Christmas In Italy (Capitol Records)


It's Capitol Saturday today! This is the first of four and 1/2 albums I'm posting today from the famous (or infamous) "Christmas In" series that Capitol issued back in the day.

When I found three of these LPs in the middle of last year, I asked "Just how many of these "Christmas In" albums are out there? Which ones was I missing and when were they released?"

The Goldmine Christmas Record Price Guide had several listed but couldn't pin down the date. So I featured one track from each of the albums last year for the 2007 Yuleblog Sampler and transferred each of the albums figuring there will be something for everybody.

"Christmas In Italy" was a logistical nightmare. It took me nearly an hour to transfer the vinyl and digitally restore it, no problems. However, it took me nearly an entire day to encode the MP3s! Study the back cover carefully to see what I mean.

This album probably has the penultimate version of "White Christmas" sung in Italian - this one's has the intro and damn if it doesn't sound great!

I had to abbreviate the titles of most of the songs - for some strange reason, RapidShare has a problem playing MP3s with more than 72 characters in its title.

After completing the transfer of all three albums, I was doing some research at my local library for my appreciation of Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" (another Capitol product - coincidence?) when I came across an advertisement in the December 9th, 1957 edition of TIME magazine for Capitol Records:

(Click on image to enlarge)

The ad showcased many of their 1957 Christmas releases (Sinatra's "Jolly Christmas From", Jackie Gleason's "Merry Christmas" to name two). At the bottom was a listing of EIGHT "Christmas Around The World" albums:

Christmas In England
Christmas In Germany
Christmas In Spain
Christmas In Sweden
Christmas In Mexico
Christmas In France
Christmas In Holland
Christmas In Italy

To double check, I Googled label numbers (Capitol T10091, 92, 93, etc) to see if I would get a hit on something and I got lucky. Another Capitol foreign release entitled "Modern Motion Picture Music of India" (Capitol T-10090) was released in 1957.

So I had the answer to my questions - eight albums total initially, all released in 1957.


Christmas In Italy


Happy listening paisans...


Capt

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh I just can't wait to see what your other albums are from this series, I'm just about as antsy as a 5 year old that's been told to wait for everybody to get up first before she can open her presents.
Thanks for everything you do, it's very much appreciated!
Lynn, Oregon
12/13/2008 11:22:00 AM
Anonymous said…
Molti ringraziamenti per la compartecipazione della questa registrazione! My grandparents were Italian immigrants and I remember buying them this record for Christmas over forty years ago! I heard it many times at their house and it's very special to me. This year, I have really wanted to hear it again and I've been searching all over the internet for a downloadable copy. You have answered my prayer! I can't wait to collect the whole series.
12/13/2008 12:08:00 PM
CaptainOT said…
Lynn & Stormy - Thanks for those special memories! Glad to help you reconnect!


Capt
12/13/2008 02:07:00 PM
Thurston said…
Heya Cap, our friends at the library of congress date this one at 1965. I am not sure how reliable this is and whether it is based on deposit date or processing date but they are usually pretty darn close. I always check their records when the LPs are undated (not to mention the fact that I too am a Iibrarian). Hope this helps. Bradley
http://lccn.loc.gov/r65001851
12/13/2008 05:54:00 PM
CaptainOT said…
Brad - The label number on the Library of Congress listing is Capitol DT 10093.

The Ingvar Wixell album I posted in conjunction with this one is label number Capitol DT 10485, also from 1965.

Capitol reissued these two or three times over - I'm guessing 1965 was one of those years.

Thanks for the info!


Capt
12/13/2008 07:48:00 PM
Anonymous said…
The DT prefix stood for "duophonic", a fake stereo process. These "duophonic" versions were usually released years after the mono originals.
12/13/2008 09:15:00 PM
Allison lahache said…
I have been looking for this for years my father has the old record Do they have this in a cd?
11/28/2010 08:14:00 PM
keira schwarz said…
You are a dream! My brother and I grew up listening to this. A few years ago my brother made a cassette of my mom's old record, but both have been lost. I cannot wait to burn a CD for my mom and my brother. Thank you so much!
11/30/2010 09:50:00 PM
John Lissandrello said…
Thanks for sharing this. I use to listen to this every Christmas when I was younger. Your hard work is much appreciated. THANKS!
12/08/2010 09:49:00 AM
mj said…
Hi! Can you tell me how I could get a CD of this recording? My dad and I used to listen to this record every Christmas. It would make his day if I could get it for him!! Thanks for your help!
12/05/2011 03:24:00 PM
Donna Laird said…
This album was played every Christmas - while opening presents and during dinner. I am disappointed that the link no longer works. How can I get this on cd?
12/12/2011 10:37:00 PM
Donna Laird said…
This is the Christmas album of my youth. Have been thinking of this album for a long time and missing it. Too bad the link no longer works. How can I get a cd of this?
12/12/2011 10:42:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Loved the Christmas in Sweden and Christmas in Germany albums -- if you could repost this, it would be great! Thanks for all your hard work, you have introduced some great fresh Xmas music to my household.
12/06/2012 05:17:00 PM
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