"Christmas at Halloween" in July!

Sometimes, things coincide oddly. At my Merv Griffin post, Ernie commented, "Thanks, Lee! But none of this is Christmas music. Don't you know it's July?"--referring, of course, to Christmas in July. Meanwhile, by the oddest of chances, I had been restoring my 2008 Christmas at Halloween suite, which of course is a take-off on the Christmas in July theme.

You see, several days ago, my sister had asked to hear a portion of the suite--Call Dumb All the Faithful (The Neo-Atheist Creed)--and I said, sure. Then I looked and couldn't find the complete suite. By "looked," I mean that I went through my hundreds of CD-Rs. No complete suite. Luckily, there was a pair of 2008 CDs of the suite in progress, plus a CD recorded from some of the original, unedited MIDI files. Several hours of work, but I was able to reconstruct the fourteen-part piece. But I'd come that close to losing at least five of the movements. (Cue shrieking violins.)

The moral? Always keep your CD-Rs in better order than I do.

So, what better Christmas in July selection than my reconstructed Christmas at Halloween? And this is how we came to have Christmas at Halloween in July. In case anyone asks you.

Except for the first and third portions, everything was composed in step-time on my Noteworthy Composer software. That is to say, what sounds like incredible keyboard technique in some spots is, in fact, a MIDI illusion.

To the Christmas at Halloween in July: Christmas at Halloween

CHRISTMAS AT HALLOWEEN (Lee Hartsfeld, 2008)

Mistletoes and Cobwebs
Santa's on His Way
Noisy Night
The Brittle Mummy Boy
The Little Train of Bethlehem
We Three Things Abhorrent Are
Call Dumb All the Faithful (The Neo-Atheist Creed)
Check the Halls
Door to the Weird
Desist, Ye Scary Gentlemen
The First Noel
The Second Noel
The Third Noel
The Fourth Noel

(Composed with Noteworthy Composer software, save for parts 1 and 3.)

Lee

Merv's Birthday (month)!

Merv's Birthday was the 6th, so I'm a little late--but it's the month that counts. And, so, a late July Birthday tribute to the late, great Merv, all ripped from 78s and 45s in my collection. (Merv made a lot of them!) Included are two of his hits, both big: 1949's I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, made during his band-singer days with the Freddy Martin Orchestra, and 1951's Twenty-Three Starlets, recorded with Hugo Winterhalter during his solo period at RCA Victor. The latter was written by Tom (On Top of Spaghetti) Glazer. I Don't Want a Thing to Remind Me of You appears to be from his days as a radio singer at KFRC (1945-49). A while back, I almost got the story behind this disc, but it was not to be.

The most recent sides in our Mervlist come from the year of my birth, 1957--they are Love Story (made long before the famous flick) and I'll Be Thinking of You, both recorded for Decca.

Click here to hear: Merv's Birthday 2011


MERVLIST

MY OWN, MY ONLY, MY ALL--Merv Griffin w. Freddy Martin Orch., 1949.
I WOULD IF I COULD (Cy Coben)--w. Freddy Martin O., 1951.
HEAVEN DROPPED HER CURTAIN DOWN--w. Freddy Martin, 1951.
IF YOU DON'T HUG'ER BY NINE O'CLOCK--w. FM, 1952.
MAMBO JAMBO--w. FM, 1950.
SAM'S SONG--w. FM, 1950.
LOVE IS SUCH A CHEAT (THE GYPSY SONG)--w. FM, 1949.
THE BLOSSOMS ON THE BOUGH--w. FM, 1949.
MY ONE AND ONLY HIGHLAND FLING--w. FM, 1949.
I DON'T WANT A THING TO REMIND ME OF YOU (Fulton SSR-1043; c. 1945)
I'VE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF COCONUTS--w. FM, 1949.
LOVE STORY--w. Jack Pleis Orch., 1957 (Decca).
I'LL BE THINKING OF YOU--Flip side of above.
I FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU EV'RY DAY--w. Hugo Winterhalter O. and Cho., 1951.
TWENTY-THREE STARLETS (Tom Glazer)--Same, 1951.

Lee