I Can't Spell Marguerite

One of the albums I shared with you yesterday featured a track by Marguerite Piazza, a name that sounded familiar yet I didn't know much about her. An internet search tells me she was an opera singer from New Orleans who later sought her fame in NYC, reaching a national audience with Sid Caeser on Your Show Of Shows in the Fifties. Not sure how I knew the name as this was way before my time, but sometimes weird things pop out of my head. I was a little surprised to find her recording Christmas music for a budget label in the mid Seventies, but here's the proof. This is Marguerite Piazza-Christmas With Love (Classic Christmas CCR-1933, Stereo, 1977). I can't tell you how many ways I have messed up the spelling of her name in this post and in the tagging of the tracks. I still won't guarantee that it's correct, but maybe it's close.

1. Jingle Bells
2. Silent Night
3. Joy To The World
4. What Child Is This
5. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
7. Good King Wenceslas
8. Angels We Have Heard On High
9. Away In The Manager
10. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
11. Deck The Halls
12. The First Noel
13. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

MEGA

From Our Nation's Capitol

Here's another case of what to share after a really good record. I don't think this is a bad record, but it certainly isn't something that's straight up my alley. Anytime a record advertises what part the singers sings, that's sort of a turnoff. But I believe in giving everything a try, and so should you. This is Fague Springmann With Scripture Readings By Dr. Carl McIntire-Song In The Air (Reformation Records RR 1007S Stereo). I should also point out that this record has ties to Washington DC. Dunno if the artist is based there or if it was just recorded in a hall there, but that's kind of neat. And do you think the Paul Michelson credited here is the same guy as Paul Mickelson? We'll be hearing from him later in the year.

1. Medley Of Carols: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Silent Night; Joy To The World
2. Virgin Slumber Song
3. I Wonder As I Wander
4. Let Us Behold Him: O Come, All Ye All Faithful; The First Noel; We Three Kings
5. Scripture Reading: Luke 1, 30-38
6. O Holy Night
7. A Christmas Cradle Song
8. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
9. Jesu, Joy Of Man Desiring
10. Scripture Reading: St. John 1, 1-14

MEGA

For Betters Or For Worse

Some days I really just have no idea what is in my collection and what's not. Two years ago I shared a record that was the third entry in a short series of Christmas records put out by a small grocery chain up north. I had no idea that I already had the second entry in the series right there in my collection all along, just waiting to be rediscovered. I've hunted and hunted and I don't think I have the first record in the series, but I'm going to keep looking. I know it's out there and I have every intention of finding it one of these days, and at a reasonable price. (I'm friends with a record dealer on FB and he has two copies, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay his price knowing that I found two of them for a buck or so each. I'm cheap, what can I say?) Like Walt Harper two years ago, Harold Betters was a jazz musician centered in the Pittsburgh area who released quite a few records on the same Gateway label that produced this record I have for you today. He even appears to have hit the Hot 100 at one time in 1964 according to this Wikipedia article (which doesn't mention either Christmas album among his discography, though Discogs does). I think it's a very enjoyable album and not something you're going to come across every day. Please download and enjoy Harold Betters-Open Pantry Has Betters Again This Christmas (Gateway for Open Pantry GQP-1034, Stereo, 1968).

1. Little Drummer Boy  

2. Joy To The World  

3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing  

4. Winter Wonderland  

5. Silver Bells  

6. Jolly Old St. Nicholas  

7. O Holy Night  

8. All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth  

9. O Come All Ye Faithful  

10. We Wish You A Merry Christmas  

MEGA

Sweet Swisher

Kind of a stupid story with this next record. I found it in my collection a few years ago but the record was missing from the sleeve. I knew the cover looked familiar and it didn't take long to connect it this old share with the same cover, some of the same music, and a message from a different person. It looked to me like a company out of Charlotte, NC, was selling a package where they would press your company message up on some vinyl with a selection of music to which they owned the rights. Then you could give it away or sell it or whatever. They must not have done too many versions or sold a lot of copies because these are the only ones I've ever come across. Maybe not many of them made it out of North Carolina, but I feel like I'd have come across more if they were common. But getting back to the original story, all I had was a sleeve and I didn't remember if it was like that when I bought it or not. Fast forward to a couple years later and a record pops out of the collection with no sleeve, and it turns out to be the missing record! It must have slid out of the sleeve at some point when I was trying to pull the album from the stacks, and had just been sitting there all this time. Took a few more weeks before I was able to unite the vinyl with it's cover, but I eventually got the package put back together and recorded. So if you want to hear some wheezy old organ selections and an important message from the president of the Consolidated Credit Corporation, please download An Old Fashioned Christmas (Consolidated Credit Corporation/Arthur Smith Studios 6-7139/6-6954, Mono). Swisher's short message was spread out over an entire side of this LP and all the musical selections were on the flip side. At least with the other similar record I found, they added a few bonus musical selection to help fill up the space on side one. I suspect you had to pay extra to use more songs and these guys chose not to spend their money on that. (Look, there's a third version on Discogs! Now I need to find that one!)

1. A.T. Swisher-A Message From A.T. Swisher
2. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-Joy To The World
3. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-Hark The Herald Angels Sing
5. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-Away In A Manger
6. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
7. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
8. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly
9. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-The First Noel
10. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-O Come All Ye Faithful
11. Ted Smith At The Piano And Organ-Silent Night

MEGA

Hidden Buddy & Bunny

One more record to share with you before we leave the swingin' Gatlinburg world of Buddy & Bunny Burden. You won't see their names in the credits of this album, but it's them performing under the name Rockin' Organs. I don't think this is a unique version of the song Christmas Polka, but I couldn't help but include in our little survey today. Lots of other interesting names here as well, we might need to dig into this one a little deeper. This is A Christmas To Remember (Classic Christmas CCR 1944, Stereo). In true budget label fashion, this entire record was also stuffed into sleeves where it was titled 1st Annual Christmas Concert. On my copy at least, the vinyl labels were not updated and still called it by the old name. Whoops, sorry, look like I got that backwards. Maybe 1st Annual Christmas Concert came out first, since that's what the labels say, then it was retitled A Christmas To Remember later on. That makes a little more sense with the evidence at hand.

1. Christmas Brass-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2. Tennessee Horns-Jingle Bells Disco Rock
3. The Boogie Band-Rock Around The Christmas Tree (With Me)
4. Rockin' Organs (AKA Buddy & Bunny Burden)-Christmas Polka
5. Fagan & The Belmonts-(Dancin) In A Winter Wonderland
6. Nashville Guitars-Jolly Ole St. Nicholas
7. Hollywood Strings-Ave Maria
8. Hand Bell Choir-I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
9. Harmonicats (AKA The Don Les Harmonicats)-Silent Night
10. Nashville Piano Section-We Three Kings
11. Jordonaires-O Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. Marguerite Piazza-What Child Is This
13. Hillsboro Singers-Away In A Manger

MEGA

In The News

Look at me, I'm famous! I merited a post on Facebook from a Christmas buddy of mine. Just to set the record straight though, I don't have anything to do with Buster's Big 10 Inch blog. We've worked together on a couple of posts this year, but his place is his and my place is mine. They are both worthy of your time. Thank you, Randy, for the mention!

Yet More Buddy, Yet More Bunny

You know what, I bet I can dig up even more Buddy & Bunny Burden for you. Turns out there are two more tracks on this compilation. One of them is a whole new track, and the other is a vocal version of a song that's an instrumental on the other albums. Not sure how much interest the other songs on this LP may hold for you, but they're not bad. Some names here that I'm sure you'll recognize. Bobby Russell, Bill Purcell, The Harmonicats! Give it a try, I'm sure you'll enjoy A Family Christmas Album-Something For Everybody (Halo Records HALO 1007, Stereo).

1. Bobby Russell-The Christmas Song

2. The Singleton Singers-12 Days Of Christmas

3. Bunny And Buddy Burden-Christmas Card

4. J.T. Adams-It's Christmas Time

5. Bill Pursell-Silent Night

6. Bobby Russell-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

7. Ray Walker, Margie Singleton & Prissy Reed-Jingle Bells

8. Bunny And Buddy Burden-Christmas Polka

9. The Music City Choir-Deck The Halls

10. The Don Les Harmonicats-Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

MEGA

More Buddy, More Bunny

I'm not sure if I knew about this second Buddy & Bunny album back in the day, but if I did, I'm sure I thought it was just a reissues of the first. Turns out that it's not, though. Well, most of it is. This record omits two tracks from the LP I shared earlier (I'll Be Home For Christmas and Silver Bells), but they add Silent Night to this one. So you get a bonus track if you combine this LP with the other one. It's not every day that you find a new track from long ago, but here you go! This is Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Organs (Halo Records HALO 1006, Stereo).

1. White Christmas
2. Frosty The Snowman
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. Jingle Bell Rock
5. Sleigh Ride
6. The Christmas Polka
7. The Christmas Song
8. Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer
9. Silent Night
10. Jingle Bells

MEGA

The Return Of Buddy

I'm remastering one of my favorite shares here, something from my very first year here at the blog, 2005. Seems fitting that I should return to it here in 2025. This is a swinging organ-based album from the night club act Buddy and Bunny Burden. Gatlinburg, TN was not the tourist trap then that it is now, but it was still the place to be. These two entertained nightly and recorded a couple of albums including this Christmas entry. Buddy played the organ while Bunny played the drums and sometimes sang. Well, I think both of them were multi-instrumentalists, but that's where they concentrated. Buddy is still alive and with us, retired to Florida like so many folks of his generation. Last I spoke to him, he's still playing the organ and entertaining every chance he gets. I've always enjoyed this album and am proud to bring it back to you a sparkling remaster tonight. This is Buddy & Bunny Burden-Christmas Favorites (Modern Sound Christmas Album #5, Stereo). Stay tuned for more from this duo!

1. White Christmas
2. Frosty The Snowman
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. Jingle Bell Rock
5. Sleigh Ride
6. Silver Bells
7. Christmas Polka
8. The Christmas Song
9. Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer
10. I'll Be Home For Christmas
11. Jingle Bells

MEGA

Anchor Store

When I was growing up, Sears was a large anchor store at the mall. For a few generations before mine, Sears was a giant catalog that you ordered everything you needed from, whether is was a car, a prefab house, overalls or baking supplies. I wasn't sure if there were even any stores left out there but a quick web search tells me the nearest one is over 100 miles away, but they're happy to let me order anything I want online (though to be honest, I don't see anything I need that I can get cheaper elsewhere online). I don't ever remember seeing records in their store, but they must have carried them at one point or another as evidenced by this Christmas release. It's the sort of silky smooth string record that some folks seem to really enjoy, but it's hard to tell one from the next. Maybe that's right up your alley and you can't get enough. If so, download and enjoy Sears Golden Strings-White Christmas (Sears SPSX-503, Stereo).

Update: I found this record in the 1966 Sears Christmas catalog, page 340! It's down at the bottom of the page. Not sure if this was new that year or not, but there it is! Cost $1.69 in either stereo or mono. Cool! Lots of great stuff to see in these catalogs. 

1. Jingle Bells  

2. White Christmas  

3. March Of The Toys  

4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town  

5. Toyland  

6. The First Noel  

7. Silent Night  

8. O Come All Ye Faithful  

9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem  

10. We Three Kings Of Orient Are  

11. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing  

12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear  

13. Angels We Have Heard On High  

14. Jingle Bells 

MEGA

Where's Mokena?

Whoa, is it early. The things I do for you Christmas music lovers. I'm going to post this and go back to bed for another hour. Sometimes the cover of a record is just too good to pass up, especially if it's cheap in a thrift store. My collection is filled with such things and that's the pile this record came from. Isn't that a great cover? A lot of homemade greatness right there. I didn't realize until much later that the vinyl is a beautiful translucent green, adding to the goodness of this package. It may just be a bunch of kids singing, but it's still a great record for your collection. This is Christmas In Mokena (No Label WFC-763 Green Vinyl, Stereo, 1967). Great song selection here, too. Some things I don't think I've heard before. By the way, Mokena appears to be a small city in the Chicago exurbs, way southwest of town. Now you know.

1. Morning Kindergarten-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Santa's Workshop
2. First Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-The Angel Bank
3. Second Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Zumba, Zumba
4. Third Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-How Far Is It To Bethlehem?
5. Afternoon Kindergarten-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Christmas Bells
6. Fifth Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-The Babe Of Bethlehem
7. Fifth Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Go Tell It On The Mountain
8. Fourth Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Burgundian Carol
9. Fourth Grade-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-The Wassail Song
10. Dave Guth-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-A 'Soalin
11. The Singing Meteors-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Glory To God
12. The Singing Meteors-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Do You Hear What I Hear?
13. The Singing Meteors-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Ukranian (SIC) Bell Carol
14. The Singing Meteors-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Christmas Day
15. Sixth Grade Chorus-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-The Holly And The Ivy
16. Sixth Grade Chorus-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Ding Dong Merrily On High
17. Sixth Grade Chorus-Sharon Connolly, Director-Alma McCarthy, Pianist-Sleep Little Tiny King

MEGA

Jeanne & John

Many times this month I'm going to tell you about little surprises that popped up as I was recording my Christmas music for sharing this year. This is another one of those little coincidences that keep things interesting. You'll note that this album is by the same two folks as that last record, only this time they're credited under their full names. It wasn't until well into the editing process that I realized I had two albums by this same not-a-couple. Pretty sure I didn't buy these two records together, didn't have them on the shelf together, didn't know they had anything to do with each other until I noticed the two similar names. But a little investigation showed that I had two of a kind, and that's about the best hand I can hope for. (Well, that's not true, already this season I've shown up a time or two with four of a kind, and full houses aren't all that rare. So I guess two of a kind isn't going to beat a Yahtzee very often). Anyhow, here's another LP from this pair, John McKay & Jeanne Rogers-The Spirit Of Christmas (Master Music MM-1010-LPS, Stereo). I'll go ahead and make a little bit of fun of their outfits again, though I have to mention that I think I had a light blue suit like that when I was a kid. It was the Seventies, what can I say?

1. There's A Song In The Air; Joy To The World
2. Go Tell It On The Mountain
3. I Wonder As I Wander
4. Angels We Have Heard On High
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
6. We'll Sing About Jesus; Jesus Is Born
7. O Holy Night
8. We Three Kings
9. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
10. Deck The Halls
11. Jingle Bells; We Wish You A Merry Christmas

MEGA

John & Jeanne

Here's a fun album from a couple who are married to different people. I guess that means they aren't a couple, but if you're like me, every time you see a man and a woman singing together, you just assume they're a couple. How 'bout those outfits though? That's half the fun of these old records. High fashion at the time is pretty weird from today's vantage point. Enjoy it while you can, pretty sure your kids will be making fun of you in old pictures someday. This is John & Jeanne-Our Favorite Christmas Carols (Master Music MM-1004-LPS, Stereo). Enjoy, and come back soon.

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

MEGA

Lutheran Day, Part 4

Time for the final installment of Lutheran-fest today. I don't know if this is the best of the bunch, but sure do love the cover. And you can't tell from the scan, but it was also the glossiest cover of them all. This thing looked like the hood of a '57 Corvette with ten coats of gloss clear on it.  The music? Well, it's some local choirs doing their best. Don't say I didn't warn you. But it sure does look nice. This is Because It's Christmas (Delta XCTV-63356/63357, Mono).

1. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Our Father  
2. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-We've Been A While A-Wandering  
3. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Keeping Holy Vigil  
4. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-An Austrian Cradle Song  
5. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-A Joyous Christmas Song (Sung In Norwegian)  
6. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-De Glory Manger  
7. Luther North A Cappella Choir-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Alleluia  
8. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-The Godly Stranger  
9. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Slovak Carols  
10. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Hosanna To The Son Of David  
11. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-A Spotless Rose  
12. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Lullaby Song  
13. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Heavenly Night  
14. The Lutheran Choir Of Chicago-Directed By Gerhard P. Schroth-Song Of Mary

MEGA

Lutheran Day, Part 3

Time for the third installment of today's celebration of Lutherans and Christmas music. It may seem like a weird combination but it works, that's all I know.  This is the second installment of Christmas music from our friends at The Lutheran Brotherhood, though I should have shared this one first since I expect it same earlier. More of the same good stuff though. This is The Lutheran Brotherhood Singers-Christmas (Lutheran Brotherhood 5-5982, Stereo, 1966).

1. Carol Of The Mistletoe Singers  

2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing  

3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem  

4. Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head  

5. Hasten Now, Ye Shepherds  

6. Good King Wenceslas  

7. O Come, All Ye Faithful  

8. Noel: Rise From Thy Crib  

9. Silent Night  

10. A Joyous Christmas Song  

11. In Bethlehem  

12. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen  

13. O, Ru-Ru-Ru, My Little Jesu  

14. I Saw Three Ships  

15. In Her Arms  

16. Masters In This Hall  

17. A Merry Christmas  

MEGA

Lutheran Day, Part 2

As promised, here's the second installment of music by Lutherans for Lutherans. Well, anyone can enjoy it if they give it a try, and you certainly should. Reading the liner notes on this one, I understand it's produced by some sort of insurance collective for Lutheran church members. I don't know all the details, but it seems like an interesting idea. Hoping one of me readers can chime in with some more details since I'm too lazy to do the research myself. This is The Lutheran Brotherhood Singers-Christmas With The Lutheran Brotherhood Singers (Lutheran Brotherhood E-504, Stereo).

1. Festive Procession  
2. Hodie Christus Natus Est  
3. Prayer On Christmas Eve  
4. The Snow Lay On The Ground  
5. Holly Tree  
6. A Boy Was Born  
7. O Little Town Of Bethlehem  
8. While Shepherds Watched  
9. Cherry Tree Carol  
10. Fum, Fum, Fum  
11. Silent Night, Holy Night  
12. The Lord Is A Mighty God  
13. There Shall A Star  
14. Three Movements From Gloria: Gloria  
15. Three Movements From Gloria: Et In Terra Pax  
16. Three Movements From Gloria: Cum Sancto Spiritu  
17. Alfred Burt Carols: Caroling, Caroling; All On A Christmas Morning; We'll Dress The House  
18. Glory Alleluia  

MEGA

Lutheran Day, Part 1

Welcome to part one of our special celebration of Lutherans! Don't ask me how they got their own day, when no other religions even get mentioned around here very much. I guess the only reason I can offer is that I somehow ended up with four records that have pretty specific connections to Lutherans and they all wound up in the share pile. We start out with this goody that's typical of the Word label, a Christian outfit that caters to all believers (and non-believers, too, I guess). It's good stuff, but there's better stuff to come. Well, better is a subjective thing. I'll just say that the covers get shinier and more attractive. This is Lutheran Hour Choir-Christmas Carols (Word W-4020-LP, Mono, 1962).

1. A Child Is Born In Bethlehem  
2. Joy To The World  
3. The First Noel  
4. What Child Is This  
5. Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming  
6. Angels From The Realms Of Glory  
7. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear  
8. Medley: O Come All Ye Faithful And O Thou Joyful Day  
9. Thee With Tender Care I'll Cherish  
10. Gabriel's Message  
11. Babe Of Beauty  
12. Coventry Carol  
13. Before The Paling Of The Stars  
14. Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head  
15. As Lately We Watched  
16. Praise God, The Lord, Ye Sons Of Men  

MEGA

It's Snowing!

Time for some more late-night listening. What can I dig up for you this fine evening? Here's a nice remaster from back in the day, 2008 to be exact. I'm sure I've brought it back a few times since then, but I don't think I've ever remastered it for you and that's exactly what I've done for you tonight. It's a brand new rip and a brand new scan for 2025. About the only think I remember about this release from back in 2008 is that I had to do some work to get that big red W on the front cover. For some reason, it was obscured on my copy and I had to scan a different release and drop it in on the cover. This year, I initially scanned the same copy with plans to do the same sort of cut-and-paste job as back then, but a second copy showed up in the archives later and I was able to get a good scan after all. Not that my scans are the greatest this year anyway. I think my scanner is getting old. Everything is coming out too dark and I'm screwing up the colors a bit when I lighten the image. It's not the worst year of scans I've ever had, but it's not the best. I'm also doing far to many records to spend a lot of time on each scan. That's not to say I haven't spent multiple hours on some of them, but not many. Some of them were just unpresentable in their initial state, usually because the record had ben drawn on or taped up somehow. There's always something to clean up. The scanning process seems to highlight every single flaw in a cover, even if you thought it was pristine when you put it on the glass. Maybe I'm just too picky. Anyhow, this is The Henry Snow Singers-The Little Drummer Boy And Other Christmas Favorites (Whitehall (Westminster) WH 20023, Mono, 1959).

1. The Little Drummer Boy
2. Adeste Fidelis
3. Away In A Manger
4. Joy To The World!
5. The First Noel
6. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
7. Silent Night
8. Deck The Halls
9. O! Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
11. Angels We Have Heard On High
12. Good King Wenceslas
13. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
14. Holly Green (And Cotton Candy White)

MEGA

Missed One

Uh oh, I just noticed that I didn't have a share ready to pop up in the 8 pm time slot this evening. You probably wouldn't notice, but I did. Let me see what I can throw up here real fast. It'll just be a few minutes late. I have so much stuff here, surely I can find something to post real quick. Here's a fundraising album for a children's home somewhere around here local, though I'm not quite sure where. I need to go back and read the liner notes but I'm in a bit of a hurry to get this up. Take a look at the scans in the download and you'll know more about this than I do. I remember there being some fun stuff on here. It's a combination of kids singing and some adults associated with the home as well, so don't be afraid to give it a listen. This is Dr. Lindy A. McGowan & Lighthouse Childrens' Home-His Children At Christmas (Land O' Roses ALG 68-35, Stereo). I feel like this is a double stock cover. We've seen this overall design before, as well as the ornament picture inside the main design being used as the entire cover. Weird.

1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. Away In A Manger
3. Consider The Lilies
4. He Loves Me
5. If That Isn't Love
6. Heavenly Father I Appreciate You
7. Alleliuah-Silent Night (Medley)
8. Jesus Christ Is Coming Again
9. Silver Bells
10. Jingle Bells
11. Rudolph
12. White Christmas
13. It's Bubbling
14. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

MEGA

Agway

I've got another record here for you that I picked up just for the cover. It's a great example of that Seventies design aesthetic that used weird earthy colors. I think this is exactly the sort of color palette that Miami Vice came along and destroyed in the early Eighties with all their pastel pinks. But it's a nice design even if the colors are odd by today's standards. This is The Hamilton College Male Choir, Brass Choir, Woodwinds, Strings And Organ-An American Christmas (A Lexington Productions Recording/Agway Holiday Heritage Series LS1607, Stereo, 1967). Agway appears to have been a local store of some sort, I think they still exist today. And even though this is listed as part of a special holiday series, there is only this one entry as far as I can tell.

1. Joy To The World
2. Silent Night
3. Gloria In Excelsis Deo
4. Sir Christemas
5. Three Carols For Brass: In Thee Is Gladness; All My Heart This Christmas Rejoices; Unto Us A Child Is Born
6. Schlaf Mein Kindelein (Sleep, Little Child)
7. Brothers, Lift Your Voices
8. In Dulci Jubilo (Good Christian Men, Rejoice)
9. Adeste Fideles
10. The Kings Fanfare
11. Angels We Have Heard On High
12. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
13. In The Bleak Midwinter
14. What Child Is This
15. Hodie Aparuit (Today He Appeared)
16. The Heavens Are Telling
17. Of The Father's Love Begotten
18. Schlaf Wohl (Sleep Well)
19. Sing We Noel
20. La Serafina (The Angel)
21. Coventry Carol
22. Three Kings

MEGA