Last year, I presented one of my favorite finds ever--the Pickwick Christmas Is for Children LP, circa 1957--and so it's nice to have a "new" Pickwick holiday classic to share out. At Discogs, "Gerald Gibson and His Sing-A-Longers" pulls up only one LP, and--surprise! It's this one. As a lone search phrase, "Gerald Gibson" brings up folks who clearly aren't this person, assuming this person was for real to begin with. (Then again, someone had to have directed the music...) Anyhow, very enjoyable stuff, with that chintzy Pickwick sound we love so well. And this is yet another budget "vinyl" which can't decide on its title--on the jacket, it's Christmas Sing-Along, whereas on the label it's Christmas Sing-A-Long. One hyphen, two hyphens--whatever. I believe I tagged it as Sing-A-Long. This is a vastly important matter, so I thought I'd discuss it.
In "full spectrum stereo," by the way, courtesy of Hurrah Records, which describes itself as follows: "Tomorrow's sound today. A complete music library for the home. Music for every listening pleasure. Yes--music to please every member of the family from grandparents down to the diaper set." Wow.
Not only all that, but Hurrah Records are "Designed to please the most exacting technicians." It seems that Pickwick really went all the way with this one, except for telling us who Gerald Gibson is. Or his Sing-Alongers/Sing-A-Longers. Everything we could ask for--except an artist bio.
The cover art is beautifully period--a very 1962 depiction of carolers singing by the light of a street lamp. Penciled on the back jacket is "Jack R. Houocker (sp.?)," a previous owner, plus the words "Ha! Ha." Was that an editorial comment?
DOWNLOAD: Christmas Sing-Along: Gerald Gibson and His Sing-A-Longers
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
White Christmas
Jingle Bells
Deck the Halls
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joy to the World
The First Noel
Silent Night
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
O Little Town of Bethlehem
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Away in a Manger
What Child Is This
(Christmas Sing-Along--Gerald Gibson and His Sing-A-Longers; Hurrah HS-X7; 1962)
Lee
5 comments:
Thanks, Lee. I feel like I'm listening to music from the future here!
I like how they have "sing along" both ways on the cover.
This was the "Sing Along with Mitch" era. We had both his seasonal specialties - "Holiday Sing Along with Mitch" and "Christmas Sing Along with Mitch." "Holiday" included secular material, "Christmas" was devoted to semi-sacred content.
12/2/21
RobGems68 Wrote:
I have this album! On Hurrah Records, and in stereo. The cover's a little kitsch, but it fits in perfectly with that late 50's-early 60's vibe. Once Mitch Miller's career went into a downfall in 1964, albums like these wound up in the budget bins for 49 cents apiece. I still see kitschy Christmas LPs like this one in antique shops & flea markets.
Buster--
I had both Miller LPs at one time (courtesy of thrifting), but I don't think I even listened to them! And Miller was about the last artist/producer my parents would have bought albums by, as they were jazz elitists in every way. Jazz was the center of their musical world, though my mother did love opera and show tunes. Still, my dad controlled the family hi-fi. I remember both of my parents telling me that Mitch was a "sellout." A legit musician who put out music for the general public. Well, that was his job, was it not?
RobGems68--
This one's on Hurrah, too--I just named Pickwick as the parent company. I use "Pickwick" as a shorthand. I know this one has two covers--the other being less interesting, as it doesn't have the nice, kitschy carolers cartoon. I didn't mention this in my write-up, but there are actually only three selections here that feature a song leader, leading me to suspect that this was turned into a "sing-along" LP at the last moment, perhaps with some previously issued tracks.
Rob--
And, yes, the budget labels put out tons of sing-along albums once the craze was established. Second only to the budget "Twist" LPs.
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