A Christmas Yuleblog

An error has been found thanks to a sharp listening listener... for more on this, click on this link to read about it. Capt

(Click on image to enlarge) I've posted a bunch of stuff from Capitol Records today and thought I'd add a few odds and ends leftover. The first is this ad that I used with the " Christmas In Italy " entry. At the very, very, very bottom of the ad you'll find a two line blurb that reads: Merry Christmas To You! Twelve popular favorites by top recording artists - T9030 While during one of my sweep and clear vinyl rescue missions, I came across this very album cover: (Click on images to enlarge) Okay, calm down... First, these songs are available EVERYWHERE on dozens of compilations scattered to the four winds which means I'm not posting any of these. Second, when I found this at my local thrift store, the record itself was missing. I spent the good portion of an afternoon digging through every single scrap of vinyl trying to play matchmaker. I didn't find it but got a free cover for my troubles. Consider this a do-it-yourself project. ...

I posted three of the Capitol "Christmas In" series today and wanted to an addendum - in later years, Capitol would take foreign artists like Wiener Sangerkanben (aka The Vienna Boys Choir) and add them to their "Christmas In" series, add "passport stamps", and make it real international. The unofficial Capitol "Christmas In" checklist (if there are other countries I've left out, leave us a comment and I'll add it to the list): Christmas In England Christmas In Germany Christmas In Spain Christmas In Sweden Christmas In Mexico Christmas In France Christmas In Holland Christmas In Italy Christmas In Austria Christmas In Brazil ( thanks, Dantalian ) Here's an album that wasn't a part of that series but could qualify as one. When I discovered the three Capitol "Christmas In" albums at my local thrift store, this album wasn't too far behind in the stacks. Mexico has Placido Domingo, Spain has Jose Carrer...

This is the third of the Capitol "Christmas In" series that I'm posting for 2008. The other two include " Christmas In Germany " and " Christmas In Italy ". This is the Swedish version from the same series. "Christmas In Sweden" is as authentic as you can get when it comes to Swedish Christmas. I tried to find some background on Jelving and found two sites. The first was this Swedish Wikipedia entry (anyone other than Anna-Lena Lodenius know how to speak Swedish here?) and the other was a site offering Jelving ringtones (yeah, right!). If anyone has extra info on Åke, please let us know. Side one contains four tracks but yumpin' yiminy! These tracks just swing with Swedish folk and Christmas. Try not tapping your toes to this side. Side two is mode sedate, more solemn. "Sankta Lucia" isn't exactly a Christmas song but somehow it fits here. THIS JUST IN : A comment from AbleApe prompted us to re-listen to track ...

Earlier today, I posted the " Christmas In Italy " album from Capitol's "Christmas In" series - the first of three "Christmas In" albums I'm posting today. This is the second post today, taken from the initial set of eight that Capitol released in 1957. If you're thinking "Christmas In Germany" is your standard Christmas oompah album, you're wrong. It is actually a cut-above-the-rest foreign children's choir Christmas album. Bielefelder Kinderchor, the only choir listed, has some definite help from other uncredited choruses and soloists - "White Christmas" features a bass singer that would give George Beverly Shea a run for his money! Side two contains a Christmas medley / full opera - 14 minutes long! The cover is amazingly striking - I only wish we could get snow to look that beautiful here in Fort Wayne. The greenhouse effect, global warming, climate change, whatever dries it all up in a matter of hour...

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 "Wh...

Capitol Records was founded in 1942 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, Hollywood music store owner Glenn Wallichs, and movie producer Buddy DeSylva. Capitol provided a competitive alternative to the three major record companies of the day - Victor, Columbia and Decca - all established in New York. It quickly flourished with artists like Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, three guys named Les (Baxter, Brown, and Paul), and Margaret Whiting. An overlooked facet of the Capitol Records story is their extraordinary output of production music over the years. This music was recorded for TV and radio stations, advertising agencies, and movie studios to use mainly in the background of their own projects. One perfect example is the legendary " Capitol Hi-Q " series of music. Recorded back in the late 1950s-early 1960s, this music has found its way into movies such as the original " Night Of The Living Dead " and Michael Moore's first film " Roger & Me ". Not s...

Three years ago, The King of Jingaling at FaLaLaLaLa.com offered one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time. Two years ago, I downloaded not one but two fantastic albums from our friend Ernie (not Bert) (which were re-offered last year). These three albums were recorded by the late, great Eddie Dunstedter and I never reviewed these albums at the yuleblog. I promised Ernie that these albums would be the first ones to get the yuleblog treatment after my return from acting. However... the almighty Google keeps referring to Ernie's posts when you enter the name of Eddie Dunstedter and there is surprisingly little about the man online for research. The few online facts that I found? Dunstedter discovered the vocal group The Merry Macs back in 1926, was the musical director of several radio shows back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and has one movie credit to his name - the music score for the 1953 schlock horror movie " Donovan's Brain " (with futu...