I have to thank Johnny Zell for making two of my least favorite Christmas standards likeable, at least in his versions: Do You Hear What I Hear and The Christmas Song (Chestnuts). I'll have to say that the second title works very well as an instrumental--maybe it's the lyrics which leave me flat. Well, that's my problem, anyway. My verdict is not likely to affect the continued popularity of either number.
Because Johnny was with Lawrence Welk, we already know he was top-flight, and, sure enough, he's superb on these tracks. And we get his wife, Laura, on some keyboard-solo tracks. These are the usual holiday titles--save, maybe, for Come on, Ring Those Bells, which is (or was?) something of a minor standard, it seems. A Google search brought up many instances of it.
The notes are by Welk's "Champagne Lady" Norma Zimmer, who of course praises the two musicians. And they fully deserve the praise--this is some of the most pleasant, easy-listening-y (easy-listening-y?) Christmas music you're going to encounter, and... what the heck is up with Blogger's spell checker? I just fumble-fingered "Christmas," and instead of bringing up the correct spelling, Blogger offered to search the internet for other instances of my mistyping. What a right handy feature! It also underlines words just for the heck of it--some kind of grammar check, maybe. Would Blogger please stop making changes to itself? I ask, because the changes never turn out to be useful.
Enough about the (ahem) improved Blogger. Back to topic, I give this fine effort a solid A for its over-the-top pleasantness, its attractive cover, its fine 1979 stereo fidelity, and for being a trumpet Xmas LP. Always nice to showcase one of Lawrence Welk's fabulous musicians, too. He hired the best. Oh, and Zell utilizes original I Heard the Bells... melody, which I find far more pleasing than Johnny Marks' newer strain. I've been waiting for the original melody to pop up...
DOWNLOAD: Johnny Zell--Heralding Christmas (Manna Records MS-2065; 1979)
O Holy Night
What Child Is this (Greensleeves)
Away in a Manger
Do You Hear What I Hear (Shayne)
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts) (Torme-Morris)
Come on, Ring Those Bells (Culverwell)
Medley: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day/Hark, the Herald Angels.../Angels We Have Heard on High
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night
White Christmas (Berlin)
Heralding Christmas--Johnny Zell (Manna Records MS-2065; 1979)
Lee
9 comments:
This sounds like t should be great.
I don't think I knew there is another melody to "I Heard the Bells" other than the one Bing sings.
Buster,
Yup, it's a 19th century tune. Bing sings Johnny Marks' tune, which was written in 1956. I was never crazy about the Marks melody--I prefer the 1872 tune, played by Zell, which is more upbeat: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/pdf/en/i/h/e/I%20Heard%20the%20Bells%20on%20Christmas%20Day.pdf
Lee,
I pop up in the strangest places, don't I? LOL! Getting this one as I type, but I had to chime in first, on Blogger, or in my case, Gmail's (ahem) updates, for me, in Firefox. I too, get those crazy underlinings, grammar included, but in Chrome, it's the old way, so mostly anymore, I use the latter for Gmail (see, there's another one right there LOL) and Firefox for everything else! Oh and on the Good man from yesterday, heard that first when I was a kid, on a Dr. Demento's Christmas tape, dubbed by a friend, he and I would swap Christmas tapes every year, I mean multiple ones LOL! Always enjoyed The Flying Saucer, too. 'Til later, love and prayin' for ya!
Romans 11:33-36 KJB
Josh
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Looks interesting, Lee! Again, something I've not seen before. Thanks!
Hey Lee,
A very nice album. I remember my father talking about Welk if something of his was played on an old-time 30-50s radio station. I think I have 2 of Welks' Christmas albums in my Christmas mp3 files.
Never seen this record anywhere! Great find.
...I can't wait to hear this...too bad there's nothing from it on YouTube...
Excellent collectiion! Mr. Zell's trumpet style at times borders on the styles of Ralph Marterie, Herb Alpert, and Al Hirt. The one cut where he sounds the most like Johnny Zell is "O Holy Night" which also has a touch of the Phil Driscoll style. His wife's keyboard solos are really nice as well, with the medley being my favorite. I noticed that it was recorded at Annex Studios to give that authentic Lawrence Welk Show feel and sound. "Come On Ring Those Bells" is a real standout here, with it being just a touch more uptempo than the original recording by Evie Tornquist, who would change her name to Karlsson when she got married. It's a song that still occasionally gets played at churches during the Christmas season. With a label like Manna Records, this probably was sold at Christian bookstores and not in mainstream record outlets. A great instrumental Christmas collection, one that was totally new to me. Thanks for sharing.
musicman1979,
My pleasure! And thanks for your informative comments. And I wondered if Manna was related to Word, but a check at Discogs tells me no! You're probably right about Christian bookstores being the main venue for such labels.
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