Guitars Inc. - Guitars At Christmas - 1959

I picked up this record this past year.  I honestly can't remember if I bought it or if it was one of the many records that were given to me this year.  I'm leaning toward buying it.  Guitars Inc. was a group of studio guitar players here in LA back in the day.  From what I've read, they were some of the better musicians.  The group consisted of Al Hendrickson, Howard Roberts, Bobby Gibbons, Tommy Tedesco & Bill Pitman.  This is a very fun instrumental record.  The arrangements are light and playful.  I will be using some of these tracks in Christmas mixes in the future for sure.


Enjoy!

Guitars At Christmas

Password - sapmusic2013

Miguel Aceves Mejia - El Gallo Colorado

A little something for Cinco de Mayo. You gotta love a record with a cock fight on the cover. 'Nuff said.

Enjoy!

01 La Malaguena.m4a
02 Ni El Dinero Ni Nadie.m4a
03 Adorado Tormento.m4a
04 El Gallo Colorado.m4a
05 Homenaje A Pedro Infante.m4a
06 Eso Merece Un Trago.m4a
07 Fiesta En El Corazon.m4a
08 Amor Se Dice Cantando.m4a
09 La Cecilia.m4a
10 Esta Sellado.m4a
11 Prieta Linda.m4a
12 La Espiga.m4a

Miguel Aceves Mejia - El Gallo Colorado.zip

Tito Puente - Dancing Under Latin Skies - 1958

Today is the first record to be posted that has undergone some audio clean up. I purchased ClickRepair finally and used it to get rid of some of the pops and extra noise. I must say I am quite pleased with the results. There is still a little bit of vinyl sound on there, but I like that. It still feels like a record, but without sounds that stand out.

I picked this record up just a few months back in a thrift store. I have a couple Tito Puente records already in the collection so I was already pretty sure I wouldn't be disappointed. Other than a little dust, which I did my best to clean off, the record was in pretty good condition. I think it was the first record I threw on the turn table the afternoon I purchased it along with some other records. Right off the bat, from the first horn blasts I knew I had found a gem.

If you like some of those lounge compilation discs that were so popular in the late 90's, you'll love this record. This is bid band easy listening lounge music at its finest. Playing this in the house really sets a nice mood when you want to relax. I also was playing the record in the car this morning on the way to work and it made the morning, that much brighter. I'm so happy I've digitized it now and can have it with me on the go.

As a bonus I've found this clip on YouTube of Tito on The Simpsons.



Chances are that this was my first exposure to Tito. Certainly I had heard the name as a kid, but I think this was the first music I had ever heard from him. Thank you Simpsons. That is really my only personal story or experience with Tito Puente.

More info on Tito of course can be found on Wikipedia.

Enjoy!

Tito Puente - Dancing Under Latin Skies.zip

01 Brazil
02 Perfidia
03 Acapulco
04 Yours
05 Dancing Under Latin Skies
06 Tampico
07 Frenesi
08 Port-au-Pleasure
09 Chattanooga Choo Choo
10 Juanita
11 Sand In My Shoes
12 Cuban Pete

Elsa Lanchester - Songs For A Smoke Filled Room - 1957

I've been really lazy with the posting recently. And even this post is going to lack some real thought and effort. I just feel like I need to put something out there since it has been so long.

Here's a cabaret style record from the Bride Of Frankenstein herself Esla Lanchester. The album contains a bunch of light/fun songs performed live by Elsa.

On a side note, I'd like to say that for me other than her performance as the bride, the second film I always connect with Elsa is the Disney classic, Blackbeard's Ghost. I saw that on my birthday when I was 4 or 5. Loved it then and I still love this movie. Check it out.

Enjoy!

01 Never Go Without Feeling Intro.m4a
02 Never Go Without Feeling.m4a
03 If You Peek In My Gazebo Intro.m4a
04 If You Peek In My Gazebo.m4a
05 Fiji Fanny Intro.m4a
06 Fiji Fanny.m4a
07 When A Lady Has A Piazza Intro.m4a
08 When A Lady Has A Piazza.m4a
09 The Ratcatcher's Daughter Intro.m4a
10 The Ratcatcher's Daughter.m4a
11 At The Drive-In Intro.m4a
12 At The Drive-In.m4a
13 If You Can't Get In The Corners Intro.m4a
14 If You Can't Get In The Corners.m4a
15 The Husband's Clock Intro.m4a
16 The Husband's Clock.m4a
17 Please Sell No More Drink To My Father Intro.m4a
18 Please Sell No More Drink To My Father.m4a
19 Linda And Her Londonderry Air Intro.m4a
20 Linda And Her Londonderry Air.m4a
21 Catalogue Woman Intro.m4a
22 Catalogue Woman.m4a
23 Lola's Saucepan Intro.m4a
24 Lola's Saucepan.m4a

Elsa Lanchester - Songs For A Smoke Filled Room side 1.zip
Elsa Lanchester - Songs For A Smoke Filled Room side 2.zip

Patti Page - Christmas With Patti Page - 1955

Great Christmas record. I love Patti Page and I love this as a Christmas record. There really isn't a bad track on the whole record. I can't really say much more about the record. I have no story or history with the record. I got it a year or two ago and fell in love with it the moment I heard it. Case closed.

Enjoy!

01 Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.m4a
02 Silver Bells.m4a
03 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town.m4a
04 Jingle Bells.m4a
05 'Twas The Night Before Christmas.m4a
06 Little Drummer Boy.m4a
07 Happy Birthday Jesus (A Child's Prayer).m4a
08 Pretty Snow Flakes.m4a
09 Christmas Bells.m4a
10 Santo Natale.m4a
11 We Wish You A Merry Christmas.m4a

Patti Page - Christmas With Patti Page.zip

The Voices Of Walter Schuman - The Voices Of Christmas - Repost

I just got a request for this record this afternoon and so I thought I'd repost it. Here is the link to last year's entry. The link has been de-activated so I'll repost an active link here for the next few weeks. So this is for you Gabrielle.

Walter Schumann - Voices Of Christmas 1.zip
Walter Schumann - Voices Of Christmas 2.zip

01 Sleigh Ride.m4a
02 God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.m4a
03 The Christmas Song.m4a
04 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.m4a
05 What Child Is This_.m4a
06 Rise Up Shepherd And Foller.m4a
07 The First Snowfall.m4a
08 Fum, Fum, Fum.m4a
09 Christmas Tree.m4a
10 Christmas In Killarney.m4a
11 The First Noel.m4a
12 Frosty The Snow Man.m4a
13 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.m4a
14 Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers.m4a
15 Lully, Lully, Lu.m4a
16 Christmas Gift.m4a
17 C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S.m4a
18 Go Tell It On The Mountain.m4a

Jose Melis - Christmas With Melis - 1958

This record, like yesterday is a lot of fun. Actually this record is funner. Lots of instrumentals featuring piano and organ. Also as fun as yesterday's record cover was with the two girls in the Santa outfits, this picture of Jose Melis is priceless. I love the glasses. Reminds me of Gary Busy playing Buddy Holly.

This one also falls into the category of wishing the record was a little cleaner. It is also a record I think you can find elsewhere and perhaps there are cleaner rips out there. You may not get all the cool artwork and the ID tags filled in so thoroughly, though. I do try to go the extra mile in providing all that stuff all of you.

A couple tracks to point out as highlights are "Toy Piano" which feature Melis playing a toy piano. Also "Merry Christmas Music" is nice because Jose sort of talk sings on it.


Enjoy!

Jose Melis And His Orchestra - Christmas With Melis - 320K.zip

01 Sleigh Bells.m4a
02 Winter Wonderland.m4a
03 The Story Of Christmas.m4a
04 Jingle Bells.m4a
05 Toy Piano.m4a
06 Merry Christmas Music.m4a
07 Silent Night.m4a
08 Adeste Fidelis.m4a
09 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.m4a
10 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.m4a
11 Hark! The Herals Angels Sing.m4a
12 Oh! Little Town Of Bethlehem, Noel, Noel, Silent Night.m4a

Christmas with Gisele - Repost

Another of my favorite records for sure. The links on this original post I've never taken down. Gisele's voice is great and the French tracks are wonderful. So check out the old post or just hit up these links.

Gisele MacKenzie.zip

Enjoy!

A Christmas Carol Narrated By Richard Hale and Lionel Barrymore As Ebenezer Scrooge - The Canterbury Choir Sings The Hymns

Here is a nice way to kick off the month of December. Set aside some time and give a listen to A Christmas Carol. Lionel Barrymore is a great Scrooge. Every time I listen to it all I can think is that it sounds like Simon Bar Sinister being a humbug about Christmas.

Enjoy!

A Christmas Carol.zip

A Christmas Carol Narrated By Richard Hale and Lionel Barrymore As Ebenezer Scrooge - The Canterbury Choir Sings The Hymns Side 1
A Christmas Carol Narrated By RIchard Hale and Lionel Barrymore As Ebenezer Scrooge - The Canterbury Choir Sings The Hymns Side 2

Music For Babysitters

I'm not sure why these artists and songs were chosen for this record. I don't know that they are just for babysitters. Am I to take from this that this album is for teenage girls? Or is this a record for babysitters to use while baby sitting? Maybe it isn't for teenagers, because the woman taking care of the children on the cover doesn't look too, too young. I can't really get a handle on the point of this record. I guess that is why I bought it.

The cover photos are fun as well. I love the idea that the babysitter does her job in a strapless dress. Very practical when little kids are grabbing at you.

For you children of the 80's you might want to take a listen to track 11 "Istanbul". This was covered by They Might Be Giants and was a big hit for them. This is the original from 1953.

Enjoy!

01 Tony Bennett - Rags To Riches.m4a
02 Percy Faith - And This Is My Beloved.m4a
03 Johnnie Ray - To Ev'ry Girl - To Ev'ry Boy.m4a
04 Dan Terry - Teen Ager.m4a
05 Jerry Vale - For You, My Love.m4a
06 Belmonte - Arthur's Mambo.m4a
07 Guy Mitchell - Sippin' Soda.m4a
08 Dan Terry - Seventeen.m4a
09 Frankie Laine - Answer Me.m4a
10 Dan Terry - Saddle Shoe Shuffle.m4a
11 The Four Lads - Istanbul.m4a
12 Paul Weston - Stardust.m4a

Music For Babysitters.zip

Lou Monte - Here's Lou Monte

This post is in direct response to a request I just got this weekend. Mandala, whoever you are, this one is for you.

This is one of the super fun Lou Monte records. I know that probably sounds weird since so many of his records were and are fun. And just look at this cover. Lout looks like he's ready to have a good time, doesn't he? This one is really fun because of Tombolee Tombola, Rosina! (The Menu Song), and Angelina. These are all songs with that playful flair Lou Monte has. Rosina! in particular is fun if you grew up in an Italian household because you can reminisce about all the good Italian food. I get hungry just listening to the song. And how great is the lyric,

Oh my Rosina, my senorina
How I'm dreamin' dreamin' dreamin' of Rosina
She's so good looking when she is cooking
What a beautiful sight among the pots and pans

Because I'm kind of posting this on a spur of the moment whim, I'm cutting some corners. I'm just sharing a zip file and not individual files. The tracks however are the following.

01 Tombolee Tombola
02 Bella Notte (From Walt Disney's "Lady And The Tramp")
03 Rosina! (The Menu Song)
04 Angelina
05 I've Got A Crush On You
06 Liza (All The Clouds Roll Away)
07 Fascinating Rhythm
08 Mine
09 Jealous Of You (Tango Della Gelosia)
10 A Baby Cried

Enjoy!

Here's Lou Monte.zip

Pat Susuki - Pat Suzuki - 1958

Here's a great record from Pat Suzuki from 1958. This little lady really has some pipes. She's been pretty much lost to the sands of time as far as I can tell. Last year I posted another record from her and wrote a few words about her. Check that out here. I also had a brief mention of her a few weeks ago when I posted some clips from Charlie's Angels.

The record has some familiar standards and Pat turns in some fine performances.

Enjoy!

01 The Song Is You.m4a
02 Star Dust.m4a
03 Black Coffee.m4a
04 Anything Goes.m4a
05 I've Grown Accustomed To His Face.m4a
06 Daddy.m4a
07 My Heart Belongs To Daddy.m4a
08 As Time Goes By.m4a
09 How High The Moon.m4a
10 The Lady Is A Tramp.m4a
11 Be My Love.m4a
12 I'll Never Smile Again.m4a

Pat Suzuki - Pat Suzuki.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

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

Gisele MacKenzie - Christmas With Gisele

You're going to read the following a lot on the blog this month. This is one of my favorite Christmas records. You'll hear me repeat this phrase over and over because it is true. I have a lot of Christmas records and I've selected the cream of the crop to share with everyone. So I ask your forgiveness in advance.

I love this record because first of all, Giselle has a beautiful voice. Second I love that she sings in French and English. It is great to have some other languages in your Christmas music playlists. Also the language just sounds beautiful which works for the holiday spirit. And thirdly there are some really fun songs on here. I have lots of favorites, but the two tied for first place are "Les Anges Dans Nos Compagnes" and "Too Fat For The Chimney". The first one has the great French I was mentioning and the other is just a fun song that you don't hear too often. It really gets you clapping along.

Enjoy!

01 Silent Night.mp3
02 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.mp3
03 The Coventry Carol.mp3
04 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.mp3
05 Dans Cette Etable.mp3
06 Les Anges Dans Nos Compagnes.mp3
07 La Marche Des Rois.mp3
08 White Christmas.mp3
09 We Three Kings Of Orient.mp3
10 Good King Wenceslas.mp3
11 Gesu Bambino.mp3
12 The Christmas Song.mp3
13 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town.mp3
14 Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers.mp3
15 The Night Before Christmas.mp3
16 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.mp3
17 Too Fat For The Chimney.mp3
18 Jingle Bells.mp3

Gisele MacKenzie.zip

Villa Lobos - The Surprise Box

This one is a complete change for this blog. I'm pretty sure I haven't posted any classical music before. So why now you ask. Well, the story is that I bought this record because of the goofy cover. I didn't really read the back liner notes and I'm not educated enough to know the composers so I must confess I didn't know it was classical music. I assumed it was going to be some kind of Latin vibe lounge music maybe with a little cheese sprinkled on top. I mean look at the cover. You can see it was a valid assumption. Well, it wasn't a loungy record. It's actually a couple pieces of classical music. I thought that perhaps it was still worth sharing because the cover is great and to be honest I actually like side one which is the entire piece of "The Surprise Box" by Villa Lobos. Side two by Falla is okay, but I can take it or leave it. I'm not classical expert. I really just kind of know the hits and I know something when I like it. I couldn't go on about composers and different genres and eras.

I don't know much about Villa-Lobos. You can get an overview of his life and work at wikipedia. It however doesn't list "The Surprise Box" as one of his works. I can tell you from reading the back of this album jacket that "The Surprise Box" was composed in 1932. It was a ballet for children according to the record. The plot as written on the jacket says,

It tells the story of Nini, a poor little girl, who never had any toys even at Christmas time. She always gazed, wide-eyed and longingly, at all the beautiful gifts that Santa Clause Brought to her rich companions.

On Christmas Eve, whikle grieving over her misfortune, Nin has a dream in which a beautiful box made of colorful crystal is brought to her. The box which seems like an enchanted showcase, slowly opens and a great cloud of smoke billows forth in the midst of which rises a stalwart Sailor swaying to and for. A beautiful Pierrette appears next, stamping her foot in vexation, followed by a little blue Domino who is teasing her by jingling his bells. Lastly a Peasant comes forth trying to comfort poor Pierrette.

Playfully, the Sailor, Domino and Peasant chase each other around until the Carnival King and Queen arrive with their followers. The happy crowd dances around Nini. A continual drumming in the distance heralds the entrance of an Adventurer of great elegance and agility.

The festivities are interrupted suddenly by the arrival of Sacy-Perere (A Brazilian urchin). This one-legged scamp spreads confusion among the crowd of dolls; however, they soon realize that this is the fairy friend of all shay and frightened children, and the dance is joyfully started again around Nini.

Another interesting thing I found on the liner notes is that they were written by a guy named Alfred Frankenstein. That's right Frankenstein. Imagine being that guy growing up in the 30's and 40's. Urgh. I hope he had some sons and that the name is being carried on.

So give this one a chance for a change of pace. It's got some Brazillian influences as well as French ballet influences.

Enjoy!

01 The Surprise box - Villa-Lobos.m4a
02 Homage - I. Fanfare On The Name Of E. F. Arbos - Falla.m4a
03 Homage - II. To Claude Debussey - Falla.m4a
04 Homage - III. To Paul Dukas - Falla.m4a
05 Homage - IV. Pedrelliana - Falla.m4a

Helen O'Connell - Green Eyes - 1957

This is the second record I've posted by Helen O'Connell. If you want to read more about her check out my last post on her. This is an earlier release of hers and again she is amazing. She's becoming one of my favorite female vocalists from this time.

The top song for me is "Brazil". The other highlights that come to mind are "Yours", "When The Sun Comes Out", "Green Eyes" and "Amapola". If you don't want to listen to the whole thing I suggest just starting with any of those.

Enjoy!

01 Star Eyes.m4a
02 Not Mine.m4a
03 Tangerine.m4a
04 Green Eyes.m4a
05 Yours.m4a
06 When The Sun Comes Out.m4a
07 All Of Me.m4a
08 Jim.m4a
09 Amapola.m4a
10 Time Was.m4a
11 Embraceable You.m4a
12 Brazil.m4a

Helen O'Connell - Green Eyes.zip