Christmas Stuff for Kids, Part 3

Here's a great write-up on Irene Wicker, The Singing Lady. All of the info is new to me. Wicker's brand of children's entertainment is the type I associate with early television, but, as we're always finding out, there's nothing new in pop culture.

Captain Santa Claus is the flip side of Bobby Helms' original (Decca, 1957) recording of Jingle Bell Rock, and I think I forgot to include it last year. Shame on me. But I've yet to skip Boofo Goes Where Santa Goes and Rabbits Have a Christmas by Linn Sheldon, a great children's entertainer who passed away on April 24, 2006. Sheldon played the character Barnaby on Cleveland, Ohio television. Former Plain Dealer TV critic George Condon called Sheldon "the only authentic genius I've seen on the air." Comedian Tim Conway said, "Linn could take 20 cents worth of props and make your imagination run. That's what talent is all about."

Judy Valentine returns with two 1958 tracks she recorded with Hugo Winterhalter: Winter Wonderland and I'd Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus. A while back, I received a brief but lovely email from Judy, who said that working with Winterhalter was wonderful. Listening to these, I don't doubt it for a moment.

A Delightful Story... is from 1966. The REMC (rural electric membership cooperative, I think) mentioned on the label and in the text is very likely in Indianapolis (Clue: the Cranfill Advertising Agency is credited on the label. This I know because of an anonymous comment from 2005).

And Randy Meyer (not the Randy portrayed on this record) informed me that narrator Jack Underwood "did the midday show on WOWO (Fort Wayne, IN) from the early 1960s to the mid 80s. He passed away a little more than ten years ago." Many thanks to Randy for those details. (The exact date of his passing was Feb. 18, 1992. Thanks to Anon. for the heads-up.)

George Beverly Shea's recording of Charles H. Gabriel's Dear Little Stranger is the only one I know of, though Gabriel's text has gotten around in altered form (Marty Robbins and The Lewis Family both recorded similar songs). That is, it's the only straight-from-the-source recording I know of. Just a guess, but I'll bet this is not an issue keeping pop musicologists busy.

And first, but not least, The Singing Dogs. We'll be hearing the entire 1955 bark-along medley (complete with circus sound effects), that gave us Jingle Bells (which was re-released by its lonesome in 1971). If none of this is making sense, check out this excellent page, which tells the whole dog-gone story (and then some) behind the caroling canines: Don Charles Presents the Singing Dogs. Stuff this good, you can't make up.

To the Christmas sounds: Christmas Stuff for Kids, Part 3


SLEIGHLIST

PAT-A-CAKE, THREE BLIND MICE, JINGLE BELLS--The Singing Dogs, 1955.
CAPTAIN SANTA CLAUS (And His Reindeer Space Patrol)--Bobby Helms, 1957.
BOOFO GOES WHERE SANTA GOES--Linn Sheldon (Barnaby), 1960.
RABBITS HAVE A CHRISTMAS--Linn Sheldon (Barnaby), 1960.
MASSACHUSETTS MIXTURE (JINGLE BELLS)--Lawrence Joy with Wilbur Waite's Pokeberry Promenaders, 1951.
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN--Royale Concert O.
WINTER WONDERLAND--Judy Valentine w. Hugo Winterhalter O., 1958.
I'D LIKE TO HITCH A RIDE WITH SANTA CLAUS--Same.
DEAR LITTLE STRANGER--George Beverly Shea
A DELIGHTFUL STORY OF A BOY AND GIRL ON CHRISTMAS EVE
THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS ROSE--Irene Wicker, The Singing Lady, 1946.
TALE OF A CHRISTMAS STOCKING--Irene Wicker, The Singing Lady, 1946.


Lee