Personally, I think you'd have to hate your kid to subject him or her to our first selection, but, in light of some of the XMas stuff I've been putting up, who am I to make such a judgment? You get to decide, dear listener, whether or not Alex Houston and (his dummy) Elmer's Here Comes Peter Cotton Claus qualifies as: 1) fun holiday mega-kitsch, 2) a deeply disturbing aural experience, or 3) grounds for banning all children's records from the Internet.
Charley Pride was shameless in his praise for the two (source: back jacket): "I think Elmer is one of the funniest guys I ever met" and "Alex is so talented that you leave believing there were two guys on that stage." But... but based on what he wrote, there were two guys in the act. Unless he was being funny when he called Elmer talented. Oh, I get it. It was a joke!
And so is...
Here Comes Peter Cotton Claus (Kent Westberry), Alex Houston and Elmer, 1972.
Those guys should have recorded a duet. Or maybe Elmer was the only one who could hold a tune.
These next two selections are not only more wholesome, but more traditionally so. A Christmas train, Candy Land... those themes are so 1950. So much so, they take me right back to that year. Which is amazing, because I wasn't born until 1957.
The Candy Land Parade (Nelson--Rollins--Douglas), Art Mooney and His Orchestra, vocal by Laura Leslie, 1950. From MGM 45.
The Christmas Choo Choo Train (Rollins--Nelson), Art Mooney and His Orch., vocal by Laura Leslie and The Skylarks, 1950.
Cool big-band XMas sides, even if the big band era was officially over by 1950. Of course, we record collectors know it was far from over, at least on vinyl and shellac.
Over the years, many cleverly-conceived and charming children's records have been made. The following two are not among them. Both were given away at Christmas time to lucky employees byLine Material, an Edison-McGraw company. The Day That Santa Was Sick is an especially lame attempt at storytelling: It's Christmas Eve, and Santa is (guess what?) sick. No one can replace him, so Christmas is in danger of being cancelled. Santa can't allow this to happen, so he decides to deliver the toys, sick or not. The end. (Boy, that was a nail-biter!)
A parable for the modern workplace? That's a thought. Another thought: how many kids throughout the world became sick (or even died) from Santa's germs? This is a children's record??
The Day That Santa Was Sick, Line Material, 1961. (Originally came with a Christmas Book--the writing, composing, and performing credits were probably listed therein.) Click on image for file:
Line Material Industries was at it again in 1962 with an even less exciting Yuletide saga. Again, the presentation is highly professional, and the production full of life yet lifeless. And, as before, the lines seem to have been written by a three-year-old.
Sorry. That was mean. Make that a three-and-a-half-year-old.
Let's Trim the Christmas Tree, Line Material, 1961. (Don't have the L.M. Christmas Book for this one, either.) Click on image for file:
The "You'll be sorrrry!" voice has to be one of the most annoying ever preserved on vinyl. And, God help me, I enjoy these Line Material XMas things. I'm a sick man.
Lee
14 comments:
Fabulous stuff indeed.Let's Trim The Christmas Tree is a perfect addition to my Xmas cocktail collections. As always, thanks for the great tunes.
Sure!
Lee
Lee!
You're my hero! And doubly so, now, since you know something about those Line Material records. I found one several years ago, and thought it was great. This year I found several more, and I'm itching to know more about them.
What have I got here? Let's see...
The Magic Of Christmas, Part 1 & 2. No date, but it's 7" and 78 rpm.
Santa's North Pole band. 7" and 45 rpm. No date, but I think this one was reissued on the flipside of the Santa Is Sick one you have above. This one is one-sided.
The other two seem to be the same ones you have. Alas, I've no booklets either.
I'm hooked on "Let's Trim The Christmas Tree." I played it for my wife last night (as we drove home in our first snow of the season) and we can't stop singing the chorus (and yes, that you'll be sorry guy is annoying as can be). I've heard some bad corporate LPs in my day, but this track is exceptional. Thanks again for passing it along.
Ernie and Paul,
Thanks! I don't think I've heard of "The Magic of Christmas." Line Material on 78 RPM? Cool! Is it vinyl or shellac? I'd love to hear that one.
Yes, "Trim" is beautifully produced, though I find it content-lacking. Which is OK, because it's all the more entertaining because of that. All of the Line Material stuff is first-rate in execution....
Lee
Lee, I've got the Line Material 78 here in my hand. How do I tell the difference between vinyl & shellac? I'm not very experienced with records that old... It's pretty think and lightweight, not chunky like an onld, fragile 78. I'm going to say vinyl. If I only had a turntable with the proper needle and the proper speed, I'd record and share it...
Thin and lightweight would suggest vinyl, yes. Come to think of it, a 7" shellac side would be very unlikely for the period in question!
I always wondered if LM produced any 78s, and now I know. Thanks!
Lee
In the "small world" department, I mentioned Line Material songs in a Christmas post on my blog last year. Subsequently, a kind commenter sent me a cd with six of the songs. Just this morning a entered a new post with all six availbale for download.
Here they are for all to enjoy:
http://bob.trancho.net/archives/2005/12/from_line_mater.html
In the "small world" department, I mentioned Line Material songs in a Christmas post on my blog last year. Subsequently, a kind commenter sent me a cd with six of the songs. Just this morning I entered a new post with all six available for download.
Here they are for all to enjoy:
http://bob.trancho.net/archives/2005/12/from_line_mater.html
if that url gets cut off, just click my name above and you get to my blog.
Thanks so much for posting the Line Material recordings. These were a big in in my family. Since I was one of the youngest in my family, the records were pretty abused by the time I got to listen to them. We loved the recordings so much when we were kids that my mom ended up writing the company when the originals we had wouldn't play any longer. An employee who received her letter was kind enough to send my family 3 records out of his own collection. (You can guess what happened to those!) I have since been fortunate to collect several of the recordings with the books. I'm impressed with the quality of your mp3 files. As a favor, could you please post "The Sounds of Christmas" from 1958? It's the only one that's missing from your files. Thanks in advance!
Bob,
Cool! Only on the Internet. By the way, I tried to leave a comment at your site, but the content keeps getting rejected as "inappropriate," I think the word is. I tried twice. Maybe two words put together make a naughty one or something (?). I lowered the word count and eliminated some punctuation, but no go! Anyway, thanks for citing the source for the files you used--very glad to share them!
anonymous,
Sure thing--I'll be posting "The Sounds of Christmas" as soon as I get it ripped and edited. I'd planned to put it in my last XMas post, but I'll instead get it up ASAP. Cool recollections--thanks!
Lee
Zowee Lee! This LP looks amazing. Any chance that you could post it again so those of us who didn't get a chance the first time around could take a listen?
PopCereal,
Hi! Actually, I only posted that one track ("Here Comes....)." I could never bring myself to subject someone to the entire LP!
Unfortunately, I've been having to turn down XMas post requests, because I've been getting a bunch--and I just don't have the time! However, because I'm getting so many requests, I'm seriously considering recycling the XMas MP3s out of season--i.e., well before Santa Day rolls around again. I'll keep everyone (pun alert) posted.
Lee
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