Merry Catmas!! Part 2

"Merry Catmas!" from Rosie, Arlo, Andy, Oliver, and Griff.

Merry Catmas!!

"Merry Catmas!" from Savio, Whitey, Fidel, Queenie, and Perry.

My sign's bigger than your sign

Page Cavanaugh (1922-2008)

The profoundly gifted jazz pianist Page Cavanaugh died this morning at the age of 86. See Bill Reed's loving tribute.

He had a long life and was in touch with his fans up to the end. There's some justice on this planet, anyway.

Just in: Two 10-inch Page Cavanaugh LPs at Buster's Big 10-Inch Record blog, with one more on its way. (Put "Cavanaugh" in the blog's search box.) For some reason, Rapidshare isn't letting me download the RCA Cavanaugh--something about another download in progress at my ISP. Ummm... no.

Not that I know of, anyway!


Lee

A face filled with remorse

"Joey, The Christmas Choir Boy," "The Carillon," more!

Twelve incredible holiday selections, some new to the blog, others not so new. The new titles include Sister Cecilia's Joey the Christmas Choir Boy and I Want Christ Back in Christmas; the Merrill Staton Choir's Sidewalk Santa and (this one's dedicated to Ernie) The Carillon.

And there are two sides written and performed by Cliff Martin: Three Little Drawfs and Santa Claus and Santa Claus Is on His Way. Pleasant but bland is my first judgment--maybe they'll grow on me. I'm guessing this is the Cliff Martin we're hearing. He also appeared on the Record Guild of America label.

Sister Cecilia of OSU (Order of Saint Ursula) appears to have been Ursuline Sister Cecilia Morano, who passed away on Feb. 5, 2003. From the Diocese of Youngstown (Ohio) site:

Ursuline Sister Cecilia Morano, 84, Feb. 5, taught music and voice at various schools; choir director, St. Patrick Boys Choir, 22 years; taught voice and chorus at the University of Notre Dame, Dana School of Music, voice and piano at Ursuline Motherhouse.

Sister Cecilia's lovely soprano goes along with that bio, and vice versa. So cool to find out about (and find a copy of) this recording, made in Youngstown, Ohio in 1962.

The rest of the numbers are annual holiday numbers for this blog, including the (frankly) creepy I'd Like to See My Mom for Christmas. One one hand, it's the kind of thing the Lewis Family or Jim & Jess would (and do) perform--on the other hand, those folks would make it sound like just another sappy mother-is-gone song. Maybe the genre simply doesn't work when it's removed from a bluegrass gospel setting. You decide.

Click here to reach Joey, the Christmas Choir Boy, and more!

SLEIGHLIST

JOEY THE CHRISTMAS CHOIR BOY (Sister Cecilia)--Sister Cecilia w. Ursuline Sisters (Youngstown, Ohio). 1962.
I WANT CHIRST BACK IN CHRISTMAS--Same.
SIDEWALK SANTA--The Merrill Staton Choir, 1960.
THE CARILLON--The Merrill Staton Choir, 1960.
THREE LITTLE DRAWFS AND SANTA CLAUS (Martin)--Cliff Martin and The Neighbor's Kids, w. Don Costa Orch.
SANTA CLAUS IS ON HIS WAY--Same.
SNOWY WHITE SNOW AND JINGLE BELLS--Mervin Shiner, 1952.
PUT CHRIST BACK INTO CHRISTMAS--Jack Allyn with Organta Trio.
I'D LIKE TO SEE MY MOM FOR CHRISTMAS--Bob Jones w. Williams Sextette.
I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS--Mervin Shiner, 1952.
I WANNA DO MORE THAN WHISTLE--The Lancers, Van Alexaner Orch., 1954.
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS--Same.


Lee

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

John Jacob Niles--Folk Songs of Christmas, Vol. 2

Courtesy of Buster at Big 10-Inch Record, here's the second EP in the two-EP Folk Songs of Christmas set on the Camden label. This music is just amazing. The Cherry Tree is not the version (or set of versions) I know, but it's just as interesting. Notice how, in one of the songs (can't recall which at the moment), Niles reuses a melody from Vol. 1, only in minor mode.

Here's the RapidShare link: John Jacob Niles--Folk Songs of Christmas, Vol. 2

Thanks again, Buster!

SLEIGHLIST

SING WE THE VIRGIN MARY
THE CHERRY TREE
LULLE LULLAY (COVENTRY CAROL)
JESUS, JESUS REST YOUR HEAD

Buster's zip file includes the cover scan above, which I copied for this post.

Lee

The Dennis James Boys and Girls, more!

Read all about Dennis James at the Internet Movie Database: Dennis James, imdb. Pianist Roger Williams got his start after Jack Kapp heard him on James' Chance of a Lifetime and Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and signed him to Kapp Records. Cool. Anyhow, after checking two on-line Kapp discographies, I can say with moderately safe certainty that this is Dennis James' sole Kapp single. Too bad, because these numbers are a lot of fun.

Maybe 1955 listeners disagreed? Hard to believe. How could anyone not love this cross between Art Mooney and Mitch Miller's Sing Along Chorus (the latter yet to come, at least in title)?

In other news, ever since I updated my Rhapsody mp3-burner/please-pay-$10.00-a-month-to-sample-the-latest-pap software, it's been experiencing problems and closing. Sorry to hear it's having issues--I hope it doesn't turn to drink. When will I ever learn NOT to update?

I ask you, dear reader.

And we have Paul Evan's version of The Bell That Couldn't Jingle (Burt Bacharach-Larry Kusik), which was arranged and conducted by Bacharach himself, Lew White's outstanding 1942 recording of March of the Toys (as expertly reissued on the Camden label), the superbly sentimental Let's Light the Christmas Tree, Jim Lowe's hokey but nice Prince of Peace, and the fourth (?) replay of Paddy Roberts' Merry Christmas You Suckers, which I discovered hiding between LPs in a box at Volunteers of America years ago. Whatever I just typed.

The Roberts side is a pretty traditional Christmas roast--typical Scrooge-lite humor, but very well done. Which I guess a roast has to be, to be a roast. (Whatever I just typed, Part 2.)

Moving on, there's the great mono version of Arthur Fiedler's Sleigh Ride, the year of which I forget. The stereo version is the one that ends up on comps, and this mono mix is much, much better. What a single channel can do for a recording.

The uncredited chorus on Jingle Bells and White Christmas were featured on a Westerfield LP called, um... something. Not sure. The jacket isn't handy, as I'm in the process of rearranging the Media Room--something that's been needed for a while. After all, should I suddenly croak in this room, I'd hate for the search team to be digging for hours. ("Look! I see a foot!") I'm just being considerate.

Okay, I exaggerate a little. But not when I say that this playlist will make your Christmas. ("This playlist will make your Christmas.") There. I said it. Can't put a Kapp on this kind of fun.

To the sleighlist: The Dennis James Boys and Girls, more!

SLEIGHLIST

JINGLE BELLS--The Dennis James Boys and Girls, 1955.
LET'S ALL SING A SONG FOR CHRISTMAS (Skylar-Kapp)--Same.
JINGLE BELLS--Unidentified singers on Westerfield 1006.
WHITE CHRISTMAS--Same folks.
THE BELL THAT COULDN'T JINGLE--Paul Evans, Burt Bacharach, 1962.
PRINCE OF PEACE (Jim Lowe)--Jim Lowe, Jack Halloran Singers, David Carroll O., 1956.
MARCH OF THE TOYS (Herbert)--Lew White, organ, 1942.
LET'S LIGHT THE CHRISTMAS TREE--Ruby Wright, Cliff Lash O., Dick Noel Singers, 1957.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, YOU SUCKERS--Paddy Roberts, 1962.
SEASON'S GREETINGS (A CHEERFUL HELLO)--Larry Noble, Pete Pontrelli Orch., 1959.
SLEIGH RIDE (Anderson)--Arthur Fielder, Boston Pops.
PARADE OF THE WOODEN SOLDIER ROCK (Actually, Tchaikovsky)--Statler Rec. 1169
JINGLE BELLS MAMBO (Rugolo)--Pete Rugolo Orch., 1954.
MIDNIGHT SLEIGHRIDE (Troika, from Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite)--Sauter-Finegan Orch., 1952.
SANTA WON'T BE BLUE THIS CHRISTMAS--Jimmy Charles, 1960.



Lee

John Jacob Niles Sings Folk Songs of Christmas, Vol. 1

Five wonderful holiday tracks by John Jacob Niles--so wonderful, I wish I had Vol. 2. But half a classic is way better than none. 1955, says an on-line discography.

The Seven Joys of Mary is also known as The Cherry Tree Carol, and I don't know that I've ever heard a lovelier performance than this one. Niles' performances of Twelve Days of Christmas and The Kentucky Wassail Song are kind of eccentric, but there's nothing wrong with that. His kind of eccentric, I like. It provides a nice, earthy contrast to the phony-baloney, "produced by..." folk of our time. Folk, before it became a popular category.

Yes, I long for those days. And I remember them well. Which is funny, because they predate me....

Enjoy.

Click here to hear John Jacob Niles: Folk Songs of Christmas.

SLEIGHLIST

The Seven Joys of Mary
See Jesus the Saviour
The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Kentucky Wassail Song
Jesus, the Christ Is Born


Lee

Christmas Stuff for Kids, Part 2

Last sleighlist, we heard Silver Spurs: The Song. This time, we'll hear The Story. I'd meant to put them in the same sleighlist, but you know how that goes--the best-laid panes of ice, etc.

It's Christmas Again, Peppermint Lane, and If I Were Santa Claus were penned by Mary Peacock (that's her on the piano) for an annual Moorestown, NJ holiday celebration. Mary died in 2003 at the age of 98. Her obit notes that she "worked in radio in its early days and went on to be listed in the International Who's Who in Music." Cool. The performers are The Music Department of the Woman's Club of Moorestown, as directed by Jill Boswell. I found this cool 45 rpm EP in a Columbus, Ohio thrift and first featured it in 2006.

And we have three versions of Jingle Bells, plus one version of Sid Bass and Roy Jordan's Jungle Bells, an odd combination, melody-wise, of Jingle Bells and Mule Train. This Les Paul and Mary Ford classic was reviewed in TIME magazine the year it came out (1953).

The other twelve tracks are just as fun. Download away; 'twill soon be Christmas day! ('Twill?)

Click here to reach zip file: Christmas stuff for kids, Part 2


SLEIGHLIST

SILVER SPURS: A CHRISTMAS STORY (Robert Knigge)--Narr. by Dr. Dwayne Jorgenson, 1975.
JINGLE BELLS--ROYALE CONCERT ORCH.
THE BELL THAT COULDN'T JINGLE (Bacharach-Kusik)--Bobby Helms, 1965.
IT'S CHRISTMAS AGAIN--PEPPERMINT LANE--IF I WERE SANTA CLAUS--(Peacock)--Music Department of the Woman's Club of Moorestown, directed by Jill Boswell. Mary Peacock on piano.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH--Santa's Helpers (Design SDLPX-30)
SANTA CLAUS IS HERE AGAIN--Lennon Sisters w. Lawrence Welk, 1956.
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS--Tops L1525; 1957
JINGLE BELLS--Santa's Helpers (Design SDLPX-30)
THE STINGIEST MAN IN TOWN--The Four Lads, 1956.
PARADE OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS--Fred Waring and His Penn., 1950.
CHRISTMASVILLE, U.S.A.--Jimmy Charles, 1961. AVAILABLE AT AMAZON FOR mp3 DOWNLOAD.
JUNGLE BELLS--Les Paul and Mary Ford, 1953.
SANTA'S CHRISTMAS PARTY--Kathryn Hume, Grace Lynne Martin.
JINGLE BELLS--Dick Byron, Sandpiper Chorus, Mitch Miller.
TOYLAND (Victor Herbert)--Royale Concert Orch.


Lee