A Christmas Yuleblog

From time to time this upcoming Christmas season, I'll be posting some amazing videos that have been rescued by people like us and posted at the mecca of all things wonderful and obscure - YouTube . I invite you to add a fun comment, witticism, clever remark, or observation in the comments section provided. Any comments deemed worthy of repeating will be included into this entry where all the world will see it. Just moments ago, I posted a Dragnet Christmas album and expressed my love for all things Jack Webb Christmas related (albums, PSA records). So when I discovered this amazing clip of Webb doing a promo for Christmas Seals, oh baby, did I go through the roof! It's all done in his inimitable style, reading you facts the way a prosecutor would present evidence. Jack even manages to crack a smile at the end: The man radiates warmth, don't you agree? What do you think? Creedmoor says: He should have had a butt going. Any other opinions? Capt

The story you're about to read is true... As a kid growing up in the 1970s, I was a Jack Webb fan. I loved watching reruns of "Dragnet 1967, 1968, etc". I was equally mesmorized by "Adam-12", "Emergency!", and an obscure Webb produced show called "Project UFO". I loved his staccato delivery, the way he walked (he put his coat on with the coat tree attached), and his quick editing style. Get a VHS copy of any "Dragnet" episode and press the fast-forward button - the flash frames will give you a buzz similar to alcohol on an empty stomach. After I had began my obsession with Christmas music, I wondered if Jack Webb did anything related to Christmas. One of the first eBay auctions I ever won was for a U.S. Navy LP that featured Webb doing some spots for the Navy in 1998 (our friend Ernie posted this at his blog last year). When Basic Hip - the granddaddy of all sharity sites - first offered this album back in 2001 or 200...

In yesterday's yuleblog entry , we had a rather long album title I downloaded from Ernie (not Bert's) blog as a headline. Today, we have another album from Ernie (not Bert's) blog and another long album title as a headline! Some of you might be asking "Who is Walter Schumann and why did he have so many voices?" Here's just the facts: Schumann was born in New York, New York on October 8, 1913. In the early 1930s, he was attending the law school of USC when he abruptly quit to play in a college dance band. Eventually, the band went its separate ways and Schumann continued on into the music business, working with Eddie Cantor on his radio show, and recording with Andre Kostelanetz. World War II started, Walter enlisted, and became the musical director of the Armed Forces Radio Service. He worked with most of the major acts of the war on all the radio shows AFRS produced during this time. After the war, he returned to Los Angeles and worked in the m...