Silver Bells

Took forever, but here is today's new share for you.  I was flipping through the stacks of stuff that I had recorded and this happy Santa Claus caught my eye.  You guys needed another polka record, I figured, and an oberek never hurt anyone.  It wasn't until I pulled the LP from the sleeve that I realized the job in front of me.  Half a dozen pieces of paper came out of the sleeve with the record, and I had to scan them all in for you.  Now you have a fairly complete catalog of releases on the Stella label, as well as an order card, an envelope, a biography of Bernie and I think an order form for some sheet music and books.  Don't say I never did anything nice for you!  In addition to all that, you get some nice music.  And those abrupt edits near the end of most of the songs?  That's on the vinyl, folks.  I'm not sure what effect they are trying to achieve there, perhaps they wanted you to think these were live tracks?  I don't know, but it's disconcerting if you aren't expecting it.  Anyhow, this is Bernie Witkowski And His Silver Bell Orchestra-The Christmas Record (Stella S-LP 914, Mono).

1. Jingle Bells Polka
2. Christmas Tree Polka
3. On A Sleigh--Polka
4. White Christmas
5. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
6. Toy Shop Polka
7. Harmonica For Christmas--Polka
8. Little Christmas Tree--Polka
9. Ol' Man Santa--Oberek
10. Bells Are Ringing--Polka
11. Christmas Lullaby--Polka
12. My Boy Friend Santa--Polka

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Revisit The Outdoors

This is one of my most surprisingly popular shares.  Over the years, I have probably gotten as many comments on this one as on any of the mainstream things I've posted, maybe more.  So when I found a new copy sometime last year, I decided to rerip and remaster it.  And as an added bonus, I've also included the non-Christmas flip side for the first time!  So those of you who grew up with this record can now listen to the whole thing.  If you have no idea what this is, you can read what I wrote back in 2007, but for the real story, read the comments! This is John Donnelly And Sons-Sing It Outdoors (No Catalog Number (Green Translucent Vinyl), Mono).

1. Sing It Outdoors
2. Deck The Halls
3. O Tannenbaum
4. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
5. The Friendly Beasts
6. Christmas Knows No Bounds
7. Les Agnes Dans Nos Campagnes
8. Maria Und Joseph
9. Nu Ar Det Jul Icen
10. Twelve Days Of Christmas
11. What Child Is This
12. Unto Us A Boy Was Born
13. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
14. Silent Night
15. Sing It Outdoors-Reprise
16. Sing It Outdoors
17. Moon Over Miami/Moonlight In Vermont
18. How High The Moon
19. I Cover The Waterfront
20. Dancing On The Ceiling/On The Street Where You Live
21. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
22. This Is My Beloved/Lover
23. It's All Right With Me
24. All The Things You Are
25. Happy New Year

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A Rare Burl

One of the great voices of Christmas is Burl Ives.  Right up there with Bing, Elvis, Dean and maybe Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Burl Ives just says Christmas to a few generations of Americans.  And this is some of his Christmas music that you've probably never heard.  He recorded this for the Caedmon label in the early Seventies, and as far as I can tell, it didn't go far.  Burl seemed to hop labels a lot, releasing albums for Columbia, Decca, Word, Disney and undoubtedly others, along with singles too numerous to count.  The theme of this record was Christmas music that was a favorite of certain presidents, or at least assumed to be.  Historical records are scant as to which president preferred Jingle Bells over I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day, but there are some and these are the ones they dug up.  I first shared this out in 2011 and it was one of my great prides of that season.  Please give a listen to Burl Ives, Music Conducted By Tony Mottola-Christmas At The White House (Caedmon TC 9102, Stereo, 1972).

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

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I'm convinced there is another version of this record that features narration about each of the songs in addition to the music.  I've never seen it, but I'd love to score a copy.  Anybody out there got one they can spare?  Anyone?

By Popular Demand

Not sure why this one has been such a popular request over there years, but here it is again.  I shared this in 2007, and it got many, many comments.  And as you know, comments are the lifeblood of many blogs (hint, hint, hint). So if you like this one, you know what to do.  Here is The Shepherd's Children's Chorus-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (RCA Camden CAS-1126, 1971).

1. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
2. Baby Brother (Santa Claus, Dear Santa Claus)
3. I'll Borrow A Stocking From Mrs. Elephant (And Have A Big Christmas This Year)
4. Snow Bells
5. The Christmas Tree
6. Do You Hear What I Hear
7. Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)
8. I Wish I Had A Beard Like Santa Claus
9. On The Santa Claus Express
10. Elfie The Elf (With The Wiggly Waggly Ears)
11. Ten Little Choir Boys

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Hi-Fi Means Mono

You sounded like you could use a little red vinyl in your life, so here's some wonderful Christmas organ music for you from a cool red record.  This first got shared in 2007, but was remastered in 2012 for your enjoyment.  I want to say a have a non-LP single by Ramona somewhere, but I don't know what I did with it.  I need to see if I can find that.  In the meantime, this is Ramona Gerhard At The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ-Christmas In Hi-Fi (Soma MG 1202 (Red Vinyl), Mono).

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

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And there's even a bonus cover for you!  Not sure which one is the original and which one came later.

Stars In Your Ears

This record sat on the top of the pile for years after I ripped it, so I think of it a lot.  I don't remember much about the music, though, because it's not all that interesting.  But there sure are a lot of stars singing in that muddy choir!  Big stand out here is Bob and Dolores Hope singing Silver Bells, a song Bob introduced in one of his movies.  I shared this out way back in 2010, so it's been around for a while now.  Go ahead, give it a listen, this is The Voices Of Christmas With Les Brown And His Band Of Renown-Hark, The Stars Of Hollywood Sing (Coral CRL 757307, Stereo, 1960).  Thanks, Buster!

1. Jingle Bells
2. The First Noel
3. O Come All Ye Faithful
4. Coventry Carol
5. Deck The Halls
6. Winter Wonderland
7. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
8. Silver Bells-Featuring Dolores & Bob Hope
9. The Carol Of The Bells
10. It's Christmas Time Again
11. Gloria In Excelsis
12. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
13. I Wonder As I Wander
14. Good King Wenceslas
15. O Holy Night
16. The Stranger with Silent Night- Featuring Reginald Owen

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Zumba Zum

I don't think I spend enough time here on the blog with foreign (non-USA) Christmas music.  For one thing, it's not very common here in the US, and when I do find some, it's often hard to get into and I loose interest in it quickly. But when I found this record of Christmas music from Spain and shared it out back in 2008, I was pleasantly surprised.  There's very little here in the way of recognizable Christmas songs, but I really enjoyed it and listened to it often.  If that sounds like something you'd like to try, please be my guest and download The Madrid Concert Orchestra And Chorus-Victorino Echevarria, Arranger-Conductor-Christmas In Spain (United Artists UAS 6059, Stereo, 1959).

1. Zumba Zum
2. Long Live St Joseph And The Child (Viva San Jose Y El Nino)
3. Sleep Little Jesus (Dorm Jesuset)
4. Where Are You Going Little Shepherd? (Adonde Vas, Pastorcito?)
5. Tan-Tan
6. Sing Little Ones (Chicetes, Cantem)
7. And There Is A Star (Y Es Una Estrella)
8. To Bethlehem (A Betlem, Si Us Plau)
9. Between The Straw And The Ice (Entre La Paja Y El Hielo)
10. From Egypt To Bethlehem (De Egipto Para Belene)
11. The Child Came Down From Heaven (El Nino Bajo Del Cielo)
12. Lotan-Dago
13. The Tambourines Are Playing (Suenen Las Panderetas)
14. Bolo, Bolo, Bolo

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Experience Christmas

Here's something for you that's a bit out of left field, especially for this blog.  I flipped to this record in my collection and thought it was a budget collection of random tracks on a no-name label, but then I flipped back and picked it up.  I'd not heard of any Christmas music from The Gap Band, so I looked it up online and found that it was a sampler for the Total Experience label, home of The Gap Band, Yarbrough & People and a few others in the early 80's.  Far as I can tell, it's not been reissued, until now.  Get your groove on with A Total Experience Christmas (Total Experience TEL8-5707, Stereo, 1984).

1. The Gap Band-This Christmas
2. The Gap Band-The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
3. Jonah Ellis-Christmas Won't Be Christmas Without My Baby
4. Yarbrough & Peoples-Christmas Dreams
5. Prime Time-All I Need For Christmas Is Your Love
6. Pennye Ford & Oliver Scott-Silent Night
7. Goodie-Please Come Home For Christmas
8. The Gap Band-I Miss You Most Of All At Christmas
9. Oliver Scott-Joy To The World

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A Musical Christmas

Here's something I had forgotten that I even shared back in 2012.  Looks like it was right after Christmas, and more scarily, right after a failed hard drive.  Reading the blog sometimes is like reading a diary, I'm constantly reminded of things I thought I would never forget, but did. Don't forget to download this before it gets forgotten again!  Here is Hans Carste And His Orchestra With Organ And Bells-Noël Noël-A Musical Christmas (Decca DL 78809, Stereo, 1958).

1. Silent Night
2. Adeste Fideles (Oh Come, All Ye Faithful)
3. Come Hither Ye Children
4. O Tannenbaum
5. The Snow Falls Quietly
6. See, The Conquering Hero Comes
7. White Christmas
8. O Thou Cheerful One
9. The First Noel
10. Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
11. Winter Wonderland
12. From Heaven Above To Earth I Come

Nope, no share to see here, folks, keep moving.  Check Spotify...

Ring Christmas Bells

Believe it or not, I looked at this LP this morning and thought about resharing it, but then I decided on Chimeatron instead (because Chimeatron command you!).  But then I got a request, and I figured I better go ahead and get it up here.  At least there's one person out there who wants some Christmas carillon. I first shared this LP out back in 2008 and I don't think it's ever shown it's face around here again.  But everything old is new again, so please download and enjoy Robert John Carwithen-The Bells On Christmas Morn-The Schulmerich "Carillon Americana" Bells (Decca DL 8792, Mono, 1958).  I also just managed to dig up the date of 1958 for this.  Gotta try a bunch of different search terms sometimes, but those Billboard archives are a goldmine of info!

1. "Basilican" Bells-Pealing
2. O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
3. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. The First Noel
6. Joy To The World
7. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
9. Silent Night
10. White Christmas
11. Carol Of The Bells
12. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
13. Good Christian Men Rejoice-What Child Is This?
14. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
15. Deck The Hall-Good King Wenceslas
16. I Saw Three Ships-I Wonder As I Wander
17. Away In A Manger

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Designed For Repeated Listening

Another one of those small records that has really good stuff on it that you can't find anywhere else, this little gem was shared here back in 2010, then quickly forgotten. I'm bringing it back today to fight that loss.  While not strictly Christmas music, this is certainly festive stuff and won't raise any eyebrows if you mix it into the soundtrack of your company Christmas party.  Please enjoy The Merriest Time! (Repertory/Sesac AD-35 7" 45 RPM, Mono).

1. The Honey Dreamers With Richard Maltby And His Orchestra-Wild Bells
2. Richard Maltby And His Orchestra-Jangle Waltz
3. Richard Maltby And His Orchestra-Skater's Holiday
4. Skitch Henderson And His Orchestra-The Merry Bells

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It's A Gas!

Don't ask what made me think of this one today, but I did, so here it is again.  Great little single-sided 45 from the Boston area, it evidently started out life as an advertising jingle, but became so popular they created a longer version and released the record.  I think you'll be humming this all afternoon once you download and listen to Al Sears And His Countrymen-The Montreal Express (Blue Flame Records 1-Sided 7" 45 RPM, Stereo).  This one was first shared out around these parts in 2011, and I advise you to go back and read some of the comments for more of the story behind this record.

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All Hail Chimeatron!

Of all the records I probably shouldn't bring back, this is certainly near the top.  But how can I resist, it features chimes by Chimeatron, and when Chimeatron tells you to do something, you do it.  So making a repeat appearance from 2008, this is George Chiainia, Organ, With Chimes By Chimeatron-Music Of The Holiday Season-Organ And Chimes (Colonial LP-272, Stereo).  I shouldn't admit this, but I tried to re-record a new copy of this I found last year.  I couldn't do it.  I couldn't make it through.  Hopefully, you're made of sterner stuff than I.  Chimeatron commands it!

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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Sweat Equity

I know you've been waiting patiently all day for something new, so here it is.  A little 10" record featuring the chimes of the Equity Building somewhere in Iowa!  I found this record a month or so ago and got really excited because I realized I already had another one like it, and you know how I love completing sets!  There is a bit of overlap between the two records, and I didn't do an A/B test to see if they are the exact same recording of those repeated songs.  But give it a chance, I think you'll like it.  This is The Equitable Chimes Play Christmas Carols (Equitable Of Iowa 10" 33 RPM CTV-121481/2 (Label shows title as The Equitable Chimes Play Ten Of The World's Best Loved Christmas Carols), Mono).  This one seems to have a side with more secular songs and one with ye olde carols.

1. Silent Night
2. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Away In A Manger
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. White Christmas
7. Winter Wonderland
8. Jingle Bells
9. I'll Be Home For Christmas
10. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

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While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and reshare the old record as well.  Only I went back and found the WAV files still on my computer from all those years ago and re-encoded them at a higher bitrate.  This way it matches the one above.  I know you want to hear those pretty chimes in maximum fidelity!  You're welcome.  This is The Equitable Chimes-The Equitable Chimes Play Ten Of The World's Best Loved Christmas Carols (Equitable Life Insurance Company Of Iowa 10" 33 RPM CTV-84282/84283, Mono).  The catalog numbers of these two records aren't even close, so I can't really tell you which one came first...

1. O Holy Night
2. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. The First Noel
5. Joy To The World
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. Away In A Manger
8. O Come All Ye Faithful
9. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
10. Silent Night

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Back To The Big Island

Much like Hawaii, it's nice and warm here in Florida.  Hard to believe there are less than two weeks to go before Christmas.  You're probably in a place that's much colder than me, so you can use a little Hawaiian Christmas music to warm you up.  I shared this out back in 2011, and it's always welcome around these parts.  This is The Waikikis-Merry Christmas In Hawaii (Kapp KS-3444, Stereo, 1965).

01. White Christmas
02. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
03. Silver Bells
04. Snow In Hawaii
05. O Tannenbaum
06. Sleigh Ride
07. The Little Drummer Boy
08. The Christmas Song
09. Winter Wonderland
10. Waikiki Christmas
11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
12. Silent Night

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Bells Bells Bells

How about some jolly bells for Christmas?  Not those boring old carillon chimes but festive handbells!  You know, like the Hershey's Kisses commercial on TV!  Fun stuff!  This was first shared back in 2011, and I think it's been sorely missed since then.  This is Del Roper With The Mason Swiss Bell Ringers-I Heard The Bells (Word W 3067-LP, Mono, 1959).

1. Jingle Bells and White Christmas
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Carol Of The Bells
4. We Three Kings
5. Gesu, Bambino
6. Joy To The World
7. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
8. O Holy Night (Cantique De Noel)
9. The First Noel
10. Silent Night
11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. O Come, All ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis)

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Vik (Not Victor)

I brought you a couple of EPs on X earlier this season, so that inspired me to go back and dig out this LP on sister label Vik from about the same time period. I first discovered this LP though an EP release of some of the tracks, then I was quite excited to find the whole thing later on and share it with you in 2007.  So if this looks like something you might be interested in, please download and enjoy The Lighthouse Singers- Christmas Carols By The Lighthouse Singers (Vik SPV-2, Mono, 1955). Only other Christmas record I know of on the Vik label is the original issue of Gisele MacKenzie's record, which was so popular it later came out on parent RCA Victor.  Are there any others I need to track down?

1. Silent Night, Holy Night
2. O Come, All Ye Faithful
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4. The First Noel
5. Ave Maria
6. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. O Holy Night
8. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
9. Joy To The World
10. The Lord's Prayer

Whoops!! That's another one that's available for legal download all over the place.  I thought this was so obscure, I didn't even check.  Oh, well, onto the next one.

Everybody

A quickie tonight, I've got some stuff to attend to.  This little flexi disc takes you into a party at Smash Hits magazine in the year 1982.  Just about anybody who's somebody is there.  Very little singing here, but lots of chatting and a couple of ads for the then-hip Black Levi's.  If this doesn't take you back, nothing will.  This is Happy Christmas From The Stars (Smash Hits Accessory Kit 3, 7" 33 RPM Flexi Disc, Sponsored by Black Levi's, Stereo, 1982).

1. Side 1
2. Side 2

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Fuller House?

Here is an otherwise forgettable Christmas record performed by a bunch of soap opera stars I haven't heard of.  But if you look in the upper right corner, you'll see Lori Loughlin in there!  She sings Rudolph on here, and there's an insert that tells you about how excited Johnny Marks himself was to here her sing it.  I was reminded of this since I saw yet another ad for the Full House reunion series, Fuller House recently, and of course Lori was on that show for a while.  I think she even showed up briefly on the reboot, but I don't think she's a regular.  Anyhow, if you want to hear her sing, please download Soap Opera Christmas (Pink Wings Productions PW-101, Stereo, 1982).  If you're interested in reading more, I first shared this out in 2012.

1. Candice Earley-Oh Holy Night/Oh Happy Day
2. Allen Fawcett-Christmas Is You
3. Randy Hamilton-Merry Christmas Darling
4. Lori Loughlin-Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
5. John McCafferty-Jingle Bell Rock
6. Mary Gordon Murray-Blue Christmas
7. Tom Nielsen-Winter Wonderland
8. Frank Runyeon-White Christmas
9. John Wesley Shipp-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10. Darnell Williams-The Christmas Song

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Bringing Back The Bing!

One of the things I had hoped to share out with you again this year is the LP you see above, a rare little piece of goodness narrated by none other than Bing Crosby!  But I was recently contacted by the current rights holder, a descendant of the World Library Productions that released the LP.  They were doing some research on the LP and came across my original share back in 2012.  They are researching a possible future release and I told them I wouldn't share it any longer and was more than happy to let everyone know it may be coming to a musical outlet near you sometime in the future.  Probably not this year, but someday.  My contact was nice enough to send me a picture of the master tapes, which I thought was really cool.  Their archive also contains a different cover as well as the one above, so if you find a different one, it's probably the same thing.  Oh, this came out way back in 1957!  So stay tuned, hopefully we'll have a full-on legit reissue of The Bonaventure Choir And Children's Chorus-Bing Crosby-Narrator-The Bible Story Of Christmas-The Traditional Carols In Gospel Sequence (World Library Productions WLP 8, Mono, 1957)!

Re-Dunstedter

I think I mentioned Eddie Dunstedter last night as being a favorite here at the blog, so I figured I'd bring back a couple of his records from the archives. I think I shared out both of these first in our inaugural year, 2005, then I remastered both in 2011, so the sound is pretty good.  If you didn't get them the first time around, start with this one, then get the other one.  This is Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas (Capitol ST 1264, Stereo, 1959).

1. The First Noel
2. March Of The Three Kings
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. Greensleeves
5. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear-O Little Town Of Bethlehem-Away In A Manger
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
7. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are-Bring Your Torches
9. Deck The Halls-Joy To The World
10. Adeste Fideles
11. O Tannenbaum
12. The Coventry Carol-Von Himmel Hoch
13. Silent Night

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Don't forget the other one!  This is Eddie Dunstedter-The Bells Of Christmas Chime Again (Capitol ST 1968, Stereo, 1963).  I also shared this one in 2005, then remastered it in 2011.  Good stuff, great two-fer!

1. White Christmas
2. Silver Bells
3. Angels We Have Heard On High
4. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
5. Winter Wonderland
6. In The Clock Store
7. Ring, Christmas Bells
8. The Christmas Song
9. Beautiful Savior
10. I'll Be Home For Christmas
11. Happy Holiday

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Beware Of The Broom

I had forgotten about this little gem, but someone requested it and here it is.  This one dates back to 2006 in mono, but the stereo version was something I first shared in 2007, so it's been around for a while now.  But good music never goes out of style.  Please download and enjoy Frank Chacksfield And His Orchestra-Music For A Merry Christmas (Richmond S 30056, Stereo, 1959).

1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. Silent Night
3. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
4. Once In Royal David's City
5. Sleigh Ride
6. Alpine Sleigh-Ride
7. Good Christian Men Rejoice
8. Away In A Manger
9. The First Nowell
10. Greensleeves
11. White Christmas
12. The Skater's Waltz

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Going Again

I've been meaning to get more remastered albums up this year, but I really haven't been budgeting my time very well.  I've re-recorded dozens of albums that I'd love to reshare with you, but it's hard to get to those amidst the new stuff I want to work on as well.  But this was one of the ones that I couldn't let pass.  I first shared this in 2007, and it's really a blog favorite.  One of the few classics of sunshine pop and Christmas, there's something on here for just about everyone.  Or at least people who appreciate the era.  And yeah, they're a pop group put together for Ford, but that doesn't make them any less good than, say, The Monkees.  So give a listen to the remastered The Going Thing-Christmas 1968 With The Going Thing (Private Pressing for Ford XCSV-141473, One-sided, Stereo, 1968).  The cover looks a little nicer this time, too.  I actually found a new copy at some point in the past few years, so now I have two! :)

1. Introduction by John Naughton
2. The Christmas Song
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. My Christmas Tree
5. Silent Night
6. The Christmas Waltz

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Kenny Baker-Carols For Christmas

Speaking of Kenny Baker, here's a full LP of songs from way back in 1958, which still makes it a lot newer than those other sides I just shared.  I first shared this out back in 2010, and I'm sure I made lots of Star Wars jokes at the time.  I'll try to avoid those this time and just tell you to please download Kenny Baker-Carols For Christmas From Kenny Baker (International Records LP 5125 (AKA Christmas Carols From Kenny Baker-Kenart LP KA-6), Mono, 1958). The cover down at the bottom is an alternate cover I found at some point.  Not sure if that's in the download or not...

1. O Holy Night
2. Joy To The World
3. Medley-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear and Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. Angels We Have Heard On High
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. The First Noel
7. Good King Wenceslas
8. Silent Night
9. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night
10. Medley-Away In A Manger and O Come All Ye Faithful
11. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
12. White Christmas
13. Deck The Halls and Carol Of The Shepherds
14. Jingle Bells

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Christmastime Back Then

First off, let me tell you what a pain it is to record 78s.  One 78 is OK.  Two is tiresome.  Three takes forever.  All four of them in this set?  Next to impossible.  But I did it.  The sound is OK, not something that is going to have any archivists phoning me up and asking how I did it, not by a long shot.  The records were too far gone and I'm too lazy to keep trying.  But I think it's something to listen to.  I've had this set of 78s for a long time, and it was always missing one of the records.  But sometime in the past few years, I finally scored a set that at least had all the records.  I'm still missing a little paper insert that seems to have come with it, though.  The reason I wanted this set was to help complete the Kenny Baker discography, but once I got into it I realized that it also featured Eddie Dunstedter and David Rose, so that's a big plus.  You might only listen to it once, but please lend an ear to Christmastime (Decca 4x 10" 78 RPM A-488, 1946, Mono).  I know the Judy Garland was recorded & released before the war, and probably the Deanna Durbin as well.  Not sure about the provenance of the Kenny Baker tracks.  This is pretty early for a Christmas album.

1. Deanna Durbin With Charles Previn-Silent Night (Christmas Hymn)
2. Deanna Durbin With Charles Previn-Adeste Fideles (Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful)
3. Judy Garland With David Rose-The Birthday Of A King
4. Judy Garland With David Rose-The Star Of The East
5. Kenny Baker With Eddie Dunstedter-O, Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Kenny Baker With Eddie Dunstedter-It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
7. Kenny Baker With Eddie Dunstedter-Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. Kenny Baker With Eddie Dunstedter-O Holy Night

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