Hello everyone! If you're reading this, you either share my interest, my passion, or my obsession with Christmas music... maybe all three!
I've been an avid Christmas music collector since 1985. I began creating Christmas tapes using Christmas music taped off the radio and my family's Christmas LP collections. Having grown up in a house where any music released after the breakup of the Beatles was forbidden, my musical selections were limited. As time progressed, I began collecting more music off the radio from NPR, old time radio shows (lots of great samples from those), and other Christmas LPs.
My family (being five steps behind in every technological aspect of everyday life) purchased its first CD player in 1989 and everything changed. My first Christmas CD was "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio; a CD that has been played in my boombox once every Christmas since.
My CD collecting took off slowly since I was attending Columbia College in Chicago; a film school where I kept busy balancing a college workload and working on / acting in / directing dozens of student films. My main focus wasn't Christmas around this time but I still created Christmas tapes and even shared a few with my college classmates. As my college career came to an abrupt end in 1992 (no money or student loans left), I turned to Christmas music again and wondered what the future would bring.
CD Exchange, a used CD store chain, decided to move into the Chicago market and open stores. I obtained a job as a store manager, was promoted to district manager shortly after, and oversaw three stores in the Chicago area. My collection of Christmas music went from around six to nearly 150 in two years. Being exposed to such diverse titles caused in time a shift in my Christmas musical tastes. I was happy to get a Peggy Lee or Frank Sinatra Christmas CD... but when Ren & Stimpy's Christmas CD came in or when I found a Shonen Knife import Christmas single, I was beside myself!
All these musical changes were reflected on my annual Christmas tapes. Around 1992, I began to plan out the playlist more carefully, adding new songs from newly acquired CDs, finding sound bytes from Christmas movies and TV shows as breaks, mixing them into one compilation cassette, and shared with family and friends. The responses ranged from "GREAT STUFF" to "I don't get it...". I had found my calling! Since then, I've sent out around 1500 Christmas tapes / now CDs total to family and friends. The responses still range the same!
In 1997, I began utilizing the Internet to find new sources to add to my Christmas CD collection: eBay, Napster (I legally download now), Amazon.com, Mistletunes, Christmas Reviews, Randy's Rodeo, Jeffco Productions, the Yahoo group Christmas Movies & Music, BasicHip, April Winchell, FaLaLaLaLa.com, and other online Christmas music collectors & traders.
As of this post, I own over 600 Christmas CDs with about 60 albums to add to my collection. With this first post, I hope to chronicle my additions to my collection, share my opinions on the music, and point the way to where I got my Christmas CDs.
I welcome your feedback and contributions.
Thanks for reading this far...
Capt
Chimes W/ Organ
44 minutes ago
20 comments:
Woo hoo! It's about time you shared your vast knowledge of Christmas music with the world. You are an encyclopedia of good and bad Christmas music, far greater than anyone I know or even know of. I look forward to reading about your finds and the finer gems from your collection!
Good luck, Cap'n! (I'm still trying to get out your Christmas CD from last year...)
Dear Capt,
I am trying to track down a specific song you mentioned in your post regarding the Sleigh Full of Joy: Sharity Rarities 2006 post last April. You mentioned that Lee at MY(P)WHAE offered the song "Nuttin' for Christmas" by Bobby Stewart (This is the flip side of the song Sing a Kris Kringle Jingle offered on that CD). I checked his site, but sadly the file is long gone (he posted it last Dec.) Do you by any chance have this file, or do you know where I might find it? My sisters and I had this old record, and this song was our absolute holiday favorite. Unfortunately, our vinyl is warped beyond all hope. I would appreciate your help.
Hey, Captain! I just stumbled on your blog today and I can't believe this is the first time I've seen it! Good work!
I host my own Christmas music blog if you haven't seen it...please check it out.
http://christmasyuleblog.blogspot.com/
I read your news paper article and it was interesting. I've been collecting Christmas music for only about 4 or 5 years now...so I have some catching up to do!
Hopefully you will find new stuff on my blog you didn't have before! I am finding that there is A LOT of cool Christmas music online only, and I have been working hard to compile as much as I can. Please check out my first annual My Space Holiday Collection!
If you'd like to contact me, my email address can be found on my blog in my profile...that's probably the best way to contact me. I am really awful about snail mail. Let me know what you think!
And I added your blog to my links!
Mortickles - Ask Lee at MY(P)WHAE if you haven't already. He's a good guy and if you ask nicely, who knows?
Tone King - Welcome to the neighborhood and I wish you success on your Christmas blog (never can have too many of them)!
Capt
Wow, what an obscure but fun site! Thanks for hosting it!
I've been trying to find an oddball. The group is called "The Ghostly Trio" and they had a holiday album.
The track I really REALLY want to find is "The Little Drummer Dude" but I've had no luck -- aside from a scratchy 23rd generation dub I heard 20something years ago.
Anyone have any leads?
Murph
Murph - Try asking over at FaLaLaLaLa.com - you'll probably have a good idea where to look or the MP3 in your inbox before you know it! Good luck!
Capt
Ahoy, Cap'n! Permission to come aboard? I have my own, much smaller Christmas music collection, focused mostly around blues, rock, country, traditional, and some that just sounded interesting. I started about six years ago, just to try to get away from "the same old stuff." I was wondering if you had ever heard of Mitch Mirthman - I have trusted his reviews on Amazon many times, and not been disappointed yet. I have a link to his profile on my newly-created blog. Now that I have found your page, I promise to come back often for inspiration!
Hey Captain. I found you searching for Christmas clips to share with friends and family. I must say I never previously realized what history and kitsch there is behind the only style of music I am aware of that comes out to extreme popularity once a year, and disappears throughout the rest. Very interesting, and thanks for sharing your hobby with the rest of us. In that spirit, I think you may enjoy my collection of videos that show an impressive collaboration between music and lights.
http://www.redux.com/playlist/the_best_christmas_lights_ever
I'm sure you've seen a few of these already, though probably not all. Hope you like it, and feel free to share it if you do.
Happy (Approaching) Holidays...DJ
Captain - hope your holiday is developing well! Your blog is linked to my website, www.randysrodeo.com, which has a large Christmas section. Well, it got too big, and I opened a branch office at www.hipchristmas.com.
As part of my links page, I've reviewed and linked to your blog.
Would you mind updating your link to the new website? I think your visitors will enjoy my new site almost as much as they enjoy your blog... Thanks ever so much, and have a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, and/or Kwanzaa!
Hey Captain! Adrienne PIerce and I are sending you a copy of her new Borders exclusive "Winter" EP. I am really enjoying your blog. Happy Holidays! Be on the look out!
Hey folks,
I have a CD of The Ghostly Trio (a fine holiday collection if ever there was one), ripped from vinyl. I'd be happy to send it your way.
I was involved with a project back at the turn of the century (2000) entitled Santa Is Real, a handmade CD that we pressed for friends and family that year. I'll be happy to send you copies to post if you let me know that best way to do so.
best,
Edward
DJ - Thanks for the link to the website!
Randy - Updated! Thanks for letting us know and for the link at your place!
Ari - That CD hasn't showed up at my P.O. Box - did you send it?
Edward - Click on the P.O. Box link atop!
Capt
Capt:
Kudos for sharing your passion, your madness with those of us lucky enough to discover your blog... I am a fellow Christmas music addict (no plans to seek treatment, my friends know better than to attempt an intervention!); what complicates my sickness is that I have a particular fondness for international recordings (traditional European Christmas songs in particular), which are all the more difficult to track down (language barrier, international currencies, etc.). My father traveled frequently when I was a young child, he often returned home with LPs from all over the world, and my musical interests were "corrupted" forever!
A few recent LP postings of your finally got me off my a** to post a compliment..."Thank you" does not begin to express my appreciation for posting this (and several of Capitol's "Christmas in xxx" releases) wonderful recording. FYI, I have a complete discography of not only Capitol's "Christmas in..." releases (there are many more than the eight titles you have posted on the blog) but also the entire "Capitol of the World" series, which contains several hundred titles. It is the result of many years of painstaking research, including several memorable & productive phone conversations with Tim Neely at Goldmine as well as a very frustrating call with Alan Livingston, a Capitol executive who produced many of the albums in the series. Not only do I have all details on each release, such as catalog numbers (three or more of them per release, in many cases to designate Mono/Simulated Stereo/Stereo and/or to distinguish the re-releases, of which Capitol significantly changed cover art work) and much more. I also have several copies of every title in the Christmas series (and most of the non-holiday releases), necessary because one copy might have had a mint cover but lousy vinyl and vice-versa, which I have accumulated over the past ten years with the hopes of finding the time to digitize them. As a single parent to a nine-year old, I am beginning to realize that my ever-growing LP collection, which has taken over my basement, will not see the light of a computer any time soon (at least until he graduates!). Without making this post any wordier, I would be interested in communicating with you offline to see if you would be interested in not only a copy of my research but also in gaining access to some/all of my Christmas LP collection (I have lots of other rare OOP Christmas stuff that has yet to see the light of day online). If you are so inclined, please make initial contact with me by using this temporary email account (since your blog is publicly accessible I did not want to post my usual address for spammers to harvest): shadynookman-captainot@yahoo.com. If you are curious but reluctant to share such information "blindly", I will post a note to your POB early next week with a method to contact me.
In your email, please let me know how I may contact you off-line (outside your blog).
peace...
Techedu - Wow! Thanks for such a detailed comment.
Please contact me at the P.O. Box - sending me or me sending an e-mail is like trying to find a certain snowflake in a blizzard right now.
Thanks for posting this - very intriguing!
Capt
Capt,
I'm placing a note to you in the morning's mail. I look forward to hearing from you once it's made its way into your hands.
peace...
Just added the YuleBlog to my blog's blogroll. I too have a passion for Christmas music. I don't have access to any system to digitalize vinyl but in the past several years I have amassed a collection of almost 700 Christmas CDs. I've manage to find some real unique and unusual ones via the Internet. For whatever it's worth I am a 20 year veteran of radio and a 10 year veteran of TV. In 1995 I was the host of a local radio talk show and I convinced the program director to allow me to host a Christmas Eve all Christmas music show. I requested 6 hours but he gave me cart blanche as long as I put it back on remote when I left. So I pulled 8 hours and didn't repeat the same song twice. The show was HUGELY popular but I didn't get to do it for the following year due to the station being sold and the format change to all sports. My collection has grown considerably. When I worked for a local TV station I was the go-to guy for anyone needing Christmas music for a news story, for background music for ads or whatever. I was even featured in a package one year about my hobby of collecting Christmas CDs. Unfortunately in 1996 due to budget cuts, I was let go in the fall. Since I had a lot of free time, I put together press kits regarding doing a Christmas Eve radio show but only have one person get back with me (the PD from a jazz station) only to inform me that he was indeed interested but had contracted with a satellite service to have Christmas music played but he wanted me to contact him the following year and he would allow me to a Christmas Eve marathon. That idea got killed following the next Arbitron ratings period...the station was sold, the PD fired and the new management wasn't interested. I still hold out hope that I will be able to do a Christmas Eve show or even a series of shows because the Christmas music being played on the local stations really is limited. One station always goes all-Christmas via satellite but frankly I get tired of hearing "Delilah" at night boring the hell out of me and John Tesh rambling on via a pre-recording about some stupid Christmas trivia for the umpteenth time. Besides they play the same handful of Christmas song (the same two Bing Crosby tunes, the same Grinch song, the same two Carpenters tunes...you getting the picture?). This town could use a good Poppa Stoppa Christmas tune. Or Benny Grunch & The Bunch Christmas tunes. Howzabout Karla Devito? Or King Curtis? Or Sheb Wooley? Or The Persuasions? Or Christmas blues tunes? Christmas ska? Some Hawaiian Christmas tunes from someone OTHER than Don Ho [Ho Ho]? Reggae Christmas tunes? Rap Christmas tunes? I got 'em and more. This town don't know what they are missin'! Sucks to have all this great stuff and not be able to share it with this city. I have a favorite local restaurant that is the only true New Orleans style restaurant in this city [Tallahassee] and run by a family from New Orleans. I sent him 5...that's FIVE CD's of nothing but Louisiana Christmas music I made for him several years ago and sent them anonymously. Last year I was in their and let it slip out that I sent some Christmas music their way. The waitress' eyes got wide and ran back to get the owner. The guy shook my hand and enthusiasticly told me he loved them but loaned a couple out to a friend who lost 'em. So I made him a new set of CDs...this time via my even BIGGER collection and double the amount of Louisiana Christmas music (10 CDs this time) plus an equal amount of Christmas music from other genres. When the last Christmas season [2007] came around, he was playing the heck outta 'em in his restaurant and getting all sorts of questions as to where they could find the songs. So I KNOW there is an interest out there, just no one to give me a shot.
Sorry for the rant.
EDWARD!
You are my HERO!
How can I get in touch with you?
Murph
kcm-online (at) murphmail net
Hi Captain,
I'm writing from The Collectors Weekly (www.collectorsweekly.com), we're a resource for anyone interested in antiques, vintage, and collectibles.
I thought you might like our Christmas pages, especially the records! - http://www.collectorsweekly.com/christmas/records
Let me know if you have any feedback. We tend to post interviews and updates daily and we just did a few Christmas interviews that will be up soon.
Hope you'll check back.
Thanks so much,
Maribeth
--
Maribeth Keane
Associate Editor
maribeth@collectorsweekly.com
Hello Captain,
I thought you might like to know about this cool new Christmas song that my new band THE HOLLYBERRIES have just put out on MP3 (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) entitled, "(I Wanna Go) Surfin' with Santa."
Reminiscent of classic Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, albeit with 1960s Girl Group-style female lead vocals, the tune has been called a "fun little slice of holiday bubblegum surf" and a "new Christmas classic!! Clean, tasty and fun, fun, fun!"
Would really love it if you and your readers would give us a listen. We can currently be found on free internet radio site, www.Jango.com, and our web page is located at www.myspace.com/thehollyberriesband
Thanks very much.
Happy Holidays!
Kip Brown
The Hollyberries
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