What Are Your Top Five Christmas Albums From The Golden Age (1950's to the 1960's) ?

Here is the official information on the John Klein album which just became available at Amazon and Real Gone Music sites yesterday, November 2.

John Klein: A Christmas Sound Spectacular/Let’s Ring the Bells All Around the Christmas Tree. CD

RCA’s Living Stereo imprint made quite the cottage industry out of releasing Christmas albums in the late ‘50s/early ‘60s, and indeed we at Real Gone Music have taken great pleasure and pride in releasing a lot of them on CD. But of all the Living Stereo Christmas records, the one that is perhaps the most distinctive—and one that remains close to many people’s hearts—is the 1959 album by musical Renaissance man John Klein, A Christmas Sound Spectacular. Trained by Igor Stravinsky and Nadia Boulanger (teacher to both Aaron Copland and Quincy Jones!), Klein brought his formidable talent and skill on this album to the most imposing instrument in the world: the Carillon Americana, the largest of its kind, consisting of 1500 bronze caste bells ringing in perfect tonal quality. In fact, the Carillon Americana was so large that RCA Victor brought all of their recording equipment to the instrument’s home at the Schulmerich Bells’ offices in Sellersville, PA. instead of trying to move it to New York! The sound of the bells, beautifully meshed with Klein’s Billy May-inspired arrangements for accompanying orchestra, resulted in a record so unique that RCA offered a money-back guarantee to any customer who didn’t agree that it was “the most spectacular sound on records.” One suspects they got very few takers; however, this one-of-a-kind holiday classic has never been out on CD except for a small private pressing of the mono version; this marks the stereo CD debut of A Christmas Sound Spectacular, and, trust us, you’re gonna want to hear this in stereo! We’ve paired it with Klein’s other “bells” record, Let’s Ring the Bells All Around the Christmas Tree, which was recorded at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York with a Carillon specially built for the occasion, with arrangements by Henri Renè, who had already won his Christmas bona-fides by scoring Eartha Kitt’s unforgettable “Santa Baby”…another CD debut, also in stereo! Liner notes are by R. Steve Harmon, whose father James Harmon, President and Program Director at the mighty 690 in San Diego, chose to bring A Christmas Sound Spectacular home to play for the family out of all the thousands of Christmas records the radio station received. Remastered by Mike Piacentini at Battery Studios in New York...Christmas bells will be ringing once again this holiday season with this Real Gone release!

A Christmas Sound Spectacular

1. White Christmas
2. Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
3. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day/Carol of the Bells
4. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 5. Jingle Bells
6. Ave Maria
7. Silver Bells
8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. Christ Was Born on Christmas Day/Angels We Have Heard on High 10. Frosty the Snowman
11. Winter Wonderland
12. Gesu Bambino (Pietro Yon)

Let’s Ring the Bells All Around the Christmas Tree

13. Silent Night/O Little Town of Bethlehem/We Wish You a Merry Christmas14. All Around the Christmas Tree
15. Sleigh Ride
16. Joy to the World/Adeste Fideles/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
17. The Little Drummer Boy
18. O Holy Night
19. God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen/O Christmas Tree/Deck the Halls 20. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
21. Greensleeves
22. Away in a Manger/The First Noel/It Came upon a Midnight Clear
23. The Christmas Song
24. Ave Maria

 

Elvis Presley - Elvis’ Christmas Album
Frank Sinatra - A Jolly Christmas From Frank
Dean Martin - A Winter Romance
Dean Martin - The Dean Martin Christmas Album
The Kingston Trio - The Last Month of The Year
Burl Ives - Original Sound Track and Music From Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
The Ventures - The Ventures Christmas Album
VA - The Phil Spector Christmas Album
Bing Crosby - Merry Christmas

 

Darlene Love. Christmas (Baby Please Cone Home)
Vince Guaraldi Linus and Lucy
Charles Brown. Merry Christmas Baby
Charles Brown. Please Come Home for Christmas
Nat King Cole. The Christmas Song

 

Chip's Top 500

My Top Play of the 500 Greatest Christmas Albums of All-time

Chip's Tips

CHIP S TIPS

 

I just checked out the first one on YouTube. Is the second one in the same bag?

 

I have to ask: Do you know that Camarata Winter album on Disneyland that I listed? He was the Disney conductor. He did a series of four albums, one for each season. I found a pristine reel-to-reel of Winter, in stereo. It has that mid-century, sparkly winter sound. Half of it is standard winter songs, but there are some rarities. One of the tracks from Sinatra's Tone Poems of Color shows up here under a different title. The money cut is "Majestic Cascades:"

 

Never heard of him before this week, either, but do I want to hear Christmas music played by a Carillon Americana featuring 1500 bells ringing in RCA Living Stereo?

Yes. Yes, I do!

 

Chip Acuri forgot more about Christmas music than I'll ever know, and his Yule Log website provides invaluable knowledge, but I find his lists extremely questionable. Yes, rating/ranking any music is personal and subjective, but I seriously disagree with many of his inclusions and omissions. Just sayin'...

 

A Christmas Gift For You
Beach Boys Christmas
Elvis’ Christmas Album

 

Well that is a really great question and to be honest, I would have to say yes in some respects and no in others. Now they both really do stand on their own, but they also blend well on one long listening ride as I say in the liner notes, but the first album Klein himself arranged and it has a more unique feel to it with this really great rhythm section and those Billy May inspired arrangements of the orchestra by Klein himself. The second album, by the very talented Henri René, featured a less jazz oriented style and the strings took a more prominent role and less brass, but they are both beautiful sounding in their own right. The first album definitely got the most attention, but I know a couple of people that like the second album just as much. The Carillon Americana that was used for his first album was also slightly bigger than the one built for Klein's second album.

 

I love Henri René, so I assume I will like the second album! Coincidentally, we just spun his Compulsion to Swing album on RCA!

 

That is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and no I was not familiar with the album at all. Is it available on CD at all?

 

I posted those links because he was mentioned and because others might be curious.

 

Sadly, no. It was on LP and reel-to-reel.

There was a lot of great Disney orchestral music that showed up on LP that has never been reissued.

 

Yes indeed, the man is truly a fountain of Christmas knowledge and I have tried to soak up as much information as possible from him and his great site. His Top 500 list is great for discussions and debating where you agree and where you do not, but it really is the only definitive Christmas list from this period that is complete and reliable.

 

Oh, no, that's fine. No problem. I'm glad you shared it. I was just commenting that when I do refer to Acuri's lists, I often find myself asking "Why isn't this album even represented?" or "Why is that album ranked so high; it's terrible". But, again, I guess that's the nature of lists!

 

Well, I am bummed about that fact. Maybe we can get RGM to work on that one at some point. I will have to check it out further and listen to the rest of the album. Thanks for sharing it with us all!

 

Oh I am really glad you posted the list as well. Its makes for great debate and discussion and I have found a lot of really great albums on even his second and third tier lists.

 

Henri René of course was best known for scoring the great arrangement on Eartha Kitt's iconic version of Santa Baby. He truly was a great arranger and conductor.

 

The Ventures Christmas Album is another highly unusual and really iconic holiday album, whereby those great rock 'n' roll band members merge Christmas songs with some of the top rock 'n' roll hits of the day. The album is a hoot and I highly recommend it as well. Great musicality displayed throughout the album.

 

I think it is on Spotify, if that helps.

 

Thanks, I will check it out when I get a chance.

 

René's arrangement of "Roller Coaster" was the theme to the original What's My Line, back when Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, and Steve Allen were on the panel.

This fits in nicely with my previous post about mid-century pizzicato string tracks for holiday listening.

 

The Phil Spector Christmas Album. Far & away the best for me, then:
Mario Lanza Christmas Album 1958
Elvis Christmas Album 1957 ?
The Ventures
Andy Williams
The Yobs UK punk group X certificate versions. You wouldn't want your mother to hear their version of the Twelve Days Of Christmas!

 

Oh man, that is a kick in the pants and played at a breakneck speed. fabulous!