A Christmas Yuleblog

Earlier this year, I was browsing over at Amazon.com and had some time to kill. So I decided to check my personalized recommendations - an operation that could last up to three days thanks to the varied selection of Christmas albums I've purchased there over the years. After flipping through several dozen Christmas CDs I already owned, this CD came into view and I was stunned. For those of you not familiar with the artist, you're probably thinking "just another Christmas CD". However, I sat up in my chair and queried "Mr. Everybody can SING???" Fred Travalena was born in The Bronx on October 6, 1942 and raised on Long Island. He signed on as a teen with the U.S. Army and served in Special Services where his singing garnered him an "All-Army Entertainment" award for best singer! However, Fred's mimicry of celebrities caught the attention of audiences. This led to his big break in 1972 when ABC picked him as one of several imperson...

Bill Meléndez, the Mexican-born American animator who is best known for directing nearly all of the Peanuts television specials, died Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. He was 91. Meléndez began his career at Walt Disney Studios drawing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck shorts before moving on to such feature films as Bambi, Fantasia and Dumbo. From 1941 to 1951, he worked for the legendary Warner Brothers animation studio where he helped create cartoons for directors Robert Clampett and Robert McKimson. In 1951, Meléndez went to work for UPA where he animated dozens of television commercials as well as numerous Gerald McBoing-Boing and Madeline shorts. Saul Bass called upon Meléndez to help animate the opening credit scene for It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (one of two things I find funny about this particular movie): While at UPA, Meléndez started doing work for the New York-based J. Walter Thompson ad agency. One of their major clients was th...

Eye catching cover, huh? It caught my eye at my local Borders store last December and I was instantly intrigued. Ten tracks total and some interesting comments from Rob "Bucket" Hingley of The Toasters : "Hawaii is not exactly the place that readily springs to mind when one thinks about Christmas. Coconut palms rather than conifers and macadamias instead of chestnuts roasting on an open fire, it's hard to envisage Santa divesting his red suit for shorts and changing sleigh for surfboard, riding the waves instead of snow. All these images at first made me raise an eyebrow. "But of course, we are talking about Go Jimmy Go, and - as I have come to realize during my global peregrinations with these mischievous iconoclasts - everything is possible and nothing should be unexpected. So let's throw the eggnog out the window and grab a couple of daiquiris and a Piña Colada and go down to the beach to enjoy these Christmas tunes steeped in the sweet island suga...

For the past several years, my family and I have travelled to Chicago every December to experience the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the selections that only Chicago can offer at Christmas. One of the highlights for myself is browsing through massive record stores like the Virgin Music Store or Tower Records. Their selection of Christmas CDs were so varied that you can easily spend nearly an hour in each store (both stores are closed now - victims of the iPod revolution). Last December, I visited a FYE store and found the CD you are looking at and put another Christmas CD back in favor of this one. Sealed in a polywrap CD bag, this CD came in a simple cardboard sleeve with ALL of the original LP cover art intact. Upon its opening, the CD is stamped with a faithful reproduction of the original LP label and an insert of the back cover of the album! Thankfully, this CD was prominently placed above the racks because if was filed among their other CDs, it would have easily b...

I would be remiss if I didn't mention a major event in some people's homes this weekend. The 43rd Annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon will broadcast for 22 hours live from Las Vegas, Nevada. Watching to see what celebrity shows up on the telethon is a huge draw and helping kids is always a plus. But let's get serious. Most tune in to see what kind of shenanigans Jerry is gonna pull next: My friend Scott Marks runs an amazing blog entitled Emulsion Compulsion - a vast home of movie reviews, rants, and quite possibly one of the most extensive image vaults on the web (yes, including Christmas images!). Scott is probably the biggest Jerry Lewis fan on the planet. He has an extensive collection of Jerry memorabilia including a rare 1976 "CBer's for Jerry" patch that was donated to him by yours truly. He has watched every Jerry movie extensively (no, not " The Day The Clown Cried ") and not only has he interviewed Jerry more than once, he once...

Last year I described how an unknown Christian rock Christmas CD found its way into my stocking. No one in my family owned up to its placement. Therefore, I determined that the one and only Santa Claus left it for me on Christmas Eve, 2006. It happened again last Christmas Eve. This CD you see before you was wedged into my stocking above all the little goodies Santa packed for me. My wife confessed to helping my cat Sasha and Maisey order some CDs for me (I never knew she spoke cat-o-nese) but was completely clueless as to where this came from. Santa Claus feels I need some more Christian Christmas CDs for my collection. Who am I to argue with the Big Guy? This isn't the only Relient K Christmas album in my collection. Several years ago, I purchased a used copy of " Two Lefts Don't Make A Right... But Three Do " in order to get the bonus CD entitled " Deck The Halls, Bruise Your Hand ". This was the group's first full Christmas album, ...

Last December, I was receiving Christmas gifts from family members, cats, and friends. Yesterday's entry was devoted to The Living Christmas Tree and my friendship with my buddy Joel. Not to be outdone last year, his wife Samantha (with whom I once shared a bed with for a play while Joel directed - only in America) snagged a FULL stack of Christmas CDs for me from a friend who didn't want them any more. Most of the CDs in the stack I already owned but this CD and its simplistic cover caught my eye. The case was old, discolored and had medium sized cracks throughout. The weight of the case felt heavier than normal which made me wonder when this CD was made. A quick look of the back cover confirmed my curiosities - the CD was produced and issued in 1989! As more and more CDs are going the way of the 8-track, the scarcity of any CD manufactured before 1998 is indeed a prize - even more so for Christmas CDs. I originally thought "this is just another music box CD a l...

Here's a Christmas gift that wasn't given to me from any of my cats or my immediate family. This CD found its way to me from my best friend Joel - my long-lost brother that I never had or wanted (it's his joke about me, folks!) He and I have been best friends since our first encounter in Spring of 2004 at First Presbyterian Theater where he holds several jobs - production manager, full-time director, and part-time actor. When he's not working there, he's the technical director of the Scottish Rite Center here in Fort Wayne (more on that in a moment). I first wrote about him when he presented me with a copy of Jana's " American Indian Christmas ". Since then, Joel has joined me on several thrift store excursions of their record bins, searching for that second item I don't own in my collection. Shortly before Christmas last year, Joel's schedule had him shuttling between the Scottish Rite and FPT. He was working himself to death simu...

In yesterday's yuleblog entry , I revealed that one of my cats purchased a Christmas CD for me last December (that's what the gift tag read). In today's entry, my other cat Sasha gets equal time. It was her paws all over this package for me under the tree (that's what the gift tag read). It's hard to believe I know... but I'm not complaining. What's also hard to believe is The Smithereens have been around for nearly 30 years! Back in 1980, four mop-topped lads from New Jersey began playing music heavily influenced by the power pop genre - especially four mop-topped lads from Liverpool. The boys kept busy in those early years; mainly sticking to the NYC bar circuit and earning some play on college radio. Despite notices from publications like Rolling Stone magazine, they still had trouble gaining an audience. They began touring and supporting traveling oldies groups like The Beau Brummels and Otis Blackwell, with whom they recorded an album'...

This Christmas CD was a present from a member of my family but I'm still trying to figure out how she ordered it. On Christmas morning, the tag read "To Rob, From Maisey". Maisey is the oldest of our two cats. Maisey probably saw my printed list of new Christmas releases from Randy's Rodeo before the holidays. Randy ranked this CD pretty high on his list and Amazon.com had an exclusive bonus track with this album. How Maisey ordered this CD I'll never know (insert your own "cat clicked on the mouse" joke here). So who is Raul Malo? Malo was born August 7, 1965 to Cuban parents in Miami, Florida. Raul started playing bass guitar in high school and soon found his way into several HS bands. In 1987, he made his first recording with a group called Basics. Their one song, "Paperheart" appeared on a promotional album entitled appropriately "Unsigned". A few years later, Malo and a high school friend, Robert Reynolds, joine...

I've gone back and answered comments left here at the yuleblog over the past several months. If you've left a comment here during that time, the answer now awaits you at the post you left it at - click on the link to take you there. And awayyyy we go: Jeff has left a new comment on your post " You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get? ": Congrats Capt! Start that ball rolling and all kinds of great stuff will be coming your way! stubbysfears has left a new comment on your post " You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get? ": Congratulations! Now don't go spending it all on steam whistle Christmas records. ;-) Ernie has left a new comment on your post " You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get? ": Can we just pay you $39 a week and you keep up the Christmas reviews? Stephen has left a new comment on your post " You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get? ": Hey, Rob, thanks for posting this. My wife already dreads returning to wor...

Guess whose kids went back to school today? With these two handfuls starting a new school year, my youngest child in preschool three days a week (too shy for the group photo above), and some long overdue Christmas housecleaning duties now complete (keep reading), I am once again able to devote some time, energy, and/or wit to the yuleblog. My last full entry here was back in February . Since that time, I have: Started a new job Helped my wife with her new career change Continued my stay-at-home dad duties Went on several extended family vacations while we could afford it Help my wife's family when my mother-in-law experienced a stroke (she's 90% recovered thankfully) Helped my son Alex celebrate his first Communion and all the brouhaha that goes with it Helped my two oldest kids with their basketball / cheerleading / baseball / T-ball schedules Helped build & paint several theater sets for a local theater Created sound designs for several plays at the aforem...

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 ...