Tonight's share is Merry Christmas, by David Frost and Billy Taylor. Orchestra, guest soloists, "Special Gift" performances by Gerri Granger, some narration by David Frost. It's an interesting album, all in all pretty good Christmas music. Well arranged and performed by all.
The tracks include six (plus a reprise) Christmas standards, mostly the popular spiritual classics and including the beautiful 'Wexford Carol', and four composed by Billy Taylor, plus a poem by G.K. Chesterton, recited by David Frost.
Those of us who grew up in the '70s and '80s must remember David Frost, who passed away in 2013. His presence as a journalist, host, and entertainer was unmissable. He touched many areas of popular entertainment, as evident by this record. I think you'll enjoy the package Mr. Frost and Mr. Taylor put together for us.
Today's album is, along with the previously-shared Teresa Brewer, a top share for this season. Mi Cancion de Navidad by Los Alegres de Teran was a surprise find at a local Half Price Books.
I was very pleased with the music on this album. It's rare (in these parts anyway) to find a Christmas album with a track list of completely unknown songs. These aren't Spanish language versions of good ol' American chestnuts. Instead, these are Mexican Christmas songs through and through.
Using the Google, I translated the song titles, although even my very rudimentary Spanish skills gave me a pre-translation good guess.
Noche de Paz - Silent Night
Feliz ano Nuevo - Happy New Year
Mi Cancion de Navidad - My Christmas Song
Amarga Navidad - Bitter Christmas
Paloma Nuelve a Tu Nido - Paloma, Return To Your Nest
And so on. I don't quite get all the translations in a cultural sense, but that notwithstanding, this is a very nice album from Mexico filled with songs celebrating the holiday.
Lifelong musician, sometime entrepreneur and venture capitalist, occasional corporate coach, and world traveler (performing his music along the way), Will Tynan has stepped into the world of Christmas music in 2025, releasing a fine interpretation of one of our favorite carols, "O Christmas Tree". Instrumental guitar with light accompanying strings and percussion and backing sound effects create an engaging soundscape. Reverence to the original melody juxtaposed with more whimsical segments make this one of my favorites this year!
Mine & The Maker - "Christmas Will Not Be Forgotten"
Mine & The Maker is the creation of songwriter Tessa Laszlo. The "mine" is where the lyrics and stories begin, and the "maker" shifts with collaborators who turn the words & ideas into something larger - songs that carry memory, grief, & healing into the world. Mine & The Maker has a new song this season, "Christmas Will Not Be Forgotten" It's a nostalgic Christmas song with a classic crooner feel and timeless holiday mood, written as a vow in song form to loved ones who've passed that Christmas will not be forgotten!
Jeff Meegan and David Tobin - "The Season's Back Again"
Jeff Meegan and David Tobin are bringing back their 2006 release The Season's Back Again, a 7 song album of original Christmas songs in a rousing big band style.
Emmy Award–winning vocalist/composer Jeff Meegan and BAFTA-affiliated composer/orchestrator David Tobin are officially reviving their beloved holiday masterpiece The Season’s Back Again, reigniting a Christmas tradition cherished by families across the globe. Originally recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studio 2, the album returns just in time for the 2025 holiday season—bringing with it the warmth, nostalgia, and lush cinematic elegance that made it an instant classic.
Long regarded as one of Meegan & Tobin’s most heartfelt holiday projects, The Season’s Back Again features standout performances from Jeff Meegan, Steve Memmolo, Lydia Harrell, and the ensemble of Jo Goldsmith-Eteson, Sara Brimer Davey, Kevin Fox and Nick Girard. Together their voices collectively shape the album’s glowing, timeless sound. Its revival arrives at a moment when audiences are craving comfort, connection, and tradition—positioning the album as a must-hear highlight of this year’s holiday soundtrack.
Think Harry Connick Jr, think Squirrel Nut Zippers, think Glenn Miller. It's energetic, it's fresh, it'll have you toe-tapping. If you're a big band fan (or even if you're not), check out The Season's Back Again, available on all the usual digital platforms.
Today's share is one of my top two featured albums this season, At Christmas Time by Teresa Brewer, a 1957 release on Coral Records, her label for the first 10+ years of her long career.
Teresa Brewer is a relatively recent "discovery" for me personally. I first learned of her a couple years ago from the album "It Don't Mean a Thing If You Ain't Got That Swing", which she recorded with Duke Ellington. Then last year I found an album she recorded with Mercer Ellington (featuring an excellent "Ring Dem Bells), and from there I began to explore her work, picking up a number of her albums at the local purveyors of used records.
So of course, I searched her discography for a Christmas album. At Christmas Time is her only Christmas record, and it, sadly, was not to be found ay my usual vinyl haunts. But, I did find it online (either eBay or Discogs - I don't recall which), and made the purchase. So exciting!
It shipped quickly, last year, from Canada. Some of you may recall the Canada Post strike that took place last year. The record was shipped, made it one stop along the way, and then was delayed for a few weeks before the strike ended. Happy ending though - once the strike was over, At Christmas Time made it to my home.
At Christmas Time is a very unique album. It is all original songs, and is interspersed with dialogue with Ms. Brewer's children. It makes for a very homey, cozy feel. The songs are in Teresa's wheelhouse in terms of vocal style and song composition. "Umpteen Days Until Christmas", "Christmas Cookies and Holiday Hearts", and "The Gingerbread House" and my personal favorites. All in all, this is one of my favorite albums in my vinyl collection.
Teresa Brewer has a unique singing style, full of sass and style, perfect 50's/60's pop. I think that there is a bit of 'love her or no-thanks-I'll-pass on her' amongst the general population of music lovers. I fall definitely on the 'love her' side, although there a few songs that wear out their welcome quickly (check out "I Gotta Go Get By Baby"). I continue to explore her musical catalog, and greatly enjoy her work, spanning from the early 50s into the early 90's. (She has a great guest-host episode of The Muppet Show too)
For the share, I decided to separate out the dialogue bits from the songs, so there are a whopping 29 tracks. I thought that this would make a better listening experience than either including the dialog with the song tracks, or having just two files for the two album sides.
As, literally, long as I can remember, I've had Songs of Christmas by Bing Crosby, a 1960 release from Decca records (cat # DL 34461). I was born in 1964, and I can remember this record in our house, basically forever. I think I was about 5 years old when I got a record player for Christmas, a little light blue all-in-one, with built-in speakers and 16/33/45/78 speeds. Somewhere in the house was a larger record player, or maybe it came and went as my older sister and brother moved out and back in. But my little blue record player stayed, and Songs of Christmas was a very frequent visitor to its turntable (along with Lorne Greene's Have a Happy Holiday and, later, many Disney soundtrack records).
You can see on the rather worn back cover my checkmarks, showing which songs were my favorites. "Rudolph" and "Twelve Days" were by far the most played, made easy as the first track on each side. I'm sure my parents in our four-room home got tired of hearing these played so frequently, and throughout the year.
I've toted this record everywhere with me as I've moved about - from home to college, then from college to Kansas City (2 apartments, one townhome, and two houses). It's where my love of Bing Crosby came from. It's where I first learned the nickname "Der Bingle" (although it's spelled "Der Bingel" on the back of the album). And it's absolutely the seed of my love for Christmas music. It's the icon of nostalgia of Christmases for me, bringing back the memories that seem to fade just a bit more each year. Seeing this record and putting it on the turntable sends me back to rural Kansas in the late 60s and early 70s. Thanks to Linus, we all know what Christmas is all about, but running a close second for me is Bing and Songs of Christmas.
I'm sharing the music from this record, although it's all available for you to purchase or stream through every media possible. If you want to listen to how well ol' El Bingo sounds on this one-owner 1960 vinyl, download and give a listen. If you're the rare reader here who doesn't already have their own selections of Bing Crosby, and you like what you hear, please consider making a purchase and supporting those who continue to make this great Christmas music available.
Tonight's share, "The Bells of St. Mary's" by Jerry Burke, was in the Holiday bin at a local record store. The cover looked pretty festive, the title track is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and Jerry Burke is touted as Lawrence Welk's Favorite Organist! And we love us some Lawrence Welk in the Bingle household. So, after a quick 'is is on CD?' search, I grabbed the album for sharing, not looking closely (or, actually, at all) at the song listing on the album cover.
Turns out, "The Bells of St. Mary's" is the only Christmas song on the album. But, you know, that's all right. Jerry Burke is indeed a skilled musician on the Hammond organ, the arrangements are nice - lots of chimes - and there rest of the songs are pleasant to the ear. I mean, how often do you get to hear "The Third Man Theme" on Hammond organ? And no matter how many versions of "Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time" you may have in your collection, isn't there always room for one more?
So, this is a fine record, all in all. You'll exhaust its Christmas offerings after the first 2:02, but save the rest of it for a lazy Sunday afternoon with a glass of sherry.
The first share of this season is the single "(I'm Gettin') Nuttin' For Christmas" b/w "Something Barked on Christmas Morning" by Ricky Zahnd and the Blue Jeaners. Recorded in 1955 by nine-year old Ricky Zahnd and backed by the Blue Jeaners (also children), these are actually a pretty good couple of songs. Novelty-ish songs sung by kids have a short shelf-life for me, so thankfully young Mr. Zahnd performs well and the songs themselves are fine. Not something that I want to play on repeat, but enjoyable in small doses. Cute, but not overly sappy. Mirthful, but not annoyingly so.
Interesting fact (according the the Internet) - Ricky Zahnd, in adulthood, became an executive VP for the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers.
So, please enjoy this single to start our sharing season this year!
