The Chipmunks - Christmas With the Chipmunks Vol.2

I actually bought this record a few years ago (probably from the HPB bargain bin), so I didn't grow up listening to it like the first one. I definitely think the first one is better. But it's still a fun Christmas album and goes great with the first one! Christmas wouldn't be complete without the Chipmunks singing your favorite Christmas carols!  (I have to confess that when I was in college, I bought the "Chipmunk Punk" album, but I believe I traded it in at HPB at some point.)

Track listing for Christmas With the Chipmunks Vol.2:

Side 1:
1. Jingle Bell Rock
2. Deck the Halls
3. The Twelve Days of Christmas
4. Hang Up Your Stockin'
5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
6. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Side 2:
1. Wonderful Day
2. Christmas Time
3. (All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth
4. O Christmas Tree
5. The Night Before Christmas
6. Here We Come A-Caroling

The Ray Charles Singers - Here We Come-A-Caroling (1956)

Hi, friends!  I know it's been some time but Christmas is almost here so it's time to share some of my Christmas records! This is a great album to accompany you while you sing Christmas carols. All the songs are the familiar and traditional ones we grew up with. Play the album at home and sing along while decorating or for your Christmas party! Here's an idea - if you want to go Christmas caroling but don't think you have enough people, tape the album and play it while you sing along! Then it will sound like you have a whole chorus (and if you play it loud enough, it may drown out those not-so-good voices)! I hope this album gets you feeling the spirit of Christmas!

Track listing for The Ray Charles Singers - Here We Come-A-Caroling (link has been deleted. Go buy CD on Amazon):

Side A:
1. Here We Come A-Caroling
2. Silent Night
3. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
4. The First Noel
5. O, Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
6. Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child
7. Angels We Have Heard On High
8. What Child is This? (Greensleeves)
9. I Saw Three Ships
10. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Side B:
1. Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabelle!
2. Away In A Manger
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. O, Little Town of Bethlehem
5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
6. We Three Kings of Orient Are
7. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
8. Rise Up, Shepherd, An' Foller
9. Joy to the World
10. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
11. Here We Come A-Caroling

John Gary - The John Gary Christmas Album (1963)

This is my final Christmas post, before I return with more vintage goodies in 2012. John Gary sang in movies, on Broadway, had his own TV show, appeared at Carnegie Hall, and was considered to be one of the best crooners of the time. He had a wide vocal range, which you can hear very well on this album. This is another one of those Christmas albums that is nice to hear on Christmas Eve when you are home with your family, sitting in front of the fireplace and sipping some hot cocoa.

May you all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!


Track listing for The John Gary Christmas Album:

Side 1:
1. The Christmas Song
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Little Snow Girl
4. Medley: The First Noel; O Come, All Ye Faithful; O Holy Night
5. Wintertime and Christmas Time
6. White Christmas

Side 2:
1. Do You Hear What I Hear
2. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
3. I'll Be Home for Christmas
4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
5. Medley: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Silent Night

Dennis Day - Sings Christmas is for the Family (1958)

Here's an album I found in the HPB bargain bin. I never saw "The Jack Benny Show" or Dennis Day in any movie or TV show, but I had heard of him. And I loved the cover of this album, so I decided to buy it. Besides, I'm also a big fan of the "economy" record labels. This album has all the familiar favorites and is a nice album to play on Christmas Eve, when one is spending a quiet evening with the family before the fireplace, with Dad or Mom reading a favorite Christmas story. I hope you choose to make this album part of your Christmas Eve.

Track listing for Dennis Day - Sings Christmas is for the Family:

Side 1:
1. Jingle Bells
2. White Christmas
3. May Santa Fill Our Hearts
4. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
5. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
6. Christmas is For the Family

Side 2:
1. Silent Night
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. O Little Town of Bethlehem
4. Oh Holy Night
5. Away in the Manger
6. Medley: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful; The First Noel; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

The Ray Conniff Singers - Christmas with Conniff (1959)

Christmas wouldn't be complete without the Ray Conniff Singers, especially for a big fan like me! And this album is perfect when played on my big vintage Magnavox console stereo in my retro mid-century modern living room, while gazing at my aluminum Christmas tree (with color wheel)! This is definitely a must-have for any Christmas collection!

Track listing for The Ray Conniff Singers - Christmas with Conniff:

Side 1:
1. Here Comes Santa Claus
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. Christmas Bride
5. Sleigh Ride
6. Greensleeves (What Child is This)

Side 2:
1. Jingle Bells
2. Silver Bells
3. Frosty the Snowman
4. White Christmas
5. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
6. The Christmas Song

Cool Yule Tunes 2011 - A Stax o' Wax Compilation

It's time for my annual Christmas compilation! I've picked some favorite Christmas songs for this year's Cool Yule Tunes 2011 as a little token of my appreciation to all of you for visiting my blog and sharing in my love of this type of music and the nostalgia of glorious vinyl. I haven't been as consistent in posting this year, but I plan to get back into it in 2012!

There's a little bit of everything here and I hope you enjoy the songs I've picked. And, if you don't already have them, click on the "Cool Yule Tunes" label to see the previous four Christmas compilations and download them to have a complete collection!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you get to spend it with those you love. (I still have three more Christmas albums I plan to share this year before I take my Christmas holiday.)


Track listing for Cool Yule Tunes 2011:

1. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - The Mastertone Orchestra featuring The Don Janse Chorale
2. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Bing Crosby
3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - The Mistletoe Disco Band
4. Winter Wonderland - Lena Horne
5. Jingle Bells - The Partridge Family
6. White Christmas - Vera Lynn
7. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - Johnny Cash
8. Hark the Herald Angels Sing - The Lennon Sisters
9. Sleigh Ride - Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians
10. Do You Believe in Santa Claus - Billy May
11. Deck the Halls - Mirror Image
12. The Christmas Song - Esquivel
13. Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year) - Lawrence Welk & His Champagne Music
14. Silver Bells - Jack Jones
15. O Little Town of Bethlehem - Helen O'Connell
16. Christmas Is - The Harry Simeone Chorale
17. Blue Christmas - Bobby Sherman
18. Silent Night - The Golddiggers
19. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Teresa Brewer
20. Merry Christmas, Baby - Lou Rawls
21. We Need a Little Christmas - The Muppets
22. What Child is This - Tijuana Voices with Brass
23. The Twelve Days of Christmas - Harry Belafonte
24. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - The Three Suns
25. Joy to the World - Ed Ames
26. Frosty the Snowman - Ray Conniff
27. The Merry Christmas Polka - Freddy Martin
28. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve - Johnny Mathis

The Chipmunks - Christmas With the Chipmunks (1961)

How many of you grew up listening to this record every Christmas? I remember getting this when I was very little and playing it every year - and I still do! My record is still in amazing shape considering how long I've had it and that my mother would also take it to school and play it for her students. Of course, my favorite is "The Chipmunk Song", and my favorite part is about the hula hoop! I remember that as a child I would skip over the "boring" songs that David Seville sang, and I'm afraid that I still tend to skip over those. Well, I hope this one brings back memories for many of you!

Track listing for Christmas With the Chipmunks:

Side 1:
1. Here Comes Santa Claus
2. Up On the House-Top
3. Silver Bells
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
5. Jingle Bells
6. Over the River and Through the Woods

Side 2:
1. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
2. It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas
3. Frosty the Snowman
4. White Christmas
5. The Chipmunk Song
6. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The Border Brass - Tijuana Christmas (1968)

Christmas is almost here so it's time to share some of my Christmas records! I know this one has probably been shared a lot by others, but those of you who don't have it, here is one of my favorites. This record was obviously released to capitalize on the "Tijuana sound" popularized by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and by the Baja Marimba Band. Since I like both those bands, I knew I would like this record, and I do find it quite enjoyable. The cover is so kitschy that I find it worth framing during this time of year. So, here's the Border Brass to help you get in the Christmas spirit!

Track listing for The Border Brass - Tijuana Christmas:

Side 1:
1. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. What Child is This
4. Deck the Halls
5. Jingle Bells

Side 2:
1. Tijuana Christmas
2. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
3. Christmas Bells
4. The First Noel
5. Silent Night

Cool Yule Tunes 2010 - A Stax o' Wax Compilation

Have you all finished your Christmas shopping yet? Have you started? ;-)

I braved the crowds this last weekend before Christmas and did my shopping for my family. So, this is my last Christmas post for the year as I'll be visiting my family and friends back in my hometown for the Christmas holiday. But before I sign off for the year, I have to post my annual Christmas compilation! So, I've put together a compilation of some favorite Christmas songs for this year's Cool Yule Tunes 2010. This is just a little token of my appreciation to all of you for visiting my blog and sharing in my love of this type of music and the nostalgia of glorious vinyl.

There's a little bit of everything here and I hope you enjoy the songs I've picked. And, if you don't already have them, click on the "Cool Yule Tunes" label to see the previous three Christmas compilations and download them to have a complete collection!

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you get to spend it with those you love. I also wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! See you back here after the New Year!

Track listing for Cool Yule Tunes 2010 - A Stax o' Wax Compilation:

1. Christmas All Over the World - Jim Nabors
2. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - The Three Suns
3. It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas - Kate Smith
4. Sleigh Ride - Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
5. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Ed Ames
6. The Bell That Couldn't Jingle - Burt Bacharach
7. The Christmas Song - Carol Burnett
8. Winter Wonderland - Anne Murray
9. Joy to the World - Mannheim Steamroller
10. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
11. Santa's Got a Brand New Bag - The Hollyridge Strings
12. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Felix Slatkin
13. Christmas Island - Cyril Stapleton & His Orchestra with Children's Chorus
14. Mele Kalikimaka - Haleloke, featuring Arthur Godfrey on the ukelele
15. Holiday for Bells - Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra
16. Frosty the Snow Man - Vaughan Monroe & His Orchestra
17. Merry, Merry Christmas Baby - Dodie Stevens
18. Deck the Halls - Danny Kaye
19. Silver Bells - Pat Boone
20. White Christmas - Lana Cantrell
21. The Christmas Waltz - Nancy Wilson
22. The Night Before Christmas Song - Gisele MacKenzie
23. Jingle Bells - Sammy Davis Jr.
24. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - Freddy Martin & His Orchestra
25. Blue Christmas - Ernest Tubbs
26. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Warner Brothers Stars
27. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Ramsey Lewis
28. Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus - Jimmy Osmond

Boots Randolph - Boots and Stockings (1969)

I got this one from the HPB bargain bin either last year or the year before. I loved the title, "Boots and Stockings", and I also love the sax. I took up alto sax in the late 1980s, but had to quit when I got braces for the second time (I had them as a kid, then again as an adult). By the time I got the braces off, I had put the sax in storage (still haven't found it), so I don't play it anymore. Anyway, I do enjoy this album, and I hope you do, too!

Track listing for Boots Randolph - Boots and Stockings:

Side 1:
1. Medley: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town/ Jolly Old St. Nick/ Here Comes Santa Claus
2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
3. Jingle Bells
4. Frosty the Snow Man
5. Sleigh Ride

Side 2:
1. White Christmas
2. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
4. Silver Bells
5. I'll Be Home for Christmas
6. Greensleeves

Gisele MacKenzie - Christmas with Gisele (1959)

I found this little gem last year at my favorite little resale store nearby. I bought it because I just loved the cover. I have never heard of Gisele MacKenzie, but one of my coworkers had and he liked her. I did like the album once I listened to it, and here are a few of the liner notes:

In this album, the Canadian-born songstress sings a collection of Christmas songs gathered from all parts of the world.... Gisele is a bewitching combination of gamin and grand lady.

I just love that description of Gisele! Now I have to find other albums by her!


Track listing for Gisele MacKenzie - Christmas with Gisele:

Side 1:
1. Silent Night; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; The Coventry Carol
2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
3. Dans Cette Etable (In This Stable); Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes (The Angels in Our Fields); La Marche Des Rois (The March of the Kings)
4. White Christmas
5. We Three Kings of Orient Are; Good King Wenceslas; Gesu Bambino
6. The Christmas Song

Side 2:
1. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
2. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
3. The Night Before Christmas Song
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
5. Too Fat for the Chimney
6. Jingle Bells


Click here to go see a video of Gisele singing "White Christmas"! (It wouldn't let me embed the video.)

Percy Faith - Music of Christmas (1959)

Christmas just would not be Christmas without listening to one of my mom's Christmas albums. My mother was an elementary school teacher for 48 years (she retired in 1985) and was either in charge of or helped with her school's annual Christmas pageant. (Are public schools even allowed to have Christmas pageants anymore???) So, she had a nice collection of Christmas albums which she would use for the pageants. I only have one memory - and it's pretty vague - of one of the pageants and it is of a little girl lip-syncing to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". I was probably only 5 or 6 years old at the time, and I thought she was really singing and was very impressed. The only other thing I remember is that it was cold (December in South Texas can be 70 degrees or 50 degrees), and that my father and I had to stand at the back of the auditorium because there were no available chairs. Oh, and my mom also played the piano for some of the Christmas carols. Anyway, this is one of the few Christmas albums that I have that belonged to my mom because some were destroyed in Hurricane Beulah (1967) and some others were stolen from her classroom. I'm glad this one has survived all these years because it's by Percy Faith and his orchestra, which is probably the orchestra that most reminds me of my mom. Enjoy!

Track listing for Percy Faith - Music of Christmas:

Side 1:
1. Joy to the World
2. Silent Night, Holy Night
3. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
4. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
5. Good King Wenceslas
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Side 2:
1. The First Noel
2. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming; O Little Town of Bethlehem
3. O Holy Night
4. The Holly and The Ivy; Here We Go A-Caroling
5. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
6. O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)

Bert Kaempfert - Christmas Wonderland (1963)

Today's Christmas album is a thrift store find, bought for 50 cents at my favorite little resale/thrift store down the street. I think Bert Kaempfert's music is very danceable, and I think this album is great to play at your holiday party! Interesting cover, too. Enjoy!

Track listing for Bert Kaempfert - Christmas Wonderland:

Side 1:
1. The Little Drummer Boy
2. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
3. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
4. Holiday for Bells
5. Winter Wonderland
6. Children's Christmas Dream

Side 2:
1. Sleigh Ride
2. White Christmas
3. Toy Parade
4. Christmas Wonderland
5. Jingo Jango
6. Jumpin' Jiminy Christmas

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

Andy Williams - Christmas Present (1974)

Hi, all! Took a little hiatus due to my work schedule, but I started a new job (hoping for NO or very little overtime) and I'm ready to get back at sharing my love of music with you! So, as we approach another Christmas season, let's get this going!

I remember buying this album with my own money from my allowance back in 1974 or 1975. I had just seen Andy Williams' Christmas special titled "Christmas Present" and absolutely loved the show. I especially liked the version of "Christmas Bells" sung by Andy's wife, Claudine Longet, and their daughter, Noelle. When I saw the record at the store, I just had to have it, but I had to convince my mother to let me buy it because it was "expensive" - $4.58 was a lot for a kid to spend on a record back then. Well, when I got it home, I was disappointed in the record (but I didn't dare tell my mother) because I had expected it to be a soundtrack of the show, but it was just Andy singing all the songs from the show. Now, of course, I love this record and Andy's singing, but I would still love to have a copy of that Christmas special, especially to see Claudine and Noelle singing "Christmas Bells". (So, if anyone knows if this show is available on DVD, please let me know!) I hope this album gets you all in the Christmas spirit!

Track listing for Andy Williams - Christmas Present:

Side 1:
1. Christmas Present
2. Joy to the World
3. O Little Town of Bethlehem
4. Christmas Bells
5. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
6. Ave Maria (Schubert)

Side 2:
1. Oh Come All Ye Faithful
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4. Ave Maria (Gounod)
5. What Child Is This
6. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
7. The Lord's Prayer

Here's a public service announcement that Andy did around the time "Christmas Present" aired on TV:

Cool Yule Tunes 2009 - A Stax o' Wax Compilation

This is my last Christmas post for the year as I'll be visiting my family and friends back in my hometown for the Christmas holiday. And, as has become my tradition, I've put together a compilation of some favorite Christmas songs for this year's Cool Yule Tunes 2009. This is just my little way of saying thanks to all of you for visiting my blog and sharing in my love of this type of music and the nostalgia of glorious vinyl.

Some of these songs are old favorites from my growing-up years, and there are a couple that are newer, and there are some that I'd never heard before until I heard them played on a local radio station. There's a little bit of everything here. And, if you don't already have them, click on the "Cool Yule Tunes" label to see the previous two Christmas compilations and download them to have a complete collection!

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you get to spend it with those you love. I also wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! See you back here after the New Year!

Track listing for Cool Yule Tunes 2009 - A Stax o' Wax Compilation:

1. It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis
2. Let Me Be the First (To Wish You a Merry Christmas) - Steve Lawrence
3. Deck the Halls - The Johnny Mann Singers
4. Frosty the Snow Man - Esquivel
5. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Dorothy Provine
6. Pretty Snowflakes - Patti Page
7. Sleigh Ride - Andy Williams
8. White Christmas - The Ray Conniff Singers
9. Home for the Holidays - Jerry Vale
10. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jackson 5
11. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - Brothers Four
12. O Come All Ye Faithful - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
13. The Birthday of a King - Judy Garland
14. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Angels We Have Heard on High - Andre Kostelanetz
15. And the Bells Rang - Glenn Miller Singers
16. Jingle Bells - Jimmy Dean
17. Ring Those Christmas Bells - Fred Waring and The Pennsylvanians
18. Jingle Bell Rock - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
19. (Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag - Brian Setzer Orchestra
20. Mister Santa - Amy Grant
21. The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks with David Seville
22. Nuttin' for Christmas - Barry Gordon
23. All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) - King Cole Trio
24. Toyland - Doris Day
25. My Grown-Up Christmas List - Donny Osmond
26. Blue Christmas - The Partridge Family
27. Christmas in Killarney - Bing Crosby
28. Yah, Das Ist Ein Christmas Tree - Mel Blanc

True Value Happy Holidays Volume 18 (1983)

I got this album at my favorite little resale store down the street from my house. I was very familiar with the Christmas albums put out by Goodyear and Firestone back in the day, but I didn't know about the True Value ones since we didn't have any True Value stores in my hometown. This is volume 18 from 1983, but I would like to find the early volumes, especially from the 1960s. If anyone out there has any other True Value albums, please do share!

Track listing for True Value Happy Holidays Volume 18:

Side 1:
1. Christmas Is... - Jack Jones
2. Winter Wonderland - Anne Murray
3. Sleigh Ride - Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops Orchestra
4. The Twelve Days of Christmas - Harry Belafonte
5. If Every Day Was Like Christmas - Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires

Side 2:
1. Christmas is Here Again - Roger Whittaker
2. The Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale
3. O Holy Night - Nat King Cole
4. Christmas is the Warmest Time of the Year - Ed Ames
5. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Forever - Perry Como

Lawrence Welk - Merry Christmas from Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music (1956)

Todays Christmas album is dedicated to the memory of my parents, who loved watching "The Lawrence Welk Show" and who passed the love of this kind of music to me. I grew up watching Lawrence Welk on Saturday evenings after we would come home from Saturday evening Mass, but this album came out years before I became a fan of Mr. Wunnerful. I found this album in pristine condition at an estate sale. As you can see from the photo, it still has the original cellophane wrap with the K-Mart price sticker! I love finding treasures like this! This is definitely an album worth playing on Christmas morning as you open up all your presents!

Track listing for Merry Christmas from Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music:

Side 1:
1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Instrument Fox Trot
2. I Wanna Do More Than Whistle (Under the Mistletoe) - Vocal by The Sparklers and Alice Lon
3. White Christmas - Vocal by The Sparklers
4. Christmas Island - Vocal by The Sparklers
5. The Christmas Toy - Vocal by The Lennon Sisters
6. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Instrumental

Side 2:
1. Winter Wonderland - With Larry, Dick and Curt
2. Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year) - Vocal by Dick Dale
3. Christmas Comes But Once a Year - Vocal by Larry, Dean and The Sparklers
4. Thanks for Christmas - Vocal by Alice Lon and The Sparklers
5. Twelve Gifts of Christmas - Vocal by Larry, Dean and The Sparklers
6. High on the House Top - Vocal by Larry Hooper

Here's a clip from the 1958 Lawrence Welk Christmas show:

The Three Suns - The Sounds of Christmas (1955)

This is yet another gem I rescued from the HPB bargain bin - for only 50 cents!!! And once again, it was the album art that caught my eye. Of course, the fact that this is by the Three Suns is also great, plus they perform with a string orchestra conducted by Marty Gold and Sid Ramin! You just can't go wrong with this record!

Track listing for The Three Suns - The Sounds of Christmas:

Side 1:
1. Adeste Fideles
2. The First Noel
3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. Oh Holy Night
5. The Monastery Bells
6. Greensleeves
7. Winter Wonderland
8. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
9. White Christmas
10. Joy to the World

Side 2:
1. Jingle Bells
2. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
3. Carol of the Birds
4. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
5. Silent Night
6. Der Tannenbaum (Christmas Tree)
7. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
8. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
9. Carol of the Bells
10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra with Children's Chorus - Children's Christmas Album (1959)

I couldn't resist buying this record when I saw it in the HPB bargain bin - love the artwork! If you listen closely to the songs, you'll be able to hear the children's British accents - either that, or they have impeccable diction. Billboard Magazine gave this album three stars in its November 16, 1959 issue, and gave this review, "Good low-price Xmas buy. Stapleton's ork plays material suitable for the holiday season. Much charm contributed by the children's chorus. 'Christmas Alphabet', 'Rudolph' and 'Greensleeves' are typical." I'm not exactly sure what they mean by 'typical'...hmmm. I was a little surprised by the choice of songs on this album - most of them aren't exactly what I consider children's songs. But maybe back in 1959 they were considered just that ('Christmas Island' a children's song?). Anyway, I do like this album - hope you do too!

Track listing for Cyril Stapleton - Children's Christmas Album:

Side 1:
1. Christmas Alphabet
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
3. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer
4. Christmas Island
5. White Christmas

Side 2:
1. I Saw Three Ships
2. Once in Royal David's City
3. Greensleeves
4. The Holly and the Ivy
5. Silent Night