Merrie Christmas

Well, that last post got a little bit of response, I guess there are still a few folks out there who still have some Christmas spirit.  The cover of this single should help keep that spirit alive for a few more days.  It's a great little piece of mid-century modern Christmas. I think I'll even throw up the flip side for you as well, with a great trio of soldiers who are decorating what must be a minimalist aluminum tree. And it's autographed!  I remember being very excited when this turned up at the Goodwill store. Some days are great when you find stuff like this that you've never seen before. Some days aren't so great for hunting. The music isn't what I thought.  I expected some organ music, but it turns out that Don Jacoby was a trumpet player, so I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this one.  The Christmas Party side appears to be unique to this release, but The Holy City side is from an LP Jacoby put out. (Check out that cover if you want a little laugh.) For your mid-January Christmas fix, this is Don Jacoby-Merrie Christmas (Conn/Stellation 7" 45 RPM CB-1001, Mono, 1958).

1. The Christmas Party
2. The Holy City

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A Post In PJs

This one goes into the category of things I only recently found out about, and then almost by accident, a copy turned up.  It was only last year that I discovered there was a Christmas EP by P.J. Proby, and then found out it was only ever issued in the UK, but I stumbled across a copy just a month or so ago.  I don't know much about Mr. Proby other than the name, and the fact that it was on one of his early albums that the members of the future Led Zeppelin made their first recordings together.  They weren't performing as Zeppelin, they were just all hired to perform on the same session.  Unfortunately, that's not this record.  On this EP, he's more in crooner mode, there ain't a lot of rockin' going on here.  But it's still pretty nice to have, and pretty rare here in the US.  So if you're still in the Christmas mood, why don't you download and give a listen to P.J. Proby-Christmas With P.J. (EMI/Liberty (UK) 7" 45 RPM LEP 2239, Mono, 1965).

1. Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
2. Silent Night
3. White Christmas
4. Rain On Snow

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Join The Parish

This is the third and last of the radio shows I have from The Upper Room. It's only two records instead of the usual three, and it may be the best one yet.  This one actually features a mother and her daughter on three of the four sides, and I think it works better than the others.  No date for this one, though.  I couldn't look up the Columbia pressing number, and there were no notes written on the labels. Oh, I also learned that The Upper Room still appears to be a going concern, although I don't think they send out records to radio stations anymore. This is The Upper Room Radio-TV Parish-The Holy Holiday Series (Protestant Radio-TV Center 2x10" 33 RPM CC5-URPRC, Mono).

1. Expectation (For Use On Christmas Eve)
2. Bells Of Christmas (For Use On Christmas Day)
3. The World At Prayer (For Use On New Year's Eve)
4. Where Prayer Begins (For Use On First Sunday Of The New Year)

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Radio And TV

Time for another edition of The Upper Room Radio-TV Parish Christmas radio show, this time from 1957.  Well, I say it's from 1957.  That date is based on the RCA pressing code found on the discs, but the notes I found on the labels listed a broadcast date from 1962. I suspect the 1957 is correct, because the broadcast info didn't always get noted down, especially right on the label. The other one I shared yesterday was pressed by Columbia, and as far as I know there is no good way to date those pressings, so I had to go with what the label said. Like most things, you have to go with the info you've got. If you enjoyed the one yesterday, this one is more of the same.  This is Dr. John A. Redhead And The Upper Room Carolers-Hark The Herald Angels Sing (The Protestant Radio & Television Center 3x10" 33 RPM PRC-UR-CC Series 3, Mono, 1957).

1. The New Born King
2. Carols For The Humble
3. Christ Born In Us
4. The Sky Can Still Remember
5. Little Jesus Came To Town
6. Love Came Down

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On The 15th Day Of Christmas

As frequently happens, a song or a record pops into my head, and I get to thinking about it. Then it occurs to me that I shared it out once, and I wonder if it's still up.  It turned out that this record was shared out in 2012, and hasn't been seen since, so I'm bringing it back.  I doubt if there are too many people left hanging around downloading my shares, especially the reshares, but if anyone is still around, here it is. It's a rare 78 transfer, because that's the version I found, complete with picture sleeve! It's probably worth the download for that vintage artwork itself, though it looks like I didn't do a full restoration job on it.  Underneath that scribbling is a date of 1949 when this record was given as a gift. Perhaps I thought that was too interesting to erase.  Anyhow, if you're interested, this is Franklyn MacCormack With Herbert Foote At The Organ-I Like Christmas b/w My New Year's Wish For You (MGM 10" 78 RPM 50009, Mono, 1948).

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Christmas Was

Today's special surprise is a set of three 10" records, each with two parts of a series of Christmas radio broadcasts entitled Christmas Is. I bought these as part of a lot on eBay, I had no idea what I was getting, but it's kinda interesting stuff.  Imagine those early morning or late night Sunday hours when radio stations aired public affairs programs, and that's kinda what you've got here.  Each show is fifteen minutes and features some music, but mostly talk about the season. And you're invited to write to them, care of this station, for more information!  Met me know if you get anything back!  This is The Upper Room Radio-TV Parish-Christmas Is (Protestant Radio & Television Center 3x10" 33 RPM UR-PRC-CC4, Mono, 1960). I got the date from notes written on the labels listing when the program was aired.  Earliest one listed was 1960, latest one was 1967.  Pretty big change in the world between those two dates.

1. Christmas Is Quietness
2. Christmas Is Joy
3. Christmas Is Love
4. Christmas Is For Everyone
5. Christmas Is For Always
6. Christmas Is Glory

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Three Kings Day

Well, we've made it through the holidays to Three Kings Day, or Epiphany if you prefer. I've thrown up two posts a day since Thanksgiving, and I'm just about out of stuff. But not quite. There are a few 10" records that are pretty out there that I still want to share, and a handful of singles, so I'm going to keep going for a little while longer.  But I am getting tired, so I'm cutting it down to one a day, I hope you don't mind. First up is this soundtrack to a filmstrip from, I believe, 1968. I only found the record, there was no filmstrip with it, so you'll have to imagine the scenes playing out in your head, and change them up every time you hear the beep. I can't explain why the recording is only 4'21", but the record says it's 7'10".  There's only one side to the record, and the whole story seems to be there. Any thoughts? Anyhow, this is Maurice Copeland, Narrator-The Night Before Christmas-Sound Filmstrip Presentation (SVE 10" 33 RPM TAC 84322 (Single-Sided Filmstrip Soundtrack), Mono, 1968). Sorry about the limited Photoshop work on that label. I did a little bit that's not obvious, but anything else was going to be a lot of work, and I don't think I could get it all off cleanly anyway.  So we're stuck with some of it.

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Country For Christmas

How about a collection of Country Christmas tunes? Or at least a collection of Christmas tunes performed by country artists? Well, maybe they're country artists, it's a little hard to tell.  Some of the names are familiar, but some aren't, and I suspect that some of them may just be close to the familiar artist name, but not exactly the same.  Do you recognize all of these artists?  Maybe?  Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  This is Christmas Booty-Christmas With A Country Flavor (ERA BU 3900, Stereo, 1983). I pulled this one out of the shrink wrap, so I think the sound is really good here.

1. Nat Stuckey-Oh Come All Ye Faithful
2. Billy Walker-White Christmas
3. John Wesley Ryles-We Three Kings Of Orient Are
4. Melba Montgomery-Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
5. Jeannie Seely-What Child Is This
6. Margo Smith-We Wish You A Merry Christmas
7. David Houston-Silent Night, Holy Night
8. Johnny Carver-The First Noel
9. Jan Howard-God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
10. Dickey Lee-Go Tell It On The Mountain
11. Sandy Posey-I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
12. Jack Greene-I'll Be Home For Christmas

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Not Much Christmas

This next share is something that I remember recording years and years and years ago, pretty close to 20 years now, when I was first starting to get interested in these dusty old Christmas records. I was disappointed to discover that there really wasn't much on the album that sounded like Christmas to my ears. Sometime in the past year or so I found a nice clean copy and decided to revisit it to see if maybe I had missed something that first time around. Short answer, no, it's still not got much Christmas content, and I'm not too excited about the stuff that does identify as Christmas.  But it's still a neat little time capsule of it's time, you might enjoy it. It's a soundtrack to a TV special that featured a few "A" listers, like Liza Minnelli, Cyril T. Ritchard, Vic Damone and even The Animals! Orchestra duties are handled by Walter Scharf, best known for his work with Jerry Lewis.  This is The Dangerous Christmas Of Red Riding Hood (Or Oh Wolf, Poor Wolf) (ABC-Paramount ABCS-536, Stereo, 1965).

1. Overture
2. We Wish The World A Happy Yule
3. My Red Riding Hood
4. Snubbed
5. Woodsman's Serenade; Granny's Gulch; Along The Way
6. I'm Naive
7. Red Riding Hood Improvisation (Ballet)
8. I'm Naive (Reprise)
9. We're Gonna Howl Tonight
10. Ding-A-Ling, Ding-A-Ling
11. Poor Mouse (Ballet)
12. Granny; Along The Ray (Reprise)
13. We Wish The World A Happy Yule (Finale)

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Deutschland, Deutschland

Are you aching for some more foreign Christmas carols? Then here's your chance for a low-budget recording of some German carols, complete with a sheet that gives you all the words, in both English and German!  You can't beat that with a stick! I'm not sure of the origin of this recording, but I don't think it began life on UA.  Look close at the included lyric sheet, and it's crediting the Colonial label. I've never seen a Christmas recording on that label, but I've been proven wrong before. While I work on solving this mystery, please download and sing along with The International Chorale-Christmas Sing Along In German (AKA A German Christmas) (United Artists SP-183, Stereo, 1978).

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

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Southern Cal

I'm thinking I should have shared this one out with that record I posted from Boys Town earlier in the season, but I just got around to scanning this one recently, and then editing out a card that was taped to the cover of both copies I found. It wasn't that hard in the end, but I was dreading it for a while. I can still see where it was on there, but I doubt that you can.  :) And after all that work, it's still a pretty ugly cover.  Not sure who thought this scene would look better with a fire-lit sky in the background. But I suppose choices were made, and the end result is what we got. If you like kids singing, but not in a sloppy novelty way, then this is a good release for you.  It's not all kids though. Several different groups are credited, but there is no info about which group sings what, so I had to attribute all the songs to everyone.  I didn't dare try to guess which song is which group.  That way lies madness!  There is one spoken word welcome track at the beginning from Virgil Patterson, his autograph is the one on the card that was taped to the cover.  I assume he is (or was) the head honcho of this place, since it's pretty likely Cal Farley was no longer around by this point. Oh, if you're curious, it looks like the Boys Ranch is still going strong down Texas way. Go see 'em when you're in the neighborhood.  Until then though, please download and listen to Cal Farley's Boys Ranch (Chapel Choir, Ambassador Choir, Crusader Choir & Adult Choir)-King Of Love-A Christmas Musical (Cal Farley's Boys Ranch No Number, Stereo).

1. Introduction
2. Opening Theme
3. Hail, Thou Who Are Highly Favored
4. Wonderful Name
5. Savior Of Sinners
6. Theme & There Was No Room
7. Sleep, Holy Child
8. Glory To God
9. Alleluia! Now They Sing
10. King Of Love & Wonderful Name
11. Finale

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A Weird One

This one is a little out of the ordinary. It's from a series that usually featured popular songs as performed by a band, but there is one key instrument missing. The idea was for you to provide that instrument by playing along with the record.  It must have been a fairly popular series, I see quite a few of them in my travels.  However, this is the only time I've seen a Christmas version. And to my ears, there's not really anything missing from the recordings.  They're sung by a choir, so there are plenty of vocals there already.  You can sing along if you like, but you aren't really adding much. And to top it all off, it's got a hideous cover.  I mean look at that thing.  Blech! The monochrome color scheme isn't doing it any favors. But there are a few songs here that I'm unfamiliar with, so maybe there's something on here that will interest you.  It's in a gatefold sleeve, and the music and lyrics to most of the songs are in there for your perusal, and I guess you can still sing along if you like.  This is The All Saints Choristers-William Self, Director-Henry Hokans, Organ-Christmas Carols For People Who Like To Sing Christmas Carols (Music Minus One MMO 1021, Mono).

1. Poverty
2. Verbum Caro
3. Harken, Harken Mother Dear
4. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
5. There Is No Rose
6. Christmas Song
7. Good King Wenceslas
8. Wassail Song
9. Andalusian Carol
10. Silent Night
11. Now Is The Time

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Same Old Dorothy

Going way back into the history of the blog, here's an oldie from 2007 that came to mind recently, also in relation to that Christmas record over at Music You Won't. This EP was something that came out somewhere around 1960 (based on an album she put out on the Top Rank label at that time), and appears to have been a promotional piece only.  According to Discogs, my copy was put out by Sinclair Oil, but there were at least two other versions that were released for other companies. And I'm missing a nice little picture sleeve, too, so I need to hunt that down. This is Dorothy Collins-Produced Under The Direction Of Raymond Scott-Season's Greetings In Song (A Top Rank Artist 117058/117059). As I mentioned, this is a really old rip, so don't expect much.  And while there is some overlap in song selection with Ms. Collins full Christmas album, these are not the same versions.

1. Jingle Bells
2. White Christmas
3. Deck The Halls
4. Oh Holy Night

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Navidad En Puerto Rico

What's up next?  Oh, how about a little something from Puerto Rico? I don't know much about it, other than it's got lots of organ on it, so you know it's gonna be good. And the cover ain't too bad, either!  This is Papá Candito-Felicidades (Fragoso (Puerto Rico) FLP-556, Mono, 1973).  Is it just me, or is Mono badly misspelled on the bottom edge of that cover? I thought maybe it was some Spanish version, but it's spelled correctly on the label.  Weird.

1. Aguinaldo Borincano
2. Cantares De Navidad
3. Jingle Bells
4. Zarandela
5. Blanca Navidad
6. Seis Chorreao
7. Flores De Amistad
8. En Nombre De Jesus
9. Saludos
10. Hermoso Bouquet
11. A Felicitarte
12. Llegaron Los Reyes

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New Share, Old Music

If you were paying close attention, you noticed the record I just shared with you a couple of hours ago, and you may recall that there was a second volume. Well, here's that second volume for you, and it comes with a little bit of a story. If you listen to the album, you'll see that side one is not all that Christmassy, like maybe they took old recordings and retitled them to fit in with the season.  Maybe they added some jingle bells here or there, but not much. At least side one sounds a bit like Tijuana music is meant to.  When you get to side two, you'll immediately notice that something is wrong.  It's Christmas music, but it's got no Tijuana flavor at all.  It's just an orchestra with singers.  The fine print on the back of the jacket even admits as much, but I'm sure very few buyers noticed that before they brought home the record.  Some digging and comparing reveals that side two is in fact tracks by Wally Stott, His Orchestra And Chorus from their 1959 Warner Bros. Christmas album Happy Holiday-Christmas In Stereo! I guess the power of licensing is strong with this one. Or maybe they just stole it and hoped no one would notice. I've had this share in the queue for a while, but I was reminded of it last night when Lee over at Music You Won't threw up a share from the same label that seems to have employed the same trick, only with the whole album. His record appears to be a track from Walter Brennan, and then the rest of the LP is Dorothy Collins from her rare Christmas record on Everest. You just never know what you're going to find when you're dealing with budget vinyl.  This is The George Garabedian Players-Tijuana Christmas Volume 2 (Mark 56 556, Stereo, 1968).

1. Tijuana Taxi
2. Christmas In Paris
3. The Star
4. March Of The Reindeer
5. Mexican Pine Cones
6. Mrs. Claus Says Ole'
7. Happy Holiday
8. Christmas Waltz
9. Snowfall
10. Good King Wenceslas
11. Silent Night
12. Christmas Sleigh Bells

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Reshare Redo

I've wanted to reshare some older stuff with you this year, but there hasn't been much time in my busy schedule.  I look back at past years and wonder how I was able to do so much some years with the same amount of hours in the day, and I just don't know. Maybe I'm just getting older. But before the season gets totally away from me, here's a re-encode of an old share from 2012. So this is the same recording I shared back then, it's just encoded at a higher bitrate, so maybe it sounds a little better to you.  If you enjoy that Tijuana sound of Christmas, this is the record for you!  This is The George Garabedian Players-Phillips 66 Presents Tijuana Christmas (Mark 56 546, Stereo, 1968).

1. Jingle Bells
2. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
3. Christmas Sleigh Bells
4. Let It Snow, Let It Snow
5. Tijuana Christmas
6. White Christmas
7. Santa Claus, Santa Claus
8. Sleigh Ride
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem/It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
11. Adeste Fidelis/Silent Night

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The Big One

This is one of the records I've been looking forward to sharing all season, and one of the records I've been most dreading sharing all season.  It's great music and there are three full albums in the box so there is a lot of it, but then there is the box itself.  Someone had played darts with it or something.  There were little holes and scratches all over it. I knew it was going to take a lot of work to make it presentable, and I was right.  I think I spent about two hours on the front cover alone today, and an hour and a half on the back cover, then a few minutes each on the label scans. And it's still not perfect, but it's presentable. I first learned of this album in the forums over at The 'Fa a few years ago, and various rips of it have been floating around ever since. I wanted to try my hand at it, and here is the result.  It's not particularly rare, but it is one of those things that seems to have been forgotten by time.  And there are a lot of good versions of familiar songs here that I think you'll enjoy, if you don't have a copy already.  This is The London Sound 70 Orchestra And Chorus-The Sounds Of Christmas (Decca 3xLP DEB 7-7, Stereo, 1970).

1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
2. I Saw Three Ships
3. Happy Holiday
4. Silent Night
5. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
6. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
7. Little Donkey
8. The Little Drummer Boy
9. Mary's Little Boy Child
10. Jingle Bells
11. All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
12. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
13. Sleigh Ride
14. Twelve Days Of Christmas
15. O, Tannenbaum
16. Christmas Alphabet
17. Deck The Hall
18. White Christmas
19. The First Noel
20. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
21. Silver Bells
22. The Holly And The Ivy
23. I'll Be Home For Christmas
24. Frosty The Snowman
25. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
26. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
27. Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem
28. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
29. Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful)
30. Winter Wonderland

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Nationwide Is On Your Side

You just gotta love it when these corporate choruses get comfortable in their abilities and decide to make an album.  In this case, it's the gang from Nationwide Insurance, and they are quite the brand ambassadors.  Perhaps it's this same group that later sang the famous Nationwide jingle.  I don't think that jingle existed when this record came out, though, so you don't get that here, it's just a bunch of Christmas carols and songs, with a few curveballs thrown in for good measure.  While it's still New Year's Day, be sure you download The Nationaires-Happy Holidays From The Nationaires (Nationwide Insurance Activities Association LPS 7100, Stereo).

1. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
2. An Irving Berlin Christmas
3. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
4. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
5. Silver Bells
6. I Remember December
7. Ave Maria
8. Do You Hear What I Hear
9. The Jesus Gift
10. Glory Hoodie
11. What Child Is This
12. Rose Of Sharon
13. Hallelujah Chorus From "Messiah"
14. O Holy Night (Cantique De Noel)

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The Wonder Of 2020

Time for the first post of 2020! And it's somewhat fitting that it should be a recording of a military band from 45 years ago. It's four long medleys of common and uncommon carols, all put together for your Christmas, Advent and Epiphany joy.  This is The United States Air Force Band And The Singing Sergeants-Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel, Conductor-The Wonder Of Christmas (USAF AF 4175, Stereo, 1975). And just for the record, the whole shebang was created by Sergeant Floyd E. Werle.

1. Advent
2. Nativity I
3. Nativity II
4. Epiphany

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Just For The Cover

I spotted the record you see above at the Salvation Army thrift store recently, and thought it was a copy of a record I shared with you last year. I still bought it because something didn't feel right, and you can't ignore those feelings when they are about Christmas music.  Sure enough, I got the record home and discovered that the two records didn't have much in common other than the cover. I see that the copy I shared last year had a bunch of text on the front cover that isn't on this new one, and maybe that's how I knew it was somehow different. I'm assuming this one is the original, since the name of the LP is actually what's written on the cover in the snow. And both production companies listed on the labels are in Cincinnati, so that's pretty much the only things these two releases have in common.  Perhaps a better sleuth than I can tie these two recordings together, otherwise I'm just going to guess that someone sold someone else a stock cover art. And believe me when I tell you I had to put a few hours worth of work into this cover to make it look halfway decent.  It had crayon writing and pencil scribblings all over it, along with some water stains and a burn mark.  Thankfully, most of that marring was in the snowy white areas so I was able to clone it out fairly easily. I think the final result is somewhat passable, though still not perfect. I get a little better at the Photoshop work each year, but it's hard to find the time to do all of it that needs done.  If you need some music to listen to while you perfect your Photoshop skills, this is The Cincinnati Strings-Christmas Love (General American Records GAR 11313, Stereo). Happy New Year, y'all!

1. Christmas Song
2. What Child Is This
3. Silent Night
4. Medley
5. O' Holy Night
6. Jingle Bells
7. Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. Carol Of The Bells
9. Jesu Bambino
10. White Christmas (AKA 'Twas The Night Before Christmas)
11. Adeste Fidelis

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