The Manhattans - Christmas 45 - SINGLE

This is the first of three Christmas singles that I had time to transfer, digitally restore, scan, zip, and upload (sounds cruel when it's put that way, huh?).

I found this on eBay and thought "gee, what a find!" A rare single, a picture sleeve, luscious red vinyl, and in MINT condition!

I reached for my Goldmine Christmas Record Price Guide after I had won the auction. What I found was only mildly disheartening.

This was originally released by the Manhattans in 1966 (on the Carnival label - Carnival 524). The copy I had won (and what you see before you) is a reissued version on the Star Fire label from 1979.

Some quick research tells us that The Manhattans were formed in 1962 in Jersey City, New Jersey. After graduating from high school and serving in the military, the five members won a recording contract with Carnival Records two years later.

Between 1965 and 1968, they recorded for Carnival and had five Top 25 singles on the R&B charts. During the midst of this run, they released this great Christmas single.

Side A is "It's That Time Of Year", a slow, soulful single that will make you want to slow dance by the Christmas tree lights.

Side B is "Alone On New Year's Eve", a mournful tale about the woes of having no one at midnight on December 31st. The Manhattans' doo-wop style is in full effect with great lead vocals by George Smith.

Their chart success caught the eye of the legendary King Records and signed them to their Deluxe Records subsidiary for several years. Then George Smith tragically fell down a flight of stairs and was replaced by Gerald Alston. This changed the course of the group.

In 1973, they signed with Columbia Records and continued their R&B chart success - 26 singles charted during the Columbia years from 1973 to 1989. Their biggest two hits were 1976's "Kiss And Say Goodbye" (the SECOND single ever to go platinum) and 1980's "Shining Star":





After their contract with Columbia expired, the group began to go their separate ways. A new lineup of the Manhattans is still active and recording CDs. Several of the original members have reformed and even appeared on those PBS doo-wop special they show on pledge drives!

You take Manhattan:


The Manhattans - Christmas 45 - SINGLE


Happy listening...


Capt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Santastic II - Clausome!

Image
Welcome to Mash-up Saturday! Today we look at four different Christmas online comps that feature the handy work of DJs and mixers from around the world to create brand new takes on your favorite Christmas music. For those not wise in the ways of the mash-up, this phenomenon may have gotten its start way back in the classical days. Composers used to rework other compositions and used the term "variations on a theme by..." Fast forward to the 1960s. Dickie Goodman was breaking new ground with his break-in records. A gent by the name of John Oswald began experimenting with fusing two pieces of music using tape and scissors. The BBC TV show " I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue " featured a segment entitled "One Song To The Tune Of Another" that featured crude forms of the mash-up. In the 1970s, Frank Zappa began picking out basslines and other samples from music into his own. Club and disco DJs began mastering the art of the mix board. A company named
Read more

2001 Playlist

The 2001 playlist: 1.) 2001 intro My usual intro with the Flat Duo Jets on "Jingle Bells" mixed together with " Also Sprach Zarathustra ". 2.) Monty Python - Christmas In Heaven I waited years to use this one... it fits perfectly leading off the CD. 3.) Wayne Newton - Jingle Bell Hustle At the time, I thought this was the worst Christmas disco song ever (see 2008 below). 4.) Casey Kasem - American Top 40 Christmas bumper (No. 3) Found on Napster (the pre-legal days) from one of Casey's old radio programs. 5.) Dale Monty & The 2x2's - The Lil' Endless Summer Boy Take a surf guitar version of "Little Drummer Boy" and "Wipeout". You get this track. 6.) The Surfaris - A Surfer's Christmas List The same group who originally did "Wipeout"! Great Christmas surf track. 7.) Sleepless in Seattle - Meg Ryan listening to Christmas radio "Coming up, 'Jingle Bells' backwards!"
Read more

A Christmas Yuleblog Sampler - 2011

Image
Merry Christmas! We've had quite a year here - digitizing all of our Christmas music, a radio show , and remastering yuleblog samplers past.  But I can't complain.   Taking the nine months to get every album and MP3 onto my hard drive (and an external hard drive for backup) was the best decision I may have made in my Christmas life.  To have every song at my fingertips saves me time and led to discoveries of songs I never knew I had.  I thought that what the CD was supposed to do but that only shows you how far in the past I was living. The radio show was very satisfying.  The folks at the radio station were very supportive and thrilled with the end results.  Will it happen again next year?  I'm hopeful but only time will tell.  Lots of things are in store at the station...  Okay... enough about you Capt...  where's the samplers? During a break in digitizing in June, I went back and remastered the Yuleblog Samplers from 2008 and 2009.  Every 45
Read more