The Newly Restored 18 Selections To The Yule Log Soundtrack

Title: The Newly Restored 18 Selections To The Yule Log Soundtrack
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Register：09/07/2005 11:04:22

Date Posted：12/22/2006 05:21:18Copy HTML

A lifelong dream will come to fruition on Monday with the premiere of our restored Yule Log presentation. All I wanted for years was to restore the program back to its original 3-hour form with all its original music. And now, after all the long hard hours of work, on Christmas Day 2006, it finally becomes a reality...finally. I'm sure when I watch it, it will be quite an emotional moment, and I'm sure that it will seem as surreal as all the coverage and publicity surrounding it has been. It has been bigger than anything I could have ever imagined, and it's been one hell of a ride.

I'm going to post below, the 18 selections that have now been restored back into the program. This way on Monday, as you watch, you will be aware of which ones constitute the restored 18.

But before I do, I'd like to impart upon you the story of one of these songs in particular, and how close I almost came to not getting it. The song: "Christmas Is Christmas All Over The World" by the Singing Angels.

This song was recorded and released in 1973 as a local 45 rpm single in Cleveland, Ohio (where the group is based). After a long and extensive search, I finally found it on the website of an out-of-print record store in Virginia. But after calling the store and requesting to purchase it, the clerk, a young kid, came back to the phone and indicated that he could not find it. He then went on to say that they had probably sold it.

Hearing that his tone was decidedly diffident, I waited about a week and then called the store back -- this time asking for the manager. After a brief time on hold, the manager came back to the phone with lo and behold -- the record in hand! He then said that they had recently reorganized the store, and that much of their stock was not in its proper place.

Thankfully, I went with my instincts and it paid off big time. If I hadn't, I would still to this day be looking for this record, and the complete restoration of the Yule Log audio soundtrack would not have been possible. It is quite ironic that the most recent song on the entire soundtrack, and for that matter, the only song from the 1970s, is indeed the most rare. What's more, it is because that it is so rare, that it pretty much is only known today from the Yule Log presentation. It clearly is one of the most recognizable, original and iconic songs in the entire soundtrack. The audio restoration would not have been complete without it, and I am so thankful that I persevered in my search for it.

In fact, in my search for the record, I even called the organization in Cleveland (my hometown by the way), and the current music director of the group, Charles Eversole, told me that even they themselves do not have a copy of the record. The only thing that they had in their archives was a photostatic copy of the original 45 rpm single! He was kind enough to send me a copy and even a few copies of the original sheet music that the kids had used in 1973 when they recorded the song for Princess Records. One additional tidbit of information that I can give you about the song is that the lead child singer is named Maria (no last name was given), and I'm sure you'll agree that her voice embodies the very innocence that the song is trying to convey. "Christmas Is Christmas All Over The World" is song #22 in the presentation, and can be heard about 53 minutes into the program. By the way, this is also one of the 12 songs that had to be digitally re-mastered from its original vinyl especially for the program.

Here now are the songs that I am so proud to say will be heard on the Yule Log presentation for the first time in over 20 years:

1) "SILENT NIGHT"/"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM" ~ FRANK DEVOL

2) "I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS" ~ FRANK SINATRA

3) "SLEIGH RIDE" ~ ANDRE KOSTELANETZ

4) "O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL" ~ PERCY FAITH

5) "O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL" ~ THE ROBERT SHAW CHORALE

6) "JINGLE BELLS" ~ PAUL MAURIAT

7) "CHRISTMAS IS CHRISTMAS ALL OVER THE WORLD" ~ THE SINGING ANGELS

8) "ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH" ~ THE ROBERT SHAW CHORALE

9) "HERE WE COME A-CAROLING" ~ THE RAY CHARLES SINGERS

10) "GESU BAMBINO" ~ PERCY FAITH

11) "IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR" ~ HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA

12) "O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL"/"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM"/"COVENTRY CAROL" ~ THE LIVING STRINGS

13) "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS" ~ PERCY FAITH

14) "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS" ~ FRANK SINATRA

15) "WHAT CHILD IS THIS" ~ THE RAY CONNIFF SINGERS

16) "WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS" ~ MANTOVANI

17) "HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING" ~ ROGER WILLIAMS

18) "SILENT NIGHT" ~ ROGER WILLIAMS

Additionally, there was also time in the program to include two bonus songs:

1) "IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR" ~ THE LIVING STRINGS
(From a medley that had always been cut)

2) "THE CHRISTMAS TREE" ~ DAVID ROSE
(A song that aired in the original soundtrack prior to the advent of the 1973 "classic" program)

Lawrence F. "Chip" Arcuri Owner/Webmaster | The Yule Log.com