|
Music Reviews
Alternative
Blues
Books
Christmas
Classic Rock
Country
Jazz
Lounge
Oldies
Power Pop
Punk & New Wave
Reggae
Rhythm & Blues
Seventies
Texas
Special Features
Randy's Rodeo
Sex Pistols
Motown
Valentine's Day
Headlines
Rolling
Stone
Spin
iTunes
Amazon
Moreover
Yenra
Information
About Me
Feedback
Links
User's Guide
Support Me
Amazon
eBay
iTunes
NetFirms
Sheet Music Plus
Wimpy Player
|
Support Randy's Rodeo! 
Shop at Amazon,
iTunes,
and more...
 The
first of four compact discs in a loosely organized series, Christmas
Kisses: Christmas Classics From Capitol's Early Years (1990)
showcases the deep, rich vein of gold running through the vaults of Capitol Records. Consisting mainly
of lounge
and easy listening classics (many quite rare), the series also touches upon country, blues,
jazz, and comedy - even a little rock. Plus, each volume features an alluring, Vargas-style pin-up
girl on the cover! The other three discs in the series (none quite as vital as Christmas
Kisses) are Merry
Christmas Baby (1991), Let
It Snow! (1992), and Happy
Holidays (1993). All are out-of-print but worth hunting
down if your interests are as eclectic and catholic as mine. The lengthy list of songs below provide
testament to how valuable these CD's will be to serious record collectors and dedicated lounge lizards
- pucker up!
 Important
Albums
[top of page]
Essential
Songs
- Christmas At Midnight (Leadbelly, 1944)
-
Christmas Boogie (Sugar Chile Robinson, 1950)
-
Christmas Kisses (Ray Anthony, 1961)
-
Christmas Spirit (Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends, 1947)
-
Do You Hear What I Hear? (Bing Crosby, 1963)
-
Every Heart Is Home At Christmas (Five Keys, 1957)
-
I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas (Yogi Yorgesson, 1949)
-
Jingle Bells (Les Paul, 1951)
-
Jingle-O The Brownie(Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1960)
-
Merry Christmas Polka (Tex Ritter, 1947)
-
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo (Billy May, 1953)
-
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers, 1947)
-
Silent Night (Les Paul & Mary Ford, 1951)
-
That's What I Want For Christmas (Nancy Wilson, 1963)
-
'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Stan Freberg, 1955)
-
Yah Das Ist Ein Christmas Tree (Mel Blanc, 1953)
-
You're The Angel On My Christmas Tree (Faron Young, 1953)
Merry
Christmas Baby (1991)
- Auld Lang Syne (Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians, 1956)
-
Baby It's Cold Outside (Johnny Mercer & Margaret Whiting, 1949)
-
Christmas Heart (June Christy, 1961)
-
Christmas Island Bob (Atcher & The Dinning Sisters 1950)
-
The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole, 1954)
-
The Christmas Spell (Peggy Lee, 1949)
-
The Christmas Waltz (Nancy Wilson, 1968)
-
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Lou Rawls, 1967)
-
I'd Like You For Christmas (Julie London, 1957)
-
Jingle Bells (Johnny Mercer, 1947)
-
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Dean Martin, 1959)
-
Love Turns Winter Into Spring (Four Freshmen 1956)
-
Merry Christmas Baby (Lou Rawls, 1967)
-
Ring A Merry Bell (June Christy, 1961)
-
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (Margaret Whiting, 1947)
Let
It Snow! (1992)
- All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two
Front Teeth) (Nat King Cole, 1949)
-
Christmas Blues (Dean Martin, 1953)
-
Christmas Is (Lou Rawls, 1967)
-
The Man With The Bag (Kay Starr, 1950)  Top 100 Song [ -]
This song swings like crazy, completely blurring the lines between jazz, rhythm & blues, and easy listening. Between the blaring horns, Starr's wide-eyed delivery, and the exceedingly
clever, morally ambivilant wordplay ("Old Mr. Kringle is soon gonna jingle the bells that'll tingle
all
your
troubles
away!"), you'll soon find yourself looking skyward, anticipating bounty from the North Pole. For awhile, "The Man With The Bag" was nearly forgotten. The 90's lounge revival, however, prompted
its appearance on several collections, including Let
It Snow! Cuddly Christmas Classics from Capitol, Ultra-Lounge
Christmas Cocktails, and Swinging Christmas (one of my Top 20 Albums),
while Brian Setzer wisely covered the tune on his excellent Boogie
Woogie Christmas CD.
-
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (Dean Martin, 1959)
-
Jing-A-Ling Jing-A-Ling (Starlighters 1950)
-
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Lena Horne, 1966)
-
Love Turns Winter Into Spring (June Christy, 1957)
-
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Lena Horne, 1966)
-
Snow Dreams (Connie Russell, 1954)
-
Song At Midnight (Peggy Lee, 1949)
-
Song Of The Sleigh Bells (June Hutton, 1952)
-
The Christmas Waltz (Peggy Lee, 1960)
-
The Merriest (June Christy, 1961)
-
Warm December (Julie London, 1956)
-
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (Nancy Wilson, 1963)
Happy
Holidays (1993)
- Baby It's Cold Outside (Dean
Martin, 1959)
-
Caroling Caroling (Nat King Cole, 1960)
-
Christmas Is The Season (Jo Stafford, 1964)
-
Christmas Will Really Be Christmas (Lou Rawls, 1967)
-
Hang Them On The Tree (June Christy, 1961)
-
Happy Holiday (Peggy Lee, 1965)
-
The Nutcracker Suite (Les Brown & His Band Of Renown, 1957)
[top of page]
Further
Listening
[top of page]
|
|
