Ed & Fran

Last one before I wrap up for the day, I believe this is another one that I've shared with you from 78 before, though I don't think it was on the Decca label at the time. That would probably make this a reissue where a major label picked up an independent. No matter the circumstances behind it's issuance, this is a good one. Please have a listen to Ed Penney-What Is Christmas b/w Fran Devino Chorus-Lonely Old Shepherd (Decca 7" 45 RPM 9-29727, Mono, 1955).

MEGA

Christmas On The Radio-Part 12

Are you sick and tired of these production records yet? I hope not, because I've still got a stack of them to work through. And believe me, they took some work to prepare, so you're going to download and listen to them! This time around it's less about selling you anything, and just about some nice soothing Christmas-sounding music that you can use as a music bed for anything your heart desires. And I just learned a new trick, so I'll stick the track listing in below for you. I haven't been doing that for any of these production record posts so far because they have so many tracks and I was having to type them all out manually, but I just figured out how to export it in the format I want, so it's easy to cut and paste. Sometimes my work gets a little easier if I just take some time to figure out what I'm doing.  This is Trendsetter Volume A Disc 25 (William B. Tanner Volume A Disc 25, Stereo).

1. Snow Frolic
2. Fireside Christmas
3. Sleigh Time
4. Christmas Eve
5. Tots And Tinsel
6. Seasonal Warmth
7. Contemporary Christmas I
8. Contemporary Christmas II
9. Contemporary Christmas III
10. Crossover Christmas
11. Country Christmas
12. Bright Yuletide

MEGA

Look, Up In The Sky!

Now this is a really good one from a western swing revival group that I know you'll enjoy. Have a listen and see if this doesn't give you all the feels. This is Riders In The Sky-Season's Greetings From Riders In The Sky (Rounder 7" 45 RPM 4552, Stereo, 1982).

1. Riding Home For Christmas
2. Christmas At The Triple X Ranch

MEGA

Who Wrote That?

A set of 45s today with songs by writers you may have heard of, but songs you likely haven't. As a Christmas music kind of guy, I know the names that show up on a lot of Christmas records just below the title of the record, but above the artist. Johnny Marks may not mean anything to you, or Buck Ram or Steve Rollins, but they wrote (or co-wrote) some of your favorite Christmas songs. You may know that Mel Torme co-wrote The Christmas Song, but he's famous in his own right. Each of these singles features a song with a writer you may not have been expecting for a Christmas song.

1. David Woeller-Hotel Christmas (Stereo)
2. David Woeller-Hotel Christmas (Mono)

This one was written by Shel Silverstein, the guy who wrote popular songs for Johnny Cash, Dr. Hook and plenty of others, recorded a bunch of great LPs on his own, and later became famous when he wrote some of his song lyrics down and published them as poems in such books as Where The Sidewalk Ends. How a hippy like him wound up writing beloved children's books, I'll never know.

3. Kathy Garver-Lem, The Orphan Reindeer
4. Kathy Garver-Opus Lem

Two of the co-writers here are Boyce & Hart, guys with a few pop hits under their belts, but best known for the songs they wrote for The Monkees. And if the name Kathy Garver sounds a little bit familiar, it may be because she had an acting career, you know her as Cissy from Family Affair.

5. The Rocky Fellers-Santa Santa
6. The Rocky Fellers-Santa's Grove

Last but not least, the A-side to this one was written by Neil Diamond, who probably needs no introduction. How a Filipino family band got a song from a soon-to-be famous singer is one of those great mysteries of the universe that may never be answered. In a coincidence I just thought of, Diamond also wrote songs for The Monkees, including I'm A Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You, among others.

MEGA

Florida Sings

Time for a little local color from right here in the Sunshine State. However, Florida is a big state, and these folks are from the coast opposite me, so they're not going to be anybody I know. If you enjoy this sort of thing, then there's plenty to enjoy here, though they're certainly not a professional outfit. Plenty of custom songs here, though, a full side's worth, and that's always gonna make things a little more interesting. This is Florida's Singing Sons-There Will Always Be A Christmas (Kiddy Kastle Records JBP-160, Stereo).

1. There Will Always Be A Santa Claus
2. When You Wake On Christmas Day
3. This Christmas
4. An Old-Fashioned Christmas
5. The Christmas Song
6. White Christmas
7. O Holy Night
8. Still, Still, Still
9. Silver Bells
10. A Message From Santa

MEGA

December 6th-Back In The Day

 Another day, another recap of this day in blog history. Hold on tight, here we go...

2021

Christmas with Playboy.

2020

I for Christmas.

2019

Boys Town.

2018

Christmas from all over Europe.

2017

Zither for Christmas

2016

Rare Christmas music from Shari Lewis!

Christmas On The Radio-Part 11

Time for today's installment of Radio Production Christmas Music (tm)! I've got another long one from Canada for you today, so I'll jump right in and let you have at it. This is Airforce Broadcast Services-The Great Christmas And Special Events Production Library-Disk 5 (Airforce Broadcast Services Disk 5, Stereo, 1980). Enjoy!

MEGA

Don't Forget

Don't forget to download this song so that Santa won't forget about stopping at your house on Christmas Eve. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you? This is Terry Hensey-Santa Don't Forget Me b/w Christmas A-Go-Go (Redwood 7" 45 RPM R-158, Mono).

MEGA

I Heart The 80's

 I've got a small collection of great rockin' Christmas songs from the 80's here will be new to most. I don't think I'd ever heard of any of these until I put the records on the turntable, but that's my own fault. Some research shows that I had some of these in the digital collection for years and years, but never paid enough attention to them. So don't make the same mistake I did, play them at maximum volume whenever and wherever you get the chance. The Karla DeVito is one of my new favorites, and it came with a great insert in the sleeve!

1. Em Zale-The Richest Man
2. Em Zale, Narration By John Sanders-The Richest Man (El Hombre Más Rico)
3. Karla DeVito-Santa Claus Is Coming To My House
4. The Romeos-Jingle Bells Jam

MEGA

A Request

Can I ask a little favor of you? My girlfriend is patiently indulging me this little hobby, and all the time it's taking up during this busy season of the year. So I'd love it if we could get some Christmas cards from y'all to show her how much of an impact this little blog is having on the Christmas community online. Hopefully it's still early enough that you haven't sent all your cards out yet, or maybe you have one left over that you don't know what to do with. I'd love it if you could put my name on it and drop it in the mail sometime between now and Christmas. The further afield, the better. I'll put my address in the comments, and thanks to all of you who are able to play along! Merry Christmas to you!

Different Dorothy

In an attempt to be cute, here are some more sides by someone else named Dorothy after that last record by someone named Dorothy. Well, it's a segue, that's all I can say about it. Dorothy Collins was a popular singer who released a Christmas LP for the Everest label, but this is a collection of some singles that she released for other labels. All the music here is quite good, possibly because she worked with top-notch bandleaders such as Lawrence Welk, Dick Jacobs and of course her husband, Raymond Scott. One of the records here is something I've shared before in a different pressing without the cover, so it's technically a remaster, but I probably didn't title it as such.

1. Christmas Comes But Once A Year
2. Baby's First Christmas
3. Jingle Bells
4. White Christmas
5. Deck The Halls
6. Oh Holy Night
7. The Twelve Gifts Of Christmas
8. Mister Santa (Christmas Version Of "Mister Sandman")

MEGA

Dorothy Meets Jimmy & Tom

There was some discussion about this LP earlier in the year, and when I saw the cover I knew it looked familiar. I hunted all over the place, but couldn't find it. Fast forward six months later, and I stumble across it while looking for something else in the stacks. So I grabbed it, recorded it, and I'm sharing it with you today. The album is a bit of a mystery. It's on a label that only ever released this one record, and even though Dorothy Ashby is a noted jazz harpist, it's never been reissued. The other two folks appear to have been staff keyboardists at two different Detroit radio stations, and released no other music that I can find. It's an interesting record, if a little downbeat. Maybe give it a listen and let me know what you think. This is Dorothy Ashby-Jimmy Clark-Tom Montgomery-The Sounds Of Christmas (Tab XCTV-87705/6, Mono, Early 60's).

1. Jingle Bells
2. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3. Joy To The World
4. What Child Is This
5. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
6. Deck The Halls
7. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. Adeste Fidelis
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. The First Noel
11. We Three Kings
12. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
13. Silent Night
14. O Holy Night

MEGA

December 5th-Back In The Day

Welcome to another installment of Back In The Day! Today we revisit this day in blog history by highlighting six old shares that came out on this day from the past six years. It's a trip down memory lane for both you and I, because I don't remember sharing a lot of this stuff.

2021

A different drummer boy.

2020

A kiddie Christmas from scratchy old 78s.

2019

Christmas gospel.

2018

Christmas in France.

2017

Christmas from Hawaii.

2016

Doddle-Li-Boop from 78.

Jam Don't Shake Like That

Dare I squeeze in one more share today? I shouldn't but why not? Besides, it's small. This is Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band-At The Christmas Ball (Merry Makers 7" 45 RPM MMRC 201, Mono, 1964). Oh, and it's autographed!

MEGA

Christmas On The Radio-Part 10

I hope ya'll are enjoying all the great Christmas music so far this season. Feels like we're well into the season, but there's still a long way to go. Here's the next production music LP for you, I warned you that I had a lot of these things! This is Trendsetter Volume A Disc 20 (William B. Tanner Company TRS V-A Disc 20, Stereo)

MEGA

She's Crafty

Up next is a very interesting collection of songs by some ladies under the care of the Recreation Center For The Handicapped in San Francisco. As part of some musical therapy, they made this collection of tracks singing songs you know and love. It's not heavily produced or well-recorded, I doubt if it was even rehearsed very much, but it's a charming collection that you'll enjoy. I found the 7" record sometime in the past year, and I scanned all of the paperwork that came with my copy for you. I downloaded a copy of this years ago from somewhere, and it came with nothing to explain what it was, I don't even think the tracks were tagged, so it was a bit of a mystery to me for some years. Now I know, and you can, too. This is The Crafty Ladies-A Crafty Lady Christmas (Harlod Records (Recreation Center For The Handicapped, San Francisco) No Number, Stereo, 1994).

1. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. Deck The Halls
3. O Christmas Tree
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
5. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
6. Silent Night
7. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

MEGA

Christmas Art

I'm guessing that most of you are familiar with Barry Gordon, the kid who sang about how he wasn't getting anything for Christmas, mostly because he was a terrible person. Well, his name wasn't the big one on the record, he was just a hired vocalist. The real artist was Art Mooney, and he recorded a fair bit of other Christmas music, both with and without Barry. So I've gathered up as many of those records as I could find to share them with you all in one fell swoop. I'm not sure if this is everything he ever recorded with a holiday bent, but it's a big chunk of it for sure. Give it a download and listen.

1. Art Mooney And His Orchestra-(Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad) A Merry Merry Christmas To You
2. Art Mooney And His Orchestra-Vocal By Barry Gordon-Nuttin' For Christmas
3. Art Mooney And His Orchestra-Vocal By Barry Gordon-Santa Claus Looks Just Like Daddy
4. Art Mooney And His Orchestra-Laura Leslie-The Candy Land Parade
5. Art Mooney And His Orchestra-The Art Mooney Choir-Jingle Bells
6. Art Mooney And His Orchestra-Vocal By Ensemble-Winter
7. Barry Gordon-Orchestra And Chorus Conducted By Art Mooney-I Like Christmas (I Like It, I Like It)
8. Barry Gordon-Orchestra And Chorus Conducted By Art Mooney-Zoomah, The Santa Claus From Mars

MEGA

More Donna

While I'm at it, here's another record by a different Donna Lynn. This record is much more famous for it's flip side, My Boyfriend Got A Beatle Haircut, than for the track I'm sharing with you. This is a Christmas music blog after all, and Beatle Christmas records aren't that easy to obtain, so you're stuck with the B-side here. This is Donna Lynn-That Winter Weekend (Capitol 7" 45 RPM 5127, Mono, 1964).

MEGA

Moody Christmas

Here's an interesting record for you. It's a very quiet, low-key Christmas record by someone I've never heard of and I doubt if you have either. Not bad stuff, but not very festive. Hard to describe, you'll just have to give it a listen and see what you think. This is Donna Lynn-Christmas Moods By Candlelight (Donalyn Records 102/Audio House AHS 14272, Stereo).

1. A Lute Caroll
2. Some Children See Him
3. O Holy Night
4. I Wonder As I Wander
5. Christmas Candles
6. A German Melody: Als Ich Bei Meinen Schafen Wacht; Josef, Lieber Josef Mein; Maria Durch Ein' Dornwald Ging; Still, Still, Still
7. Gesu Bambino
8. Jesous Ahatonhia
9. Mary's Slumber Song
10. A La Nanita Nana
11. Lullaby On Christmas Eve
12. A Joyous Christmas Song
13. Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht

MEGA

December 4th-Back In The Day

Hope you're enjoying these links back to some great past sharity. I hate to just repost things when there are still good shares in the archives, but I find that people often can't find them. This is my way of highlighting some of the extensive history around these parts.

2021

A surprisingly popular post with some pretty Peaches.

2020

Sleigh songs from 78s.

2019

Miss Carol Channing.

2018

Christmas with Ramona.

2017

Nothing to see here. (Although it seems to have been the single most popular download from last year...)

2016

Lawrence Welk presents.