Holiday Music from Ralph Flanagan's Big Band

Bandleader Ralph Flanagan was a stalwart of the RCA Victor catalog for nearly a decade, but by 1959 he had moved on to the smaller Imperial label.

Although it was a time of change in the music business, Imperial was still signing and promoting older-style artists for LP purposes. In the singles market, the label's mainstays were such R&B and rock musicians as Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson.

Flanagan was to make four LPs for Imperial, including this 1959 Christmas record. As with all the many Flanagan discs I have featured on this blog, this LP is immaculately played and highly enjoyable. As a bonus, it is an exceptional (if very bright sounding) example of early stereo.

Ralph Flanagan

No details are available about who might have played on the record or exactly when it was recorded. It's almost certain, however, that Flanagan used the best studio musicians. It's also possible that he is the pianist heard throughout the album; he often, but not invariably, performed on his own records. The pianism is too flowery for my taste, but that's a small point. Flanagan also was the named arranger on most of his records; whether he actually did the arrangements or used a ghostwriter is hard to say. We have no information about the arrangements here, but they are accomplished. That said, they do reflect some of the cliches of the time - bongo drums, a cooing Conniff-style vocal chorus, etc. 

Imperial called the record Holiday Inn, but the album does not include that song or any numbers from Bing's 1941 film of the same name, except for the inevitable "White Christmas."

Bonus Cuts

The RCA "White Christmas" 78 - the company did not bother to make its labels legible

As bonuses I've added two of Flanagan's RCA recordings. The Victor "White Christmas" was from one of the bandleader's earliest singles on that label, released in 1949. The download includes a few Billboard articles on the Flanagan band of this period, plus a brief review of the record. The review terms Harry Prime's vocalism as "passable," which may be a generous assessment. The arrangement is reminiscent of the Glenn Miller sound; Flanagan's was one of many Miller-clone bands of the time.

Finally, we have a second version of "Winter Wonderland" to complement the one on the LP. It's taken from a 1954 various-artists Christmas LP on the RCA label. It's available here in its entirety.

The Imperial and RCA LPs are from my collection. I cleaned up the "White Christmas" single from a transfer on Internet Archive. 

This post is for my friend Ernie; I believe he's been looking for a stereo copy of the LP. Ernie is, as usual, engaged in his seasonal posting frenzy that is a must for Christmas music fans. Go here to join in the fun. And don't forget my friend Lee, either!