Der Bingle's Essentials: Bing Crosby "Merry Christmas"

Where else would I start my Essentials series than with the original Der Bingle, Le Bing, Mr. Crosby -  Bing Crosby's "Merry Christmas".

The version of "Merry Christmas" that I have is MCA-15024, which according to Tim Neely's Christmas Record Price Guide, dates back to the 1955 Decca release, which itself hails from the 1949 10" set.  This is classic Bing, classic Christmas, with a selection of 12 superb Christmas songs, including "White Christmas", "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with the Andrews Sisters, and other classics.  This album can be the cornerstone of any new Christmas music collection.
I got my copy back in the mid 1980's, one of the first "new" Christmas records I bought as a young adult.

There are many CD collections of Christmas music from Bing Crosby.  Any of the major label collections or official releases from the curators of Bing's music would be fine ways to start a collection, and I could name any of them as "essential".  But really, the only essential is having your own Bing Crosby music for Christmas.

So, why did I choose "Der Bingle" as my blogging non de plume?  Well, the first record I can remember having as a child was "Songs of Christmas" by Bing.  And this goes way back, to when I was 5 or 6 years old.  I loved it then, playing it during and outside of the season, enchanted by "Rudolph" and "Twelve Days of Christmas".  On the back of the album (see image below) the text said that he was known as "El Bingo" in Mexico, "Le Bing" in "France", and "Der Bingel" in Germany.  I thought that "Der Bingel" was funny, and so adopted it, with a spelling change prompted by Internet "research".  And so here I am.  And, the scans included here are from that very album that I grew up with.  Still in the collection, always will be.

So, the first entry in Der Bingle's Essentials is Der Bingel's "Merry Christmas".