Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians

     Dubbed by some as “America’s Singing Master” and by others as “The Man Who Taught America to Sing”, Fred Waring was a popular musician, bandleader, and radio/television personality.  Together with his group, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians created much memorable and much-loved music including several albums of Christmas music.
     Frederick Malcolm Waring was born June 9, 1900 in Tyrone Pennsylvania.  With his brother Tom and their friend, Poley McClintock, Waring formed the Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra.  Growing in local popularity, the group later became Fred Waring’s Banjo Orchestra. 
     Upon entering Penn State University to study architectural engineering, Waring auditioned for the university’s glee club only to be rejected due to, among other things, conflicts with the glee club’s director, Dr. Clarence Robinson.  Despite this, Fred Waring’s Banjo Orchestra often performed at fraternity parties as well as dances and proms.  The group eventually garnered so much success, that Waring opted to abandon his architectural engineering studies to pursue music and tour with the band.  This band would later undergo another name change to be known as Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians in 1922.
     In 1925, Waring’s Pennsylvanians enjoyed their first major commercial success with the hit tune “Collegiate.”  The song has been described as a “wonderful little time capsule of college life in the 1920s” and remains one of their best-known songs.   By the end of the 1920s, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians were on of the most popular musical acts in the country, and, in 1929, starred in an early “talkie” film called “Syncopation.”
     Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians were one of radio’s hottest acts during the 1930’s and hosted several radio shows.  It was in a sponsorship agreement for one of the radio shows that Waring marketed for General Electric the Waring Blender, a kitchen appliance.
     In 1932, the group decided to stop making records because they believed the records competed against their radio shows.  They would not begin recording again until 1942.  In 1949, the Pennsylvanians transitioned from radio to television starring in their own weekly television show sponsored by General Electric.
     As with most successful music acts, the music of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians evolved and changed thru the years.  They are perhaps best known today as a choral group that remained active and popular until Waring’s death in 1984.
     It is the choral group who created several much loved Christmas albums.  We focus here on three of them; “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “Christmas Time with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians,” and “Sounds of Christmas.”
     

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians “Twas the Night Before Christmas” First released by Decca Records in 1955.  Release #DL8171. Monoaural Format. Re-released by Decca in the 1960’s.  Release #DL78171. Stereo Format Re-issued by MCA Records in 1973. Release #MCA15016. Stereo Format. Re-released by MCA Records in 1980. Release #MCA15016. Stereo Format. Song Listing: Jingle Bells Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Santa Claus Is Coming to Town ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Beautiful Saviour Medley: The First Nowell, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Carol of the Bells Cantique de Noel Oh Gathering Clouds Silent Night



    



Christmas Time with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians “Christmas Time with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians” Released by Decca Records in 1955. Release #DL8172. Monoaural Format. Re-released by Decca in the 1960s.  Release #DL78172. Stereo Format. Song Listing: When Angels Sang of Peace It Came Upon the Midnight Clear Deck the Hall Joy to the World The Christmas Song The Coventry Carol A Musical Christmas Card O Christmas Tree The Sleigh Kentucky Wassail Song Parade of the Wooden Soldiers Hark! The Herald Angels Sing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Heigh Ho the Holly See Amid the Winter’s Snow Behold That Star Carol of the Bells Luther’s Cradle Hymn (Away in a Manger) Alleluia Gloria In Excelsis Sounds of Christmas. Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians “Sounds of Christmas” Released by Capitol Records in 1959.  Release #T1260. Mono and Stereo Formats. Song Listing: Jingle Bells Joy to the World Ring Those Christmas Bells Jingle Bells Silent Night Caroling, Caroling Carol, Brothers, Carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen O Hearken Ye Christmas It Came Upon A Midnight Clear The Star Carol Rise Up Shepherd an’ Foller Go Where I Send Thee O Little Town of Bethlehem Jesu Parvule Gesu Bambino Ring Those Christmas Bells O Come All Ye Faithful Come, Dear Children We Three Kings Deck the Halls Bright, Bright the Holly Berries Santa Claus Is Coming to Town While By Our Sleeping Flock We Lay Joy to the World Jingle Bells Caroling, Caroling Angels We Have Heard on High I Wonder As I Wander Silent Night O Holy Night We Wish You a Merry Christmas

This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

Goodyear, Great Songs of Christmas. Volume 10. 1970

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas, Volume 10. 1970

     From 1961 thru 1969, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company with Columbia Records and Stanley Arnold and Associates produced nine unique collections of Christmas music which they sold in their retail stores during the holiday season.  In 1970, they concluded the “Great Songs of Christmas” series with a “Best of” compilation of the most popular selections from the previous nine collections. Among them you will find many of the special recordings done exclusively for Goodyear’s Great Songs of Christmas albums in previous years including Barbra Streisand’s “Silent Night”, Isaac Stern’s “Ave Maria”, and Petula Clark’s “Happiest Christmas”.

     Goodyear would continue the Christmas album tradition for seven more years after concluding the “Great Songs of Christmas” series.  The additional release titles are listed below.  At a later date, we will re-visit the Goodyear series in our blog providing more information on each of these releases, but will be moving on to other unforgettable Christmas music and artists beginning with our next blog post.  We hope you have enjoyed the information we have provided thus far on the Goodyear “Great Songs of Christmas” series and that you will continue to frequent our blog for more interesting and enjoyable information about your favorite Christmas music.

Additional Goodyear Christmas Albums

Joyous Songs of Christmas. 1971

Christmas Is 1972

Many Moods of Christmas 1973

Carols and Candlelight 1974

Henry Mancini Selects Great Songs of Christmas 1975

Mancini Moods at Christmastime 1976

Great Songs of Christmas with Perry Como and Eugene Ormandy 1977



This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas. Volume 9. 1969

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas. Volume 9. 1969. 

     With Volume 9 of the “Great Songs of Christmas”, Goodyear made a departure from their standard album presentation.  Featuring the beautiful artistry of stained glass windows from Notre Dame Cathedral, Goodyear and Columbia selected a gatefold record jacket for their 1969 release.  Photos of the performing artists grace the back of the jacket unlike their previous releases which feature similar artwork on the front covers.  While several of the previous releases in the series featured performances recorded exclusively for Goodyear and the “Great Songs of Christmas” albums, this album features a selection written and recorded specifically for this 1969, Volume 9 release.  In the liner notes, Goodyear and Columbia write:

     “The beautiful sun-lighted window on the front cover of this album belongs to the 12th-century cathedral of Notre Dame in Chartres, France.  This giant kaleidoscope of stained glass, along with the three huge lancet arch windows at right, illuminates the north transept of the ancient cathedral.  Created by gifted French glass cutters so very long ago, the windows tell to all who behold them the story of Christ, His Angels and His Saints.  In the tradition of Chartres and of the season, we at Goodyear would like to express to you all, in this, our ninth Christmas album, our sincerest wishes for a very merry Christmas.”

     Petula Clark opens with a new song written for her and recorded especially for this album, “The Happiest Christmas”. She offers also the beuatiful “Silent Night, Holy Night.”

     Next, Bing Crosby lends his easy, relaxing style to a delightful performance of “Secret of Christmas”.

     Joan Sutherland, one of the finest operatic voices in the world, performs the traditional “Twelve Days of Christmas” and “Ave Maria”.

     “The First Noel” is given tender treatment by Connie Francis.  She also performs the lovely “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

     Richard Kiley, who thrilled millions in “Man of La Mancha”, recorded three selections especially for you: “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” and “Panis Angelicus.”

     For Lawrence Welk fans, the Christmas mood is well expressed by three favorite carols: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Good King Wenceslas,” and “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”

     The London Symphony Orchestra and the Roger Wagner Chorale, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, combine their talents in a performance of two beautiful Latin  hymns: “In Dulci Jubilo” and “O Sanctissima.”

     Mantovani and His Orchestra perform the favorite “O Holy Night” and “Skater’s Waltz”.

     Lena Horne gives her bright and beautiful interpretation of “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells.”

     Finally, Vladimir Horowitz offers the warm and charming “A Christmas Tale for Children.” “

(Quoted material taken from the liner notes of the “Great Songs of Christmas,” Volume 9.  Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Columbia Records Special Products Division. Stanley Arnold and Associates. Hampto Court Productions, Inc.  1969.)

If you would like to view the television commercial for Goodyear’s “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 9, please click the link below and select #11 from the list at the right of the screen.

http://wn.com/Vintage_Goodyear_Tire_Commercial

    
    

This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

  

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas, Volume 8. 1968.

Goodyear “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 8. 1968

     For the first time in the series, side one of Goodyear’s “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 8, published in 1968, contains happy, upbeat contemporary Christmas favorites while side two is filled with the familiar, traditional carols that anyone familiar with the “Great Songs of Christmas” would come to expect from a Goodyear holiday album.  Most of the songs on Volume 8 were commissioned by Goodyear and Columbia exclusively for this release.
     “For the eighth consecutive year, Goodyear presents the Great Songs of Christmas — as our special holiday greeting to you.  And for the first time on any album of Christmas music, you can now enjoy musically
the two moods of Christmas.  This exclusive innovation in Album 8 allow you to select the holiday listening that fits your holiday mood.  On Side 1, there’s the happy sound of Christmas joy and laughter — a perfect background for you holiday entertaining.  And Side 2 presents the best loved carols of tradition — for family listening with all the inspriation of the sacred season.  The recording artists gathered here for your enjoyment include the greatest names from the worlds of opera, popular entertainment, and folk music.  Ten of the selections are contemporary, popular favorites.  Ten more are selections from the season’s most revered traditional carols.  Together, they provide almost twice the listening time normally found on two ordinary albums.  Each year we try to include one or two less familiar carols, and two of the year’s traditional selections are well loved in England, though less well known here.  These are “Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep”, a Czech carol, and “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”.  Both were recorded especially for this album.  In fact, nearly two-thirds of the performanceds here were commissioned by Goodyear and recorded especially for us, including the selections for Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Newley, Sally Ann Howes, Robert Merrill, and Anna Moffo. (Carol Lawrence appears through the courtesy of RCA Victor Records.)  Of the popular selections, six have not been included in any of our previous albums — the festive “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” the lilting “Christmas Waltz,” and winter medley “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and “I Love Winter Weather,” the nostalgic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, ” the children’s favorite “Here Comes Santa Claus”, a happy new song “A Marshmallow World,” and the calypso-like “Mary’s Little Boy Child.”  With these beautiful sounds of Christmas go our warmest wishes for joyous holidays and a good new year. Merry Christmas!

(Quoted material from the back of the “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 8 record jacket. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Columbia Records Special Products.  Stanley Arnold and Associates.  Hampton Court Prod., Inc.  1968).

This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas, Volume 7. 1967.

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas. Volume 7. 1967

    

     For their “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 7, Goodyear chose to employ the talent of many of the artists they had showcased in their previous releases (i.e. The New Christy Minstrels, Robert Goulet, and Barbra Streisand), while inviting new artists to add their voices to the collection.  Tony Bennett, The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of George Szell, Sally Ann Howes, Jerry Vale, and John Davidson make significant contributions to the “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 7 line-up.  Goodyear sums up this release as follows.
     “It is Christmastime, and in the tradition of the season Album Seven brings you the sounds of Christmas — old and new — in a colection of beautiful music perfromed by twelve of today’s favorite recording artists and groups.
     Tony Bennett introduces Album Seven with the childhood favorite, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”.  This is Mr. Bennett’s first recording of Christmas music, and this song has been recorded especially for this 1967 Goodyear album.
     Victor Herbert’s “Toyland” recalls the wonder and excitement of a child’s Christmas.  The beautiful voice of Sally Ann Howes captures the nostalgia of this lovely classic in this recording made especially for Album Seven.
     The resonant baritone voice of Robert Goulet expresses the joy of the season in this version of the popular “This Christmas I Spend With You.”
     The world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, under the direction of George Szell, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year.  Recording Christmas music for the first time, the Cleveland Orchestra offers a rousing version of “Deck the Hall With Boughs of Holly.”  Although the melody predates Christianity in England, this song ultimately became traditional with the Welsh in their celebration of Christmas.
     “Do You Hear What I Hear” is one of the loveliest and most memorable of the Christmas songs introduced in recent years.  This new carol is beautifully sung by Diahann Carroll.
     “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…” — these are the now familiar words of Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song.”  It is recorded here by Mr. Torme’s good friend, Mr. Tony Bennett.
     Clement Moore’s well known poem, ” ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” has now been set to music.  The popular Steve Lawrence brings warmth and understanding to this sentimental reflection of the holiday.
     The Brothers Four sing their first album selection “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”, with foot-tapping enthusiasm.  This popular carol dates back to about 1600 and was written by an anonymous English poet.  The literal and original meaning of the title is “May Good keep you in good spirits, gentlemen”, but through the years the comma was misplaced in the title (“God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”) changing the meaning considerably.
     The origin of “The First Noel” is obscure, although it is thought to have originated in France about 1500.  It was not until 1833 that the words and music first appeared in print.  The revered  carol is recorded on Album Seven by the bright new recording and film star, John Davidson.
    The music to “The Lord’s Prayer” is so familiar today that it’s surprising to realize that it was composed only thirty-some years ago — in 1935.  Barbra Streisand’s performance of “The Lord’s Prayer” is unusually moving; she recorded it in London especially for this album.
     Side Two of Album Seven opens with an exuberant arrangement of a song all children love: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”  It is recorded here by Harry Simeone and his group.
     “Home for the Holidays” is another of the Christmas favorites which seems to have been around far longer than the copyright date of 1954.  It is recorded with warmth and sincerity by the popular Jerry Vale.
     Sally Ann Howes’ second selection is “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”  This is one of the carols about which the story is known, and it is charming.  A young assistant pastor, moved by his trip to Bethlehem on horseback, wrote the poem.  Several years later, at the pleadings of the Sunday School children, the church’s organist promised to write the music.  Inspiration evaded him, however, until Christmas Eve, and he played the new carol for the first time on Christmas Day as his gift to the children.
    Steve Lawrence’s second song — “Let Me Be the First (To Wish You a Merry Christmas)” — is a relatively new Christmas tune and a delightful one.  It has an infectious melody — the kind one finds oneself humming frequently in the busy days before Christmas.
     “Patapan” is a 17th century French carol which originated in Burgundy.  This is one of the many carols which tell of children marching — singing or with musical instruments — in celebration of Christmas.  The Cleveland Orchestra plays this happy carol.
     Jerry Vale’s second selection is “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”  The first known manuscript of this favorite carol is dated 1751, though the song probably is much older.  Also known as “Adeste Fideles”, it is a processional carol, one often sung by religious orders on their way to Christmas Midnight Mass.
     “Here We Come A-Caroling” is an old English wassail song, popular as long ago as Shakespeare’s time, when it was the custom ot offer the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts.  The New Christy Minstrels’ version of this classic is a rollicking and fresh interpretation.
     The story of  “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” also is an intriguing one.  The words were written 1739 by Charles Wesley, brother of the founder of the Methodist Church.  The melody was written by Mendelssohn in 1840 — not as a Christmas carol, but in a cantata composed in praise of Gutenberg’s invention of printing.  Fifteen years later, a church organist put together words and music which had been written 100 years apart to create this carol.
     The next selection is a new and charming Christmas son, co-authored by Percy Faith.  “Christmas Is” describes all the delights of Christmas.  This sensitive carol is recorded by Harry Simeone’s group.
     No Christmas collection is complete without “Silent Night”.  This unusual favorite was composed on a Christmas Eve in 1818 in Bavaria by the assistant pastor and organist of an impoverished little church.  It was hastily written when the church’s decrepit organ could not be fixed in time for the Christmas service.  First performed by two solo voices, a chorus, and guitar, this lovely carol is performed here by the New Christy Minstrels.
     And with the end of Album Seven, it only remains for us to extend our warm good wishes — for happy holidays and a wonderful new year.  Merry Christmas!”

(Quoted material is taken from the back of the record jacket for “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 7, 1967, by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Columbia Records Special Products Division, Stanley Arnold and Associates, Inc., and Norfolk Music, Inc.)



Print Ad for Goodyear’s “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 7. 1967.



This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

    
     

Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas, Volume 6. 1966.

Goodyear “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 6. 1966.

  Goodyear’s “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 6 is our best selling classic Christmas recording hands down.  For this edition of the series, Goodyear again chose primarily traditional Christmas carols but peppered these with a couple of contemporary selections to spice up this offering. With nearly three millions records distributed through their retail outlets, it would seem Goodyear’s recipe satisfied the Christmas music appetite of many in 1966.
     “This is the sixth of the Goodyear Series of the Great Songs of Christmas; 22 selections to enrich your holiday.  A pleasing blend of the great music of the season, the old and the new.
     This year’s album opens with a memorable performance that’s a collector’s item, and symbolic of the blending of old and new: Silent Night sung by Barbra Streisand.  The newest and brightest of the big-big stars, Miss Streisand sings traditional material for the first time in these recordings she made especially for you in London, durign her award-winning run of “Funny Girl.” And, of course no collection is complete without Silent Night, the carol most people associate most closely with Christmas.
     Do You Hear What I Hear could be mistaken for an old traditional Christmas carol, but actually is a new song which was written within the past several years.  This performance by Andy Williams is by far the loveliest recording to date, of a song that’s on the way to becoming a classic.
     The sound of Christmas is a beautiful blend of religious music and popular songs.  All of the happy imagery of the season of the holly and the mistletoe comes quickly to mind with the first strains of “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”, The Christmas Song.  This version by Johnny Mathis is one of the most popular ever recorded.
     Christmas is a family time, so the delightful King Family sings a song of their own, Holiday of Love; and one of the Burt Carols: Caroling, Caroling.
     Alfred S. Burt was a young musician who wrote a song each year as his Christmas greeting.  He died very young, but left a sizeable legacy of beautiful Christmas carols that become more widely known and loved each year.
     Pablo Casals is considered the world’s finest cellist, and an outstanding conductor and teacher.  For many years the world’s great musicians have travelled to where he is, to play with Casals: establishing the famed Casals festivals.  The 89 year-old Casals made an unusual trip to New York just to record Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for this album.  His royalties from this album will be used to establish two scholarships for promising musicians.
     Next, the King Family sings two traditional carols: O Little Town of Bethlehem and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.  Both carols are about 100 years old, and are unusual in that they were composed in America.  Most Christmas melodies are far older — dating from 1500 and earlier — and originated in Europe.  The verses to both carols were written by clergymen, and had music written for them by others at a later date.
     The Metropolitan Opera’s famed Jan Peerce has recorded a particularly beautiful performance of O Come All, Ye Faithful, also knows as Adeste Fideles.
     This is one of the carols which is so old that its origins are clouded in mystery.  Some attribute the Latin version to St. Bonaventura.  Others believe that John Wade, an English copyist, wrote both the Latin words and the music some time between 1740 and 1745.  The English verses we know are relatively new: Translated by Rev. Frederick Oakeley in 1841, and revised as we know them in 1852.
     Side One of the album ends with the second selection by Barbra Streisand: a beautifully moving performance of Ave Maria.
     Ray Conniff gets Side Two off to a rollicking start with a fast, gay recording of Frosty, the Snowman.
     Before it opened on Broadway, it was apparent that “Mame” was going to be a hit musical.  In anticipation of a smash success, the New Christy Mistrels recrded the infectiously exuberant new Christmas tune from the show.
     We Need A Little Christmas is a delightful addition to the roster of happy Christmas sounds.
     Still another festive, cheerful song of the season is Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! and this warming performance by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme is hearty enough to chase away the most fearful weather.
     Next, Ray Conniff gives a fresh, new treatment to a traditional favorite, Hark! The Herald angels Sing.
     The words were written in 1739 by Charles Wesley, brother of the founder of the Methodist Church.  Mendelssohn wrote the melody a hundred years later, in 1840; fifteen years later, a church organist in England — Dr. W.H. Cummings — combined words and music, creating a new Christmas carol.
     Each year the Great Songs of Christmas is enhanced by a few traditional carols which are melodious and well-loved in other countries, but unfamiliar here.  Noel Nouvelet is one of these.  It is a traditional French carol, whose melody is in an ancient Greek style.  Marcel Dupre’s famous composition for organ, Variations on a French Noel, is based on this melody.
     March of the Kings, recorded by the world-famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir, also is French.  This ancient carol originated in Provence, and was sung as long ago as the 13th Century.  Since the play takes place on Christmas Eve, Bizet wrote the melody of this carol into his music for Daudet’s L’Ariesienne.
     The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s second selection is the festive Deck the Hall With Boughs of Holly.  This Welsh carol is very old.  And, as is true with many carols, it was borrowed by a famous composer.  Mozart used the melody for a duet for piano and violin.  It’s an even exchange, however; many Christmas carols take their melodies from works of great composers.
     Bing Crosby makes his first appearance on a Goodyear album with a new song of the season — written by the hit team of Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish: White World of Winter.
     Il Es Ne (“He is born, the divine infant”) is another Christmas carol well-known elsewhere, but little known here.  The words date back to the 19th Century, and were written to a melody from the 18th Century.  This charming carol is very popular in France.
     Many songs of the nativity season are lullabies — some happy, some sad, but always beautiful.  One of the best known is Austrian  in origin:  Still, Still, Still recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
     Mahalia Jackson and Percy Faith each are outstanding artists in their own right; on the rare occasions when the two record together, the result always is a rare treat.  For this album they have recorded an expecially moving performane of Away In A Manger.
     For many years this carol was thought to have been written by Martin Luther for his children.  But, this belief seems to have originated with the American harmonizer of the melody.  The true origin of the carol is unknown, but it is believed to have been composed by a member of the German Lutheran colony in Pennsylvania.
     Christmas is a holy time and a happy time.  A time to reflect both the reverence and the gaiety of the season.  This album which brings you the most of the best, old and new, takes the better part of a year to select talent and material, and to record.  At various times, recordings have been made in London, Los Angeles, Paris, and New York; the album is truly international.
     All in all, Great Songs of Christmas is Goodyear’s way of wishing you the merriest of Christmases and a rewarding, fulfilling new year.  We wish you lots of present…we wish you good cheer…We Wish You A Merry Christmas and a happy new year!  Have a wonderful holiday season!”

(Quoted material from the back of the Goodyear “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume 6 record jacket. 1966. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Columbia Records Special Products Division.)

This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.