Julie on Monday Night

A quick share for Monday night.  Here is Julie Andrews performing "A Christmas Song", from "Firestone presents Your Favorite Christmas Music Vol. 4".  I love Julie's phrasing in her rendition of this Christmas classic.  This is not on any of her CDs, and thanks to ClickRepair I have a recording that I think sounds pretty great.  Painstaking cleaning of the record took a lot of noise out, but it took ClickRepair for the final touch.  This is going on my Christmas comp this year.  I hope you enjoy this beautiful performance as much as I do.

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A Mighty Good Album

Tonight's album is Ashley Miller's "Holiday Music", played on the Mighty Organ of The Radio City Music Hall. According to the notes on the back cover, Ashley Miller was the organist at Radio City Music Hall for many years. This record is a very nice recording of tradional Christmas carols, including a few medleys. A very enjoyable record, and the first of at least two (maybe more) shares related to Radio City Music Hall.

Great cover art, too - Christmas decor at Rockefeller Center, circa Nineteen something something.

For your listening pleasure, Ashley Miller at the Mighty Organ of the Radio City Music Hall.

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Mystery 78s Redux

After some tips and advice from the readers and listeners, I've made some improvements in the mystery 78s from Hollywood Records. Here is a re-mastered (or, more appropriately, re-apprenticed) set of songs. Download link in original post has also been revised.

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A Music Box Christmas

For my first whole-album, all-Christmas share, I've chosen "A Music Box Christmas". These are hymns and carols played on 19th century music boxes, from the collection of Rita Ford, a collector and shopowner in New Jersey. The album was first released in 1961, and remained in print for several years (long enough to require a UPC code, which is on my copy).

The album offers 18 songs from Ms. Ford's music boxes. To me, they bring to mind a quiet Christmas season evening, snow falling from the sky. Very serene, very spiritual.

Ms. Ford's Music Box Shop has a website, Rita Ford Music Boxes. For more information about Ms. Ford, her shop and services, and her music boxes, please visit her website.





Enjoy "A Music Box Christmas"

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A Thanksgiving Tradition

For the past several years, I have started my Thanksgiving holiday with a cup of coffee and a reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory". This year is no different - I have just finished re-reading it. It seems as if I find something new with each reading.

"A Christmas Memory" is the recollection of a 7 year old Truman Capote growing up with his distant cousin/best friend Miss Sook Faulk, in her 60s. They have each other, and, from a boy's point of view, not much else. The story begins in late November on a cold morning when his friend declares "It's fruitcake weather!"

The traditions of the Christmas season, the bonds of friendship, and some inevitable sadness run through this amazing story. If you enjoy reading stories of Christmas, I recommend that you find yourself a copy of "A Christmas Memory". It may be the start of your own personal holiday tradition.

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Wednesday Two-Fer: Mystery 78s

A Wednesday, pre-Thanksgiving Two-fer. The first post for the evening had no shares, so I thought I'd add another tonight with a share. So, here are a few songs from The Cheerleaders and The Hollywood Choraliers.

I don't know anything about the artists or the recordings apart from what you can see from the record scans. These are 78rpm records, in snazzy seasonal red. Some very basic information is on the label.  Google searches yield nothing more on either The Cheerleaders or The Hollywood Choraliers, or the "Hollywood Records" label. So, if anyone knows anything about them, please leave a comment.

The records are old and pretty noisy. Probably not a choice for your annual Christmas comp, but I find recordings like these very interesting. I found a HUGE pile of 78s at a local record store last weekend (including Frank Sinatra's "White Christmas"), but the owner hadn't priced them yet. I'll be back....

I hope you find these interesting and historical as well, and that someone may have some information about the recordings or artists.

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Sharity Blues Part 2

Getting into the world of Christmas music sharity has its ups and downs. I wrote earlier about the down with the Pied Pipers record that came with a flexi-disc taped to it. Another hazard to the hobby is a record that is too scratchy to enjoy. I've bought several records that were risky based on looks. Fortunately, for 99 cents or less, the investment is minimal.

Then there's this: You make a great find, record looks to be in great shape, you bring it home, and then find out that it's available on CD or digital release. No sharing allowed. I've had several of these this year, as a new contributor to the hobby. Great music, but can't share it out. Here's a few examples that I've brought home:

The Lettermen

　

The Kingston Trio

　



Connie Francis

Patti Page



And then there are the records that aren't in print digitally, but have already been shared out by others. No need to share them again. Oh well - can't remember everything that's out there. And don't feel like checking each one via SmartPhone before buying.
　
Fortunately, the ups of this hobby greatly exceed the downs, most notably the excitment of finding new (to me) music that is really good.  Even though I have quite a few non-sharable records, I have a decent number ready to share over the course of the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy them!