(I'm not above repeating my own essays):
This blog is your source for Line Material Christmas recordings. Accept no imitations. Get your LM groove on here.
We'll start with an explanation of Line Material. Here are two great links for that purpose: Cooper Power Systems and The Line Material Co.
Seems that Line Material annually produced cool Christmas give-away records from (at least as early as) 1949 to (at least as late as) 1964. If you find yourself wondering why the 1957-1962 sides sound so spectacular, consider the talent involved during that particular period: choral arranging by John McCarthy (of Ambrosia/John McCarthy Singers fame) and instrumental arranging by David Carroll (of Mercury). I know for sure they were behind Santa's Factoree, and I'm guessing they're the architects of/on the others from 1957-1962. Line Material was apparently able to hire the best, though I'm guessing that John McCarthy's services were cheaper prior to his 1961-66 stint as choral director for the London Symphony Orchestra.
The LM (and CLM of Canada) sides which date from before and after the 1957-62 period have proven--so far, at least--to be considerably less spectacular, especially 1964's The Story of Santa Claus, which pulled double duty as a Turkish Information Office issue! All the sides are entertaining, but the McCarthy/Carroll efforts raised the company-holiday-record bar to the stratosphere. To the thermosphere, even. Well, maybe not the thermosphere--too hot.
The Magic of Christmas is courtesy of holiday maniac Ernie (who snail-mailed me the small, vinyl 78-rpm disc in 2007), and the 1964 file (replaced here by a cleaner copy) was kindly provided by Stubbysfears.
You'll love these, even if you've heard them before. If you haven't, prepare to be spending the next several weeks singing "Merry Christmas, from Line Material. (Repeat X3, fade)." We start with the 1957-1962 McCarthy/Carroll classics. The two Canadian (CLM) editions are courtesy of Captain OT of A Christmas Yuleblog:
Click here to hear: Have a Line Material Christmas!
LINE MATERIAL CHRISTMAS LIST:
KEEPING CHRISTMAS--Jim Ameche, 1949.
THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS--1956.
SANTA'S NORTH POLE BAND--1957.
THE KINDS OF CHRISTMAS--1958.
THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS--1959.
SANTA'S FACTOREE--1960.
THE DAY THAT SANTA WAS SICK--1961.
LET'S TRIM THE CHRISTMAS TREE--1962.
THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS--CLM version, 1959.
SANTA'S FACTOREE--CLM version, 1960.
Lee
3 comments:
We gotta get busy and find all those missing years, or at least some info documenting whether or not there are records from those years.
I was excited to find one of the records in it's original booklet earlier this year, but it's just one of the same old records.
i sure enjoy your fantastic blog. some of the best mixes on the internet. thank you for sharing.
As always, love these LM records, Mucho thanks man!
Hope this helps figuring out the LM history ... Line Material Christmas Books
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