Blowfly - Blowfly's Christmas Party/Blowfly's New Years Party 12" - 1980

Here are a couple of naughty tracks for your New Years Eve party. Definitely not to be played for the wee kids.

Enjoy!

01 Blowfly's Christmas Party.m4a
02 Blowfly's New Year's Party.m4a

A Christmas Adventure In Disneyland

So yesterday I gave you an album full of Christmas hymns for a traditional Christmas eve. Today, for the grand finale of the season I'm going the opposite direction. Christmas at Disneyland. By the way, I've been living in Southern California for over a decade and I still haven't gone to Disneyland in December. This record is the closest I've gotten. That is sad.

Anyways, this record is a mix of story telling and songs. I love this record. The story is interestingly weird and contrived. There are a few absolutely great tunes as well, "Jingle Bones" being my favorite. So once all your presents are open and the afternoon boredom sinks in, escape to Disneyland with this record.

On a side note I just wanted to say, that this past month has been very fun sharing all of these records. I've gotten some of my best feedback and comments. It has been great hearing from people that I've helped make their Christmas or that I've brought back some great memories. It has already got me excited for next year. I have a lot more records to share and I've already started digitzing for next years extravaganza.

As for the regular blog, I hope to get back to posting pretty soon. I'll probably take a few days off, but I will be back soon. I've definitely got a great record to share for New Years. Anyways until then...

Enjoy!

01 All Aboard For Disneyland.m4a
02 Disneyland At Last.m4a
03 The Storybook Tree.m4a
04 Fantasyland.m4a
05 Once Upon A Dream.m4a
06 Jingle Bones.m4a
07 Escaping The Witch.m4a
08 Frontierland.m4a
09 Adventureland.m4a
10 The Jungle Tree.m4a
11 Tomorrowland.m4a
12 The Futuristic Christmas Tree.m4a
13 Home At Last On Christmas Morning.m4a

A Christmas Adventure In Disneyland.zip

Mahalia Jackson - Christmas With Mahalia

I thought today I'd give you something a little spiritual for Christmas Eve. Mahalia is one of the greatest gospel singers as far as I'm concerned, but then again I don't exactly know a lot of gospel singers. I do know that I love Mahalia. She sings with such passion and emotion. If you have any sort of intention of celebrating a non-secular Christmas, then this would be a great soundtrack to your Christmas eve.

Enjoy!

01 It Came Upon The Midnight Clear.mp3
02 O Holy Night.mp3
03 The First Noel.mp3
04 No Room In The Inn.mp3
05 Silver Bells.mp3
06 Happy Birthday To You, Our Lord.mp3
07 What Child Is This.mp3
08 White Christmas.mp3
09 Do You Hear What I Hear.mp3
10 Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming.mp3

Mahalia Jackson.zip

John Denver & The Muppets - A Christmas Together

I'm sure you can find this on CD and I'm sure you can find better copies than my rip and you should. This is a fun record especially if you grew up with the muppets. I know the muppets are still around and I know they have TV specials every now and again, but I don't get the sense that this generation really loves the muppets like the 80's generation did and does still. I loved The Muppet Show. I still absolutely love The Muppet Movie. If you haven't watched that film in a while, you really should do yourself a favor and rewatch it. I think you'd be surprised at how smart and post modern the humor is in the film. And the cameos are first class.

Anyways, here they team up with the late John Denver for s bunch of holiday classics. A lot of time when you have an album of standards you run into danger of just sounding like every other Christmas record, but that is not the case here simply because you have muppet voices singing the songs. The tracks that really feature Denver are also pleasant. I can't say I've ever been a huge John Denver fan, but I do have an album or two and I have to say I enjoy them. Here is turns in some typical gentle performances that set a peaceful Christmas mood. A good example it "A Baby Just Like You". I hadn't heard this song before, but I quite like it. They lyrics and the delivery are pretty good for the season.

Anyways, enough of my rambling. Get to listening. Only a few more days left of the Christmas extravaganza.

Enjoy!

01 Twelve Days Of Christmas.mp3
02 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.mp3
03 The Peace Carol.mp3
04 Christmas Is Coming.mp3
05 A Baby Just Like You.mp3
06 Deck The Halls.mp3
07 When The River Meets The.mp3
08 Little Saint Nick.mp3
09 Noel Christmas Eve 1913.mp3
10 The Christmas Wish.mp3
11 Medley_ Alfie The Christ.mp3
12 Silent Night, Holy Night.mp3
13 We Wish You A Merry Christmas.mp3

John Denver & The Muppets.zip

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

This is a fairly easy record to find. My copy is pretty crackly. Most are. I figure it is because they got a lot of play around the holidays and maybe were even left on the turntable collecting dust for days as a time. I'm making this assumption because the record is just chock full of great holiday standards. Just review the artists and you'll know that his is a 1st class record. Wish I could share a better copy, but this will give you a taste. Now go to your local thrift store and find a better copy.

The best track hands down for me is track 8 by Les Baxter's Balladeers. This song just cooks and leaves everything in the dust.

Enjoy!

01 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra.mp3
02 O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Jo Stafford.mp3
03 A Vision of Sugar Plums - Billy May.mp3
04 What Child Is This - The McGuire Sisters.mp3
05 The First Noel - Keely Smith.mp3
06 Deck The Halls - The Hi-Lo's.mp3
07 Jingle Bells - Sammy Davis Jr.mp3
08 Medley Go Tell It On The Mountain/How Should I Send Thee/Carol Of The Bells/Joy To The World - Les Baxter's Balladeers.mp3
09 Away In A Manger, Hark The Heral Angels Sing - Mavis Rivers.mp3
10 Adeste Fideles - Lou Monte.mp3
11 Cantique De Noel - Nelson Riddle.mp3
12 It Came Upon A Midnight - Rosemary Clooney.mp3
13 Peace On Earth and Silent Night - Dean Martin.mp3

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.zip

Herb Alpert - Christmas With Herb Alpert And The Tiguana Brass - 1968

You knew it had to eventually show up after posting all the knock offs. Here's the real deal. The brass that set the standard. You can find this on CD so buy it if you like it. Check it out on Amazon.

Enjoy!

01 Winter Wonderland.m4a
02 Jingle Bells.m4a
03 My Favorite Things.m4a
04 The Christmas Song.m4a
05 Las Mananitas.m4a
06 Sleigh Ride.m4a
07 The Bell That Couldn't Jingle.m4a
08 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.m4a
09 Jingle Bell Rock.m4a
10 Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring.m4a

Herb Alpert.zip

Don Ho - The Don Ho Christmas Album

This one is a no brainer if you see it in a record bin. Pick it up. It's Don Ho for goodness sake. He's got a voice like melted butter and then combine that with an ever so slight Hawaiian accent and then sprinkle on holiday songs and that is a recipe for some tasty holiday confection.

Enjoy!

01 The Song Of Christmas.mp3
02 Silver Bells.mp3
03 O Bambino.mp3
04 Christmas Is.mp3
05 It's Christmas Time Again.mp3
06 The Christmas Song.mp3
07 Mele Kalikimaka.mp3
08 The Christmas Gift.mp3
09 Merry Christmas Neighbor.mp3
10 This Christmas.mp3
11 Some Children See Him & Po La'i E (Silent Night).mp3

Don Ho.zip

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas

Simply one of the greatest Christmas records ever. Not really sure why I'm posting it because you can find this on CD I'm sure. This is of course ripped from LP. It's kind of dusty and crackly and not in the best condition, but that just adds to the flavor for me. This record is so great that you can really listen to it any time of year. It is just good jazz.

Enjoy!

01 O Tannenbaum.mp3
02 What Child Is This.mp3
03 My Little Drum.mp3
04 Linus And Lucy.mp3
05 Christmas Time Is Here.mp3
06 Christmas Time Is Here.mp3
07 Skating.mp3
08 Hark, The Herald Angels.mp3
09 Christmas Is Coming.mp3
10 For Elise.mp3
11 Christmas Song.mp3

Vince Guaraldi.zip

Wishing You A Merry Christmas

The record cover is kind of deceptive. It is pretty drab and dreary and gives no indication of the goodness inside. The record contains traditional classics all done pretty well. Doris Day on the first track is great. There are some fine instrumentals on the record as well. Production is all top notch.

"Go Tell Is On The Mountain" by Ray Coniff and his chorus is really fun. I think it is the highlight for me. I also like "Coventry Carol" which couldn't be more different. It is really an old fashioned traditional tune, but quite pretty.

The Brothers Four track reminds me of the singing statues in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. I'm sure that seems like a strange reference, but give it a listen and see if you don't think the same.

The last song by the Glad Singers has some great backing music. It reminds me of music from a 60's British crime film. It sounds like it could accompany a heist or the fancy get away after the heist. Images of "The Italian Job" come to mind.

Enjoy!

01 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Doris Day.mp3
02 Oh Tannenbaum - Percy Faith.mp3
03 Medley - Norman Luboff Choir.mp3
04 What Child Is This - Eileen Farrell.mp3
05 Go Tell It On The Mountain - Ray Conniff.mp3
06 The First Noel - Ed Sullivan Orchestra & Chorus.mp3
07 Coventry Carol - E. Power Biggs.mp3
08 God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - Brothers Four.mp3
09 Ave Maria - Liberace.mp3
10 We Three Kings Of Orient Are - The Glad Singers.mp3

Wishing You A Merry Christmas.zip

For A Musical Christmas

I'm guess this hasn't been re-released on CD since th cover does say "Special Collector's Edition". Does that really mean anything? I don't know.

What I do know is that I love the cover. I kind of wish the cover was just the Santa Jack in the Boxes and the pink block of text was on the back.

The music has a wide array of artists. I enjoy Floyd Cramer's subdued piano work on Silver Bells. The clear winner as the best song is Mary's Little Boy Child by Jim Reeves. The song has a great warm tone to it. Jim's velvet tones tell the story of the first Christmas in a beautiful way. I can listen to this song over and over. This was on my 2003 Christmas mix. Ah the memories. Jingle Bells by The Three Sons is another great cut. It is easy listening bliss. The song features a bunch of musical solos from different instruments, organ, electric keyboard, clarinet, electric guitar etc. The guitar solo is a highlight.

Enjoy!

01 Deck The Halls - Vic Damone.mp3
02 The First Noel - Melachrino Strings And Orchestra.mp3
03 God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen The Anita Kerr Singers.mp3
04 Silver Bells - Floyd Cramer.mp3
05 Medley Away In A Manger; I Saw Three Ships - Hugo Winterhalter, His Orchestra and Chorus.mp3
06 Wintertime And Christmas - John Gary.mp3
07 It Came Upon A Midnight - Dick Leibert - Radio Ciy Music Hall Organ.mp3
08 White Christmas - Living Strings.mp3
09 Mary's Little Boy Child - Jim Reeves.mp3
10 The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Hugo & Luigi Children's Chorus.mp3
11 Parade Of The Wooden Soldier - Arthur Fiedler - Boston Pops Orchestra.mp3
12 Medley Joy To The World; O Little Town Of Bethlehem - The Normon Luboff Choir.mp3
13 Jingle Bells - The Three Suns.mp3

For A Musical Merry Christmas,.zip

Captain Kangaroo - Merry Merry Christmas

This is one of those records that when I got it I knew that I would share it with whoever I could. I knew that there had to be plenty of people of my generation who had fond memories of Captain Kangaroo and especially Mr. Green Jeans. This record has plenty of banter between Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans and will bring back all those fond memories.

I wish this copy was in better condition, but oh well. I'll take what I can get. Its scratchy and pretty beaten up, but it is still very listenable and fun. There are lots of fun tracks. "I Want A Hippopotomous For Christmas" is one of my favorites. "Crackerjack Christmas" by Mr. Green Jeans is great just because it has the word Lolapolooza in it. "Santa's Other Reindeer" is pretty good. It is sung by Santa's reindeer. Who knew they had such fine vocal talents. I also like hearing the Captain's quick version of "Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol". Short and sweet. Have a listen. Find out which ones are your favorites.

Enjoy!

01 Merry Merry Merry Merry Christmas.mp3
02 Sleigh Ride.mp3
03 Crackerjack Christmas - Mr. Green Jeans.mp3
04 Little Fir Tree.mp3
05 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.mp3
06 When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter.mp3
07 I Want A Hippopotomous For Christmas.mp3
08 Jingle Bells.mp3
09 Santa's Other Reindeer.mp3
10 Pull Together.mp3
11 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.mp3
12 Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol.mp3
13 Silent Night.mp3
14 Deck The Halls.mp3
15 Joy To The World.mp3
16 Happy Little New Year.mp3
17 Reprise.mp3

Captain Kangaroo.zip

The Peter Pan Players & Chorus - A Christmas Carol

A little break from the music today. Here are three Christmas stories for you to enjoy. Don't really have much to say about them. I'm sure they are all familiar to you. The Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is quite a fun listen and is the longest taking up all of side 1.

Enjoy!

01 A Christmas Carol.m4a
02 The Fir Tree.m4a
03 The Little Match Girl.m4a

Mexicali Brass - Christmas With The Mexicali Brass

Another fine record in the tradition of Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass. It's a simple formula. Just replace Tijuana with Mexicali and pray people won't know the difference and buy the record.

So the honest assessment is that the record is good and serviceable, but it isn't as good as Herb would have done or even the Border Brass record I posted earlier. "The First Noel" is pretty good, though. I suggest that above the other tracks first. It made an appearance on my Christmas mix in 2006. Maybe some day I'll share that mix, but probably not this year. I've go too many other records to write about.

Enjoy!

01 Jingle Bells.mp3
02 O' Little Town Of Bethlehem.mp3
03 The First Noel.mp3
04 Hark, The Herald Angels.mp3
05 God Rest Ye Merry Gentle.mp3
06 White Christmas.mp3
07 O' Come All Ye Faithful.mp3
08 Deck The Halls.mp3
09 Joy To The World.mp3
10 Silent Night.mp3

Mexicali Brass.zip

Christmases Long Long Ago

I have an extra bonus today. Actually a few bonuses to be honest. Thought I'd share some of my mixes from previous years. So without a bunch of explanation and track listings, you'll have to just take it on faith that they are worth listening to. If you really want the track listings and you don't want to download the CD' covers that have the track listings e-mail me.

Enjoy.

Filichia 2003 Christmas Mix part 1.zip

Filichia 2003 Christmas Mix part 2.zip

Filichia 2006 Christmas Mix part 1.zip

Filichia 2006 Christmas Mix part 2.zip

Filichia Christmas CD 2007 Part 1.zip

Filichia Christmas CD 2007 Part 2.zip

Loretta Lynn - Country Christmas - 1966

I like a lot of these old country Christmas records. There is something homey and genuine about them. This is a pretty great record, but then again you can't really go wrong with Loretta Lynn. I'm guessing that this has been released on CD so look for it.

The title track "Country Christmas" along is a great reason to pick this record up. Another highlight to check out it "To Heck With Old Santa Claus". Loretta also does fine renditions of the standards.

Enjoy!

01 Country Christmas.mp3
02 Away In A Manger.mp3
03 Santa Claus Is Comin' Town.mp3
04 Silver Bells.mp3
05 Blue Christmas.mp3
06 It Won't Seem Like Chris.mp3
07 To Heck With Old Santa Claus.mp3
08 White Christmas.mp3
09 Frosty The Snow Man.mp3
10 Christmas Without Daddy.mp3
11 I Won't Decorate Your Christmas Tree.mp3
12 Gift Of The Blues.mp3

Loretta Lynn.zip

Henry Mancini Selects Great Songs Of Christmas - 1978

This record is a powerhouse of great voices. Karen Carpenter, Ella, Kate Smith, Leontyne Price. There is a lot of talent here. This is fairly easy record to find in the thrift store record bins and well worth the dollar. There really aren't any bad songs and you'll be pleased for sure.

Jingling Brass is a great track and for those who have given the SAP Music Christmas mix a listen will recognize it as one of the tracks on this years mix. It's a fine mixture or yule tide merriment and banjo. I know. It does sound like a perfect combo.

The Ed Ames track has a great electric piano thing going on that reminds me of the opening keyboards in the Partridge Family theme song. That should also give you a little reference for the 70's pop sound of the record. Even tracks like the one from Bing Crosby have a distinct 70's flare.

Enjoy!

01 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Henry Mancini Orchestra with Chorus.mp3
02 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Carpenters.mp3
03 Joy To The World - Robert Shaw Chorale.mp3
04 Irish Carol - Julie Andrews And The Andre Previn Orchestra.mp3
05 Silent Night - Perry Como.mp3
06 O Holy Night - Mantovani And His Orchestra.mp3
07 Ave Maria - Leontyne Price.mp3
08 Jingling Brass - Danny Davis, Nashville Brass.mp3
09 Christmas Is The Warmest - Ed Ames.mp3
10 White Christmas - Henry Mancini Orchestra With Chorus.mp3
11 Sleigh Ride - Ella Fitzgerald.mp3
12 The Christmas Song - John Gary.mp3
13 Silver Bells - Kate Smith.mp3
14 A Christmas Toast - Bing Crosby.mp3
15 What Are You Doing New Year - Henry Mancini Orchestra With Chorus.mp3

Henry Mancini Selects The Great Songs Of Christmas.zip

Disney Christmas Favorites - 1973

The whole first side of this record is dedicated to a re-release of a 1957 45 RPM EP called "Walt Disney's Christmas Concert" starring Ludwig Mousenksy and the All Mouse Symphony. Ludwig and his mouse friends sing and a familiar high pitched voice you may recognize as something Alvin and the Chipmunks did.

Pop culture is a funny thing, though. So much of the time everything comes down to timing. This is a great example of that. If you didn't know the timing of Ludwig you might think that this was Disney's attempt to do a knock of of the Chipmunks. However the irony is this. Ludwig Mousensky and the all mouse Symphony was conceived and released a year before Alvin and his buddies struck gold with their novelty Christmas hit. For what ever reason, this record didn't take off. Maybe the songs weren't as good, maybe it lacked a fun original Christmas song or maybe it was just timing. Anyways, the idea of speeding up voices to sound like little critters singing Christmas songs is hardly if ever credited to that record when the truth is that Alvin and The Chipmunks were the real knock off.

I have a book called "Mouse Tracks: The Story Of Walt Disney Records" that contains the following story.

Walt Disney himself came up with the idea for the big 1957 Christmas record release. "You see," Walt told Johnson (Jimmy Johnson) the previous summer, "there's this bunch of mice who live in the basement of a recording studio. They sing, they play instruments, and when everyone goes home at night they make records. We can use the sped-up voice technique we used for the mice in Cinderella." Johnson and Cammarate set to work on Walt Disney's Christmas Concert, and extended-play 45-rpm release starring "Ludwig Mousensky and the All-Mouse Orchestra."

Jimmy Macdonald provided many (if not all) of the voices, drawing from his experience as Jaq and us in Cinderella. The EP combines familiar holiday music with short comic introductions featuring the sometimes-unruly musicians and Ludwig (whose accent drops in and out). Achieving the proper sound required some recording studio technical know-how. Camarata explained how this efect was obtained: "The established tempo at which the orchestra was recorded was at one-third the 15 IPS (inches of tape running through the recording machine per second). The orchestration was pitched one-third lower than the original key, so that it would return to the original key when played at 1 IPS." He continued, "Most of the voices were overdubbed at the 7 1/2 IPS speed, in the orchesra key, while others were done in natural falsetto by Gloria Wood. The choice of the key adn temp at which we recorded was determined by breaking down the 15IPS speed into increments of three." The album included an illustrated story booklet by Disney story artist Bill Peet. It featured a backstory that claimed, "The engineers at Disneyland Records kept picking up faint musical strains on their ultra-sensitive equipment, and finally tracked the noises to the All-Mouse Orchestra, which was performing under a staircase in the basement."

Walt was disappointed in the finished product, saying, "I've never known a musician with a sense of humor." The public did not flock to buy the recording, and Johnson later reasoned that one reason for its tepid reception was that the recording never identified the performers as mice. Without looking at the record cover, it's hard to figure out just by listening to the album what the characters are supposed to be doing. Two other missing factors were catchy original song and engaging character personalities, both of which wer honed to perfection the following year by actor/composer Ross Bagdasarian, alias David Seville. "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," on Liberty records, won three Grammy Awards and was the fastest selling record hit of the era. Walt never stopped ribbing Johnson about the misfire.

So there you have it. The full story of Ludwig and the 1957 release. If you like learning about Disney records I highly recommend "Mouse Tracks" it is well written and has lots of great stories and details. Find it on Amazon. There's also a whole website dedicated to the book at www.mousetracksonline.com.

Side two has some fun songs by Cliff Edwards (Jimminy Cricket), Louis Prima and The Witches Three. Louis Prima's Senor Santa Claus is an absolute classic. If you haven't heard it before you are sure to like it.

The last song "Jingle Bones" I think is another groundbreaking song. For me it is the precursor to all the songs in "A Nightmare Before Christmas" because it mixes Halloween and Christmas Themes. It's also really really catchy and will get stuck in your head, so be warned. Also be warned that because this is a Disney record, you might want to get this while you can because who knows how long it will stay up.

Enjoy!

01 Jingle Bells - Ludwig Mousensky And The All Mouse Symphony.m4a
02 Winter Wonderland - Ludwig Mousensky And The All Mouse Symphony.m4a
03 Hark The Herald Angels Sing - Ludwig Mousensky And The All Mouse Symphony.m4a
04 O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Ludwig Mousensky And The All Mouse Symphony.m4a
05 O Come All Ye Faithful - Ludwig Mousensky And The All Mouse Symphony.m4a
06 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Mike Sammes Singers.m4a
07 Kris Kringle - Cliff Edwards.m4a
08 Jolly Old Saint Nicholas - Disneyland Chorus.m4a
09 'Twas The Night Before Christmas - Cliff Edwards.m4a
10 Senor Santa Claus - Louis Prima.m4a
11 Jingle Bones - Witches Three.m4a

Disney Christmas Favorites.zip

Sergio Franchi - The Heart Of Christmas

I love Sergio Franchi. I've written that before on this blog, so this isn't news to any long time readers. Sergio has one of the great tenor voices in music history as far as I'm concerned. Add to that his Italian accent and you've got a winning combination. Now add on top of that Christmas and I'm in heaven. The opening track "Buon Natale" is absolutely fantastic. It combines all three of those elements perfectly. Also because of the Italian slant, it is a song you won't hear on many other Christmas albums.

The rest of the songs are also good and can add a little European flavor to your Christmas season.

Enjoy!

01 Buon Natale.mp3
02 The Heart Of Christmas.mp3
03 It Came Upon a Midnight.mp3
04 Panis Angelicus.mp3
05 Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem.mp3
06 Away In A Manger.mp3
07 Medley.mp3
08 Ave Maria.mp3
09 The First Noel.mp3
10 Silent Night.mp3
11 O Come All Ye Faithful.mp3
12 The Lord's Prayer.mp3

Sergio Franchi.zip

The Enchantment Of Christmas

Go to any thrift store and the bins are filled with these types of Christmas compilation records. Some are good and some are not so good. The ones from Firestone, which I think were give aways are all over the place.

There are a lot of good tracks on here, but if I had to choose one best song it would be "Away In A Manger" by Kitty Wells. She has just a little country twang in her voice, but the rendition is simple, sincere and beautiful.

The Trapp Family Singers do a beautiful version of "Angels We Heard On High". I love that carol a lot because of that run of notes during the "Gloria" part of the chorus.

"The Birthday Of A King" by Judy Garland is also quite beautiful. Her voice is pretty hard to beat. The song also is not heard very often, but is a powerful song in the right hands. Judy does it right.

Louis Armstrong's "Winter Wonderland" is great. Probably have heard it on other occasions.

I also love Brenda Lee. I grew up on Christmas records that had Brenda Lee on them and so to me she and Christmas go hand in hand. "Silver Bells" is good here, but if you come across any of her other Christmas songs, check those out as well.

Enjoy!

01 Jingle Bells - Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians.mp3
02 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Jack Jones.mp3
03 Angels We Have Heard On - The Trapp Family Singers.mp3
04 Away In A Manger - Kitty Wells.mp3
05 Ave Maria - The McGuire Sisters.mp3
06 O Come All Ye Faithful - Four Aces Featuring Al Alberts.mp3
07 The Birthday Of A King - Judy Garland.mp3
08 We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Columbus Boys Choir.mp3
09 Silent Night - Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians.mp3
10 Auld Lang Syne - Ames Brothers.mp3
11 Winter Wonderland - Louis Armstrong and Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra.mp3
12 The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) - Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music.mp3
13 I'll Be Home For Christmas - Pete Fountain.mp3
14 Silver Bells - Brenda Lee.mp3
15 Toyland - Roger Williams.mp3
16 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Sammy Kaye And His Orchestra.mp3
17 Happy Holiday - Bing Crosby.mp3

The Enchantment Of Christmas - Side 1.zip
The Enchantment Of Christmas - Side 2.zip

Slim Boyd & The Rangehands - Christmas Country Styl

This record has one of my most favorite Christmas songs of all time. "Wagon On Christmas" is simply a great song let along a great Christmas song. I love the cowboy flavor. The chorus is very catchy and singable. The Chorus also just reminds me of some of the great old Western TV shows. Brings to mind a little bit of Sons Of The Pioneers.

The whole album has that cowboy take on Christmas tunes, that makes it different than a lot of the other Christmas records in my collection.

Don't know much about Slim Boyd & The Rangehands, but this record must be one of their shining moments. There isn't even a wikipedia or allmusic.com entry on them. Would love any insight someone may have on them. But even without the biography, it is okay, because the record speaks for itself. Seriously check out "Wagon On Christmas" first.

Enjoy!

01 Go Tell It To The Mountain.mp3
02 On December 5 and 20.mp3
03 Wagon On Christmas.mp3
04 I Heard The Bells On Christmas.mp3
05 Jeanette Isabella.mp3
06 Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.mp3
07 The Night Before Christmas.mp3
08 A Santa Claus Greeting.mp3
09 Have A Merry, Merry Christmas.mp3
10 Silent Night.mp3

Slim Boyd & The Rangehands.zip

Frankie Yankovic - Christmas Party

What a great combination, Polka and Christmas. Here America's Polka King serves up a big heaping helping of holiday polka fair and as the title indicates, it is a party.

The whole record is fun. The Medley's are particularly fun and crazy. "Blue Christmas" and "Christmas Chopsticks" are a couple good ones to start with.

Enjoy!

01 Jing-A-Ling (Christmas Time Is Here Again).m4a
02 The Merry Christmas Polka.m4a
03 Blue Christmas.m4a
04 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.m4a
05 Jingle Bells Polka.m4a
06 Christmas Polka.m4a
07 There'll Always Be A Christmas.m4a
08 Christmas Chopsticks.m4a
09 Christmas Lullaby.m4a
10 Medley_ The First Noel - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Away In A Manger - We Three Kings.m4a
11 Medley_ O Come, All Ye Faithful, Good King Wenceslas - Ihr Kinderlein Kommet.m4a
12 Medley_ Joy To The World - Dech The Halls With Boughs Of Holly - God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.m4a

Frankie Yankovic.zip

The Lennon Sisters - Christmas With The Lennon Sister

I love this record. It is pure pop vocal happiness. The Lennon Sisters were staples of the Lawrence Welk Show which featured plenty of easy listening vocal groups like The Lennon Sisters.

The Wikipedia entry on the Lennon Sisters tells some interesting stories of how they got on the Lawrence Welk show. Lawrence's son knew them and so he brought them to the attention of his father. Also there is an interesting story about how a producer approached them to do a sitcom called "My Four Daughters". They turned it down and the producer turned the show into "My Three Sons".

Anyways, they make beautiful harmonies and music with all these holiday classics. They do great with the more serious songs like "Adeste Fideles" and "Silent Night", but they really shine with the lighter fair such as "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and "Christmas Island".

The Lennon Sisters are still around these 50 some odd years later. Find out what they are doing on their website.

Enjoy!

01 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.mp3
02 The Little Drummer Boy.mp3
03 Christmas Island.mp3
04 Adeste Fideles.mp3
05 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.mp3
06 Silent Night.mp3
07 White Christmas.mp3
08 Jingle Bells.mp3
09 Away In A Manger.mp3
10 Hark! The Herald Angels.mp3
11 Winter Wonderland.mp3
12 O Little Town Of Bethlehem.mp3
13 Joy To The World.mp3
14 I'll Be Home For Christmas.mp3

Lennon Sisters.zip