The Sportsmen Carol at Christmas

Capitol records put out this Christmas album in 1949, at the same time it issued the Jimmy Wakely set posted a few days ago.

These were among its first LPs, and they were brief, with their six songs replicating the three-record 78 and 45 albums that came out at the same time.

Here we have an entirely conventional program of Christmas material. The album is titled "Carols at Christmas," but this is only loosely the case. While carols do not have to be religious, "Wassail" is a drinking song that doesn't fit well with the stained glass on the cover.

The Sportsmen would have been very familiar to any American within earshot of a radio in 1949. They were a mainstay of Jack Benny's popular program, and appeared on several other shows as well. Their specialty on Benny's show was popping up in unlikely places to sing about the merits of sponsor Lucky Strike cigarettes, often to the star's disgust. This kind of loony vernacular surrealism was one of the main sources of humor on Benny's program. You can hear how it works in a Christmas audio clip included in the download. In this scenario, Jack is Christmas shopping in a department store, and the Sportsmen are elevator operators who sing about the wonders to be found on every floor (including plugs for Lucky Strikes) while ignoring Benny's loud demands to be let off on the mezzanine.

On the Capitol record, the Sportsmen are accompanied by organ. As with the Jimmy Wakely record, this is probably played by Buddy Cole, who was recording Christmas music on organ for Capitol at the same time. The other connection with the Wakely LP is that Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith of the Mellomen (who accompany the cowboy singer) were former members of the Sportsmen.

A Mennonite Christmas

The Mennonite Hour was on radio in the US for many years, starting in 1951, and was at its zenith when this recording was made circa the late 1950s.

The program was primarily music, and as was the practice at that time, it was entirely choral - no instruments.

In this 10-inch record of Christmas hymns, we hear male, female and mixed ensembles. The familiar material generally comes off well, although the more difficult music makes the men in particular uncomfortable.

The music is directed by J. Mark Stauffer, who also was responsible for the music on my previous post of a Mennonite revival meeting. The sound is reasonably good.

Christmas with Jimmy Wakely

In 1949, singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely was still churning out features for Monogram - five that year alone. And he was popular on the music charts as well - his biggest hit was the Floyd Tillman song "Slippin' Around," which Wakely cut with Margaret Whiting.

1949 lobby card

Later in the year, Capitol had Wakely in the studio to record a set of familiar Christmas songs, issued in time for the holidays in three-record 78 and 45 sets and this 10-inch LP.

The "male quartette" promised on the cover is the Mellotones, best known for including the cult bass Thurl Ravenscroft. The record also includes a few brief (and surprisingly effective) recitations by child actor Anne Whitfield. Five years later she played the General's daughter in that holiday film staple, White Christmas.

Anne Whitfield

Wakely is accompanied by Hammond organ, steel guitar and guitar. The organist is probably Buddy Cole, who did a solo Christmas album for Capitol that same year. The steel guitar could possibly be Speedy West, who was beginning to do sessions for the record company at about the same time.

Wakely was a fine singer; in his easygoing manner he was kind of a country Como. This is an exceptionally pleasant (if brief) album in good sound.

Wakely would go on to have his biggest Christmas hit in 1950 with "Silver Bells", done with his frequent partner Margaret Whiting, although they split the market with the Bing Crosby-Carol Richards version.

Several years ago I posted Wakely's later Christmas LP, which he issued on his own Shasta label. A link to a reup is in the comments.

Greetings from Sweden

I am kicking off the annual Christmas sharing season with this record of music from Sweden, chosen and originally purchased because I like the cover. Can't figure out, though, why the sleigh is shooting flames out the back. That can't be safe.

Egon Kjerrman

In truth, it's really only half a Christmas record. But since all the music is completely unfamiliar, at least to me, that doesn't matter much, particularly because it's all attractive - again, at least to me.

The record is from 1954, and the Christmas items feature Egon Kjerrman and his orchestra. Kjerrman was then with the Swedish radio. He accompanies three different groups and a soprano.

The second side has five traditional Swedish dances with the orchestras of Valle Söderlund and Kalle Nilo.

Good sound and pleasant listening for the holiday season.

Johnny Green, Kay Thompson and Ralph Blane

In 1944, composer-pianist-bandleader Johnny Green, vocalist-arranger Kay Thompson and composer-vocalist Ralph Blane were all among the great array of talent that had been assembled to make musicals at M-G-M.

All had achieved a measure of fame before going to Hollywood; the relative anonymity of the studio would chafe on Green and Thompson, who had been headliners; perhaps less so on Blane, who was content to sing in ensembles with Thompson's singers even as he was co-composing (with Hugh Martin) the songs for Meet Me in St. Louis, one of the greatest musicals ever.

Kay Thompson

The three were friendly, and when Green was commissioned in 1944 to produce an album of his own songs by Decca, he called on the others to help. The resulting eight-song set includes three vocals by Thompson and her group (which almost certainly includes Blane), two by Blane, an excellent singer, two by the obscure Barbara Ames, and one instrumental featuring Green's piano.

Ames, who appeared in a few movies as a singer - although not at M-G-M - actually is not a bad singer at all. Blane is particularly persuasive in "I'm Yours," although "Out of Nowhere," a tough melody to sing, isn't his finest moment. And Thompson's outings are a delight, particularly "The Steam Is on the Beam". Green wrote that song for a short-lived Broadway musical in 1942. This version was in effect a demo for a version of the song filmed for (but not used in) Ziegfeld Follies.

Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin

The cover notes say that the musicians on the date were from Hollywood studios. It seems likely that they were from the M-G-M orchestra. No arranger credits are given, but the orchestrations are very reminiscent of those heard in M-G-M musicals of the time, and I like to imagine that people like Conrad Salinger and Wally Heglin may have been involved.

Although these songs were projected as an album from the start, they actually did not appear in assembled form until September 1947, although most of the items had been issued as singles by then. This transfer is from the 10-inch LP issued in 1950.

Note (June 2024): The August and September 1944 sessions in Los Angeles actually yielded 10 songs - the eight on the LP and two other Green compositions, "Serenade to a New Baby" and "Hello, My Lover, Goodbye." I've now included the latter two in the download, transferred from a Decca single. All songs have been remastered in ambient stereo.

LINK to remastered version

Alexander Young in Peter Warlock Songs

I wrote in early 2009 about Alexander Young's recording of Vaughan Williams' settings of poems from Housman's "A Shropshire Lad". I mentioned that work's influence on Peter Warlock's 1920-22 setting of works by William Butler Yeats, "The Curlew". Today we have Young's recording of that setting, together with a fine selection of other songs by the same composer.

As in the previous record, Young is accompanied by the Sebastian String Quartet and pianist Gordon Watson. Lionel Solomon (flute) and Peter Graeme (English horn) are heard on "The Curlew." As before, the recordings originate with Argo and are from slightly later American Westminster pressings.

Alexander Young

Peter Warlock, a pseudonym for Philip Heseltine, mainly wrote songs during his short life, which ended in what is most likely suicide at age 36. He is lightly regarded as a composer - possibly because he was a miniaturist, but his songs are of a very high standard. "The Curlew" cycle is his masterpiece, his music fitting extraordinary well to Yeats' bleak poetry. ("No boughs have withered because of the wintry wind; the boughs have withered because I have told them my dreams.") But the composer responds just as strongly to joyful verse such as the Shakespeare setting "Pretty Ring Time." This dual aspect of Heseltine's work is sometimes thought to express the dual Heseltine/Warlock identity.

Young is the right artist for this work; he encompasses all its facets beautifully, and the other musicians also are excellent. As is standard for Argo recordings of this vintage (1953), the voice is backwardly balanced.

The Argo cover is above; scans of the inappropriate Westminster cover (of Big Ben!) and texts are included in the download.

I have Young's recording of Roger Quilter songs somewhere and will transfer it when I find it.

LINK to June 2025 remastering in ambient stereo

Ninth Batch of Reups

When lots of people ask for reuploads, that usually coincides with periods when I don't have much time to comply. This by way of explanation of why it takes me so long to follow through.

But the time has come, and so here are tonight's gems, and there are quite a lot of them. The links below go to the original post, where you can find some background and a new download link. All the new download links can also be found in the comments to this post.

American Music for String Orchestra

An early Howard Hanson record of music by Thomas Canning (a gorgeous gloss on Vaughan Williams), Louis Mennini and Arthur Foote. Remastered. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Stravinsky - Mass

Stravinsky's own first recording of his Mass. Remastered. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Ferrante and Teicher - Xmas Hi-Fivories

This is a remaster of my second recording of this, the most popular item I have ever offered here - an icon of the incredibly strange music crowd. I didn't like it much the first two times. It's beginning to win me over. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

The Charioteers - Sweet and Low

Columbia recordings from the 40s by the Billy Williams-led gospel-pop group. Available in mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Frank Sinatra - Perfectly Frank Radio Shows

Laboriously cleaned up from two awful bootlegs, these include songs from his early 50s radio program. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST 1 | LINK TO ORIGINAL POST 2

Britten - Simple Symphony

Nice recording of music from Britten's youth, conducted by Goossens, with notes by the composer. Available in mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Gordon Jenkins - Time to Dance

Early Capitol recordings from the composer-arranger, with Martha Tilton, Connie Haines and the great but forgotten Bob Carroll. Remastered, Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Harl McDonald and Max Brand

Music from the American composer Harl McDonald and the Austrian-American Max Brand (not the Western novelist!), from the Philadelphia Orchestra. Available in mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Polly Bergen - Little Girl Blue

An early LP from the singer-actor-capitalist. Available in mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Omar Khayyam; The Mountain

Film scores from Victor Young and Daniele Ampitheatrof. Available in mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Morton Gould - Christmas Music for Orchestra

Two suites from the great American composer of orchestral and pop music. Available in mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST