sold the single to Word, so there you are.  Oh, and the name Lee Pockriss pops up again here, as both songwriter and arranger/conductor.  Small world.  This is Mike Douglas-Happy Birthday, Jesus b/w Mike Douglas Chorale-Happy Birthday, Jesus (Image Records, A Division Of AudioFidelity Enterprises 7" 45 RPM IM-3032, Stereo, 1979).

Zippyshare

Six Geese A'Laying

Another day after Christmas, another Christmas 45.  And this time, it's a typical '50s kiddie vocal, but one that you haven't heard a million times.  No idea who Paul O'Keefe was, or who he grew up to be, but the songwriter on both sides is Bob Hilliard, who I believe is a lyricist of some note. (Co-writer on the flip side is Lee Pockriss, also a writer of some note.) Everest was a minor player in the record business, though they did put out some good stuff over the years.  I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, and I'm running a little late this morning, but it's worth a download and a listen.  I say that about most all of my shares, don't I?  Well, I guess it's true.  Please download and enjoy Paul O'Keefe-(Santa Claus) What Would You Like For Christmas b/w A Baby In A Basket (Everest 7" 45 RPM 9-19322 Promotion Copy Not For Sale, Mono, 1959).

Zippyshare

Five Golden Rings

Some days, even I'm surprised at what I already own but don't know about.  While cleaning out a box I had to move today while getting a new A/C installed, I found a small handful of singles I'd bought at Fantasyland Records in Atlanta a few years back.  The record you see here was in that stack, and I guess I wasn't intrigued enough at the time to play it.  Well, I played it tonight, and it is great!  It's a short cocktail party hosted by Bing Crosby and his special guests are The Lennon Sisters.  All of the music played seems to be from their records, but the spoken word bits in between are great, and Bing reads a short story that I've not heard before.  They also tell us all about how great Country Beautiful magazine is, but it must not have been that great because as far as I can tell, it's no longer with us.  I dated this to 1962 based on the RCA pressing data, and that feels pretty close.  I couldn't find hide not hair of this record on the internet, which is just the sort of thing I love to share with you around here!  I'm sure this came in a sleeve way back when, and I'd love to find that, too, but in the meantime, you can listen to Christmas Party-Holiday Songs By Bing Crosby And The Lennon Sisters For Country Beautiful (RCA Victor Custom Record Dept. 7" 33 RPM NO8Q-4527/4528, Mono, 1962).  FYI, Bing sings White Christmas and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen here, while The Lennon Sisters sing Winter Wonderland.  There's lots of talking over the music, so I didn't split anything out, it's just Side 1 and Side 2.  Can anyone ID that instrumental version of White Christmas that opens the record?  It's typical late 50's-early 60's sparking Beautiful Music stuff.

Zippyshare

Four Calling Birds

Another 45 for you, a pretty obscure one at that.  No hits on the artist, no hits on the producer/songwriter (Otis Fuller), or at least no hits other than this record.  The catalog number on the label doesn't even match anything else in the Dig discography.  Maybe it's a bootleg, but I can't imagine why anyone would fake something like this.  Is Jewel related to Guy?  If so, I couldn't find any info online.  This is another one I'm hoping someone can come along and fill me in on.  Enjoy Jewel Lombardo-Christmas Melody b/w Christmas Lullaby (Dig ZY-95006 7" 45 RPM, Mono).  Everything in the discography appears to have been released between 1955 and 1957, so this is somewhere in that period most likely.

Zippyshare

Three French Hens

It's been a great year for singles around here, and tonight is certainly no exception to that.  I've got a huge pile of 45's that I'm always adding to, and I'm always saying I need to record more of it.  The stuff I've shared this year has made exactly no dent in the pile, but it's better than nothing.  This 45 tonight is something I didn't even know I had, but I found it tonight while trying to clean out a box of stuff  I bought a while back.  Turns out the A-side of this single is a track that wasn't on Booker T. & The M.G.'s great Christmas LP (though the B-side is from that album), and it features Isaac Hayes on piano, so I'm pretty surprised it's as obscure as it is.  Do yourself a favor and download Booker T. & The M.G.'s-Winter Snow b/w Silver Bells (Stax 7" 45 RPM 45-236, Mono, 1967). Plenty of organ here, but no chimes, sorry.

Zippyshare

Two Turtle Doves

Happy Boxing Day, or, of you prefer, the second day of Christmas!  Wasn't sure if I'd be able to get anything up for you today, as I was busy boxing up records all day to make some room for the new AC unit.  But I've done all I can do since I ran out of boxes.  Hopefully I can finish up tomorrow and get the install scheduled.  Hoping to get this taken care of before the year ends, but I'm running out of time.  Anyhow, I've got this little seven inch record for you tonight, featuring four songs.  No picture sleeve, I'm afraid, so there's a lot of info missing, but everyone loves a little souvenir from one of the famous TV preachers.  This time it's Oral Roberts.  And the share is Bob Daniels & Abundant Life Choir-Season's Greetings From Oral Roberts (Abundant Life Recordings 7" 33 RPM No Number, Mono, 1961).

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
2. Silent Night
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. O Holy Night

Zippyshare

No White Christmas

Here's another single for you, something a little out of the ordinary, a little newer than the usual share around here, but something I think you'll enjoy nonetheless.  I saw this single shared out at another blog, and realized that I had seen it somewhere recently.  Turned out it was in the stack of random stuff I had bought at Banana's recently, but hadn't listened to it yet.  It just happens to be a very early synth record, one of the very first Christmas records I've ever heard that sounds like this.  Just download it, you'll see.  We didn't get a White Christmas today here in Central Florida, but you get one from me.  This is Camille-White Christmas b/w Snowbelle (EMI 7" 45 RPM EMI 5014, Produced For Camille By Karl Jenkins, Mike Ratledge And Mike Thorne, Stereo, 1979).  If anybody knows anything about this single, please share, it's a bit of a mystery.

Zippyshare

The Voice Of Christmas

One of my favorite finds this year was a V-disc from World War II featuring a track by Bing Crosby.  I see these V-discs every once in a while, but this is the first time I've ever seen a Christmas one. I'm sure there are plenty of them out there, and people have collected them up and put together collections and done all sorts of things with them, but this is the first one I've ever done anything with, and I'm sharing it with you guys for Christmas.  I'm writing this up ahead of time, but shortly after Midnight Christmas morning, this is going to pop up at the blog as my gift to you.  I had a little trouble getting the EQ right on this one, so I had to get a little help from my friends Lee (at Music You Possibly Won't) and Buster (over at Big 10-Inch Record).  I don't remember who's work I used, so I'm going to credit them both and thank them very much for their help.  These records were new technology at the time and the sound isn't what you might hope for, but it's performances you're unlikely to find elsewhere. Bing only sings one song here, the other two are just by 'Chorus And Organ', not a very popular group, I'm afraid.  But it's Christmas.  So Merry Christmas to you!  This is V-Disc No. 48 (V-Disc VP 140/141, Mono).

1. Bing Crosby, Chorus And Orchestra-Silent Night
2. Chorus And Organ-Joy To The World
3. Chorus And Organ-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Zippyshare

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).

Zippyshare

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.

Zippyshare

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


Zippyshare

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

Zippyshare

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).

Zippyshare

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.)

Zippyshare

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!