Wednesday, December 01, 2010

The Ray Charles Singers - Winter Wonderland (1956)


The second Christmas album offering this year is an album I found in the HPB bargain bin earlier this year - for only 50 cents! I bought it for two reasons - the cover and the Ray Charles Singers. I love choral groups like this, especially the vocal arrangements. This album has some of the usual holiday songs, plus a couple I had never heard before. Here's some info from the liner notes as to who the singers and musicians are:
The Ray Charles Singers heard in this recording are Lillian Clark, Kathleen Wallace, Lois Winter, Miriam Workman, Robert Bollinger, Jerry Duane, Edwin Lindstrom, Eugene Lowell, Arthur Malvin, Alan Sokoloff, Michael Stewart, and Eugene Steck. Mr.Charles himself is heard in the solo in WHEN WINTER COMES. The outstanding musicians who accompany the vocal group are Dick Hyman, piano (especially notable are his solos in WHEN WINTER COMES A-CALLIN' and SNOWFALL); Nick Perito, accordion; Tony Mottola, guitar; Robert Rosengarden, drums; John Zimmermann, bass; and Pearl Chertock, harp. (My note - I'm sure you see some familiar names there!)

Track listing for The Ray Charles Singers - Winter Wonderland:

Side 1:
1. Winter Wonderland
2. Button Up Your Overcoat
3. June in January
4. When Winter Comes
5. Snowfall
6. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Side 2:
1. Winter & Theme for Indoor Sports
2. Moonlight in Vermont
3. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
4. When Winter Comes A-Callin'
5. Jingle Bells
6. By the Fireside

3 comments:

Heidi said...

Hi Esther,

In this wonderful community of Lounge-music bloggers it's a rare thing to find a woman ànd fellow cat lover...
I thought for a long time that I was the only girl on the net who had this strange fascination for this type of music, most of it made before I was born.
I've recently started my own blog so I can share and give back to this community that I love.
If it's OK I would like to add your blog to my link-list.
Please come and pay me a visit at :
Chez Monsieur Maurice
Heidi

Esther said...

Hi, Heidi!

Glad you stopped by! And welcome to our music community!
I grew up listening to big-band and easy-listening music (thanks to my mother), and I still love it!
Thanks for adding a link to my blog - I've added you to my link-list, too! I'll try to stop by and check yours out soon.

Thanks again for visiting!
Esther

Unknown said...

Bobby Rosengarden, whom you list as the drummer on this album, is actually related to choral leader Ray Charles by marriage. It was his brother-in-law!