Billy & Jimmy

An oldie but goodie here.  What am I saying, this one is great! One of my original shares from 2005, brought back in stereo for the 2010 season, this features a number of tracks you won't find anywhere else, and even better, the music is handled by the great Billy May!  And you thought he only did that reindeer Mambo song!  Don't delay, grab The Jimmy Joyce Singers With Orchestra Conducted By Billy May-A Christmas To Remember (Warner Bros WS 1237, Vitaphonic Stereo, 1958).

1. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
2. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
3. An Old Fashioned Christmas
4. Jingle Bells Around The World
5. Christmas Hop
6. Medley Of Foreign Carols
7. Round About Christmas
8. Santa Claus Sleigh Ride
9. The Story Of Christmas
10. Christmas Dinner Country Style
11. Reprise Medley
12. Medley Of English Carols


Whoop, I guess Warner Bros, didn't want me to share that one.  No more of that for me!

A Mystery

This one is a bit of a mystery to me, and I'm hoping someone out there can help me solve it, or at least find a couple of answers.  I've been after this record for some years, it's one of the early releases on the Westminster label that I've been collecting for years now.  I somehow came across a copy with no sleeve a few years back, and since no new copy has come my way in the meantime, I decided to go ahead and record what I had. The tracks aren't called out on the label, so I went online to find a scan of the cover so I could tag everything, and that's where the trouble started.  The scan I found didn't match up with the tracks I had. Looking closely, I noticed that my label had an RCA pressing code, and the online version I found had a Columbia number.  It even listed some different artists that weren't shown on my label! (Right at the moment I can't find the link to the scans I found online.  Must have been eBay and I wasn't smart enough to save them. I do remember it was in horrible shape with a large chunk of one corner gone.  That's probably why I didn't go ahead and purchase it.  I don't believe this shows up on Discogs at all.) I think the only names that showed up on both recordings were Basil Rathbone and David Randolph.  I did my best to properly tag all the tracks, but there was at least one I couldn't put a name to, and some of the others are educated guesses based on listening a few time.  If anybody out there can contribute something to help me understand what may be going on here, I'd appreciate it.  About all I can think of is that there was a later re-release, and they had to use some different tracks to replace things they could no longer license.  Anyhow, this is The Christmas Story In Carols (Westminster WP 6034 (H8-OP-8072/-8073), Mono, 1956). (Looks like I forgot to look up some of those Bible verses from the Basil Rathbone bits.  I'll see if I can't find those soon. Fixed it. Looked 'em all up online.)

1. Cathedral Bellringers, Conducted By Rev. Canon Frederick L. Eckel-O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
2. Dick Leibert, Organ Of The Byrd Theater In Richmond, Virginia-Adeste Fideles
3. Gordon Myers, Baritone-O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
4. Basil Rathbone-Isaiah 40: 1-5
5. Carl Weinrich, Organ Of Vårfrukyrka In Skänninge, Sweden-Lord, Through Thy Goodness
6. Basil Rathbone-Luke 1:26-33, 38
7. Choir Of King's College Chapel, Conducted By Boris Ord-A Virgin Must Pass
8. Basil Rathbone-Matthew 1:18-23
9. The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-O Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:1, 3-7
11. The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-What Child Is This?
12. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:8-12
13. Gordon Myers, Baritone The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-Away In A Manger
14. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:13-14
15. The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-The First Noel
16. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:15
17. Choir Of King's College Chapel, Conducted By Boris Ord The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-Shepherds Tell Me
18. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:16
19. Queen's Children's Chorus-Conducted By Carl Koop-Coventry Carol
20. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:17-20
21. Vienna Akademie Kammerchor-Conducted By Günther Theuring Choir Of King's College Chapel, Conducted By Boris Ord-Hail, Blessed Virgin Mary
22. The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-How Far Is It To Bethlehem?
23. Basil Rathbone-Matthew 2:1-5, 8-10
24. The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-We Three Kings
25. Basil Rathbone-Matthew 2:11
26. Vienna Akademie Kammerchor-Conducted By Günther Theuring-Silent Night
27. Basil Rathbone-Luke 2:40
28. The Randolph Singers-Conducted By David Randolph-Joy To The World
29. Carl Weinrich, Organ Of Vårfrukyrka In Skänninge, Sweden-Unknown Praise God, O Christians, All Together (Found a rear cover scan!)

MEGA --New link 19 Dec 18 10: 41 AM EST, fixed track names and artists, included scans I stole from eBay.

Note that some of these tracks are taken from other Westminster records I've shared in the past. Not sure if the tracks on the other version I saw were also taken from other Westminster releases.

UPDATE-I found a scan of the back cover, my back cover, that I can read! I updated some tracks titles and artists above, but I need to update the actual download files. That'll happen tonight.

Austria!

Have I shared anything from Austria with you this year?  I don't remember, it's been a crazy month. Nope, doesn't look like it, so this is a good thing to reshare from back in 2012. And not just reshare it, but I re-encoded it to make it sound just a bit better than ever!  Long-time readers of the blog will recall how much I love some of the old stuff on the Westminster label.  I keep finding more and more of it, but it's getting fewer and farther between.  Just this weekend, I picked up new copies of a couple things I've previously shared, but I'm hoping they're in better shape than my old copies.  Plus I couldn't pass them up at a dollar each!  Don't think this was one of them, though, so this rip is going to have to do for a while. This is Vienna Akademie Kammerchor-Conducted By Günther Theuring-Christmas Carols From Austria (Westminster WP 6019, Mono, 1956).

1. Stille Nacht (Silent Night)
2. In Dulci Jubilo
3. Es Ist Ein Reis Entsprungen (Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming)
4. O Du Fröhliche (O Thou Joyful)
5. Joseph, Lieber Joseph Mein (Joseph, My Loving Joseph)
6. Der Engel Sprach (The Angel Spoke To The Shepherds)
7. Von Himmel Hoch (From Heaven Above)
8. Congratulamini Nunc Omnes (Now Let Us All Rejoice)
9. Es Blühen Die Maien (The Mayflowers Are Blooming)
10. Es Wird Scho Glei Dumpa (It Will Soon Be Dark)
11. Heissa Buama (Hey, Boys)
12. O Jesulein Zart (O Sweet Little Jesus)
13. Es Hat Sich Halt Eröffnet (The Heavenly Gate Has Opened)
14. Still, Still (Hush, Hush)
15. O Jubel, O Freud (O Joy, O Gladness)
16. Schlaf, Schlaf (Sleep, Sleep)
17. Kommts Her Ihr Hirten (Come Here, You Shpherds)
18. Andachtsjodler (Devotional Christmas Yodel)
19. Stacherl (Eustace)

MEGA

Elvis Jr

From the not-so-dark recesses of 2011, this is a somewhat unusual record featuring Christmas music from an Elvis tribute artist. I know that few things in the world are as perfect as the first side of that first Elvis Christmas album, but sometimes that's not enough and you need a little something else to tide you over during the Christmas season.  This may or may not fill that hole in your life.  But if you want to give it a chance, this is Christmas Blessings From Elvis Jr (Son Records BS 003, Stereo, 1986). I re-encoded it for you, so this is the first time it's been up in 320.  Grab it while it lasts.

1. Silent Night (With Robbie Le Moine)
2. Silver Bells
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Blue Christmas
5. Jingle Bells
6. Rudolph The Red Nose (SIC) Reindeer
7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
8. Frosty The Snowman
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Amazing Grace
11. Peace In The Valley
12. White Christmas

MEGA

Another Replacement

Had another post show up as something you could get on Spotify that I had to take down, so this is a replacement for that.  Maybe this will show up on Spotify, but I kinda doubt it.  Also, my buddy Buster mentioned this album and a 10" record that preceded it, so I'll post this so he can listen to it and verify whether or not it's the same recordings.  Plus, I re-encoded it at a higher bitrate and fixed a track number that I had wrong the first time around.  This may not be the best thing I've ever posted, but it's far from the worst.  From an original post in 2012, this is The Harmony Choristers-Lehman Engel, Conductor-Christmas Hymns And Carols (Harmony (Columbia) HL 7073, Mono, 1957).

1. Deck The Hall With Boughs Of Holly
2. Wassail Song
3. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
4. Silent Night, Holy Night
5. Holy Day, Holly Carol
6. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
7. Sing We Noel Once More
8. Good King Wenceslas
9. The First Nowell
10. Midwinter
11. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
12. Pat-A-Pan
13. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
14. In Dulci Jubilo
15. Corpus Christi
16. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) 

 MEGA

M&M

Here's a record I had to chase after for a few years before I discovered this copy.  I find that if you hunt long enough, you can find most anything you want for a reasonable price.  However, if you're in a hurry, then it's easy to pay a fortune for the stuff you're after.  I've been known to pay too much for stuff, especially if I can see it and hold it in my hand, but I try not to.  This is an interesting Christmas album as it features none of the usual songs or hymns, it's all fairly obscure folky stuff, but not really folky.  It's ancient stuff that has fallen out of general knowledge, but that doesn't mean it's not worth revisiting.  There are still a handful of old Christmas LPs on Decca that I have yet to find, and plenty of them that I have found but haven't had a chance to record or share.  It's a process...  For tonight, this is Marais And Miranda With The Pardo Players Of Ancient Instruments-Christmas With Marais And Miranda (Decca DL9030, Mono, 1955).

1. Live Happily
2. Pilgrimage To Bethlehem
3. Lord Jesus Has A Garden
4. The Cherry Tree Carol
5. Let Us Sing Of Christmas
6. Lullaby To A Doll
7. African Carol
8. The Christmas Tree; See There Comes The Steamboat (With Santa On Board)
9. Santa Claus Won't You Come In
10. Hogmanay Night
11. Today Is Sylvester
12. Fife And Drum


And this one is on someones list as well, so no more share.  Don't want to be infringing on anyone's copyright.

Best Wishes

Since my earlier share got yanked because it was on Spotify, here's another new share to take it's place, also featuring the organ.  It's spirited stuff with a jolly red cover that's ever autographed!  What more could you ask for?!?  Actually, ask any record collector and you'll find that organ records stand a very high chance of being autographed when you find them.  Right up there with albums put out by musicians on a cruise ship.  Must go with the territory or something.  Anyhow, this is Jimmy Rhodes-Seasons Greetings (No Label, Private Pressing 2990/2991, Stereo).

1. Joy To The World!
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Gesu Bambino
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. O Holy Night
6. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
7. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. There's A Song In The Air/Away In A Manger/Silent Night
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Frosty The Snow Man/Nuttin' For Christmas
11. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
12. Here Comes Santa Claus/White Christmas
13. Jingle Bells
14. I'll Be Home For Christmas
15. Home For The Holidays
16. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer/Up On The House Top
17. It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas
18. Silver Bells

MEGA

Weird Frank

Polka, you say?  Well why not! I shared this out way, way back in 2007, and it's still vitally important today as it was then.  Though maybe not so much as when it came out in 1964, battling for chart space against The Beatles.  Frankie lost, I'm afraid.  But his loss is your gain! I can't share any Beatle music, but I can share this with you. This is Frankie Yankovic-Christmas Party (Columbia CS 9053, Stereo, 1964).

1. Jing-A-Ling (Christmas Time Is Here Again)
2. The Merry Christmas Polka
3. Blue Christmas
4. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
5. Jingle Bells Polka
6. Christmas Polka
7. There'll Always Be A Christmas
8. Christmas Chopsticks
9. Christmas Lullaby
10. Medley: The First Noel; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear; Away In A Manger; We Three Kings Of Orient Are
11. Medley: O Come, All Ye Faithful; Good King Wenceslas; Ihr Kinderlein Kommet
12. Medley: Joy To The World; Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Whoops, that's another one on Spotify that I didn't notice.  There's a link in the comments.

Eddie's Album

Today's re-encode of an old share is this one from 2012, which was itself a remaster of a 2006 share.  So it has a long history here at the blog. There's probably nothing new I can tell you about this record that I haven't already mentioned all those other times, so I'll get straight to the point.  This isn't Eddie's best Christmas music.  There were a couple of stray tracks here and there on his earlier albums that were better, and I've shared those with you during Christmas in July a couple of times.  But if you just want to hear it anyway, please be my guest and download Eddie Layton At The Hammond Organ-Organ Music For Christmas With Chimes And Brass Choir (Epic BN 26118, Stereo, 1964)

1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
2. White Christmas
3. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
6. Silver Bells
7. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Joy To The World
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
9. Away In A Manger; Silent Night, Holy Night
10. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)
11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Whoops, looks like this one's on Spotify, so no share to be had here!  I need to get a Spotify account, I guess, so I can do a better job of checking these things out.

A Big O?

I wasn't sure what to make of this album when I first found it.  Now that I've recorded it and I'm sharing it with you, I'm still not sure.  It seems to be a vanity project by Mr. Oldham, and it's best described as a piano album.  It's not bad, it's just...unexpected.  Give it a listen, you'll see. I couldn't find too much on the internet about this record except for an old share at FaLaLaLaLa, where you can find a little more info about the man.  This is R. Wayne Oldham-Have Yourself A Big "O" Christmas (Indigo Special Products ISP-0002, Stereo, 1983).  Enjoy!

1. Silent Night
2. Blue Christmas
3. Home For The Holidays
4. Silver Bells
5. White Christmas
6. Winter Wonderland
7. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
9. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

MEGA

Remastered Mummers

I stumbled across a new copy of this record recently and decided it was a good time to re-record and re-master it for you.  This is quite possibly the happiest Christmas music ever committed to vinyl, you'll be tapping your feet and clapping along in no time.  I first shared out a mono copy of this in 2010, with a stereo version following up in 2011, but this is the first time it's appeared in 320 mbps, so it sounds better than ever! Don't miss it this time around! This is Happy Holiday With The "Best Of The Mummers" (Sure SS-Vol. 13, Stereo, 1963).

1. Quaker City String Band-Happy Holiday And White Christmas
2. Quaker City String Band-Jingle Bells
3. Greater Kensington String Band-Silver Bells
4. Greater Kensington String Band-Winter Wonderland
5. Polish-American String Band-Christmas Bells
6. Polish-American String Band-Mistletoe Polka
7. Greater Kensington String Band-I'll Be Home For Christmas
8. Greater Kensington String Band-Silent Night
9. Polish-American String Band-Christmas Time
10. Polish-American String Band-Jingle Bells Polka
11. Quaker City String Band-Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
12. Polish-American String Band-Happy New Year To You
13. Aqua String Band-Golden Slippers and Four Leaf Clover
14. Aqua String Band-Auld Lang Syne

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Bing's Back

Yet another record produced by the armed forces for you, this time the US Army, and featuring a record of Bing Crosby!  Bing walks you through a nice selection of his Christmas songs, mostly from his last Christmas record, A Time To Be Jolly.  But you've already got the music.  What you want to hear is the Voice of Christmas talking to you, telling you stories, making you feel all Christmassy inside.  The other record in this somewhat rare 2xLP set is music by the US Army Band, which turns out to be a repeat of a record I shared earlier in the season with you.  You remember, the one with the ugly generic cover.  I shared this with you for the first time in 2011 and I'm bringing it back tonight.  This is A Bing Crosby Christmas For Today's Army/The Sounds Of Christmas With The United States Army Band And Soldiers Chorus (US Army Recruiter 2xLP, Stereo, 1973).

1. Intro
2. And The Bells Rang
3. Segment 1
4. Christmas Is Here To Stay
5. Segment 2
6. Christmas Is
7. Segment 3
8. White Christmas
9. A Time To Be Jolly
10. Segment 4
11. I Sing Noel
12. Segment 5
13. Round And Round The Christmas Tree
14. Segment 6
15. The Song Of Christmas
16. Segment 7
17. White Christmas
18. Jingle Bells
19. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
20. Winter Wonderland
21. O Tannenbaum
22. The Three Holy Kings
23. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
24. Stable Down The Road
25. Medley: White Christmas; The Christmas Song
26. Some Children See Him
27. Medley: Noel

Tracks 1-17 by Bing Crosby, 18-27 by The United States Army Band & Chorus with various soloists.  Full details in the track tags.

MEGA

More rare Bing here, check the comments for an active link!

Idle Speed Only

OK, the last share was great but short.  So to make it up to you, here's a single side that I shared one time and one time only back in 2007.  And I think it may be my only share from the US Coast Guard this year.  These guys have shown up during Christmas in July a couple of times, but not recently.  The flip side of this one was something from a drug company that wasn't Christmas related, so I don't think I ever recorded it, but this B-side is certainly worth hearing.  This is The Idlers Of The United States Coast Guard Academy-The Twelve Days Of Christmas (Wallace Laboratories 7" 33 RPM, Mono).

MEGA

Green Cadets

My military share tonight is short but sweet.  I found this at my favorite Salvation Army store, the one here in Sarasota that consistently gets new records every single Friday.  It's sort of a Friday ritual after work to head there and fight off the other collectors to look through the new records.  And I'm not kidding, there are three or four guys I see there almost every time.  Luckily, they don't seem to give too much of a hoot about Christmas music, so I can usually find something interesting.  And that's where this green vinyl 7" EP came from one afternoon.  It's good stuff, short but sweet!  This is The Naval Aviation Cadet Choir-Directed By Ensign Fred Schad, USNR-Merry Christmas (Vonna Productions/Allied Record Mfg. Co. 7" 45 RPM NC-3 (Clear Green Vinyl), Mono)

1. Silent Night
2. The Lord's Prayer
3. Yawcob Strauss
4. Christmas Is Coming

MEGA

Another Cricket

I just noticed that this record came right after the previous share according to the label numbers. That one is CR-X1, this one is CR-X2!  How cool is that? I'm sure I grabbed this one for the cover, but the music isn't too bad either. And the sound is pretty decent for a budget label kiddie record.  It wasn't destroyed by any children over the years and the pressing is relatively free of defects.  Not sure if this is new music or if it's a recycled recording from over the years.  Some of these titles seem awful familiar, but whether they're the originals or not is a question I'll leave to smarter scholars than I.  This is The Cricketone Chorus And Orchestra & The Playhour Players-Christmas-For Children Only (Cricket (Pickwick International) CR-X-2, Mono, 1959).

1. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. Jingle Bells
3. Frosty, The Snowman
4. Winter Wonderland
5. Mixie Pixie (Santa's Helper)
6. The Snowflake Song
7. The Sound Of Christmas
8. The Night Before Christmas
9. A Christmas Carol
10. Christmas Carol Medley: Joy To The World; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; Silent Night; Oh, Come All Ye Faithful

MEGA

Littler Star

And that last share reminded me of this much older share (from 2006) that is the exact same story and the exact same suite on the flip side, issued two years later.  These budget outfits have no shame! This is David Wayne Narrating The Little Star Of Bethlehem And The Toy Box With John L. Eastman Conducting The Cricket Symphony (Cricket CR-X1, Mono, 1959).

1. The Little Star Of Bethlehem
2. The Toy Box

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Little Star

As keeps happening this year, I found another copy of this record and remembered that I had shared it once upon a time.  I went hunting for it and found it back in 2012.  And I decided to bring it back.  I still had the WAV files on my PC, so I was able to re-encode it for you at full bitrate, and the sound is pretty good. Side one is a story by Kenny Bowers with David Randolph, a name that might be familiar to some of you as he's shown up here at the blog a couple of times.  Side two is an orchestral piece that's only sort of related to Christmas, but it's nice.  This is The Little Star Of Bethlehem (Columbia CL 1046, Mono, 1957).

1. Kenny Bowers, Narrator-David Randolph Chorus And The Orchestra Of Ancient Instruments Conducted By David Randolph-The Little Star Of Bethlehem
2.-6. The Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Carl Bamberger-The Toy Box (Ballet Suite)

MEGA

Italy!

Next up in our series of Christmas around the world is this collection of Christmas music from Italy, first shared around here back in 2012.  Not to be confused with the full Christmas album put out by Sergio Franchi on RCA also in 1965, this is a various artists collection disguised to look a little like a full album of his.  In fact, I think I thought it was the same record for several years before I actually picked it up and looked. I could be wrong but I sorta liked this record better than the real deal, it's much more varied and I love foreign versions of American Christmas songs.  There's some real gems on here, I'm sure you'll love it.  I've also re-encoded it this year to full 320 bitrate, so you need to grab it even if you still have it from last time.  This is Buon Natale-Christmas In Italy With Sergio Franchi And Favorite Italian Stars (4 Corners Of The World (Kapp) FCS-4223, Stereo, 1965).

1. Sergio Franchi With Chorus And Orchestra Directed By Franco Cassano-Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle (O' Bambino)
2. The Radar Quartet-Jingle Bells
3. Achille Togliani And The Comet Quartet-E' Natale (It Is Christmas)
4. The Padova Chorus-Adeste Fideles
5. The Radar Quartet-Babbo Natale
6. Sergio Franchi With Chorus And Orchestra Directed By Franco Cassano-Santa Notte
7. Sergio Franchi With Chorus And Orchestra Directed By Franco Cassano-Bianco Natale (White Christmas)
8. The Radar Quartet-Frosty L'Omino Di Neve (Frosty The Snowman)
9. Achille Togliani And The Comet Quartet-Buon Natale All'Italiana
10. The Alpi Chorus-Canto Della Nativita (O Tannenbaum)
11. The Radar Quartet-Tony DeVita, Soloist-Sott L'Albero Di Natale
12. Sergio Franchi With Chorus And Orchestra Directed By Franco Cassano-Fra L'Orrido Rigor

MEGA

Have A Beer

Here's a choral group that may be more fun than most to hang out with.  All the members are employees of Anheuser-Busch, possibly one of the largest breweries in the US.  But you have to be careful because the president of the company is also a member of the chorus, and you don't want him to see you getting too wasted at choir practice.  They certainly spared no expense in making and producing this record, it sounds expensive. I had two copies, the first one of which seems to have had an exposure to high heat on one edge at some point in it's life and wouldn't play.  Luckily I happened to have another copy handy, and it sounded really good.  However, when it came time to scan the artwork, that first copy had an original sleeve inside that I scanned for you.  It's full of additional  info and lyrics in case you want to drink some Busch beer and sing along.  This is The Anheuser-Busch Choral Group, Choral Group Directed By Henry Engelhardt, Orchestra Conducted By Tom Brooks-The Magic Of Christmas (Anheuser-Busch AB-101-CG, Stereo, 1986).

1. Medley: Joy To The World; The First Noel
2. Medley: Hark, The Herald Angels Sing; Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Angels We Have Heard On High
3. Away In A Manger
4. Fum Fum Fum
5. Medley: Good Christian Men Rejoice; Silent Night
6. Carol Of The Bells
7. O Come All Ye Faithful
8. Medley: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas; Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire); We Need A Little Christmas
9. White Christmas
10. Medley: Jingle Bell Rock; Winter Wonderland; Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!; Jingle Bells
11. Mary's Little Boy Child
12. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
13. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

MEGA

Songs Of The Season X 4

I've been putting this one off for a while now, because it's such a pain to explain.  Basically, it's a one record that comes in at least four different versions, and I've managed to collection all four of them!  I'm only going to post the cover once because they all look the same.  Only a close inspection of the back side of the album or the labels would give away the secret that they aren't all the same record.  Each record features ten different artists giving you a holiday greeting (all from just a few different scripts) followed by a song.  Sometimes the person doing the introduction isn't the one who performs the song, I guess the artist wasn't available or something.  But it's usually an artist and their art.  There is some overlap from one record to the next, but not too much, and they all have some unique content.  This sort of thing is right up my alley, so I hope it's up yours as well.  These are Songs For The Season (Narwood Productions For The US Army Reserve, Stereo).  If these look familiar, I think I shared them all out one at a time back in 2016 (1, 2, 3, 4).

Number 1

1. Mel Torme
2. Danny Davis
3. Patti Page
4. Tex Ritter
5. Sandler & Young
6. Skitch Henderson
7. Liberace
8. The Lettermen
9. Hank Thompson
10. Anne Murray

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Number 2

1. Andy Williams

2. Eydie Gorme

3. Danny Davis

4. The Lettermen

5. Vic Damone

6. Jack Jones

7. Lena Horne

8. Hank Thompson

9. Booker T.

10. Johnny Mathis

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Number 3

1. Frank Sinatra

2. Henry Mancini

3. Nancy Wilson

4. Sergio Franchi

5. The Miracles

6. Steve Lawrence

7. Anthony Newley

8. Freddie Hart

9. Stan Kenton

10. Jerry Vale

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Number 4

1. Jerry Vale
2. Susan Raye
3. Mel Torme
4. Ferlin Husky
5. Bob Haggart (World's Greatest Jazz Band)
6. Glen Campbell
7. Sammy Cahn
8. Buck Owens
9. Ray Conniff
10. Ernest Tubb

MEGA

Now, the million dollar question, are there any more in this series?  I haven't seen any, but that doesn't mean much.  Anybody seen another one? I didn't find these all together, by the way.  I found them one at a time, and I kept thinking this cover looks familiar...

Blues Baby!

Funny how I'm reminded of old shares when I see the records out and about.  There was a copy of this one, or was it the one below, at a store up in St. Pete today, and while I didn't grab a new copy, I decided I needed to throw it back up for you. It's a pretty good trumpet Christmas record that was made for an insurance company back in the day to use as a premium giveaway.  Turns out both covers top and bottom were used to house the same music, so don't think you're getting two different records here. This is one of those things that I really should remaster at some point, either from a new copy or from the original if I can find it.  Shares from 2006 don't sound so good anymore, and the scans aren't complete, but you'll get the gist of things. This is Gary Mann-Blues For Baby Jesus (The Educator & Executive Insurance Companies EE-101, Stereo, 1972).

1. Jingle Bells
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. Alone At Christmas Time
4. Sleigh Bells
5. Blues For Baby Jesus
6. O Holy Night
7. Adeste Fidelis
8. The First Noel
9. Silent Night
10. Christmas Song

MEGA

Go Army!

Another entry into our series of military band recordings this year, this time from the US Army.  Love the cover on this one showing the National Christmas Tree at the north edge of the Ellipse just south of the White House, with the Washington Monument in the background.  I've been to that spot a few times, though never during the holidays.  Maybe someday.  This is The United States Army Band-Seasons Greetings (The United States Army Band S19772 "Not For Sale/Public Service", Stereo, 1977). Nice selection on here with some lesser-known carols.

1. A Christmas Medley: I Wonder As I Wander; Carol Of The Bells; White Christmas; Silent Night
2. While By My Sheep
3. Angels In Our Fields
4. In Dulci Jubilo
5. O Sanctissima
6. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
7. Three Old English Carols: Tyrley, Tyrlow; Balulalow; As I Sat Under A Sycamore Tree
8. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
9. I Saw Three Ships
10. O Come Little Children
11. From Heaven High
12. Coventry Carol
13. We Three Kings
14. Patapan
15. March Of The Kings

MEGA

Tennessee!

Nothing says Christmas like whiskey, and nothing says whiskey like Jack Daniel's.  Well, sort of, but you get my point.  I love the corporate choruses, and I love traveling around the globe finding local Christmas releases, so you might say this scratches two itches with one groove.  First shared here in 2010, and coming back to life tonight, this is Mr. Jack Daniel's Original Silver Cornet Band-Homegrown Christmas (Spring Branch Productions SB-3, Stereo, 1978).

1. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
2. Silent Night
3. O Come, All Ye Faithful
4. Good Christian Men, Rejoice
5. Angels We Have Heard On High
6. Joy To The World
7. The First Nowell
8. O Holy Night
9. What Child Is This?
10. Carol Of The Bells
11. O Tannenbaum
12. Good King Wenceslas
13. Coventry Carol
14. Deck The Halls
15. The Holly And The Ivy
16. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming

MEGA

Back With Melis

Here's one that you folks have been requesting all season, I just haven't been able to squeeze it into the line-up until now.  The original share was way back in 2006, but I must have re-recorded it since then because I still had the WAV files on my PC.  I went in and re-encoded this at a full 320 bitrate so the sound is about as good as I can get it.  You can still tell it's from vinyl, but that's not always a bad thing. You may not know who Jose Melis is, but he served in the same position as Skitch Henderson, Milton DeLugg, Doc Severinsen, Max Weinberg and now Questlove.  That's right, he directed the band on The Tonight Show.  How's that for a noble lineage?  Anyhow, he made some good Christmas music and I'm bringing it back today.  This is José Melis And His Orchestra-Christmas With Melis (Seeco CELP 4230, 1958, Stereo). Same old scans, though.  I need to work on that...

1. Sleigh Bells
2. Winter Wonderland
3. The Story Of Christmas
4. Jingle Bells
5. Toy Piano
6. Merry Christmas Music
7. Silent Night
8. Adeste Fidelis
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
11. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
12. Oh! Little Town Of Bethlehem; Noel, Noel; Silent Night

MEGA

Big Wheelie

We finally arrive in Sarasota, Florida, on our tour across the US and around the world.  I found this album just a couple of weeks ago, and I was surprised to find out that it was a local album.  I've been here for over 20 years now and never seen or even heard of it.  But there it was at a local Goodwill.  I paid my dollar, got it home, and gave it a listen.  And wow, it's great! You're going to love it, take my word for it.  Big Wheelie is a stage name for Chuck Vicario, a Buffalo, New York, artist who lived for a time in Florida. This article is where I learned the most about the record I'm sharing, but this other article details his history of garage rocking.  He's the real deal going back quite a ways.  There are a few mentions on Facebook of him and his performances, but there don't seem to be any for quite a while.  Not sure what that means, but I hope he's still rocking up in Buffalo.  Back to the story, Big Wheelie recorded and released this album while running a small club here on the Sarasota/Bradenton line. (I haven't been able to find the spot yet, but I'm still hunting!)  It's a tribute of sorts to the 50's rock and roll he loves, with a healthy helping of biker culture and, oh yeah, grease.  And a twist!  Enough talk, give it a listen for yourself and let me know what you think.  This is Big Wheelie And The Hubcaps-Christmas Grease (Wheelie Records 109016, Stereo, mid-80s).

1. I Saw Mommy Kissin' Santa Claus *
2. Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me
3. Christmas Song
4. Little Saint Nick
5. Jingle Bell Rock
6. Blue Christmas
7. Rudy The Red Nose Biker *
8. Jingle Bell Twist
9. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
10. Sleigh Ride *
11. Stroll Lang Syne *

(* Denotes Very Unique And Should Be Listened Too! [from the back cover])

MEGA

A Puppy! For Me?

Some more music for you from the USAF, or more specifically, the USAF Academy Cadet Chorale.  So it's college students, basically, singing their hearts out for you all about the Christmas season.  And there's a puppy under the tree for you!  How can you go wrong here?  There's also a whole side of Christmas greetings from popular folks in 1971, I know how you love those!  I ripped this sometime back in 2010, but I don't appear to have actually shared it with you until 2016.  Pretty much every year I record way too much to share, or I forget about something and put it in the folder for next year.  I try not to, but it always happens.  Anyhow, this is A Christmas Present From Your United States Air Force Recruiter (United States Air Force, Stereo, 1971).

1. Sing We Now Of Christmas
2. Sleigh Ride
3. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
4. O Tannenbaum
5. Medley: O Come All Ye Faithful; O, Little Town Of Bethlehem; Joy To The World
6. What Child Is This
7. The Little Drummer Boy
8. Do You Hear What I Hear?
9. Silent Night
10. John Davidson
11. Rick Hansen of New Christy Minstrels
12. Jose Feliciano
13. Eddy Arnold
14. Alan Osmond of The Osmond Brothers

MEGA

Those Kids Of Christmas

A popular share from 2010, this was one of the last records I found to complete my collection of early Christmas records on the Warner Bros label.  Well, I say complete.  It was the last one I knew about, but I've learned that I frequently don't know everything.  In fact, now that I think about it, this was before I even knew about the Guitars, Inc.  So there, I just proved myself wrong.  One thing about collecting Christmas music, there is always something else out there.  Anyhow, I shared this out back in the heady days of 2010, and I'm bringing it back in the heady days of 2018!  Enjoy!  This is The Children's Choir Of All Nations-Some Children See Him (Warner Bros WS 1231, Stereo, 1958).

1. Some Children See Him
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. Up On The Housetop
4. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
5. Go Tell It On The Mountain
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
8. Away In A Manger
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
10. O Come Little Children
11. Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
12. The Star Carol
13. O Come, All Ye Faithful
14. O Christmas Tree
15. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
16. O Holy Night
17. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
18. Foom, Foom, Foom
19. Jingle Bells
20. There's A Song In The Air
21. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly
22. Silent Night

MEGA