Industrious

Here's a portion of a show from an odd cavernous concrete venue in downtown ("Nowtown") Maryville (Murvil) TN that was calling itself The Industry. I think that for most of its short existence it was a dance club ("Industrial Dance", no doubt). It was in a large corner building on W Harper and N Cusick streets on the side facing McCammon Ave. (the building for a long time was the home of the Van Metre School of Dance, though on a different floor).

We had to provide our own PA, which was likely leftovers from the Sea 7 States PA, but I don't remember what we used for mains, since I didn't own any at the time. Based on the feedback I'm guessing that we had random volunteers manning the board.

I remember this show being a lot of fun, despite the technical problems. This was likely one of our first 2-5 shows. Unfortunately, the camera battery died shortly into the show, so we get a song or two and then short excerpts from the rest of the show. I guess we either didn't bring the power cord or no one thought to look in the case for it.

You'd think by this time I'd realize that wearing all dark clothes on stage means you can't be seen in the video.

The Thirteenth Generation @ The Industry Maryville TN 9-20-91

26 Bonus Round

We'll conclude this years 25 Days of Blogmas with a bonus day gathering together some stray singles that have been collecting in a pile.

First up is a double holiday 12" single from George Thorogood on lovely Christmas red vinyl. This 1983 release was produced by one of my faves - Dave Edmunds.

Next is a 1983 12" single that gives me a chuckle. It's theoretically a double-sided/equal billed affair, with Jingle Bell Rock appearing on each side sung by a different member of a famous musical duo. When the duo is Hall and Oates, however, there is definitely an imbalance of famous-ness.
The label on the (otherwise blank) sleeve says "Seasons Greetings 'Jingle Bell Rock' Side 1: From Daryl, Side A: From John" (I see what they did there) but the actual disc says "Side A" on Daryl's side and "Side B" on John's side. Uh-oh!

Next up is country mainstay Johnny Tillotson with two 1966 Christmas originals.

We conclude this Blogmas with Jose Ferrer's 1960 recording of Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus backed with Santa's Marching Song, which may feature the A-side performer's children.



Christmas Singles Assortment

George Thorogood - Rock and Roll Christmas/New Year's Eve Party




Hall and Oates - Jingle Bell Rock (Daryl)/Jingle Bell Rock (John)



Johnny Tillotson - Christmas Country Style/Christmas Is The Best Of All

Jose Ferrer/The Ferrers - Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus/Santa's Marching Song

25 The Border Brass - Tijuana Christmas

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass was mighty popular and influential in its time.
Here's one tribute.


The Border Brass - Tijuana Christmas (1968)

01 We Wish You A Merry Christmas
02 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
03 What Child Is This
04 Deck The Halls
05 Jingle Bells
06 Tijuana Christmas
07 Jolly Old St Nicholas
08 Christmas Bells
09 The First Noel
10 Silent Night

24 The Longines Symphonette - The Sweet Voices of Christmas

Other than the cool period cover art, I didn't have much initial interest in this album, as I was expecting a schmaltzy wash of strings and kids voices. While a fair percentage of it is that, the rest is fairly-economically-arranged versions of these Christmas warhorses as sung by a very pro children's choir with a couple of nice instrumentals thrown in that rival those of more well-known traditional Christmas instrumental performers (Frosty is particularly nice, with an assortment of instruments taking turns taking the lead).

The Longines Symphonette - The Sweet Voices of Christmas

Angels We Have Heard on High

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Sleigh Ride

O Christmas Tree

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Oh Come Little Children

Frosty the Snow Man

Beautiful Saviour

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Silent Night

23 The Guideposts Treasury of Christmas Hymns

My Mom (God rest her soul) loved her Guideposts magazine, so I'll dedicate this post to her.

The Guideposts Treasury of Christmas Hymns (1977)

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM - TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD
O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL/ AWAY IN A MANGER - LAWRENCE WELK
IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR - THE KING FAMILY
HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING - PAT BOONE
O HOLY NIGHT - GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA
MARY'S LITTLE BOY CHILD - EVIE
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAINS - RICHARD & PATTI ROBERTS
LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - RALPH CARMICHAEL ORCHESTRA & CHORUS
SILENT NIGHT - KOREAN CHILDREN'S CHOIR
SILVER BELLS - JIM ROBERTS & NORMA ZIMMER

A Brief Commercial Interruption

My free year trial for data hosting has expired, so I'll be paying for storage to keep all of these interesting audio links alive. (Y'all have downloaded over 50 GB of Christmas tunes this month!)

If you have enjoyed the stuff on this site I'd be most appreciative if you could drop a tip of any size in the tip jar (AKA "donate" button) found in the Links section to the right on the main page, or below each post (if I've managed not to muck up the html formatting). That will keep me from stealing from my kid's piggybanks.



The frog family thanks you, too.

22 The Five Choirs of Good Samaritan Episcopal Church - Music For Christmas

OK, technically I shouldn't be posting this yet. If you know any Episcopalians (and I do know some Episcopalians!) you know that they take their liturgical calender seriously, and it's not Christmas season until Christmas day (it's currently Advent, for those wondering). That means you don't sing Christmas songs until Christmas day, either.

This double record set from this Philadelphia church came to me missing disc two (sides two and three) so today we only get sides one and four. The set is packaged in a hefty gatefold sleeve, the inside two pages of which are completely blank. Maybe it's supposed to remind the listener of snow.

The included choirs are The Adult Mixed Choir and Friends, The Men and Boy Choir, The Girl Choir, The Children's Choir, and The Youth Choir. William Evans conducts and Richard Alexander accompanies on the organ (according to the liner notes, which differ from the front cover).


The Five Choirs of Good Samaritan Episcopal Church - Music For Christmas

Side One
O Come, All Ye Faithful
The Snow Lay on the Ground
The Messiah, part one

Side Four
The Messiah, conclusion

21 The Christmas Collection

Ten swinging songs from the vaults of Prestige Records, 1953-1970
A very cool yule listen.
(This pressing is a little rough).

The Christmas Collection - Prestige 1988

1. The Christmas Song, Dexter Gordon
2. Greensleeves, Bill Smith Quartet
3. Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Paul Bley Trio
4. Merry Christmas Baby, Don Patterson
5. The Christmas Song, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
6. The Christmas Song, Gene Ammons
7. White Christmas, Bobby Timmons
8. Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
9. Winter Wonderland, Bobby Timmons
10. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Don Patterson

20 Sounds of A Thousand Strings - Play For Christmas

This album was originally released in 1959 (with different cover art) and has apparently been reissued a number of times since (each time with different cover art).

As you might expect with a name like 1000 Strings, it's the definition of syrupy: good background music for your cocktail party, perhaps, but not something for active listening.

The artwork on this reissue, however...yeah! That's what a Christmas LP should look like!
The rainbow "STEREO" is hep, as well. (The reverse of the sleeve is a boring Crown Records discography).


Sounds of A Thousand Strings - Play For Christmas

Silent Night
O Come All Ye Faithful
Hark The Herald Angels Sing
White Christmas
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Deck The Halls
Joy To The World
The First Noel
Good King Wenceslas
Holy Night
We Three Kings

19 Ralph Carmichael - 'Specially For Shepherds

I'm not certain that this was "contemporary" even by 1977 standards - I guess it's the drums that made it contemporary. Mostly it makes contemporaries the Carpenters sound like acid rock.

Ralph Carmichael - 'Specially For Shepherds: A Contemporary Christmas Cantata

Part I: The Prophets:
The Sign
The Prince of Peace
A Great Light
The Prince of Peace
Shining Bethlehem
Prophet Trio
Unto Us A Child Is Born
Part II: Mary
Gabriel's Commission
Greetings Mary
Whatever Could He Mean
He Shall Be Called God's Son
He Shall Be Great
Questions (How Can This Be)
Nothing Is Impossible
Here Am I
I Must Tell Elizabeth
I Knew It
Sing Out My Soul
Part III: Joseph
I Can't Believe It
Dear Mary
Your Worries Are Through
The Sign (Reprise)
We Will Walk Together
The Road to Bethlehem
Shining Bethlehem (Reprise)
Unto Us A Child Is Born (Reprise)
Part IV: 'Specially for Shepherds
A Light In The Sky
Most Joyful Nes
How Will We Know Him
Just One Look
Glory To God In The Highest
I Found Him
Glory to God In The Highest

18 North Central High School - Festival of Carols

This is my second LP posting from NCHS. The previous years version is here.

I have two copies of this, so if you appear on the disc and have lost your copy in the last 45 years, drop me a line. We'll work something out.

As on the previous disc, an assortment of school ensembles appear: the Counterpoints, the Music Men, the Girls Ensemble, the Descants, the Bell Choir, the Madrigals, the Capella Choir, the Girls Concert Choir, and the Symphonic Band (though the last didn't rate a picture on the cover, apparently).

North Central High School - Festival of Carols 1966

The Twelve Days of Christmas
Jingle Bells
O Come, O Come, Emanuel
Pin A Star
The First Noel
Hear The Sledges
Sing Gloria
Hodie! Christus Natus Est
O Rejoyce Ye Christians Loudly
Torches

A Christmas Festival
African Noel
Carol of the Birds
Winter Wonderland
Holiday
The Ballad of the Holy Child
We Wish You The Merriest

17 New York Harp Ensemble - A Pastoral Christmas

As you might expect from the title, this is a very mellow listen. Build a fire.


New York Harp Ensemble - A Pastoral Christmas

Christmas symphony / Giuseppe Valentini (5:33)
Prelude in E-flat minor, S. 853 (from The well-tempered clavier, book I) / Johann Sebastian Bach (4:08)
Adagio / Pietro Nardini (6:12)
Pastoral symphony : from Messiah / George Frideric Handel (4:21)
Largo and vivace from the Christmas concerto : Concerto grosso in G minor, op. 8, no. 6 / Giuseppe Torelli (3:54)
Largo from Concerto no. 5 in F minor, S. 1056 / Johann Sebastian Bach (3:02)
Sinfonia pastorale / Giuseppe Tartini (7:34)
Largo from the Concerto grosso for unisono violin and four harps / Alessandro Marcello (7:10).

16 Mitch Miller - Christmas Sing Along With Mitch

Not a huge fan of Mitch (from his label exec days) but the man knew how to ride the gravy train that he created. I can't be bothered to look it up, but he may have done 100 of these "sing-along with" albums.


Mitch Miller - Christmas Sing Along With Mitch

1	Joy to the World 1:52
2	Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 2:26
3	What Child Is This? 2:05
4	We Three Kings of Orient Are 3:51
5	It Came upon a Midnight Clear 3:54
6	Silent Night 4:23
7	Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly 1:46
8	God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 2:05
9	O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) 2:24
10	The First Noel 3:26

15 Julie Andrews - Songs For Christmas

Our Miss Poppins splits this album with the Mistletoe Children's Chorus, one side each.
The background picture on the cover is excellent.

Julie Andrews - Songs For Christmas

Julie Andrews:

Silent Night

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O Come All Ye Faithful

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

What Child Is This?

Mistletoe Children's Chorus:

Jingle Bells

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

O Christmas Tree

Up on the Housetops

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

14 Holiday Greetings From The Epic, Portrait, and CBS Associated Families

I've been keeping this as a personal exclusive to use on mix tapes for two and a half decades now, but it's time to share the wealth. This disc consists entirely of holiday greetings from the named record companies for use on radio (see artist list below). It's kind of a cheap pressing, so it's not the best dub ever. Still, you can't go wrong with multiple Ozzy and Weird Al Christmas greetings.


Holiday Greetings From The Epic Portrait and CBS Associated Families (1987)

Greg Allman

Ana

Big Trouble

Bill Carter

Cheap Trick Greeting #1

Cheap Trick Greeting "2

Cherrelle Greeting #1

Cherrelle Greeting #2

Angela Clemmons

Charlie Daniels

Mary Davis

Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine

Fabulous Thunderbirds

David Hallyday

Hiroshima

Insiders Greeting #1

Insiders Greeting #2

Tuesday Knight

Krystol

Lion

Aimee Mann (from 'til tuesday)

Teena Marie Greeting #1

Teena Marie Greeting #2

Kathy Mathis

Ozzy Osbourne Greeting #1

Ozzy Osbourne Greeting #2

Ozzy Osbourne Greeting #3

Quiet Riot Greeting #1

Quite Riot Greeting #2

Radiators

REO Speedwagon

S.O.S. Band Greeting #1

S.O.S. Band Greeting #2

Dan Siegel

Charlie Singleton

Survivor

Robert Tepper

Wa Wa Nee Greeting #1

Wa Wa Nee Greeting #2

"Weird Al" Yankovic Greeting #1

"Weird Al" Yankovic Greeting #2

"Weird Al" Yankovic Greeting #3

"Weird Al" Yankvoc Greeting #4

"Weird Al" Yankovic Greeting #5

Pia Zadora

13 Goodyear - The Great Songs of Christmas Album Two

Lots of orchestration and choirs here in this 1962 edition of the Goodyear Great Songs series.


Goodyear - The Great Songs of Christmas Album Two

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Percy Faith

2. O Little Town of Bethlehem - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

3. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear & Coventry Carol - Eileen Farrell

4. Away in a Manger - Andre Kostelanetz

5. Joy to the World - Percy Farith

6. The First Noel - Nelson Eddy

7. Sleep, Holy Babe - Eileen Farrell

8. The Holly And The Ivy - Norman Luboff Choir

9. O Come, All Ye Faithful & Silent Night - Earl Wrightson

10. Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly - The Philadelphia Orchestra

11. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - Andre Previn

12. Angels We Have Heard On High & Good King Wenceslas - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

13. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy & Waltz of the Flowers - New York Philharmonic

14. Toyland & March of the Toys - Andre Kostelanetz

15. O Tannenbaum & Here We Come A-Caroling - Norman Luboff Choir

16. Jingle Bells - Nelson Eddy

12 Goodyear - Christmas Is

This is the 12th in the Goodyear Christmas LP series, and the second not to bear the "Great Songs of Christmas" name. This is a remarkably un-hip set for 1972.

Unfortunately, this disc came to me naked/unjacketed, so it's a bit worse for wear.


Goodyear - Christmas Is (1972)

Christmas Is (The Hillside Singers)

Winter Wonderland (Jo Stafford)

White Christmas (Frank Sinatra)

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Judy Garland)

What Child Is This (Vikki Carr)

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Tony Bennett)

The Christmas Song (Barbra Streisand)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Bing Crosby)

I'll Be Home For Christmas (Doris Day)

O Holy Night (Andy Williams)

Jingle Bells (The Mills Brothers)

Silver Bells (Patti Page)

Merry Christmas Darling (The Carpenters)

Silent Night, Holy Night (Julie Andrews)

Christmas Is (The Hillside Singers)

11 Firestone - The Wonderful World of Christmas 2

Back on the road again! I'm calling this part of the tire series, even though nowhere on the actual album is Firestone listed - it's only on a sticker on the shrink wrap.

This disc has a mean scratch, so unfortunately the opening Merle gets some skips.

It's all country on this disc (well, country-disco in the case of the Donna Fargo track) and fairly good as mid-70's country goes. Even C. W. McCall gets a chance to talk his way thorough a Christmas story. Ray Price has the best performance, though it's not a Christmas song. I actually like the Fargo track best, just for its sheer over-the-top-ness.


Firestone - The Wonderful World of Christmas 2

White Christmas (Merle Haggard)

The Sweetest Song (Pat Boone)

What Child Is This (Dinah Shore)

Blue Christmas (Glen Campbell)

Noche de Paz/Feliz Navidad a Todos (Freddy Fender)

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Donna Fargo)

New Snow on the Roof (Glen Campbell)

Jingle Bells (Merle Haggard)

Away In a Manger (Loretta Lynn)

Amazing Grace (Ray Price)

Sing Silent Night (C.W. McCall)

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, O Come All Ye Faithful (Jimmy Dean)

10 Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir - Here a Christmas

While I assume that there are no Truth-In-Labeling laws that apply to Christmas records, if they exist, this album is a clear violation. Yes, there are bells, and Dorothy Shaw directs them. Christmas songs? Not so much. Four tracks out of thirteen, to be exact. [The liner notes suggest that the theme of the album is related to [paraphrased] "memories of the places around the world where the choir has performed at Christmas." I rather suspect the theme is more like "we've got this bunch of leftover recordings, how can we package them together in some semi-coherent way?"

Oh, it's also got a commercial stuck in the middle of it.

My tolerance for bell choirs is directly proportional to the Christmas content, so this is rather a disappointment.


Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir - Here a Christmas ...There a Christmas

Tomorrow
Send in the clowns
Texas
America, the Beautiful
I Left my Heart in San Francisco
Overture to Carmen
Brazil
Ave Maria
In a Manger
Tu scendi dalle stelle
Silent night
March on, Bahamaland
Carousel Waltz

Sea 7 States (almost) on the (Un)radio

I mentioned in an earlier post that I thought that this video existed somewhere in the archives.

This is some pre-air silliness and rehearsal/recording preceding a live session on Knoxville's WUOT-FM "Unradio" program.

The audio seen being recorded in this video was previously posted here.

The audio of the actual broadcast as well as a description of the session was previously posted here.

Sea 7 States on WUOT-FM "Unradio" (pre-air)

09 Christmas on the Border

Not bad, but not a classic. Slightly spicy.


Christmas on the Border

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful -- John Kevin Mulkey
2. Children, Go Where I Send Thee -- Greg Gordon
3. Joy To The World -- John Kevin Mulkey
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen -- Gary Chapman
5. Go Tell It On The Mountain -- Greg Gordon
6. The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy -- Jhonny Neel
7. Up On The Housetop -- John Kevin Mulkey
8. O Holy Night -- John Kevin Mulkey
9. I Wonder As I Wander -- Gary Chapman
10. What Child Is This? -- Ardello Gomez

08 Christmas With Colonel Sanders

Hmm, what's wrapped up in that bucket-shaped package?

Chet spins a nice Jingle Bell Rock here (could have done without the singers) and Lorne is always in good voice (and double ditto for doing without the singers).


Christmas With Colonel Sanders

Out of the East (Charlie Pride)
Sleighride (Arthur Fiedler/Boston Pops)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (John Gary)
Good King Wenceslas (Morton Gould/RCA Symphony Orchestra)
O Holy Night (Kate Smith)
Mary's Little Boy Child (Harry Belefonte)
Jingle Bell Rock (Chet Atkins)
Merry Christmas Neighbor (Lorne Greene)
My Favorite Things (Peter Nero)
The First Noel (Sergio Franchi)
I'll Be Home for Christmas (Lana Cantrell)
Carol for Another Christmas (Henry Mancini & his Orchestra)

08 Christmas Wishes

I tend to think of the 60's and vinyl when I think of Christmas compilations, but here's a cassette from 1990. The catch, of course, is that all of the tracks on this release were already 20-30 years old at the time of its release. It's all pretty smooth on here - Bennett to Goulet to Mathis to Vinton on side one, for example. It's a nice background tape for late night, a fire, and some eggnog, I suppose.


Christmas Wishes

(see art for track listing)

06 Christmas America

This is the sort of jingoistic thing that drives me crazy. Christmas is not a specifically American holiday. IMHO there's no reason that a Christmas album should start out with sleigh bells and "amber waves of grain." That being said, there are a couple of decent tracks on this (short) album: you can't go wrong with the trio of Nat, Ella, and Dean, and Peggy, Tennessee, and Bing fill out the second side pleasantly. Even Dinah has a nice rendition of Silent Night, though I could do without the cooing backup singers. Maybe I'll edit out the Hollywood Pops bookend tracks and have a nice short set of decent Xmas songs.

Christmas America

Side One:

1. Christmas America, Part One - The Hollywood Pops Orchestra & Choir / Sid Feller

2. White Christmas - Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians

3. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole

4. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing - (Trad.) - Ella Fitzgerald

5. Winter Wonderland - Dean Martin

6. Over The River (And Through the Woods) - The Hollywood Pops Orchestra with the Mitchell Singing Boys / Sid Feller

Side Two:

1. There's No Place Like Home (Especially Christmas Eve) - Glen Campbell

2. The Christmas Waltz - Peggy Lee

3. My Favorite Things - Tennessee Ernie Ford

4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Bing Crosby

5. Silent Night - Dinah Shore

6. Christmas America, Part Two - The Hollywood Pops Orchestra & Choir / Sid Feller

05 Allen Pote - A Reason To Rejoice

This musical by Allen Pote and Carole McCann (who just passed away this September) dates from 1976, and apparently still gets performed by youth choirs today. There don't seem to be any other recordings of it (based on an admittedly brief google search). Here it is performed by The Joyful Noise, a group of high school singers formed by Pote in Houston, TX.

The composers describe this musical as "mov[ing] through lyrical melodies to the upbeat rhythms of today." Though the Sex Pistols released their first album in 1976, don't expect any of those kind of "upbeat rhythms" from '76 - it's strictly soft rock as the upper limit of upbeat. The use of flute gives it a feel of the more pastoral Jethro Tull moments at times. The finale gives us a bit of tamborine-driven Fifth Dimension-ish pop/soul (and a short drum solo).


Allen Pote - A Reason To Rejoice

Hallelujah (Kristen Philbrook and Tom Merrill, soloists)
All Things Bright and Beautiful
The Song of Advent (Mike Lazo, soloist)
Is This The Savior?
Mary's Lullaby (Kristen Philbrook, soloist)
Teach Us, O Lord
I Am The Vine (Kirby Lee, soloist)
Easter Song
A New Law In The Land
A Reason To Rejoice

04 Alexander Goodrich - Organ and Chimes Christmas

Nothing dramatic or experimental here, just what the title says - organ and chimes. We do get away from the church organ and into something a little more pop (a Lowery, perhaps) on Jingle Bells featuring an overdub from what I presume is a real accordion (or something from the organ effects tabs).

We had a couple of these type albums when I was growing up (usually one at home and one at my grandparent's house) and invariably they were what got played late Christmas Eve right before bed time. According to the Sears price tag on my copy, we paid $3.57 for this album.

This one is no better nor worse than any of the (probably) hundreds of similar organ and chimes albums (although the Jingle Bells is starting to grow on me). There are several different versions of this album out there, and a similarly-named one (Organ and Chimes at Christmas) with a different track listing.

A quick google search for Alexander Goodrich turns up no biographical information, leading me to surmise that he was likely someone moonlighting under a pseudonym (probably an keyboardist signed to another label). That's my theory, anyway.

Alexander Goodrich - Organ and Chimes Christmas Favorites

Diplomat Christmas Records XS-1713

1) Joy To The World

2) Hark The Herald Angels Sing

3) Jingle Bells

4) It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

5) Tannenbaum

6) O Holy Night

7) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Side 2

1) O Come All Ye Faithful

2) The First Noel

3) Away In A Manger

4) O Little Town Of Bethlehem

5) Silent Night

6) Auld Lang Syne

03 Tennessee Ernie Ford

I have a soft spot for ol' Tennessee. I've owned a 45 of 16 Tons for as long as I can remember (I think that it originally belonged to my Mom), and I have coal miners on all branches of my family tree. Even so, a double-record set of him doing Christmas songs is a bit much (but the 16 Tons of Boogie CD is highly recommended).

This set has been reissued in various forms through the years, but AFAIK none of them exactly match this version.

A Tennessee Ernie Ford Christmas Special Capitol Records STBB-485

Sing We Now of Christmas

O Christmas Tree! (O Tannenbaum)

The Little Drummer Boy

Angels We Have Heard on High

Caroling, Caroling

Good King Wenceslas

The Virgin's Slumber Song

The Twelve Days of Christmas

What Child Is This

Away in a Manger

O Come All Ye Faithful

Lottle Boy King

Slumber Song of the Infant Jesus

Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

Good Christian Men Rejoice

The Wassail Song

The Friendly Beasts

He Is Born, the Holy Child

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

White Christmas

02 A Music Box Christmas

This is kind of cool - 18 recordings of the Ipod of the 19th century, the music box. These are not your tinny jewelry box music boxes, either - some of these are the hi-fi units of their day, offering some remarkably-unexpected bass response. These are recordings of music boxes from the collection of New York antique-shop owner Rita Ford (sadly, it appears that the retail shop has closed, but they still have an online presence). Ms. Ford passed away in 1993.


A Music Box Christmas

1. Silent Night Holy Night
2. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
3. Zu Bethlehem Geborend
4. Monastery Bells
5. O Tannenbaum
6. O Sanctissima
7. Spin Spin
8. O Holy Night
9. Ave Maria
10. Adeste Fidelis
11. Still Still Holy Melody
12. Jesus Lover Of My Soul
13. The First Noel
14. Ihr Kinderlein Kommet
15. The Holy City
16. Lobe Den Herren
17. Jingle Bells
18. Silent Night Holy Night

EDIT: apparently this has recently been issued on CD. You can get it at any fine online retailer, I'm sure, but check your local record shop first (while you still have one).