 |
| A Christmas Seals appeal from 1954 |
Here's a second set of holiday materials from the Christmas Seals people, from both 1954 and 1957. From the former year, we have bandleader Ray Anthony in a Christmas show, another selection of Christmas Seals promos from the celebrities of the day, and the official Christmas Seals song, as presented by Kitty Kallen.
For 1957, there is the Christmas Seals song for that year as presented by Billy Eckstine along with several lead-in promos, and additional renditions by George Beverly Shea, Sister Rosetta Sharpe and the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister.
Christmas Seals materials from both 1954 and 1957 have appeared her before. From 1954, we've had programs from Eddie Fisher and Tennessee Ernie, along with celebrity spots (find these here), and last year's post of shows featuring Julius La Rosa and Jack Benny (which are here). From 1957, we have had shows starring Lena Horne and Gordon MacRae (here).
The Ray Anthony Show
Ray Anthony completes my cache of Christmas Seals shows from 1954 (well, except for Guy Lombardo, which I haven't transferred). Ray was riding high in 1954 with one of the most popular bands in the land.
His program for Christmas Seals was one of those where the celebrity just spins his current records, with no pause for Christmas music. For Anthony, this went so far as programming his hit "The Bunny Hop." (Perhaps he thought he was doing an Easter Seals show?)
 |
A how-to on the Bunny Hop (click to enlarge).
Don't get so carried away that you knock over the Christmas tree. |
Two of Anthony's other selections were dances, too - "Cat Dancin'" and "Dance My Heart." Finally, he added "Say Hey" - a tribute to center fielder Willie Mays, overshooting the baseball season by a few months.
The performances are good (they are Ray's Capitol recordings) and the sound is, too.
LINK to Ray Anthony ShowMore Celebrity Spots from 1954
This group of 10 celebrities is composed mainly of actors, with the addition of Eartha Kitt and Eddie Fisher, best known as singers.
 |
| Robert Stack, Eartha Kitt |
Once again, the notables make their support of Christmas Seals known, in spots that last from 20 seconds to a minute.
Here is the complete roster of participants:
- Robert Stack
- William Bendix
- Mona Freeman
- Eartha Kitt
- Eddie Fisher
- Celeste Holm
- George Murphy
- Gene Raymond
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Loretta Young
 |
| Celeste Holm, William Bendix |
LINK to Celebrity Spots
The 1954 Christmas Seals Song
The official Christmas Seals song for 1954 didn't get much traction in the market and is little remembered, although it was written by one of the finest songwriting duos of the time - Matt Dennis and Tom Adair.
Kitty Kallen had the honor of recording the number, but on the picture sleeve above, Decca oddly decided to emphasize the flip side, "Baby Brother (Santa Claus, Dear Santa Claus)," issuing the song in its children's series, to boot.
I suppose Kallen was chosen because her child-like voice was suited to "Baby Brother," but this could have and should have been much better.
I have shared this record before, but this version is newly refurbished.
LINK to 1954 Christmas Seals song
The 1957 Christmas Seals Song
For 1957, Christmas Seals adopted an existing song, "If I Can Help Somebody," written by Alma Bazel Androzzo in 1946 and recorded soon after by Turner Layton, a songwriter ("After You're Gone, "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans") and cabaret performer.
 |
| Alma Bazel Androzzo |
Androzzo (1912-2001) was born in Tennessee but lived a good part of her life in Pennsylvania. "If I Can Help Somebody," her most famous song, was taken up by such luminaries as Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr. A recording by tenor Josef Locke enjoyed some success in 1951.
 |
| Billy Eckstine |
For Christmas Seals, there were at least two versions of the song in the market and on radio shows. The first is what is being featured today - the recording by the sonorous Billy Eckstine. Mr. B is strikingly fine in this version, sincere and convincing.
 |
| Mercury promotional cover |
Mercury sent the record out to radio stations with four different promotional messages to introduce the record - by Sarah Vaughan, Patti Page, Eckstine himself, and bandleader David Carroll.
My friend Ernie alerted me that there was another promotional version issued at the same time, this one by gospel singer George Beverly Shea. I don't have the promotional material, but I have added Shea's rendition to the package.
 |
| Sister Rosetta Tharpe, George Beverly Shea |
The song's simple but inspiring message was taken up by many other gospel singers. I've also added the contemporary recordings by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister. The Statesmen performance features their tenor, Rosie Rozell.
Here are the opening lyrics of the song, which demonstrate why the work was appealing to the Christmas Seals people, and to many singers through the years:
If I can help somebody, as I travel along
If I can help somebody, with a word or song
If I can help somebody, from doing wrong
No, my living shall not be in vain
LINK to 1957 Christmas Seals song
Thank you very much for this great stuff Buster!
ReplyDeleteRecordCollector - My pleasure!
DeleteAmazing rarities! Billy Eckstine has one of my favorite voices. King of vibrato
ReplyDeleteAnon - Hope you enjoy the music (and other material). Mr. B is excellent in that song.
DeleteAnd if you don't like Shea's music, he'll be happy to sell you a Buick.
ReplyDeleteDid he own a dealership? I didn't know that...
DeleteHey Buster, thanks for this and all the amazing range of holiday cheer you have shared this season. Wouldn't be surprised if you have a little more up your sleeve, but I'm getting ready to do a little holiday traveling so I thought I'd send one more round of thanks and best wishes to you and all the fans of your wonderful blog. Looking forward to more delights in the new year!
ReplyDeletemike - Have a wonderful trip and holiday! Thanks for your note and support.
DeleteGreat!
ReplyDeleteThanks, gimpiero!
DeleteThanks for these, Buster! You know how much I love such things and am happy to give them a listen. I recently added another Andy Williams Christmas Seals 45 to my own pile, I guess they really liked It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. The spoken intros are nice though.
ReplyDeleteErnie - Christmas Seals' notion at that point may have been to select a popular song, then hope that radio stations would program the promos to introduce that song.
DeleteProbably. The editing is pretty poor on the intro though, with an old recording of "It's a matter of life and breath" awkwardly spliced in since Andy apparently didn't say it in the spot he recorded.
DeleteDave from Ardmore wonders if you ever found the Turner Layton recording? Or did I miss it in your compilation? I found it’s a-side, “Primrose Hill” on YouTube, but not the b-side. By the way, Internet Archive seems to have been subjected to a mighty purge of content.
ReplyDeleteDave - I looked, too, but couldn't find it. And yes, IA has been cut back substantially.
DeleteRe IA: I feel like we were lucky raiders of a lost ark.
DeleteAnon - Well said.
DeleteDave from Ardmore fears there will soon be a similar purge of YouTube. The streaming services want to capture the whole ocean. Gather your download while you May.
ReplyDeleteI hate to sound conspiratirial. But thrice in the last week I found obscure 45s by Jackie Paris and David Allyn that were not on Spotify or Apple Music. They just don’t care about or see the Ned for our type of archeology. Without the intention to do so, we now constitute a Resistance to AI and Algorithms.
ReplyDeleteOur libraries are treasure troves.
DeleteFor better or worse, only the taste of people like us determine what goes on around here. No algorithms.
DeleteDave from Admore says that what we do is part of endless discovery and recovery. This must be conducted on our own. No one can show a person the way to be followed in this process. They can serve as exemplar but what we learn from this is the courage of our own curiosity.
Delete