Two more pieces from my not-so-extensive Yuletide sheet music collection. I wish I had a recording of the first number. And remember that bigger images can be had by double-clicking on the images.

Boy, I did a good job of centering the first one, no? Not bad, though, for through-the-lens alignment.

I just wrote Box.net to hopefully find out what's happening with the downloading bandwidth ("transfer used"). If they're able to determine what's happening, I'll ask what I can do to prevent it from rehappening, assuming it's more than merely extra-high traffic causing all this. As far as I can see, though, it ain't.

In my present zonked-out state, this is all I need--having to worry about posting bandwidth. A calm, quiet posting month is too much to ask for, I guess. Sheesh.

Curse you, Blogging God!

Oh, no. I can't believe I just cursed the Blogging God. I take it back! Blogger God, I'm sorry!

Oh, boy. I'm in for it now. I just told off the Blogging God.

Well, while we're waiting to see what the Blogging God does to me, here are two pictures of our pet skunk. (That's right--our pet skunk.)
















Skunky is enjoying some yummy potato skins just outside our patio. You're probably wondering what's more amazing--1) that a skunk would get that close to me without being bothered, or 2) that I would get that close to a skunk for any reason, including photo-shooting.

All I can say is that she (we think it's a she) doesn't seem to be scared of us. And she sure loves the grub we put out for her. However, we draw the line at any attempts at petting her. Such a thing could result in a skunk bite or a skunk spray. Two unpleasant scenarios, in our opinion.

But she's sure adorable (adorable-looking, that is). Judging by the air inside of the studio, I'm guessing she (Skunky) has taken up residence under the building. My nose is sure of it.

Well, the Blogging God hasn't retaliated yet. Maybe he has no plans to do so. Let's keep our fingers crossed....

Maybe I'm O.K. so long as I don't insult the Bandwidth God.


Lee

I got those lowdown... aggravatin'... nerve-wrackin'... bandwidth bluuuuuuuuuues!!! (Yeah!!)

First of all, I want to thank Box.net again for bumping up my downloading bandwidth. That was very kind of them. However... something not so good is going on here. Namely, it's only December the 8th, and said bandwidth--even with Box.net's generous boost--is almost HALF GONE.

I've never had my d/l bandwidth vanish that quickly, even when I was getting mega hits for the Bell Laboratory disc I posted some months back. Is someone hijacking my bandwidth, or...? I've read of such things, but I'm not technical enough to know exactly what that means--i.e. what it involves. But I know it happens.

I'm suggesting this only because SOMETHING'S happening here, and whatever it is, it isn't regular. If anyone has any guesses as to what's going on (aside from merely a heavier than usual downloading rate), please share.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to get downloading figures for my full-folder shares--maybe there's extra d/l going on with those, but I have no way to know. It may be that such shares create an extra bandwidth burden, in which case I'd have to revert to the old one-file-at-a-time plan. OR go to Savefile.com, which isn't as convenient as Box.net by a long shot but which has no d/l limit.

Arrgh!

The 1906 Silver Sleigh Bells cover, btw, is from my collection. I think I got this gem for only a buck or two. The dumbest thing I ever did as a sheet music collector--and I kick myself periodically for this--was passing up an entire box of E.T. Paull sheet music at 50 cents each. The stack included Dawn of the Century and who knows what else.

Then again, had I bought the pieces, they'd just be sitting in a pile. In a box.

But they'd be mine. Oh, well. Such are life.

Oh, and here's a neat one I found at a book sale. I paid about five cents for it!


















Lee

Today's photos: sound waves; naughty cat

First, here's what Early Burt, Volume Two looks like on my MAGIX sound-editing program:















I love the display on my new PC. On my Dell, the whole thing was scrunched up, and the Spectroscope (lower r.h.) wasn't even there. Having a bigger sound-wave display aids a lot in editing, though it had the opposite effect for a bit, until I got used to it.

And here's Rosie, the naughtiest cat presently living at this address. Perry is in front of her. See how adorable they look, all cuddled up like napping cats (which, by no coincidence, is what they are). You'd never guess that Rosie is a Chaser of Other Cats. But it's true.













"Evil? Me?" she seems to be saying. Yes, Rosie. Evil. You. Evil you.

I hate to say such a thing about my own cat, but every last word is tragically true.

Rosie just informed me that she's contacted her lawyer.



Lee

Thanks for the comments; bandwidth; winter

It was 11 degrees outside. I don't know if it's "warmed up" or not, but it was holding steady at 11 last I knew. Brrrr.

I put out seed for the birds. They were probably grateful. And I fed the cats. They did their usual swarm-a-thon. Our cats thoughtfully aid the feeding process by mobbing the feeding area and blocking the cans, etc. The weather must have me cranky, because I yelled at Perry, who was shoving his Perry person into my face and chest (lots of help, that Perry)--"You're not helping!" I declared, as I set him off the counter onto the floor. To my amazement, he didn't spring right back up onto the counter. Perry's losing his touch.

Anyway, I was the Cranky Chef this morning. The cats could care less--they got their grub. Mind you, cats--contrary to all the bad press they get--are loving and caring and considerate creatures, BUT they're like every other lifeform when it comes to food--"FOOD! GIVE ME FOOD! OUT OF THE WAY!!! CHOMP, CHOMP. NUM, NUM. ETC."

Then again, cats are refined diners compared to, say, raccoons, who rudely fight over every last shred of grub. Cats merely play bumper-car at the feeding dishes. And perform the occasional ambushing and chasing games. They're animals.

And I'm grateful for all the Burt-related comments at my next to last post. I want to comment on some of the comments when I have time to do justice to that task. (Whatever I just typed.) As to whether Burt reads this blog or not, I don't know. If he does--Hi, Burt!

I figure he's busy doing other stuff. And we don't know Burt's relationship to computers. He may not even use one. Granted, Bacharach's a super-bright guy, but Burt's not of the PC generation. Neither am I, actually (nor a lot of my readers), though we're closer to same than he is. I lucked out in that much of the gear I used in the Navy was, essentially, of a PC nature. Especially the main machine I used as an Electronic Warfare operator. When I got my MacIntosh 512K, I mastered it in minutes, because I'd already been using something like it for several years. The icons, in particular, were very familiar.

In turn, when I was introduced to Windows-type stuff on an IBM computer, I'd been there, done that. I'm just a relatively untechnical guy lucky enough to have been exposed to the right things at the right time. Otherwise, I'd be wondering what a PC is.

Or... Burt might be highly computer-savvy. We don't know. What we do know is that he's one heck of a popular songwriter. I, personally, think he was doing things with song form that folks like the Beatles routinely get credit for doing. Just because his innovations weren't as "loud" doesn't mean he didn't show the way to/for folks like Carole King, Lennon-McCartney, and Brian Wilson. I believe, totally and completely, that Brian Wilson was trying to be Burt. Pet Sounds wouldn't have happened if Brian wasn't doing his best Burt imitation.

So there.

Nobody ever mentions that except me. Pet Sounds should be called Burt Sounds.

If I get any angry e-mail over this, I'll blame the observations on, um... my cat Rosie. I'll claim that she came up with the idea.

Rosie, by the way, is being naughty, as we like to term such behavior. She's been spending a lot of time shut in the bathroom and/or basement, and all because she loves to chase smaller cats like Geronimo and Cook(ie). She sees it as her duty. The idea is to terrorize certain fellow felines so that they feel constrained from 1) eating, 2) visiting Bev, and/or 3) going upstairs. I'd love to report that Rosie has displayed a shred of conscience over this, but, to the contrary, she seems pretty pleased with herself.

She doesn't seem to mind the basement or, especially, the bathroom. Which is good, with all the time she's been spending in these spots.

I just tried to upload a photo, and.... No go.

It was Blogger's will that a photo not be included with this post.



Lee

Remember Pearl Harbor

Well, I didn't forget Pearl Harbor. Honest. I just could find the track I was looking for. I had a false memory that it was sitting on a CD-R comp I made a few years ago--nope. Then I looked and looked and didn't find it.

This morning, I found it. It being Remember Pearl Harbor, one of the most rousing patriotic numbers ever concocted (cowritten by bandleader Sammy Kaye). Kaye's band is routinely dissed by big band historians because it committed the unpardonable sin of not swinging. We're told that the musicians were second-rate, and so on. Horse manure. The playing on this side is splendid. The vocal chorus is perfect. In short, one hell of a big band record.

Better to present this gem a day late than not at all. And two things: let's always remember Pearl Harbor. And God Bless our troops. (The war is another matter....)

Oh, and read all about this patriotic gem at this fine site. I have my own copy of the song someplace in my vast piles of sheet music:

Remember Pearl Harbor (Reid-Kaye), Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra.

I have two or three other titles I could have presented as well, but let's just say that P.C. they decidedly aren't.


Lee

Burtmas--a report

I never imagined for a moment, magical or otherwise, that any of my Early Burt file posts would be heard by that terrifically talented songwriter himself. But that's exactly what has happened--so far, Burt Bacharach has listened to five of my early-Burt files and has "loved" them!

Better yet, Mr. Bacharach will soon be hearing 48 of my files, all lovingly assembled on two CD-Rs called Early Burt, Volume One and Volume Two. To say that this is an honor is the understatement to end all understatements! I'll be sending the discs tomorrow to a super-nice man at Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. who sent me an awesome package containing, among other goodies, Burt's five-CD Timeless box set! I'm still taking all of this in....

Then the discs will go to Burt by way of his manager. Again, this is THE honor of my blogging experience to date. I can't imagine a greater labor of love. To give back to Bacharach (no pun intended) is... awesome!

Wrote Ralph of Warner/Chappell Music (did I mention he's a super-nice guy?): "I work for Warner/Chappell Music, Burt's publishing company, and he's (finally) in the process Of putting together an archive of his material. Unfortunately, he kept virtually nothing from The first 10 years of his career. I spoke with his manager this morning and he'd LOVE to get MP3s Or CD-R copies of some of your rarities."

I said I'd think about it. (Yeah, right. Of course, I answered that I'd be thrilled!! As in, wow!!)

And then this stupid virus hit--the one going around the local area. Such wonderful timing.

But the discs are done and soon to be on their way. I never, ever imagined I'd be giving back to Burt, and if this isn't the best kind of payback, I don't know what is (and in the form of a Christmas present, no less!). And to have my blog picked for this task--man. Priceless.

A magic moment, indeed. Can you believe?

I've never been happier to be a Burt fan....


Lee, honored

Merry Shellacmas, Part 2!

You came because you want to hear Christmas 78s. Well, we've got a bunch of them.

In fact, we've got (1, 2, 3, 4...) nineteen of them. Had I combined both sides of the David Rose Christmas Medley into one file, we'd only have eighteen, but I didn't, and so we don't. As always, these shellac goodies come from my humble collection, and they were restored on my humble sound-editing software as I humbly sat there and cut out pops and dialed up EQs. I keep meaning to get a photo of one of my sliced-up files, just so you can just see what I put these poor WAVs through, but I always forget. Probably for the best, since such evidence could be used against me at a sanity hearing.

Here's the link for Merry Shellacmas, Part 2: Link to Merry Shellacmas, Part 2.

Let's see--do I have any comments? (Think, think.) Oh, yes. The Trapp Family Singers--er, choir, this time around--do an awesome version of God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen. I ripped it from a Red Seal 78, and I was wondering why a 1950s side would sound so... fluttery. In the manner of an early-1940s recording. The answer is simple--it IS from the early 1940s. I thought I could date the record by looking at the label, but I was wrong. This could affect my membership in the Dating-Records-by-Sight Club. A very exclusive group, I might mention.

Don't mind me--just babbling away early in the morning. Maybe I should fix myself some coffee so I can babble with a clearer mind.

My favorite of the bunch--and the best-sounding one, to boot--is the 1928 International Novelty Orchestra version of Parade of the Wooden Soldiers. The finest of all XMas novelties, Leethinks. How tragic that its composer, Leon Jessel, was killed by the Nazis in 1941.

How wonderful, however, that the Von Trapps escaped the monsters.

Put Christ back Into Christmas is a rerun from last year, and I'm guessing it was recorded in the 1950s. The Christmas-losing-its-true-meaning theme goes back at least that far, though people back then didn't feel they had to be nasty about saying it. Public shouting matches between absolute believers and rabid non-believers are a recent invention, as far as I know.

These selections all speak for themselves. They say, "Christmas is only eighteen days away, if you don't count today, the sixth!" In fact, Christmas is nineteen days away. These files can't even count.

Hey, I just noticed--nineteen days until Christmas, and there are nineteen mp3s! Cool the way I planned that, no?

Here's the list. Your job: check it twice. Remember to click on the link above for the folder, which can be downloaded a track at a time, as a zip file, or not at all. The choice(s) is/are yours:

A Christmas Medley, Part 1--David Rose and His Orchestra, Part 1 (1947). From MGM 78.

A Christmas Medley, Part 2--David Rose and His Orchestra, Part 2 (1947).

Christmas Hymns and Carols, Part 1--Trinity Choir (1921). From 12" Victor 78.

Christmas Hymns and Carols, Part 2--Trinity Choir (1921).

Christmas Hymns--Selections--Francis J. Lapitino, Harp (1925). From Victor 78.

Christmas Message from Metropolitan President Haley Fisk (1923).

God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen--Trapp Family Choir (1942). From RCA Victor 78.

Hooray for St. Nick--Vernon Dalhart (1928). Columbia 78.

I'd Like to See My Mom for Christmas--Bob Jones with Williams Sextette.

Jingle Bells--Shannon Quartet (1925). Victor 78.

Nazareth (Horley-Gounod)--Frank Croxton, bass (1912). Victor 12" 78.

Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful--Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1922). Victor Red Seal 78.

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Jessel)--International Novelty Orch. directed by Nat Shilkret, 1928. Victor 78.

Put Christ Back Into Christmas--Jack Allyn with the Organta Trio.

Santa Claus, That's Me! (Heagrey)--Vernon Dalhart (1928). Columbia 78.

Silent Night, Hallowed Night--Hayden Quartet (1909). Victor 78.

Silent Night, Holy Night--Neapolitan Trio (1925). Victor 78. (You wanted to hear it twice, right?)

The Story of the First Christmas Tree-Jim Ameche.

Yule-Tide--A Christmas Fantasia (Kappey)--Arthur Pryor's Band (1912). Victor 12" 78.

Shocking Christmas fact: Christmas has nothing to do with Christmas. Christmas is, in fact, Halloween.

Source: Just made it up.



Lee

Carol of the Little Drummer Boy

So, I'll bet you thought (as so many of us did) that The Little Drummer Boy was written and first recorded in 1958 by Harry Simeone and that it's one of the few almost-brand-new traditional carols. Let's see what Wikipedia has to say:

"The Little Drummer Boy" is a Christmas song from 1958 (words and music by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone). The best-known and most standard version is by the Harry Simeone Chorale. It is also known as "Carol of the Drum".

This would be news to Katherine K. Davis, who wrote the song in 1941 under that latter title (Carol of the Drum). Here's a photo of the original manuscript in the Wellesley College Music Library Special Collections. Debate continues to this day whether or not Drum really was a "freely transcribed" Czech carol. Don't ask me.

However, we do know that it was written/transcribed well before Simeone sicced his chorale on it. And we know it came out in sheet music form prior to Harry's retitling of the number. Here's my copy. Notice the Trapp Family Singers (who were highly fictionalized in The Sound of Music) on the cover:




















I love the song, by the way. Based on what I've read, I'm one of the few who do! Yet, how did the thing become a monster hit if people don't like it? Hm.... That's the mystery.

Anyway, next up in the strange history of this song is The Jack Halloran Singers' 1957 recording. It's number two in the folder. Sorry about the less than perfect LP copy.

Dawn Halloran, Jack's daughter, had this to say to "Mr. Music" (Jerry Osborne) re her father's 1957 version:

"My father, Jack Halloran, did the original choral arrangement and recorded it for Dot Records in 1957 (one year before Simeone), with the title Carol of the Drum.

This is its original name, as a Czech carol simplistically arranged for church choirs by Katherine K. Davis as found on the 1957 Christmas is a-Comin' album by the Jack Halloran Singers.

One of the producers on the project was Henry Onorati, who took the chart from the original recording session to Harry Simeone, urging him to record it and get it out before the Dot release.
Simeone made a minimal number of changes to the chart, added finger cymbals (my father's version is a cappella), changed the title, hired all the same singers, and recorded it.

Dot unfortunately didn't put the single out for the 1957 Christmas season, and Simeone succeeded in getting composing credit (along with Henry Onorati and Katherine K. Davis) for a piece he had nothing to do with."

Given what we already know about the song, I'm inclined to believe Dawn. Especially when we listen to Simeone's 1958 version and hear how very close it is to Halloran's. The 1958 Simeone recording is second from the bottom.

My only problem in/with all of this--the Trapp Family's version ain't all that different from the Halloran arrangement. Not to my ears, anyway. The main difference is that The Trapp Family's version is much faster and the "pum" accompaniment stays on the tonic (a tonic pedal, I think this is called?). At any rate, the song's three chords are implied by the melody and countermelody, regardless of what the "pum"-mers do, so Halloran didn't add a vast amount in his choral arrangement, in my opinion. That is, much credit must go to whomever arranged it for the Trapps.

At any rate, we now know that Simeone was hardly the author of this classic number....



Lee

Merry Boxmas!

Box.net has been kind enough to increase my downloading bandwidth from 50 to 75 GB. Apparently, they read about my troubles (in one of my low-bandwidth laments) and decided to help out in the best XMas manner. This should keep us going through the rest of the holiday posting.

Thank you, Box.net!

And I'm going to attempt a zip file or two. I've never tried zip-filing, but it should be simple as pumpkin pie. And less filling. Which is the whole idea, of course.

I guess one of the reasons I've shied from making (and downloading) zip files is because my Dell was so slow, which made the process of extracting the individual files a hassle. (You'd have to know just how slow my Dell was.) With my super-fast HP, this is no longer an issue. So... I'll give try a zip. I mean, give zipping a try. Something like that.

Meanwhile, here are some Christmas sheet music covers from my collection. Nothing special, but they're cool, I think. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town shows up a lot, of course, since it sold zillions of copies.

Clicking on the images should bring up a larger image:






















Lee

"Jingle Bells"-athon, Part 4!!

They said it couldn't be done. I'm not sure who "they" were, or what "they" said couldn't be done, but I know I did this. "This" being Jingle Bells-athon, Part 4.

(No, I'm not typing this under the influence of sinus meds. Why do you ask?)

Anyway, I have twenty-three versions for your listening overdose. And I'd better upload all photos now, lest they refuse to upload later on in the text:


















The Cricket label Jingle Bells (above) turned up in my latest thrift haul, and I figured a listenable file just wasn't going to happen. If you could see the entire, semi-destroyed disc, you'd know what I'm talking about. And, yet, the file came out halfway good. I mean, well.

You gotta love that chintzy label. By which we see that this record was enjoyed in Room 5. Far out.

Pickwick Sales Corporation. One of THE vinyl metaphors for "cheap."

You've seen a couple of the pictures. Now to hear the sounds. Simply click on this link to get to the "Jingle Bells"-athon folder--and Jingle download away. My goal is drive everything stark, raving mad. I'm already there. The melody, I could hear forever, but it's those cursed bells! Those BELLS!! AIEEEEE!!

Just kidding. Can't get enough of them. Anyway, here's the list:


Jingle Bells Medley--The Singing Dogs, 1955. From RCA Victor 45.

Version from The Magnificent Music of Christmas (Westerfield 1006).

Dennis Day. (Pickwick strikes again!)

Frank Sinatra (1946), from Columbia LP.

Frank Sinatra with Gordon Jenkins (1957), from Capitol label.

Japanese 33 and 1/3 EP.

Jim Nabors (from A Christmas Remembrance)

John Eastman (from International Award label LP)

Julie Andrews with Andre Previn Orchestra. From Happy Holidays, Vol. 13 (True Value, 1978).
Kate Smith. (Pickwick)

Kitty Wells and The Jordanaires (1962), from LP.

Lawrence Welk Orchestra (1957), Coral label.

Mills Brothers. (1972 Goodyear comp.)

Norman Luboff Choir (1964), from RCA Victor LP.

Paul Revere and the Raiders (1967) (From various-artists LP, A Rockin' Christmas)

Royale Concert Orchestra, from Golden Tone/Rondo-lette/Whatever label LP.

Santa's Friends (from 7" Cricket 78 in UBR (("used to be a record")) condition)

The Mom and Dads (1972), from LP.

The Roy-Cliffs (from Gateway label 78. Hyper-cheap!)

The Sanborn Singers (courtesy of Amway Corporation), from Sounds of Christmas (Amway, 1974).

The Soulful Strings (1968) (From Cadet label LP)

Usual Lee Wong and Granny (Jerry Thomas), from 45 on Obscurity label.

Jingling Brass, Danny Davis/Nashville Brass. From Goodyear collection.


My favorites from this bunch: Lawrence Welk, Norman Luboff, Singing Dogs, Royale Concert O., Julie Andrews, Santa's Helpers.

Not so favorite: Paul Revere, Granny.

More Christmas sounds to come....



Lee