Christmas In July 2018-Day 07

Seven days in and still going strong!

1. Overture by Duke Ellington And His Orchestra from Nutcracker Suite/Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 And 2 (Odyssey (Columbia) 32 16 0252 (Originally issued 1060), Stereo, 1980).  Starting out another block of Nutcracker music with a great arrangement by Duke & Billy Strahorn!

2. Russian Dance ("Trepak") From "Nutcracker Suite," Op. 71a by E. Power Biggs, taken from his LP Holiday For Harpsichord: Fun-Filled Favorites From E. Power Biggs & His Pedal Harpsichord (Columbia MS 6878, Stereo, 1966).  Yes, that's right, Harpsichord! And you know it's going to be good because his middle name is Power!

3. Arabian Dance by Antal Dorati Conducting The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra from Britten: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra/Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (Mercury MG 50055, Mono, 1955).  A little more staid than the others in this suite, but good nonetheless.

4. Chinese Dance by The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Felix Slatkin, more straightlaced stuff, from Nutcracker Suite/A Midsummer Night's Dream (Capitol SP8404, Stereo, 1957).  I wonder if I have enough interesting versions to make a comp?  Hmmm...

5. March, some narration by Peter Ustinov from Nutcracker Suite-Between Birthdays-Verses By Ogden Nash (Columbia Masterworks ML 5664, Mono, 1961).  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Ogden Nash!

6. Dance Of The Flutes by Warwick Symphony Orchestra from their album Nutcracker Suite/Carnival Of The Animals (Camden (RCA) CAL-100, Mono, 1954).  These all sort of start to sound the same after a while, don't they?

7. Waltz Of The Flowers From "Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a" by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor, from The Wonderful Waltzes Of Tchaikovsky And Strauss (Columbia Masterworks ML 5238, Mono, 1958). I pulled this from a collection of other things, but I'm thinking I have the full-length LP that it originally came out on.  I'll have to go digging to find it though.

8. Nutcracker by The Nutty Squirrels from The Nutty Squirrels (Hanover HM 8014, Mono, 1959).  Unfortunately, this has nothing at all to do with Tchaikovsky, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway.

9. Ave Maria (Pietro Mascagni) by Bob Beck At The Outdoor Organ from The Grotto Organs In Reverie (Adon, Oregon Ltd. V8844, Mono). I told you I have a million and one organ records!

10. I Saw Three Ships by The United States Air Force Band-Brass Choir from that great collection Serenade In Blue-Series Eleven (Programs 131-143) (United States Air Force 7xLP Suggested Air Date: October-December 1969, Stereo, 1969).  Great stuff on here!

And that's it, another great day!  Have at it and leave me a comment!

Zippyshare

Christmas In July 2018-Day 06

Another day, another share!  I need to get busy and record some more stuff.  It may not seem like it, but I'm burning through material fast! I need to make a dent in this huge pile of records.  But that's my problem, not yours.  Let's see what's in the stack for tonight.

1. Ave Maria by The Schubert Club Of Grand Rapids-Directed By James Nieboer, from their album This Is My Country (No Label, 80787, Stereo, 1968).  The record sleeve bragged about how many years these guys had been around, but I put it back in the pile and promptly forgot how many years that was.  Sorry.

2. Wedding Of The Painted Doll by Tiny James from Intermission Time-Music For Easy Listening (Doric DO (S) 1210 (Fake Stereo Reissue of 1957 Original), Fake Stereo, 1972).  Another treasure from the giant stack of organ records!

3. Shepherds Play Your Melody by The Winnipeg Mennonite Children's Choir-Helen Litz, Director, from Singing The Seasons Of The Lord (Choristers Guild, DSC-1, Stereo, 1979).  The tracks from this album are really growing on me, I hope you're enjoying them as well.

4. All Creatures Now Are Merry-Minded by 1978 Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor, from the LP University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM 4471, Stereo, 1979).  So many tracks from this one to share...

5. Snowfall (Theme Of Claude Thornhill & His Orch.) by, of course, Claude Thornhill And His Orchestra.  Not sure which version this is, he's recorded it so many times, but I pulled it from The Thornhill Sound (Harmony (Columbia) HL 7088, Mono, 1958).

6. Winter Song by Tom Paxton from his album Heroes (Vanguard VSD 79411, Stereo, 1978).  Lots of goodies in the Tom Paxton catalog, but sometimes they're better sung by others...

7. Winter Wonderland by Doug Setterberg & Stan Boreson from Yust Try To Sing-a-long In Swedish With Doug Setterberg & Stan Boreson (Golden Crest CR3079, Stereo, 1959).  Not really in Swedish, but they've certainly changed the words around a bit. Pretty sure it was these guys who remade many of the Yogi Yorgesson Christmas songs on their own Christmas album, almost word for accented word.

8. March Of The Siamese Children by Del Castillo from Half & Half (Concert Recording CR-0028, Stereo).  Not really a Christmas song, but I needed to pull more stuff from those organ records...

9. Be A Santa by Percy Faith And His Orchestra from his version of Subways Are For Sleeping (Columbia CL 1733, Mono, 1961).  Wish it was a stereo copy, but this one is so hard to find, I was just happy to see one. (Grab a remastered Stereo copy for yourself on this Faith collection here!)

10. Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, your obligatory Nutcracker track of the night, this time by Alfred Wallenstein Conducting The Virtuoso Symphony Of London from the LP Romeo And Juliet Fantasy Overture-The Nutcracker Suite (Audio Fidelity (Mexico) FCS 50,006, Stereo, 1959).  Not sure how I ended up with a Mexican pressing of this one.

And that's it, another ten tracks.  Hope you're enjoying everything so far.  Still a long, long ways to go!

Zippyshare

Christmas In July 2018-Day 05

Well, time to go back to work after the day off right in the middle of the week.  I told my guys they could come in late today since they will be up late watching the fireworks.  We'll see just how late they show up.  In the meantime, here's another set of great Christmas music for you!

1. Snowman by Tommy Roe from Beginnings (ABC ABCS 732, Stereo, 1971). If this doesn't cool you off, I don't know what will.

2. Cool Mambo by The George Shearing Quintet from A Shearing Caravan (MGM E3175. Mono, 1955).  OK, I stand corrected, this is the song that will cool you off!

3. Virgin Mary Had One Son by Joan Baez And Bob Gibson, accompanied by Bob Gibson on guitar, Bill Lee on bass, from Folk Festival At Newport Vol. 2 (Vanguard VRS-9063, Mono, 1959).  Always good Christmas music on these old folkie albums if you look hard enough.

4. Marche by Warwick Symphony Orchestra begins today's Nutcracker Suite block.  This track is from Nutcracker Suite/Carnival Of The Animals (Camden (RCA) CAL-100, Mono, 1954).  Seems to be a popular combo, The Nutcracker Suite with Carnival Of The Animals.

5. Arabian Dance by The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Felix Slatkin from Nutcracker Suite/A Midsummer Night's Dream (Capitol SP8404, Stereo, 1957).  Don't see these two suites paired up often.

6. Russian Dance by Andre Kostelanetz And His Orchestra-Andre Kostelanetz, Piano Soloist, from Nutcracker Suite-Between Birthdays-Verses By Ogden Nash (Columbia Masterworks ML 5664, Mono, 1961).  Wish I'd had a stereo one of this LP to rip for you...

7. Dance Of The Mirlitons by Antal Dorati Conducting The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra from the LP Britten: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra/Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (Mercury MG 50055, Mono, 1955).  I just started pulling tracks from this one yesterday, but that one was spoken word.  This begins the actual music.

8. Waltz Of The Flowers by The Steel Bandits from The Steel Bandits Play (Decca DL4794, Mono, 1966). Yep, you guessed it, Tchaikovsky played on the steel drums!

9. Pas De Deux (No. 14a From The Complete Ballet, Op. 71) a ringer by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted By Sir Adrian Boult, taken from the album Sir Adrian Boult Conducts Suites From Tchaikovshy's Ballets The Nutcracker And Sleeping Beauty (Capitol SP 8690, Stereo, 1967).  Taken from the actual ballet, not the later orchestration, so it may not be as familiar to you.

10. Waltz Of The Trumpets by The Airmen Of Note, from the radio LP Serenade In Blue-Series Eleven (Programs 131-143) (United States Air Force 7xLP Suggested Air Date: October-December 1969, Stereo, 1969).  Not really a track from The Nutcracker, but sounds like it could be, right?

That's it, that's all you're getting today!  You'd better enjoy it or you won't get anymore!

Zippyshare

Christmas In July 2018-Day 04

Good morning, and Happy 4th of July to all my American visitors!  For the rest of you, Happy Wednesday!  I've got nothing special for you today, just a pile more Christmas music to listen to before you go see the fireworks tonight.  It's hot out there, maybe this holiday music will help cool you off.  Maybe...

1. Introduction To The Nutcracker Suite by Deems Taylor, a spoken word bit from Britten: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra/Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (Mercury MG 50055, Mono, 1955).  The music on this one is by Antal Dorati & The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, but I especially liked the narration bits.

2. Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite by Jerry Murad's Harmonicats from Harmonica Rhapsody (Columbia CS 9141, Stereo, 1965).  I figured I'd go ahead and get The Nutcracker bits out of the way early tonight.  :)

3. The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy, a rerun, but a good one from The George Mitchell Choir, Conducted By Robert De Cormier, taken from a recently unsealed copy of Where Have All The Flowers Gone (Liberty LRP-3316, Mono, 1965).  I wish I'd found a sealed stereo copy, but beggars can't be choosers.

4. Gaudeamus Igitur; Winter Song; Rambling Wreck From Georgia Tech, a rambling medley by Living Voices from the LP Living Voices On The Campus (RCA Camden CAL-715, Mono, 1962).  I've always liked Winter Song, not sure why.  Maybe because we don't really have winter here in Florida, it's just not summer for a little while...

5. Winter Heavens Opened by The Winnipeg Mennonite Children's Choir-Helen Litz, Director, another good track from Singing The Seasons Of The Lord (Choristers Guild, DSC-1, Stereo, 1979).

6. Ave Maria by 1977 Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor, from the album University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM 4471, Stereo, 1979).  I thought about doing a whole day of nothing but Ave Maria versions, but then I thought better of it.  I like to mix it up, I want there to be a little something every day that you like and something that you dislike.  If I bunch it all together, some of you might skip that day, and I can't have that!

7. My Favorite Things by Dave Brubeck Quartet from My Favorite Things (Columbia CS 9237, Stereo, 1966).  No arguments, please.

8. She Makes Me Warm by Pat Shannon from Back To Dreamin' Again/She Makes Me Warm (Uni (MCA) 73079, Stereo, 1969).  Not so much Christmas, but you'll appreciate her making you warm when it's chilly outside.

9. Igloo by the Gerry Mulligan Sextet, a cold climate habitat from Mainstream Of Jazz (Emarcy (Mercury) MG 36101, Mono, 1956).  Brrr, I'm chilly already!

10. Rock Candy by Brother Jack McDuff and the LP The Natural Thing (Chess (Germany) 275 010, Stereo, 1968).  Nothing says Christmas like candy!

There you go, ten more tracks to brighten your holidays!  Though it may be a different holiday than most of you are celebrating today.  Sorry about that.

Zippyshare

Christmas In July 2018-Day 03

Three days in already?  Seems like only yesterday I was sitting on a beach somewhere thinking I needed to start preparing for Christmas in July...  Not really, I'm sure I was in a record store checking the flip side of all the records looking for Christmas music.  And it was today, not yesterday. :)  OK, what's in the pile for tonight?

1. Come, Go With Me To Bethlehem by The Winnipeg Mennonite Children's Choir-Helen Litz, Director, taken from their LP Singing The Seasons Of The Lord (Choristers Guild, DSC-1, Stereo, 1979).  Nice recording of some kids here, and there are several more tracks from this one to go, so I hope you like it.

2. I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, the Coca-Cola Christmas song, given a country spin by Jan Howard from her album Love Is Like A Spinning Wheel (Decca DL7-5333, Stereo, 1972).  Interesting, very interesting.

3. Winter Blues Bossa Nova by Bent Fabric from Operation Lovebirds (Atco SD 33-202, Stereo, 1967).  Nice moody little piece.  Wouldn't be out of place on those Easy Christmas collections that came out a few years ago...

4. In Dulci Jubilo by Hector Olivera, more organ goodness from the LP Two Sides Of Hector (Eagle Associates Recordings EAR-10217, Stereo). I told you I had a million of these organ albums, and I wasn't kidding.  You haven't seen anything yet.  I've still got a stack of them to go through and record!

5. Winter Warm by The Bob Crewe Generation from Music To Watch Birds By (Dynovoice DY 31902, Stereo, 1967).  Similar to the bossa nova track above, just something designed to put you in a certain mood.

6. Hallelujah Chorus by The Lee College Choir from A.T. Humphries Presents The Lee College Touring Choir (Skylite (Blackwood-Statesmen Enterprises) SRLP-5987, Mono, 1961). Don't think I knew The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesmen had a record label together!  Not sure how long it lasted, but here it is.  I appear to have called this track Hallelujah Choir at some point, but I think it's fixed in the download.  Some times I'm just working on autopilot...

7. The First Noel by The USAF Strings from the radio show LP set Serenade In Blue-Series Eleven (Programs 131-143) (United States Air Force 7xLP Suggested Air Date: October-December 1969, Stereo, 1969).  This was one of my favorite finds this season.  A collection of records made for radio programming back in 1969, consisting of seven records, though I only found three of them.  But one of the ones I found was a bonus side of all Christmas music!  So I've got a few more from this one that I'll be sharing out through the month.  That gives you something to look forward to.  And did I mention that I found this in a thrift store in Brooklyn?  Or was it Queens?  Either way, I was a long way from home when I discovered it!

8. Sleigh Ride by The Don Baker Trio from the LP Cocktail Hammond (Capitol T1099, Mono, 1959).  A rerun, but something I have to grab whenever I see it.

9. Greensleeves, by Mantovani And His Orchestra from his album Mantovani Waltz Encores (Decca (England) SKL 4098, Stereo, 1958).  This had to be one of his earliest stereo recordings, and somehow I came away with a copy from his native England.

10. Winter's Sadness (From Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto), a Tchaikovsky song that isn't from his Nutcracker Suite, by The Fantastic Strings Of Felix Slatkin from Fantastic Strings Play Fantastic Themes (Liberty LSS-14021, Stereo, 1963).  No Nutcraker Suite at all in the share today, but I had to slip in something by Tchaikovsky.

And that's it.  Ten more tracks in a holiday vein for you.  Hope you're keeping up, you don't want to fall behind this early in the game!

Zippyshare

Christmas In July 2018-Day 02

And just like that, we're on our way!  Time to jump into day 2.

1. Gloucestershire Wassail by Chamber Singers-Robert Summer, Conductor, from the album University Of South Florida Chamber Singers And University Singers (Suncoast Recording Service KM 4471, Stereo, 1979). There are 12 Christmas songs on this one, and I first shared them with you during Christmas in July six years ago.  But I knew I could reshare it when I recently found a sealed copy.

2. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Flip Phillips And His Orchestra from the jazz LP Flip Wails (Clef MG C-691, Mono, 1956). Nice version.  This label must have had something to do with Norman Granz since the label said it was made under his personal supervision.  I think you normally only see that on Verve labels.

3. Holiday For Strings, a not-at-all Christmas song performed by The Glenn Miller Orchestra Under The Direction Of Buddy DeFranco from the Pan-Am adorned LP Makes The Goin' Great (RCA Victor LSP-3971, Stereo, 1968).  This is an awful late LP for someone who died well over 20 years earlier.  I guess they figured his name would still sell.

4. Following on with orchestras named after their deceased leaders, here is The Bells Of St. Mary's by Lee Castle And The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra from Jimmy Dorsey On Tour (Epic BN 534 (Columbia Special Products Reissue CSP 534), Stereo, 1959).  When did Jimmy Dorsey die?  I'll have to look that one up.

5. Satin Doll by Wild Bill Davis from Flying High With Wild Bill Davis (Everest SDBR 1052, Stereo, 1959). I love these old Everest LPs.  I don't know why, but I do.  I always have to pick them up and look closely at them, even though I don't need to.

6. Moonlight In Vermont by Tennessee Ernie Ford-Arranged & Conducted By Jack Fascinato, from the album Songs I Like To Sing (Capitol ST 127, Stereo, 1969).  At some point, I think Ernie Ford quit recording secular songs and just went full-time gospel.  It may have been after this.  Not his best work.

7. Medley: Silent Night, Holy Night; Little Town Of Bethlehem; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing-Organ Solo by The Banjo Barons-Arranged And Conducted By Teo Macero And Marty Manning from The Banjo Barons Play Music For Happy Times (Columbia CS 8889, Stereo, 1963).  Not sure why this organ medley is on an LP from a bunch of banjo playing guys, but what are you gonna do.  I had the wrong title on this one, but I think I fixed it before I shared it.  If not, sorry...

8. The Toy Trumpet by Del Castillo, pulled from his album Half & Half (Concert Recording CR-0028, Stereo).  I think the Half & Half refers to two different organs he used to make the two sides of the LP.  Important minutia to the folks who dig the organ sound, I'm sure.

9. Medley: Romeo & Juliet; March From The "Nutcracker Suite" by All Accordion Band-Arranged And Conducted By Joe Cain, from their album Accordion Capers (Time Series 2000 S/2192, Stereo, 1965).  All accordions, you know it's going to be good!

10. Waltz Of The Flowers by Andre Kostelanetz And His Orchestra-Andre Kostelanetz, Piano Soloist from the LP Nutcracker Suite-Between Birthdays-Verses By Ogden Nash (Columbia Masterworks ML 5664, Mono, 1961).  Second day, and this is the second track from this LP.  Gotta squeeze 'em all in somehow.

There you go, ten more tracks!  Any early favorites?  Don't worry if not, we've still got a lot of music in the Christmas In July 2018 folder!

Zippyshare

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)

Zippyshare

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

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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

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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).

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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).

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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.

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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).

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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).

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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).

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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).

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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.

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