A Christmas Yuleblog

The 2011 playlist: 1.) 2010 intro Featuring an excerpt from a radio interview I did about my Christmas music collection - the springboard.  Ever hear an Arabic version of "Jingle Bells"? 2.) Ronald Reagan - Excerpt from "General Electric Theater" Nothing like a President of the United States to open your Christmas CD, eh? 3.) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Christmas Is Starting Now My kids and I are HUGE Phineas & Ferb fans on Disney Channel.  This track was from their first Christmas special. 4.) Stompin' Tom Connors - Merry Christmas Everyone A song that just clicked into this spot - I would have never found it if not for the digitized collection... 5.) Robin Laing - The Man Who Slits The Turkey's Throats At Christmas (Part 1) The album from which this came had been on my wish list for a while - I finally found a copy that didn't require an arm and leg.  Glad I got it - this one is probably my favorite Christmas song of the disc. 6.)...

The 2010 playlist: 1.) 2010 intro Just a minute! Taking inspiration from Elliot Lawrence's amazing album (of which "Jingle Bells" is used), my family and I greet you at the door. 2.) The Aussie Singers - Merry Christmas Land This was one of the first songs I listened to searching my Christmas music collection back in August. The tune has been stuck inside my head ever since. When my children overheard it, they began singing it around the house for months. So why should I suffer alone? Here it is - MERRY CHRISTMAS! 3.) The De John Singers - That's How Santa Claus Will Look This Year Found this 45 single on eBay earlier this year. Another song the kids overheard and fell in love with so it was paired with their other favorite. 4.) Excerpt from " The Lemon Drop Kid " / Stuck In The Chimney Again A quick snippet with Bob Hope & William "Fred Mertz" Frawley leads into Darius Holbert's short Christmas song. 5.) Linnzi ...

The 2009 playlist: 1.) 2009 Intro I took clips from Christmas tapes past to form a special anniversary introduction (with a little help from Barney Rubble on the piano and a trio of singing cops). 2.) Mr. Fab - Little Saint Nick (intro) / DJ BC - You Shook Me All Noel Splicing two different mash-ups into one, it leads off this year's CD with a 1-2 punch. 3.) No Lights On The Xmas Tree Mother / Mojochronic - Whoville (Won't Get Yuled Again) Two clips compose "No Lights": the first is from the movie " The Girl Can't Help It " and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (who used the clip as inspiration for their song). 4.) MARS Production Library - H-906 - Special announcement From a set of five Christmas production albums I purchased on eBay several years ago. 5.) Substance W - Good King Wenceslas Starts off techno... then goes baroque... slides into country banjo... repeat and mix up those styles until the end. I'm getting a contact ...

The 2008 playlist: 1.) 2008 intro Yes Rico, ka-boom! With so much to tell, I had to edit my usual opening pastiche. Featuring Brave Combo on "Jingle Bells". To read the article I mentioned in the intro, click here . 2.) The Phil Harris / Alice Faye Show - Jack Benny as Santa Claus Phil's radio daughters ask Santa his age... can you guess what Jack responded? 3.) Port Authority of the U.S. Navy Band - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town You can get much more 1970s than this amazing rendition from a Navy band no less! 4.) Irwin The Disco Duck & The Wibble Wabble Singers & Orchestra - Donde Esta Santa Claus The worst Christmas disco song off the worst Christmas disco album of all time. Click on the link and read the disclaimer at the bottom. 5.) The Big Sound / Christmas Greetings - Jerry Lewis The Big Sound marketed themselves to radio stations in the early 1960s with big name celebrities announcing the time, informing you how many shopping day...

The 2007 playlist: 1.) 2007 intro I decided to start rotating versions of "Jingle Bells" during my intro - Les Paul's version of "Jingle Bells" is in the background. 2.) Scottland - Credit Card Christmas This one came to me from NYC collector extraordinaire Al Aitchison from his annual Christmas comp - thanks Al! 3.) SeaWest Artists - We Wish You A Merry Christmas Pt. 1 The first attempt by these guys to play this song on the ukelele - it isn't as easy as it sounds! From my friend Martin Johns aka Stubbyfears - thank you sir! 4.) Ira Ironstrings - Sleigh Ride A wild, raucous, and downright fun sleigh ride! From one the greatest Christmas albums of all-time (click to read my review). 5.) U.S. Postal Service - Easy Holiday Season PSA Stubby and I swapped copies of Postal Service Christmas albums - thanks again Martin! 6.) Granddaddy - Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland My brother Chris has always been an Alan Parsons fanatic (he...

The 2006 playlist: 1.) 2006 intro In the cassette days, I used Santo & Johnny's "Twistin' Bells" for the intro - I chose that version to lead off 2006. 2.) President and Mrs. George W. Bush - Dubya's telling of "The Night Before Christmas" Someone online grabbed the audio feed from a White House event that had Bush stumbling over the book... very little editing... :) 3.) El Vez - Santa Claus Is Sometimes Brown Wicked re-working of "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" from the Mexican Elvis. El Vez has several other Christmas releases out there that I need to pick up. 4.) Noelani & The Leo Nahenahe Singers - Deck The Halls Nothing like Hawaiian Christmas to get me in the holiday spirit! Great song sung in Hawaiian and English. 5.) Stan Freberg - Excerpt from "Christmas Dragnet (Yulenet)" Grudge doesn't believe in Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, Columbus, Cleveland, or Cincinnati. He hasn't made his mi...

The 2005 playlist: 1.) 2005 intro My usual intro with the Flat Duo Jets on "Jingle Bells". 2.) Harry Goodman Jingles - 27 days 'til Christmas From side one of a 16" radio transcription record (red vinyl no less) that I found on eBay. Since this wouldn't fit on my turntable, I had this professionally transferred to CD. 3.) The Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Song Using my Sound Forge software, I slowed all the Chipmunk parts down to half-speed so you can hear how Ross Bagdasarian originally sung it - then sped it up! 4.) The Magic of Bing Crosby - Bing denies his family permission to sing "White Christmas" The end to one of Bingle's early 1970s Christmas specials, he later denies Robert Goulet the priviledge. Eventually all get to sing the song and fade to black. 5.) Corporal Blossom - White Christmas One of the very first Christmas mash-up CDs ever, Corporal Blossom takes Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and The Sup...