Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Various Artists - Great Songs of Christmas Album Six (1966)


Here's yet another treasure from the bargain bin at HPB! I understand there were ten of these albums that were "created exclusively for Goodyear" (it's a "Collectors Album Limited Edition" by Columbia Special Products). There were two of the others in the bargain bin, but the records were in pretty bad shape so I didn't get them. If anyone has the other nine albums or knows where I can go to download them, please let me know!

I'm surprised that my mother didn't buy any of these back in the day, since she bought all the other "special" Christmas albums (the Maxwell House one, the Radio Shack one, etc.). And a lot of my Christmas presents from Santa came from our local Goodyear (Does anyone remember when Goodyear sold more than just tires - like TVs, cool toys, etc.?), so that really surprises me that my mom didn't buy at least one of these albums.

Anyway, since this is a Goodyear record, I have to share a story about my mom's shopping at our local Goodyear. Back in the day, Goodyear had some awesome toys (my red metal pedal car and my tricycle, to name a couple), and on the morning after Christmas, my dad would drop my mom off downtown on his way to work, so that she could take advantage of the after-Christmas sales. (Remember, this is in the 1960s before we had shopping malls - and when most families had one car.) Well, my mom REALLY took advantage of those sales! At the end of the day, my dad would pick her up in front of Goodyear (I guess he knew that's where she'd really hit the jackpot), where she'd be standing on the sidewalk literally surrounded by all her purchases! My mom once told me that most of her purchases were toys and stuff for me (I'm an only child). I don't ever remember my parents arriving with a carload of toys on the day after Christmas, so I asked my mom what she did with all those things so that I never saw them. Well, parents have their special hiding places, and I just never snooped around looking for stuff (Why would I? I didn't know this was happening!). Throughout the year, my mom would give me toys from this hidden stash - for bringing home good grades, for my birthday, for when I seemed a little "blue" (my mom actually said this), etc. Those were the days!

Well, now that I've shared that with you, I hope you enjoy this record and have a very Merry Christmas! (I'll be back in a couple of weeks, after the holidays.)

Track listing for Great Songs of Christmas Album Six:

Side 1:
1. Silent Night - Barbra Streisand
2. Do You Hear What I Hear - Andy Williams
3. The Christmas Song - Johnny Mathis
4. The Holiday of Love/Caroling, Caroling - The King Family
5. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Pablo Casals
6. O Little Town of Bethlehem/It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - The King Family
7. O Come, All Ye Faithful - Jan Peerce
8. Ave Maria - Barbra Streisand

Side 2:
1. Frosty the Snowman - Ray Conniff
2. We Need a Little Christmas - New Christy Minstrels
3. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Steve Lawrence/Eydie Gorme
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Ray Conniff
5. Noel Nouvelet - Jan Peerce
6. March of the Kings - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
7. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
8. White World of Winter - Bing Crosby
9. Il Est Ne - New Christy Minstrels
10. Still, Still, Still - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
11. Away in a Manger - Mahalia Jackson/Percy Faith
12. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Ray Conniff

9 comments:

stalzz said...

omg! We had 4-5 of these Goodyear albums and other ones that you got for like 2.98 when you bought a store's products. Cool to see it again.

Polly said...

My family has all ten, gotten brand new when they were released. They were SO MUCH a part of my childhood Christmases!!

Esther said...

Hey, Stalzz!
Glad I brought back some memories for you!

Hey, Polly!
I'm so jealous that you have all ten of these albums! Any chance of you uploading them to share with us? :-)

Thanks for visiting!
Esther

Dave said...

There are actually 16 of the Goodyear series LPs. The last 7 just didn't have the "Great Songs Of Christmas" title. I have 1-9 and 14 shared at my blog, and will soon have the other 6 to share as well.

Dave

Esther said...

Hi, Dave!

You have made my day! I'll be visiting you and downloading those Goodyear Christmas albums! I'll also be adding a link to your blog in the next day or two. Thanks so much!

Esther

senormedia said...

I have about 5 of those. My Dad worked for kelly-Springfield (a Goodyear subsidiary) and he got them at work to give to me, since even at 3 I was crazy about the "record player." (sinnce I'm up to around 10000 albums, I guess I still am).

boojidad said...

I also put up a page about these a few years ago (www.geocities.com/goodyearchristmas) with some background on the series. Some of the links may be outdated but the basic info is sound.

Psicoterapia Humanista said...

Hi Esther,

Many thanks for making my search easier. Me and my family were looking for this album, that was given to my dad years ago and with which we all five brothers and sisters grew up. Today, that LP is very damaged, so now, we will be able to enjoy it again. It's a great memory!

Merry Christmas!

Claudia

Jennifer said...

Thank you so much for posting this. I bought the album a few years ago on ebay, as it is a much-loved piece of my childhood, but I don't have room for a record player anymore and hadn't found a way to digitize it. Thank you so much for helping me make this album part of MY kids' Christmas tradition! :-)