Sorry! We can't find that track.

Did you try to access a private track, but were not logged in?
Maybe the track has been removed.

Golly, what a terrific arrangement of White Christmas!

I sure hope you can solve the mystery.  I'd love to have that in my collection.  It's what I call "Cinematic Christmas Music," i.e. arrangements of Christmas songs that sound like they could be playing on the soundtrack of an old-fashioned  movie while the opening credits roll by.

Here's an idea:  I listen to a web radio station called Amityville Community Radio. The morning D.J., Al Case, has been really helpful to me in identifying old instrumental pop tunes.  So if you were to email it to him as an attachment, he might be able to help you identify it.

Why not email him and ask him if he's up for it.  If he says he'd be willing to give it a try, then send him an MP3 and see what happens.

Here's the email address:

[email protected]

Be sure to put at the top of your messsage:  "ATTENTION AL CASE"

Will,

I would have thought that you would have known by now that I (yours truly -- Chip Arcuri) am "Real Gone Music" when it comes to Christmas music; Gordon and Gabby rely on me for my Christmas music expertise, which is why Gordon  affectionately refers to me as "The Christmas guy" for Real Gone Music.

And as for Guild Music, which is in Switzerland; neither Kaikoo Lalkaka, nor his wife Silvia, will be able to help identify these songs.

Well it's 4 years later, but I finally thought I would take another stab at identifying these songs. I got one of them. The "O Holy Night" song is from The Glory of Christmas album by Eric Rogers Chorale & Orchestra (1963). 

Still no luck on the White Christmas song, but I'll keep trying! It was fun just going back and reading through these older posts, and being reminded of how kind people were to look into this matter for a total stranger!

As I suspected in my 11/20/15 post on the thread, that version of "O Holy Night" probably came from an album that resides in my archives, and not my Top 500. I'm still sure that version of "White Christmas" you posted is also in my archives somewhere. Anyway, going back to the Rogers LP, even though it didn't make my Top 500, it's certainly a good candidate to be added to the "Notable Mentions" section that follows my Top 500.

Chip - Did you ever think of writing a book on Christmas music ?? I can't think of anyone more suited to do one.

I have Tim Neely's Christmas record price guide and the Record Research Christmas "charts" book -- and a rather massive book (can't remember the title) that lists Christmas albums/releases -- but all these don't quite do the trick.....

Rich

I appreciate the thought, and many have suggested that to me in the past. But to even consider such a prodigious endeavor, I'd have to first formally catalog all of the Christmas albums that reside my archives; and that, in and of itself, would be a mammoth undertaking. There are just so many Christmas albums -- not to mention all the numerous re-releases/reissues/reincarnations of many of those albums over the years with different covers, titles, record labels, and sometimes, with varied and/or abridged track lists. That's why thus far no one has ever been able to issue a complete, comprehensive and definitively authoritative book of artist released Christmas music (LPs, 78s, 45s, CDs, etc.). But if anybody was in a position to do so, I suspect it would probably be me.

Who knows, perhaps someday it will come to fruition.

Hey Jonathan!  It's great to read that after nearly four years you still haven't given up on your search for that wonderful orchestral rendition of "White Christmas."

Have you tried the FaLaLaLaLa Christmas Music Forum?

A couple of weeks or more ago I tried registering over there, but every time I try to log in, I get the same error message:

"Your account is still awaiting admin approval."

(Chip, do you know how to contact the administrator over at Falalala.com?)

In the meantime, I've posted messages in the All Things Christmas Forum and the My Merry Christmas Forum  asking for help identifying your mystery track.

P.S.  11/11: I just got approved at FaLaLaLaLa.com, so I just posted a request for help over there as well. 

Yes Will, I know Brad (the owner of FaLaLaLaLa). In fact, he is a member of the Yule Log board here. He was probably just a little behind in his approvals. Glad to hear that it all worked out today.

Sorry if I was slow on the approval. I don't always check for new ones and my system for filtering spam isn't the best.

Will - saw your post over at  FaLaLaLaLa -- the rendition of "White Christmas" Jonathan is looking for sounds like the Ron Goodwin Orchestra to me, from their "Christmas Wonderland" album.

Oh well, now I know that I am getting old. This is also the perils of having a collection as large as mine, because not only is the song from an album that resides in my Top 500 (and not my archives as I had speculated), but it's actually in my 3rd Tier, coming in at #293. 

Serenity now!

Sorry Jonathan; if I had been able to recall it, I could have saved you four years of searching. Oy vey...

What I like about Fielding Mellish's post is his understatement and modesty. 

He wrote  "... sounds like the Ron Goodwin Orchestra to me," when in fact he knew exactly who it was, and even included a link to the track.  This guy has class.

So, now, is there a way to email Jonathan to let him know that after four years his last mystery song has finally been identified?

Yes, I emailed him.

And yes, Will, modesty is indeed a virtue. As also are manners. So therefore, I am going to let your post stand on the board as an example of one that is patently devoid of that.

Speaking of mystery songs, can anybody ID the rendition of "Carol of the Bells" that begins around the 32:15 mark here?

Mike,

That song is by the great Wayne King, and it is from his 1963 Decca Records Christmas album, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. This album resides in the 1st Tier of my Top 500, coming in at #101.

Thanks, Chip! 

Sure thing, Mike.

By the way, this is one of the albums I am working to get back into print.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to look into this for me. I shared the news with my Dad (who turns 69 in a couple of weeks), and he couldn't have been happier, especially since I was able to tell him about it with the holidays coming up. Once again, thank you very much. Greatly appreciated!!!

And Jonathan, that first mystery song on your list that I identified earlier in the thread, by the Jack Halloran Singers, should finally be in print for next Christmas of 2020. The Jack Halloran and Frank Chacksfiled Christmas albums (both properties of Universal Music Group) are my #1 and #2 projects for next year.

I've been working on them both for quite a while, but I'm pretty confident that next year should finally be the year. 

Chip, do you have any plans to try and reissue Jan Garber's Christmas Dance Party in the future? I know that one's in your top tier, and it's never gotten a CD release. In fact, I don't even think any individual tracks from that one have made it onto any compilation CDs, which is frankly astonishing! (Unless the tapes were among those lost in the dreaded Universal fire. Jeez, I hope not. :-( )

Most definitely on the Jan Garber, Mike; but right now, I've got about half a dozen Universal titles that are ahead of it on my list to get out. I go in order of how the albums are ranked in my Top 500.

But I can tell you right now that the master tapes for the Garber recording, as well as all of the other Universal titles that are on my list, have most undoubtedly been lost in the notorious 2008 fire. I cannot begin to tell you how devastating that fire was.

Nevertheless, no worries, because there are always alternate sources for the remastering -- like 7½ IPS Reel-to-Reel tape, or even pristine vinyl, if it comes to that.

I am so hoping that Jack Halloran's Christmas is a-comin' is available next year! I love that album.

I hope you put in the liner notes the story of "Carol Of The Drum", or even better, have Dawn Halloran Charouhas write 'em up.

Rodney,

Regarding the Jack Halloran Christmas LP, as you already know, in 1957 Dot Records released it under the title Christmas Is A-Comin'. The album was recorded in true stereo; however, in 1957 Dot Records was only able to release it in mono because the Westrex cutting head technology, which would later allow for the commercial mass-production of stereophonic vinyl LP discs, was not yet available to the record companies -- and unfortunately, wouldn't be until 1958.

Anyway, yes, the album included a song ("The Little Drummer Boy") that at that time was still known as "Carol Of The Drum." But as we all know, the next year, in 1958, Harry Simeone took the song and pretty much the same arrangement, re-recorded it, and then released it as "The Little Drummer Boy." It became a gigantic hit, and that's why in 1959 Dot records pulled the Halloran LP from production and subsequently repackaged it by changing the name of the second song on the album from "Carol Of The Drum" to "The Little Drummer Boy," and then made it the lead-off song on the album. Dot Records then released the repackaged LP with the now classic album jacket artwork and the new album title of The Little Drummer Boy (this, of course, was to capitalize on the nascent popularity of the song due to Harry Simeone's hit version). But most importantly, with the 1959 release of the repackaged Halloran LP, it was finally able to be released in its true stereo form for the first time, now that Dot had finally acquired the aforementioned newly invented Westrex cutting head technology.

Anyway, I'm going a long way around the barn to say that because of all this, and the fact that the 1959 re-release is far more well-known than the original 1957 incarnation, and most importantly, because it included the true version of how the album was originally recorded (genuine stereo), it is this version of the album that I am looking to release on CD. The original artwork will be included in the CD booklet.

And yes, as I've previously said on the board, I have asked Dawn Halloran to write the liner notes. And by the way, she doesn't use the Charouhas last name anymore (for reasons I probably don't have to specify). Her sister Molly Halloran Hills, who I also know, might contribute to the notes as well.

This morning I was cleaning up the hard drive of a laptop before tossing it into the electronics recycling bin, and I came across an unidentified bouncy instrumental medley of Rudolph and Jingle Bells.  My memory's gotten so bad these days that I haven't the slightest recollection of ever having downloaded the song,  So, of course, I'm turning to our Christmas Music Guru for help:

https://soundcloud.com/user-477312851/unknown-artist-rudolph-jingle-bells

A few minutes after posting that link, I got an email from SoundCloud:

"Our automatic content protection system has detected that one of your tracks might contain copyrighted content.

"As a result, your track has been removed from your profile for the time being. Please have a look at the details below and get in touch with us if you believe there’s been a mistake.

"Here's what our system has found:

"It looks like your track "Unknown Artist - Rudolph & Jingle Bells" might contain or be a copy of
"Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer / Jingle Bells" by Andre Kostelanetz & His Orchestra, which is owned by Sony Classical in certain territories."

Now that's what I call fast service!

Chip:

Great information about the Jack Halloran Christmas LP. You really are a wealth of information, and I for one am grateful for all the information you provide.

I think it is awesome that you are planning on using the genuine stereo that was released in '59, but I really like the '57 cover, so glad that you will have that in the booklet.

Also it is awesome to hear that Dawn Halloran will be writing the liner notes (and i meant no offense, so thank you for correcting me on her name). I hope that her sister can also contribute to the notes as well.

A ton of awesomeness, Chip, and I thank you so much for all the hard work you do to get these wonderful albums out to us in better than original form.

-Rodney

Hi Chip,

Great news about the Frank Chacksfield "Music for Christmas" possibly being reissued next year! Hopefully it will have a few bonus tracks on it, like "Pine Cones and Holly Berries" from "Here's Love". Thanks for the heads-up as I was close to buying a used CD. 

Best,

Rich

Yes, that bonus track among others.