Ray Anthony, Billy Eckstine and Christmas Seals for 1954 and 1957

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 Show

More 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 

20 Christmas Tunes from Vintage 78s

My record record-transferring paraphernalia has had a bad case of the troubles for some weeks now. The main turntable isn't tracking properly and is having some speed issues. My usual analog-to-digital converter has been flaky. And even my audio drivers are acting up, resetting themselves to mono repeatedly for no good reason.

While these problems get sorted out, I've been plunging into the limitless depths of the Internet Archive in search of items to bring to you. Today I am kicking off the Christmas sharing season with a selection of 20 holiday tunes taken from vintage 78s, as extensively remastered and repitched by me. The sound on all these is very good, with the one exception noted.

The selections date from 1945 to 1957, when 78s were being phased out. (I am just old enough to have purchased quite a few new 78s myself - I've been a record collector as long as I can remember.) I've selected familiar items in versions you may not heard and unfamiliar songs, sprinkling R&B, jazz and country selections among the pop platters, plus a polka!

The earliest item in our collection is from orchestra leader Mark Warnow and vocalist Dick Todd, the "Canadian Crosby." Both were mainstays of radio's Your Hit Parade in 1945. As far as I know, "All Around the Xmas Tree" was only recorded by them.

Next we have one of the innumerable jazz takes on "Jingle Bells." This specimen comes from a 1946 single helmed by veteran pianist Frank Signorelli, who was in the Original Memphis Five way back in 1917, and later in the ODJB. He's best known for writing "I'll Never Be the Same."

Also in 1946, Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers had a success with "Winter Wonderland." Capitol had a habit of reissuing this number during subsequent holiday seasons. This pressing is from 1950.

Steel guitar virtuoso Leon McAuliffe made his name with Bob Wills' band during the 1930s. In 1947, he recorded "A Cowboy's Christmas Song" for Majestic, with a vocal by Gene Autry sound-alike Jimmy Hall.

Another little known song, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," comes from 1948 and the tonsils of Crosbyite John Laurenz, who recorded for Mercury, Pan-American and Jubilee during his career. If there are any Bowery Boys fans out there, you may be interested to know that Laurenz dubbed Huntz Hall's vocals in the great Blues Busters, in which Satch becomes the world's most unlikely romantic crooner.

Also in 1948, country artist Doye O'Dell became the first to record "Blue Christmas." It wasn't a hit then, but the following year, Ernest Tubb did well with it, as did Hugo Winterhalter with the pop version in today's collection.

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" has endured so many awful recordings since it debuted in 1949 (in Neptune's Daughter), that it's refreshing to encounter one that throws away the coy aspect of the song in favor of a more straightforward approach. That's what you get from Pearl Bailey as the knowing female who is all too willing to be ensnared by the raspy wolfishness of Hot Lips Page, a trumpeter by trade. Their version came out on Columbia's budget label, Harmony, which Pearlie Mae manages to name-check during the proceedings.

Poor Hot Lips Page didn't even rate a mention in this ad

Frankie Yankovic, the most popular polka artist of the time, came up with "Christmas Polka" in 1949. As with many of Frankie's records, the chorus is nothing exciting, but the break is a wonder to behold. Yankovic also recorded a "Merry Christmas Polka" in 1950, but I believe the bigger hit version was by the Andrews Sisters.

Al Hibbler taped "White Christmas" for Decca later in the 50s, but today's version is an earlier one he did with the Ellingtonians for Mercer Ellington's label right at mid-century. The Ellingtonians were a side group from Duke's band led by Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney and Billy Strayhorn. Duke himself even showed up on one of their record dates. There is some overloading on the peaks here, which I have tried to moderate. This was caused by the transfer being done at too high a level, a no-no in digital recording.

Nineteen fifty also was the year for "Silver Bells," from Bob Hope's epic The Lemon Drop Kid. The hit versions were by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards for Decca and Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely for Capitol. Here we have Mercury's entry in this race, performed by Richard Hayes and Kitty Kallen.

Our final work from 1950 is the first of three tunes set down by the great Billy Eckstine for M-G-M - another version of "Blue Christmas." Skipping ahead slightly to 1953, we have Eckstine's two-sided holiday effort for the year, the unfamiliar "Christmas Eve" and the all-too-familiar "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve." The label says the conductor here is Lionel Newman. My ears say the arranger on "What Are You Doing" is Nelson Riddle.

M-G-M's holiday lineup for 1953

From 1952 or 1953, we have a "White Christmas" from the combination of adenoidal crooner Jack Russell and the Honey Dreamers, a vocal group that has appeared on this blog before. Russell was unknown to me, although he does appear on some Peter Pan children's records, as do the Honey Dreamers.

We move to Nashville and 1954 for an Ernest Tubb side called "Lonely Christmas Eve," with strong backing by some talented studio vets, including Owen Bradley on piano and Billy Byrd on guitar.

Also from 1954, jump blues artist Oscar McLollie joins us for a two-sided entry on Modern, the boisterous "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" and the lugubrious "God Gave Us Christmas." As with many of McLollie's efforts, these are Leon René productions.

Johnny Desmond, who has been featured here a few times, offers up "Happy Holidays to You," which comes from 1955. This is the flip of "Santo Natale," which I vaguely recall sharing here before.

To close things off, we have two earnest efforts from Big Maybelle, "Silent Night" and "White Christmas," on Savoy. Maybelle started out as the less colorfully named Mabel Smith, band singer for Tiny Bradshaw. Okeh records bestowed the fancier name on her when she joined its roster. This single comes from 1957, when the 78 era was drawing to a close.

Please enjoy these tunes, and the entire festive season! More soon, if my recording apparatus cooperates.

A Promo Christmas

The commercialization of Christmas is not new; and certainly not a novelty in the record business. I have heard promotional holiday records that date back into the 1920s, and I would be surprised if there aren't older items out there.

Today we will sample several types of promotional disks, and even one that could be considered an anti-promotion.

The first type of promotion is a record intended to benefit a charity. This collection has three examples of the genre, all of them official "Christmas Seal songs" of their respective seasons. Christmas Seals were originally a tuberculosis charity, later broadened to include all lung diseases. I haven't been able to discover the first official "Christmas Seal song" in the U.S., but I know the tradition dates back to at least "Happy Christmas, Little Friend," which was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein at the behest of Life Magazine in 1952, and then was chosen as the Christmas Seal song the next year, in the Rosemary Clooney recording.

The Christmas Seal song for 1954 was "The Spirit of Christmas," a fine Matt Dennis-Tom Adair tune that Kitty Kallen recorded, with a Jack Pleis backing.

For the official 1956 song, Rosemary Clooney returned with her young sister Gail and "He'll Be Comin' Down the Chimney," with music lifted from "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" and its antecedents. (I wonder if the listed "composers" donated their publishing royalties?)

Finally, the 1965 Christmas Seal song was Robert Goulet's "This Christmas I Spend with You," the title tune from his 1963 Christmas LP. This transfer is from the promotional 45, which includes opening and closing messages from Goulet as well as his rendition of "White Christmas."

Dinah Shore was renowned for her vocal skill, warmth and charm, which made her an ideal commercial spokesperson, and she was employed both by her record company and her television sponsor for promotional purposes during the holiday season.

1957 Billboard ad with Dinah Shore

In 1957, Dinah was the face of RCA Victor's extensive Christmas releases, appearing on point-of-sale materials and in trade ads. Oddly, Dinah herself did not merit a Christmas LP release, only an EP titled "You Meet the Nicest People at Christmas." No arranger is listed, although it may have been Harry Zimmerman, who was working with Shore both at RCA and on her TV show.

1961 Chevy promo

In 1961, her sponsor, Chevrolet, called upon her for another EP, which I believe was a giveaway at dealerships. By that time, Dinah had moved on to Capitol, but had not moved on from "You Meet the Nicest People," which appears here in a different, peppier version. This EP, with backing by Jack Marshall, is just as good as the RCA effort.

Another type of promotional item is a demo record. Today's collection includes what I believe was a demo sent by the publishers Patore Music to record companies on behalf of its composer, Henry Tobias and two of his Christmas ditties, "Take Off Those Whiskers Daddy" and "The Holiday Hop." The artist is Bernie Knee, a talented vocalist who was one of the best known demo singers. His backing is by Irving Fields, whose popular 1959 LP, "Bagels and Bongos," can still be found in many thrift shops.

Based on copyright records, I believe the Tobias-Knee-Fields 45 is from 1966. Several years later, Knee and Tobias combined to record the Richard Nixon tribute, "Hang In There, Mr. President," during the waning days of Nixon's term, replacing Irving Fields with Frankie Yankovic. (Sadly, only a snippet of this gem is available online.)

We conclude with an anti-promotional record of sorts, Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" from 1958, which is the satirist's complaint against Madison Avenue's appropriation of Christmas for its own purposes. It's a funny bit if you remember the ads he skewers. It's also a little ironic because Freberg was making some green himself from this Christmas record.

Wikipedia, perhaps reflecting Freberg's own views, would have you believe that Capitol did not want to release the record and did so with "no promotion or publicity," which isn't true. The company issued it with a picture sleeve containing Freberg's essay of self-praise on the back. My own copy of the 45 is a white-label Capitol promo. The record itself was a moderate hit and appeared on Billboard's charts.