Are You Ready For Some Football?

Not part of a series today (but I have shared another team in the series), this record features your favorite 1970 football players crooning along to some karaoke Christmas tracks that aren't half bad. Hard to tell one football player from another though, but it's a novel concept, and might bring a light to a football fan of a certain age. Good luck getting the complete set, I've been after them for years and so far I have two. Of course, Discogs makes that trivial if you have enough money. This is The 1970 New York Giants-Arranged, Conducted And Produced By Jacques Urbont-The Giants Sing Holiday Halftime (Manlius MAN-1090, Stereo, 1970).

1. Deck The Halls
2. Winter Wonderland
3. All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
4. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
5. A Tropical Winter
6. Let It Snow
7. Frosty The Snowman
8. Jingle Bells
9. Auld Lang Syne

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After Christmas 2023

I've been meaning to put this list together for a while but haven't gotten to it until now. For a few years now I've been putting up a post that highlights all the records I shared after Christmas during the previous season. I know the crowds clear out of here pretty quickly after Christmas comes, so there's a good chance many visitors missed those final shares. So here are some links to those items you might have missed. It's all good stuff!

Ray Conrad-"The Cotton-Pickin' Lift Tower" And Other Skiing Songs

Toni Wine-My Boyfriend's Coming Home For Christmas

Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind

Bobby Salvatore-Stick 'Em Up Santa

The Aquinas Singers-Merry Christmas Is The Nicest Hello-Season's Greetings From The Aquinas Singers

Bey Ireland-All I Want For Christmas Is A Go-Go Girl b/w Christmas Without You

Finally It's Christmas With The Singing Angels

Joan Shaw-Danny Small Orchestra-I Want A Man For Christmas

The United States Navy Band & Julius La Rosa Sing Noel

The Snowmen-Hokey Cokey

Jim McGuirt And Company Featuring Bob Ferrell With Bob Schlemo And Ken Veenstra-Why Can't Every Day Be Like Christmas b/w Resolutions

The G-Clefs-I Understand (Just How You Feel) (Auld Lang Syne)

Sonny Til-Arranged And Conducted By Bert De Coteaux-What Are You Doing New Year's Eve

2022 at 78 RPM-New Year's Special

2022 at 78 RPM-Part 53-Part 1

2022 at 78 RPM-Part 53-Part 2

Heaven & Earth with Home For Christmas

Bobby Goodwin-The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) b/w Little Stranger In A Manger

Debra Ferrara With The Walsh High Choir, Music By The Del Fi's-Christmas Time (Is Near) b/w Jingle Bells

Gene & Jerry-Hootenanny Christmas

Elaine And Derek And The Rita Williams Singers-It's Christmas b/w The Christmas Story

Doye O'Dell-I'm Picking Fights For Christmas

Francine Raynor-Christmas Is The Time b/w This Is The Time For Christmas

Dick Wilson-Merry Christmas To You Dear Holy-One

Frank Kelly-Christmas Countdown b/w Yuletide Moonshine

Johnnie Que-Rockabilly Christmas b/w Rockabilly Christmas-Instrumental

The Funny Bunch-'Twas The Night Before-A Christmas Story b/w XXX Motor Club-A Christmas Story

Glenn Weston-A Very Merry Christmas

Ivan Browne-Mary's Boy Child b/w Jingle Bell Ride

Country Music Makers-Vocal By Wayne Brown-Merry Christmas Anyway b/w Ho Ho Ho Santa Claus

Santa's Land-Two More Singles

And at that point, I called it a season and went to sleep for a long, long time. Lots of good stuff in there, and plenty of the posts don't have any comments. That tells me that not enough people saw them, and that's why I'm bringing them to your attention now. If you didn't see them then, go see 'em now!

Stereo Epic

Not really related to the other shares of the day, and not in a gatefold sleeve, this is still some good music, and in a unique form. This is probably the only Japanese Christmas record I will share with you this year., Unfortunately it's not Japanese music, but a Japanese issue of some English choral music. And it's pressed on beautiful transparent red vinyl, so it's fun to look at as it spins on the turntable. Give a listen to Royal Choral Society Conducted By Sir Malcolm Sargent-Stereo Christmas Carols (Angel (Japan) ASC 5198 (Transparent Red Vinyl), Stereo, 1960). I'll also throw in a scan of what I believe is the original English sleeve, just to be complete. No Stereo in the title of that one, I'm afraid, though it is a stereo copy. Oh, also forgot, there was an insert in the Japanese version, so I scanned that and dropped it in the package. You're welcome.

1. The Boar's Head Carol
2. On Christmas Day
3. Jesu, Word Of God Incarnate (Ave Verum)
4. Little David, Play On Yo' Harp
5. Zither Carol
6. Silent Night
7. Cowboy Carol
8. All God's Chillun
9. Star In The South
10. The Cherry-Tree Carol
11. To A Baby
12. Greensleeves (New Year Carol)
13. Shakespeare's Carol
14. Carol Of Beauty

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The Sweeping Saga Continues

Time for another record in the saga that is today, a short series of big fancy gatefold records that try to tell the story either of Christ's birth or his entire life, all in the grooves of a record. We'll not just in the grooves, but on the elaborate sleeves as well. This one at least is all songs, so it may hold your attention a little better than the last couple, and I think I scanned all the pages in this one, so you have something to look at as well. This is The Epic Choir-Peter Sozio, Conductor-The Story Of Christmas (Epic LC 3144, Mono, 1955). Is this the oldest record I've shared so far this year? I feel like my time frame for inclusion has really moved much closer to the present this year. Stuff from the Seventies still doesn't seem that old to me, but I guess it is...

1. O Come Emanuel
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. The First Noel
5. We Three Kings
6. Away In A Manger
7. What Child Is This
8. Silent Night, Holy Night
9. Angels We Have Heard On High
10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
11. Cantique De Noel
12. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
13. Good King Wenceslas
14. Deck The Hall
15. Good Christian Men, Rejoice
16. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
17. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
18. Joy To The World

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Another Sweeping Saga

This share is a complete recording of a Christmas service in a Church in Bethlehem. As you might imagine, there's a lot of spectacle involved, but the singing seems to be almost secondary. There's not a whole lot going on here, and I doubt if you'll listen to this twice. I don't think it sold very well, and the two copies I had in my collection were both hole-punched. It does seem to have been pushed more in Israel since Discogs lists three different releases there. Give it a listen just so you know what you might be missing. This is Christmas Night In Bethlehem-The Midnight Ceremony At St. Catherine's Church (Dunhill DS-55002, Stereo, 1968). There were quite a few pages inside the gatefold of this one, but I was lazy and only scanned the first and the last pages for you. You aren't missing much, just some tourist pictures of The Holy Land.

1. Bells Of Bethlehem
2. Matins: Christus Natus Est Nobis; Jesus Redemptor; Lesson
3. Silent Night
4. The Midnight Mass: Dominus Dixit Ad Me; Kyrie; Gloria
5. The Midnight Mass (Cont.): De Gradual; Alleluia; The Gospel; Credo; Offertory; Preface; Sanctus; Benedictus; Agnus Dei
6. Adeste Fideles
7. Jesus Redemptor Omnium
8. Bells Of Bethlehem

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A Sweeping Saga

This share is only about half Christmas, but it's something I thought was interesting so I'll share it out here. It appears to be the soundtrack to a TV special from 1960 about the life of Christ. The first side is the one of interest here, detailing the birth of Christ. The name that stood out to me in the credits was Robert Russell Bennett, a guy who did some interesting stuff back in his day but is little remembered today, except in certain circles. He handled the musical duties here, and the narration is by Alexander Scourby. It's two side-long tracks so you'll have to carve out a little time to listen, but it's not too bad. I had ripped a mono version early in the year and had marked the stereo version on Discogs as something I wanted to pick up. Then during dinner one night, I glanced over at the record shelf near the table and a spine jumped out at me. I wandered over to pull it out and sure enough, it was a stereo copy, already in my collection. That happens too often to me, there's little to no organization in the collection. So you get the fancy stereo version tonight, though I'm sure that's not the way it was broadcast on TV back then. This is The Coming Of Christ-The Original Story And Music Of The Award Winning N.B.C. "Project XX" Television Program (Decca DL 79093, Stereo, 1961). Enjoy!

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Brass Monkey 5

Last but not least, this is the only LP from the Galliard players that's not on MHS. It's on Golden Crest, which is only a couple steps above a budget label. Well, maybe not that bad, but not great. I had to do a little work to convince myself that these were unique tracks, and I believe they are, though there are certainly some titles duplicated here and there. A welcome addition to the catalog, and the last one I have for you. This is The Galliard Brass Ensemble-Christmas Brass (Golden Crest CRS-4212, Stereo, 1981). Yes, this has the same name as the first record of theirs I shared with you, but again, I don't think it's a duplicate.

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
2. Deck The Hall
3. Sussex Carol
4. Rejoice And Be Merry (Gallery Carol)
5. The Christmas Song
6. The Carnal And The Crane
7. Joy To The World
8. Once In Royal David's City
9. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
10. Patapan
11. Hodie Christus Natus Est
12. Wexford Carol
13. Here Comes Santa Claus
14. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
15. Ding Dong Merrily On High
16. Linden Tree Carol
17. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
18. Rejoice In The Lord Alway (SIC)
19. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

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Brass Monkey 4

The Christmas brass just keeps coming! This is volume two of the record I just shared with you, so I think you know what to expect. This is The Galliard Brass Ensemble With Guest Artists-Carols For Brass Volume 2 (Musical Heritage Society MHS 4806H, Stereo, 1983). There's a little bit of info on the back cover about the guest artists here, but not enough that I felt comfortable putting any info in the track tags. Your mileage may very on that. Enjoy! (This cover is a little more like what you expect on a release from MHS.)

1. Joy To The World
2. Rejoice And Be Merry
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. O Come, All Ye Faithful
5. Once In Royal David's City
6. Deck The Halls
7. Wexford Carol
8. Ding Dong Merrily On High
9. Hosanna To The Son Of David
10. Rejoice In The Lord Always
11. Quem Vidistis Pastores
12. Boston
13. Judea
14. Puer Natus In Bethlehem
15. Hodie Christus Natus Est
16. Hosanna To The Son Of David
17. In Dulci Jubilo

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Brass Monkey 3

I'm back with more from The Galliard Brass Ensemble. Believe me when I tell you that these guys love their Christmas music.This second LP is more of the same, so if you liked the first one, this is a good one to try next. This is The Galliard Brass Ensemble-Carols For Brass (Musical Heritage Society MHS 4276 (Also MusicMasters MM20039), Stereo, 1980). Got a bonus cover for this one, too. I suspect there's a standard B&W cover for this one somewhere, like so many of the LPs on this label, but I don't have it. That bright orange job is a bit of an outlier for MHS. It also caused some issues for my scanner, kept coming out bright red. Hopefully I color corrected it to something close to real life. Probably too yellow though, like all my other scans this year. :(

1. Angels We Have Heard On High
2. Good King Wenceslas
3. Greensleeves
4. I Saw Three Ships
5. Tantum Ergo-Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
6. O Tannenbaum
7. Silent Night
8. Sing We Now Of Christmas (Noel Nouvolet)
9. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
10. The Holly And The Ivy
11. Carol Of The Bells
12. The First Noel
13. We Three Kings
14. Away In A Manger
15. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
16. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
17. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
18. Coventry Carol
19. Gloucestershire Wassail
20. O Maria, Diana Stella

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Brass Monkey 2

Up next in our journey through the brass section of the orchestra is the first selection we have from a very prolific outfit called The Galliard Brass Ensemble. These guys seemed to be Christmas enthusiasts as they recorded four full albums of Christmas music, and not much else. Most of that was recorded for the Musical Heritage Society, a small specialty mail-order label that put out a lot of classical music in their day, I think they're even still around but I don't know if they're just reissuing stuff or if they're still recording new music. That's all beside the point, you just want some Christmas music, right? Let's begin with The Galliard Brass Ensemble-Christmas Brass (Musical Heritage Society MHS 7223A, Stereo, 1985). Stay tuned, lots more to come.

1. Jubilate Deo
2. Sing Joyfully
3. Angelus Ad Pastores
4. In Natali Domini
5. Psallite
6. Charleston
7. Watertown
8. Choral Prelude On Nun Komm Der Heiden Heiland
9. Chorale: Jesu Meiner Seelen Wonne (Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring)
10. O Magnum Mysterium
11. Oyd, Oyd Una Cosa
12. Heute Ist Christus Der Herr Geboren
13. Magi Viderunt Stellam
14. All People Clap Your Hands
15. Quem Vidistis Pastores
16. Magnificat Sexti Toni (Excerpts)
17. Angelus Ad Pastores Ait

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Where In The World?

I had a visitor yesterday leave a note that said "Greetings from Cologne, Germany", and I thought that was pretty far away. Then I had the idea about trying to track where some of my visitors came from and I started a map. If you look close up above, you can see me down in Florida, and yesterday's visitor in Germany. If you'll leave me a shout out in the comments, I'll add you to the map and then repost it when I've got a few more dots on there. I know not everyone can be from as far away as Germany, but I bet we can get dots around the world as well as across the US. So leave me a note with a location and we'll see what we come up with. Thanks for visiting!

Brass Monkey 1

One of the things I wanted to find this season was an album of Christmas brass that was as fun as the one I shared last year by a band that used to perform at Disneyland. Of course their band was all tubas, and I think that adds a little something special to the mix, but trombones, trumpets and French horns can bring their own special thing to a song. I don't think I've succeeded in finding anything quite as good as The Mighty Tubadours, but there are some good moments in all the records I'm about to share. Give them all a listen, pull together your favorites and you'll have quite a good listen. First up is The Annapolis Brass Quintet-The Spirit Of Christmas Brassed (Richardson RRS-5, Stereo, 1977). They'll really get you in the spirit!

1. Crisp English Carol Medley: Deck The Halls; Gloucestershire Wassail; Wassail Song
2. Adeste Fideles
3. Joy To The World
4. El Cant Dels Ocells (Song Of The Bells)
5. Swiss Chansons
6. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
7. O Come, Emanuel
8. A Spanish Medley: Las Posades; Ya Viene Lavieta; A La Nanita Nana
9. The First Nowell
10. Good King Wenceslas
11. O Holy Night
12. Von Himmel Hoch, Da Komm' Ich Her (From Heaven Above I Come To Earth)
13. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

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The Return of Chimeatron!

Here's a weird remaster for you of something I first shared way, way back in 2008. I was pretty excited at the time to have found a record that promised "Chimes by Chimeatron", but it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped. It's pretty much just your standard organ & chimes LP, perhaps a bit slower than most, but nothing special. I still think about it occasionally, and decided to revisit it this year when I was looking for stuff to redo. It's not as bad as I remember, but that may just be because I'm older and can appreciate some things that I didn't like when I was younger. At least this time I got a stereo cover, though I believe my old copy had stereo sound in the grooves with a mono jacket and labels. Quality control and all that... Anyhow, this is your daily remaster, George Chiainia At The Organ And Chimes-Chimes By "Chimeatron"-Music Of The Holiday Season (Colonial ST-LP-772, Stereo, 1965). You might remember the Colonial label from some of those international records I shared yesterday. There was a six-page catalog in this record that listed many of the other releases on Colonial at the time, and I couldn't find any of those Christmas releases on it. So I'm guessing they must date after this one. There's a copy of that catalog in the download if you'd like to take a look. I love to find ephemera inside record jackets, and always try to scan it so you can enjoy it as well.

1. White Christmas
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. Oh Holy Night
5. Joy To The World
6. Angels We Have Heard On High
7. Away In The Manger
8. Noel
9. Silent Night
10. Jingle Bells
11. Oh How Joyfully
12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
13. In Dulce Jubilo
14. Beautiful Savior
15. We Three Kings
16. Lo How A Rose

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Halfway Around The World 9

Time to wrap this series up, and we're headed back to Italy, same place we started off. I'll save you some of my inane chatter, you've heard plenty of that today. This is The International Chorale-Christmas Sing Along In Italian (Colonial COL-ST-LP-854, Stereo). Enjoy! (Whew! Long day...)

1. Gesu Bambin L'e Nato
2. Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
3. Morto Erode
4. Vadasi Via Di Qua
5. Fa Une Canzone
6. Canzone D'i Zampognari
7. Dormi, Dormi, O Bel Bambin
8. Oh, Pescator Dell'onda
9. La Pastorella
10. Dammi Un Ricciolo Dei Capelli
11. La Treccia Bionda
12. Santa Lucia
13. Adeste Fideles
14. O Sanctissima

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Halfway Around The World 8

I've finished up one series of international Christmas records (including one that's not quite like the others), so it's time to start a new series of international Christmas records. Unfortunately I don't have all the records in this series, and I'm not even sure how many there are. Discogs lists four of them, two of which I have and two I don't. I've also got one that's not listed at Discogs, so that makes five. I shared one from Germany with you at the tail end of the 2019 Christmas season, so go get that one if you like. This first one for you today is in Spanish, though I'm not certain if it's supposed to represent Spain or any of their former colonies across Latin America. I'll go out on a limb here and say it's Spain based on the little Spanish flag that the doll holds on the back of Santa's burro there on the cover. I think a lot of the music is popular across the Spanish-speaking world, so it's not too important. Anyhow, here is the first of two records from this series, The International Chorale-A Spanish Christmas Sing Along (Colonial COL-ST-LP-858, Stereo). This series features an actual artist name and also includes the lyric sheet like the others. The lyric sheets are surprisingly similar between the two series, but not identical.

1. Ven A Belen
2. Pastores A Belen
3. El Nino Jesus
4. La Virgen Esta Lavando
5. Fum, Fum, Fum
6. Noche De Paz
7. A La Nanita Nana
8. Madre, A La Puerta Esta Un Nino
9. Canto Del Aquinaldo
10. Canso De Nadal
11. Chiquirriquitin
12. La Virgen Va Caminado
13. La Jornada
14. El Buen Rabadan
15. Compana Sobre Campana

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Huh, I just noticed that the track list for this record and the earlier Spanish record I shared are exactly the same. I need to go listen and see if they are actually the same. How did I miss that? This is embarrassing. Well, they are not the same, track times are all different. Weird. Perhaps they made recordings based on the playlists from the other set. This is, umm, odd.

Halfway Around The World 7

This record is the oddball of the stuff I'm posting today. Take a good look at the cover. Looks a lot like the other records I've posted here all day long, but it's not part of the same series, or even a product of the same label. I think it's just a copycat, someone trying to get a few more sales by pretending to be something they aren't. Look at that big block C, that can't be a coincidence. And the little scene in the lower right, similar but different. All the others show Christmas scenes in the country from the title, but this one shows Mary and Joseph and their little donkey on the way to Bethlehem. Close, but not the same. I had this on my shelf with the others and didn't realize it was not part of the series until I noticed the other records didn't mention this one on the back sleeve. Another difference is that this record contains performances by a few different artists, most of whom are credited, but not all. But for all the differences, it's still a good addition to your collection. This is Christmas Sing-Along In Polish (Śpiewajmy Razem) (Harmonia HLP 3007, Stereo).

1. Unknown Artist-Do Szopy Hej Pasterze
2. Chór Kościoła św. Krzyża-Lulajże Jezuniu
3. Bolesławski I Chór Armii-W Żłobie Leży
4. Ignacy Podgórski I Jego Nadzwyzajna Orkiestra-Hej W Dzień Narodzenia
5. Organ I Chór Parafli Św Piotra I Pawła-Wśród Nocnej Ciszy
6. Unknown Artist-Cicha Noc
7. Organ I Chór Parafli Św Piotra I Pawła-Anioł Pasterzom Mówił
8. Organ I Chór Parafli Św Piotra I Pawła-Hej Bracia, Czy Śpicie
9. Organ I Chór Parafli Św Piotra I Pawła-Dzisiaj W Betlejem
10. Organ I Chór Parafli Św Piotra I Pawła-Przybieżeli Do Betlejem
11. Organ I Chór Parafli Św Piotra I Pawła-Bóg Zawitał
12. Ignacy Podgórski I Jego Nadzwyzajna Orkiestra-Dzwonki Na Gaiazdkę

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Halfway Around The World 6

The end of the series brings us to England, and what appears to be the rarest title of the group. All the other records had been in a pile on my shelf for years, waiting for that elusive sixth record to appear, but it never turned up. So I tracked down the only copy listed on Discogs and bought it, still sealed, for plenty more than the $0.50 or $1.00 I paid for all the other records in the series. I opened it up and sure enough, both labels were black and had fallen off of the vinyl. So remember that when you buy something that's still sealed. You never know what's sealed inside. But at least they were there so I could get a good scan for you. I spent a couple of days in London before heading to Italy this summer, and I wish I could have stayed longer. London is pretty impressive and we only got to spend a few hours alongside the Thames. Maybe next year. There's lot of overlap here with the American Christmas canon, so I suspect that's why it wasn't a big seller. This is Christmas Singalong In English (Shelley X-1, Stereo).

1. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
2. O Come, All Ye Faithful
3. The Holly And The Ivy
4. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
5. Good King Wenceslas
6. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
7. Joy To The World
8. The First Nowell
9. Silent Night
10. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
11. Shepherds, Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep
12. Good Christian Men, Rejoice
13. God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen

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Halfway Around The World 5

Can you see why I titled these posts "Halfway Around The World"? We're really only bouncing around Europe, and there's a whole lot more world out there that we're missing, probably more than we're including, unfortunately. But that's the records they put in their series. Maybe next year I'll be able to feature music from further afield. Now it's time to head back south to sunny Spain, where it never rains on the plain. Or wait, maybe the rain is mostly on the plain. Again, I've never been so I don't know for sure. But they have some nice music, give a listen to Christmas Singalong In Spanish (Shelley X-4, Stereo).

1. Ven a Belen
2. Pastores a Belen
3. El Nino Jesus
4. La Virgen Esta Lavando
5. Fum, Fum, Fum
6. Noche de Paz
7. A la Nanita, Nana
8. Madre, a la Puerta Esta un Nino
9. Canto del Aquinaldo
10. Canso de Nadal
11. Chiquirriquitin
12. La Virgen Va Caminado
13. La Jornada
14. El Buen Rabadan
15. Campana Sobre Campana

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Plea For Attention

Much as I did last year, I'm going to ask a big favor of my visitors. I'd love to get a Christmas card from you if you have any left. I know they are not inexpensive, especially the fancy ones that you order with custom graphics and family photos and all, and then there's postage on top of that. But if you have one left over after all your family and friends have gotten theirs, maybe you could send one my way. We really enjoyed checking the mail last year each and every day of the holiday season to see what the postman had dropped in our box. You guys sent some great cards, as well as a few custom mix CDs and even a beautiful calendar (Thanks again!). If you could make that all happen again this year, I'd love it! I'll put our address in the comments. And that's the front and back of our card for this year shown above. All the picture were from our trip to Europe, one from each country we visited, I think, except Canada. No, that can't be right, we only hit England, Italy & Switzerland and there are too many pictures. I'll have to check the notes. Anyhow, I look forward to seeing the cards you send and I'll post updates as they come in.

Halfway Around The World 4

From France we head north to the Scandinavian countries, specifically Sweden, home of Volvo and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. No, wait, that's in Norway, so just Volvo then. And actually Volvo is owned by the Chinese now, though it appears to still he headquartered in Sweden. I'm sure there are lots of great things in Sweden, but I've never been so I'm not too familiar with them. The music is nice, though, and that's why we're here. Have a listen to some of the great Christmas music from a land that's closer to the North Pole than you are. This is Christmas Singalong In Swedish (Shelley X-6, Stereo).

1. En Jungfru Fodde Ett Barn
2. Nu Ar Det Jul Igen
3. O, Du Saliga
4. Nar Juldagsmorgon Glimmar
5. Nu Stige Jublets Ton
6. Stilla Natt
7. Det Ar En Nos Utsprungen
8. Julmorgon
9. Nigarepolskan
10. Betlehemsstjarnan
11. Ritsch, Ratsch, Filibom
12. Var Halsad, Skona Morgonstund
13. Sankta Lucia
14. Staffansvisan

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Halfway Around The World 3

We now visit France, which I have not visited, but I flew over it this summer. Does that count for anything? I doubt it, because if so, I've visited a lot more places than I remember. Anyhow, there are some songs on this one that are probably familiar to American ears, or at least the music is familiar. The French lyrics may be different than what you're used to, but they're still good songs. Download and enjoy Christmas Singalong In French (Shelley X-2, Stereo).

1. Touro-Louro-Louro
2. Le Sommeil De L'enfant Jesus
3. Proptement
4. Noel Nouvelet
5. Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant
6. Quittez, Pasteurs
7. A Minuit Fut Fait Un Reveil
8. Quoique Soyez Petit Encore
9. Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle
10. Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes
11. Dors, Ma Colombe
12. Adeste Fideles
13. Voici Noel
14. Marche Des Rois

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Halfway Around The World 2

Our second stop of the day is in lovely Germany. I think we may have just barely clipped a small corner of Germany on our flight to Italy this summer. There was some sort of air traffic control problem in France, so we appeared to have stayed on the very northern edge of the country instead of flying straight through. It's always neat to follow along on the flight tracker while looking out the window. Anyhow, here some Christmas music from a country that has started two world wars. Go figure. This is Christmas Singalong In German (Shelley X-5, Stereo). Enjoy!

1. O Du Fröliche, O Due Selige
2. Alle Jahre Wieder
3. Die Wechnachtsnachtigall
4. Es Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen
5. Ehre Sei Gott
6. Morgen, Kinder Wird's Was Geben
7. Süsser Die Glocken Nie Klingen
8. O, Tannenbaum, O, Tannenbaum
9. Ihr Kinderlein, Kommet
10. Maria Auf Dem Berge
11. In Dulci Jubilo
12. Am Weihnachtsbaum Die Lichter Brennen
13. Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht
14. Maria Durch Ein' Dornwald Ging
15. Vom Himmel Hoch

MEGA

Note-Download updated 2 Dec 23. The tracklist from Discogs I used to tag the files was incorrect. I got it straightened out, retagged everything, updated Discogs and this is a new download. If you got it before, many of the track titles on side 2 were wrong. You should delete that old download and grab this updated version. Sorry about the confusion.

I had multiple copies of a few of the records in this series, and I was surprised to find that the labels had changed colors at some point. So when I had differing versions, I scanned them in for you. Also, the black labels seemed to suffer from a quality control problem, and more often that not were no longer stuck to the vinyl. Luckily I found all of them inside the inner sleeve or loose in the jacket. Some of them fell behind my desk when I pulled the vinyl out and I had to go hunt for them. It was quite the adventure.

Halfway Around The World 1

Many years here at the blog, I share out Christmas records from around the world, as well as across the US. This year I was able to dig up all the entries in a series of international collections from the Shelley label back in the Sixties, so we're going to spend the day visiting all the countries they included in their series. Each of the records features a lyric sheet so you can sing along in language featured on the record. Then once I've gotten through all those, I've got a few more little surprises for you, so it's going to be a long day. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Our first stop is Italy, just because I had the pleasure of visiting there this summer. And I just so happened to get engaged while we were there, so there is that. You can celebrate with us by giving a listen to Christmas Singalong In Italian (Shelley X-3, Stereo). None of the records in this series credit any artist, but I'm sure it's the same generic chorus singing on all of them. And I doubt any of the records have much link to the countries they allege to represent. Pretty sure the track titles are full of typos, so there wasn't a lot of familiarity with the music. But don't pay that any mind, just enjoy the music!

1. Gesu Bambin i'e Nato
2. Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
3. Morto Erode
4. Vadasi Via di Qua
5. Fa Una Canzone
6. Conzone d'i Zampognari
7. Dormi, Dormi, O Bel Bambin
8. Oh, Pescator Dell'onda
9. La Pastorella
10. Dammi un Ricciolo Dei Capelli
11. La Treccia Bionda
12. Santa Lucia
13. Adeste Fideles
14. O Sanctissima

MEGA

Re-Ramona

I'm going to go ahead and get today's remaster out of the way early because I have a big series to share with you today, all new, and I don't want to have to interrupt the flow of music later on in the day. This beautiful slab of red vinyl features some nice Christmas organ, if there really is such a thing. If that's your bag, then you'll really like this one, first shared out in 2007, but remastered this year just for your enjoyment. This is Ramona Gerhard-Christmas In Hi-Fi With Ramona Gerhard At The World's Largest Theatre Organ (Soma MG 1202, Mono, 1956).

1. Medley: Silent Night; O Tannenbaum; We Three Kings; Deck The Halls With Holly
2. Ave Maria
3. Christmas Song
4. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
5. Medley: O' Little Town Of Bethlehem; Jolly Old St. Nicholas; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; We Wish You A Merry Christmas
6. White Christmas
7. Sleigh Ride
8. Noel, Noel

MEGA

And look, I have an alternate cover for you as well! Now if I could dig up my copy of the non-LP single side that was a gift to the blog a few years ago to remaster as well... Maybe next year.