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.
10 comments:
Link (Apple lossless format):
http://www.mediafire.com/?a5l1hf4ff1mdd4a
Thanks Buster,
Mel Blanc & The Sportsmen had a huge hit on The Billboard Sales chart with "Woody Woodpecker" (2(2)-July 1948. The song that kept them from the top spot was Woody Wood-Pecker (spelled differently) by Kay Kyser :-)
To kids growing up in the 1950s and 60s, the Mellomen were one of the most familiar sounds around, even if we didn't know the name. They were just about the only male harmony group the Disney studio knew about, and they were heard in a ton of animated pictures and shorts. Whether painting the roses red, or being pirates in Neverland.
@ Hit Parade - Yes, and I believe the Kyser vocal was by one of my favorite singers, Gloria Wood!
@ JAC - True indeed - Thurl Ravenscroft's voice is all over the Disney product, for sure.
Oooh, this looks like a good one. Thanks, Buster!
Buster--The Jack Benny clip is wonderful-- what a fun start to the holiday season--as always Buster you make every season bright !!
Now this is a gem. Didn't know this existed.
My wife and I have been listening, sequentially (we started mid-run), to Jack Benny every Sunday night at 7:00 (taking breaks when the show goes on hiatus) for 10 years now. We just listened to the December 4th, 1949 show last night. Sounds looney, but after a few years, you actually believe that you've got to race home to the computer, otherwise you'll miss the program. A lot of the humour builds, week after week, so that if you listen to it out of order - although still hilarious, you'll miss a lot of the in-jokes. Crazy, but fun.
Regardless, wanted to thank you for your wonderful site. You're always teaching me something I didn't know, and posting true treats.
Merry Christmas.
Scott (cowhandpete)
Joe/Tom - Thanks so much!
Scott - If you are in the 1949 shows, you are right in his best period, I think. And what a great idea you had to listen to each show sequentially at the original hour! Benny is a sentimental favorite of mine. I remember both listening to him on radio and watching him on TV. And I too have listened to almost his complete radio output in recent years.
Can you check the link? When I try it, I get an advertisement instead. Thanks.
Doug - Just tried it, and it worked OK. You might want to try again.
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