Christmas songs
Thread Starter
Oldsdruid
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,637
From: Southside Vajenya
Christmas songs
First let's wish Brenda Lee a happy 76th birthday today 12/11. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is HERS and no matter how hard anyone tries she is the original and still the best! That annoying twink Justin Bieber proved he's a wannabe by even trying to cover it.
Now if radio stations would just quit playing that damned Mariah Carey song. I change the car radio station when it comes on. Meaning I change the station a LOT this time of year! Don't like it, heard it entirely too much, not sorry.
Maybe I'm a Grinch, IDK. But even the Grinch wasn't irredeemable. But I see this year someone's trying to mess with the animated version of that too. Sacrilege...🤨
Now if radio stations would just quit playing that damned Mariah Carey song. I change the car radio station when it comes on. Meaning I change the station a LOT this time of year! Don't like it, heard it entirely too much, not sorry.
Maybe I'm a Grinch, IDK. But even the Grinch wasn't irredeemable. But I see this year someone's trying to mess with the animated version of that too. Sacrilege...🤨
Always room for one more
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 8,976
From: Georgia
It seems each year has its own song that gets played to death. This year I've already heard, about 800 times, I want those J-I-N-G-L-E Bells(ahhh...) Last year it was I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas.
My all time favorite Christmas song, which I could listen to all year and any amount a day? Linus and Lucy by Vince Gauraldi.
My all time favorite Christmas song, which I could listen to all year and any amount a day? Linus and Lucy by Vince Gauraldi.
Thread Starter
Oldsdruid
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,637
From: Southside Vajenya
Looking thru "related topics" at the bottom of the thread there are a lot of holiday threads. Good stuff from days gone by. I did have to stifle a tear on one though- Sandy (CutlassGal) and Col Wickham had both posted and they are no longer with us. I'm sure there are others. Remember our Olds friends who have passed, especially this time of year. They brought joy into our lives while they were here. Adam Duritz said it best- "We only stay in orbit for a moment of time..."
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,446
From: eastern MA
Looking thru "related topics" at the bottom of the thread there are a lot of holiday threads. Good stuff from days gone by. I did have to stifle a tear on one though- Sandy (CutlassGal) and Col Wickham had both posted and they are no longer with us. I'm sure there are others. Remember our Olds friends who have passed, especially this time of year. They brought joy into our lives while they were here. Adam Duritz said it best- "We only stay in orbit for a moment of time..."
Frank Ignachuck
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,302
From: Maynard, Massachusetts
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,090
From: Peoria Arizona
Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer,
I worked for Montgomery ward for 25 years , One year at Christmas they stuffed our pay envelopes with a little flyer about the history of Rudolf The Red nosed Reindeer, after reading the flyer and being a native of Chicago I never forgot about it, comes back to me every time I hear the song, here is a little history.
It's a interesting read if you have a few minutes.Robert May grew up in an affluent, secular Jewish home in New Rochelle, New York.[1][2] He had a brother and two sisters. One of the sisters, Evelyn May, is the grandmother of the well-known economist Steven D. Levitt, who wrote the book Freakonomics.[3] The other sister, Margaret, married songwriter Johnny Marks in 1947.[1] May graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1926.
May's parents were hard hit by the Great Depression (1929) and lost their wealth.[1] Sometime in the 1930s, May moved to Chicago and took a job as a low-paid in-house advertising copywriter for Montgomery Ward. In early 1939, May's boss at Montgomery Ward asked him to write a "cheery" Christmas book for shoppers and suggested that an animal be the star of the book.[1] Montgomery Ward had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money and be a nice good-will gesture.[1]
May's wife, Evelyn, had contracted cancer in 1937 and was quite ill as he started on the book in early 1939.[1] May "drew on memories of his own painfully shy childhood when creating his Rudolph stories."[4] He decided on making a reindeer the central character of the book because his then four-year-old daughter, Barbara, loved the deer in the Chicago zoo.[1] He ran verses and chapters of the Rudolph poem by Barbara to make sure they entertained children. The final version of the poem was first read to Barbara and his wife's parents.[1]
Evelyn May died in July 1939. She is interred at Saint Joseph Cemetery, River Grove, Cook County, Illinois. His boss offered to take him off the book assignment in light of his wife's death. May refused and completed the poem in August 1939. The Rudolph poem booklet was first distributed during the 1939 holiday season. Shoppers loved the poem and 2.4 million copies were distributed.[1] War time restrictions on paper use prevented a re-issue until 1946. In that year, another 3.6 million copies were distributed to Montgomery Ward shoppers.[1]
In 1946, May received an offer from a company that wanted to do a spoken-word record of the poem.[1] May could not give his approval (and be compensated) because Montgomery Ward held the rights to the poem. In late 1946 or early 1947, Sewell Avery, the company's president, gave the copyright to the poem to May, free and clear. The spoken-word version of the poem was a sales success.[1]
In 1947, Harry Elbaum, the head of Maxton Publishers, a small New York publishing company, took a chance and put out an updated print edition of the Rudolph (poem) book. Other publishers had passed on the book, believing that the distribution of millions of free copies had ruined the market.[1] The book was a best seller.[1]
In 1948, May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote (words and music) an adaptation of Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy Gene Autry.[1] "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas".[5]
In 1941, May married Virginia, another Ward employee, and had five children with her. She was a devout Catholic, and he converted to Catholicism during the marriage.
May wrote two sequels to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The first is mostly in prose (except that Rudolph speaks in anapestic tetrameter), written in 1947 but only published posthumously as Rudolph's Second Christmas (1992), and subsequently with the title Rudolph to the Rescue (2006). The second sequel is entirely in anapaestic tetrameter like the original: Rudolph Shines Again (1954). May also published four other children's books: Benny the Bunny Liked Beans (1940), Winking Willie (1948), The Fighting Tenderfoot (1954), and Sam the Scared-est Scarecrow (1972).[6]
May told his story of the writing of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in his article "Robert May Tells how Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer Came into Being" from the Gettysburg Times published on December 22, 1975.[7]
May died on August 10, 1976.
May is interred at Saint Joseph Cemetery, River Grove, Cook County, IL.
I worked for Montgomery ward for 25 years , One year at Christmas they stuffed our pay envelopes with a little flyer about the history of Rudolf The Red nosed Reindeer, after reading the flyer and being a native of Chicago I never forgot about it, comes back to me every time I hear the song, here is a little history.
It's a interesting read if you have a few minutes.Robert May grew up in an affluent, secular Jewish home in New Rochelle, New York.[1][2] He had a brother and two sisters. One of the sisters, Evelyn May, is the grandmother of the well-known economist Steven D. Levitt, who wrote the book Freakonomics.[3] The other sister, Margaret, married songwriter Johnny Marks in 1947.[1] May graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1926.
May's parents were hard hit by the Great Depression (1929) and lost their wealth.[1] Sometime in the 1930s, May moved to Chicago and took a job as a low-paid in-house advertising copywriter for Montgomery Ward. In early 1939, May's boss at Montgomery Ward asked him to write a "cheery" Christmas book for shoppers and suggested that an animal be the star of the book.[1] Montgomery Ward had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money and be a nice good-will gesture.[1]
May's wife, Evelyn, had contracted cancer in 1937 and was quite ill as he started on the book in early 1939.[1] May "drew on memories of his own painfully shy childhood when creating his Rudolph stories."[4] He decided on making a reindeer the central character of the book because his then four-year-old daughter, Barbara, loved the deer in the Chicago zoo.[1] He ran verses and chapters of the Rudolph poem by Barbara to make sure they entertained children. The final version of the poem was first read to Barbara and his wife's parents.[1]
Evelyn May died in July 1939. She is interred at Saint Joseph Cemetery, River Grove, Cook County, Illinois. His boss offered to take him off the book assignment in light of his wife's death. May refused and completed the poem in August 1939. The Rudolph poem booklet was first distributed during the 1939 holiday season. Shoppers loved the poem and 2.4 million copies were distributed.[1] War time restrictions on paper use prevented a re-issue until 1946. In that year, another 3.6 million copies were distributed to Montgomery Ward shoppers.[1]
In 1946, May received an offer from a company that wanted to do a spoken-word record of the poem.[1] May could not give his approval (and be compensated) because Montgomery Ward held the rights to the poem. In late 1946 or early 1947, Sewell Avery, the company's president, gave the copyright to the poem to May, free and clear. The spoken-word version of the poem was a sales success.[1]
In 1947, Harry Elbaum, the head of Maxton Publishers, a small New York publishing company, took a chance and put out an updated print edition of the Rudolph (poem) book. Other publishers had passed on the book, believing that the distribution of millions of free copies had ruined the market.[1] The book was a best seller.[1]
In 1948, May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote (words and music) an adaptation of Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy Gene Autry.[1] "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas".[5]
In 1941, May married Virginia, another Ward employee, and had five children with her. She was a devout Catholic, and he converted to Catholicism during the marriage.
May wrote two sequels to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The first is mostly in prose (except that Rudolph speaks in anapestic tetrameter), written in 1947 but only published posthumously as Rudolph's Second Christmas (1992), and subsequently with the title Rudolph to the Rescue (2006). The second sequel is entirely in anapaestic tetrameter like the original: Rudolph Shines Again (1954). May also published four other children's books: Benny the Bunny Liked Beans (1940), Winking Willie (1948), The Fighting Tenderfoot (1954), and Sam the Scared-est Scarecrow (1972).[6]
May told his story of the writing of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in his article "Robert May Tells how Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer Came into Being" from the Gettysburg Times published on December 22, 1975.[7]
May died on August 10, 1976.
May is interred at Saint Joseph Cemetery, River Grove, Cook County, IL.
Thread Starter
Oldsdruid
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,637
From: Southside Vajenya
I had heard parts of the Rudolph story but didn't know about the MW connection. One of the great things about these forums is you learn about more than Oldsmobiles! Thanks Solly!
The Steamroller is always great as is Trans Siberian Orchestra. TSO usually makes a stop in Greensboro or Raleigh NC but two years ago was that damned 17" snow that shut the world down here, last year I was sick and this year the pestilence. And the only thing I've heard on radio so far this year is "Sarajevo". No "Deck the Halls". Guess the radio programmers think Bieber and Mariah Carey are better. WELL I DON'T!😾
The Steamroller is always great as is Trans Siberian Orchestra. TSO usually makes a stop in Greensboro or Raleigh NC but two years ago was that damned 17" snow that shut the world down here, last year I was sick and this year the pestilence. And the only thing I've heard on radio so far this year is "Sarajevo". No "Deck the Halls". Guess the radio programmers think Bieber and Mariah Carey are better. WELL I DON'T!😾
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,090
From: Peoria Arizona
I had heard parts of the Rudolph story but didn't know about the MW connection. One of the great things about these forums is you learn about more than Oldsmobiles! Thanks Solly!
The Steamroller is always great as is Trans Siberian Orchestra. TSO usually makes a stop in Greensboro or Raleigh NC but two years ago was that damned 17" snow that shut the world down here, last year I was sick and this year the pestilence. And the only thing I've heard on radio so far this year is "Sarajevo". No "Deck the Halls". Guess the radio programmers think Bieber and Mariah Carey are better. WELL I DON'T!😾
The Steamroller is always great as is Trans Siberian Orchestra. TSO usually makes a stop in Greensboro or Raleigh NC but two years ago was that damned 17" snow that shut the world down here, last year I was sick and this year the pestilence. And the only thing I've heard on radio so far this year is "Sarajevo". No "Deck the Halls". Guess the radio programmers think Bieber and Mariah Carey are better. WELL I DON'T!😾
Along the way you may find like minded people with similar interest. Its always good to get a different perspective on things, different opinions, get a good laugh or just take a break from all the crap of 2020 !! I enjoy The Clubhouse.
Right now the 56 Super 88 is running fine with no issues so for now I spend a lot of time on The Clubhouse.
Thread Starter
Oldsdruid
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,637
From: Southside Vajenya
In addition to Rudolph, Johnny Marks also wrote Holly Jolly Christmas and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.
Burl Ives' version of Little Drummer Boy on that same Decca LP is my favorite version of that. Hard to think of gruff old Big Daddy (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) turning out a rendition like that!
MW and coloring books- a lot of businesses released Christmas LPs in the 60s and 70s. They'd contract with record companies' Special Products or custom pressing divisions and issue various artists Christmas compilations. Goodyear, Firestone, Montgomery Ward, A&P Grocery are some of the ones I've collected. The Firestone LPs were released in both stereo and mono versions and can be tough to find in good condition. Columbia, Capitol and RCA Victor all produced these from their vaults and kept some of their artists in the public eye with these custom pressed LPs.
And yeah, I have the full sets of all but the Firestones because most of those are in barely playable condition, much less good. Most of my Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas series were gifts from an uncle who sold tires at a Goodyear store for a few years after retiring from the Air Force.
Burl Ives' version of Little Drummer Boy on that same Decca LP is my favorite version of that. Hard to think of gruff old Big Daddy (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) turning out a rendition like that!
MW and coloring books- a lot of businesses released Christmas LPs in the 60s and 70s. They'd contract with record companies' Special Products or custom pressing divisions and issue various artists Christmas compilations. Goodyear, Firestone, Montgomery Ward, A&P Grocery are some of the ones I've collected. The Firestone LPs were released in both stereo and mono versions and can be tough to find in good condition. Columbia, Capitol and RCA Victor all produced these from their vaults and kept some of their artists in the public eye with these custom pressed LPs.
And yeah, I have the full sets of all but the Firestones because most of those are in barely playable condition, much less good. Most of my Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas series were gifts from an uncle who sold tires at a Goodyear store for a few years after retiring from the Air Force.
Last edited by rocketraider; Dec 12, 2020 at 07:46 AM.
Thread Starter
Oldsdruid
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,637
From: Southside Vajenya
That's another one where the first is still the best!
Same as 1959 Dean Martin/Marilyn Maxwell version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" defines that song.
Both of these are victims of misguided people trying to hold old things to modern standards and mores.
Same as 1959 Dean Martin/Marilyn Maxwell version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" defines that song.
Both of these are victims of misguided people trying to hold old things to modern standards and mores.
Last edited by rocketraider; Dec 12, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
Frank Ignachuck
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,302
From: Maynard, Massachusetts
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,090
From: Peoria Arizona
I like all kinds of music except rap, my wife is a huge Bocelli fan , a couple of years ago for our wedding anniversary I took her to see Bocelli damn that man has a set of pipes !! although a classically trained opera singer he often crosses over to pop, and performs with multiple artist, so here is classical artist, meets country and western meets Elvis. Reba McEntire and Andrea Bocelli doing Blue Christmas !!
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,446
From: eastern MA
I like all kinds of music except rap, my wife is a huge Bocelli fan , a couple of years ago for our wedding anniversary I took her to see Bocelli damn that man has a set of pipes !! although a classically trained opera singer he often crosses over to pop, and performs with multiple artist, so here is classical artist, meets country and western meets Elvis. Reba McEntire and Andrea Bocelli doing Blue Christmas !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRCh...zXZ2A&index=23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRCh...zXZ2A&index=23
That was a beautiful duet! Two great voices!
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From: Atlanta, Georgia
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,090
From: Peoria Arizona
Christmas songs / Bing Crosby and David Bowie
Here is a unlikely duet. but very cool , as the story goes Bing was happy to do it but had a stipulation, he said he would not do it if
David was wearing any Ziggy Stardust or any other wardrobe.
David was wearing any Ziggy Stardust or any other wardrobe.
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