Welcome to this series of pages featuring
audio relics celebrating this special day. It presents
traditional and out-there Christmas songs, as well as Christmas
radio programming, radio commercials, syndicated radio shows,
production library tracks, etc.
I try to list these in chronological order, but it may be a
little off sometimes. The years I put on Tanner library tracks
are approximate, but I think I'm pretty good at guessing
these.
Please be prepared for the sense of humor in some of my comments.
Watch for the Christmas Radio notation, where there's Christmas Day radio
programming.
Please e-mail your thoughts about Christmas Stuff to: sr@sammyreed.com
Thanks to artie.com for
the animated snow gif! ARG! Cartoon Animation Studio - thousands of FREE original animated GIFs... check it out!
From all of me to all of you:
Merry Christmas
UPDATE, 1/28/13:
I'm sorry I didn't have anything new
this past Christmastime, but I've got some new things coming up
during this year, including more Christmas radio shows, and for
the first time, late-70's and 80's "Sounds
of Broadcasting" library tracks! Watch for this during the
year!
Page
1
First of all, a link to
an interesting Christmas website. PlanetChristmas An all-Christmas, all-year-round site dedicated
to this most-special day.
Let's start with
things having to do with before Christmas. Pre-Christmas
SaleFrom Tanner Total Sound Library 3305, 1970
These aired on WQXY (now WTGE) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during
Nov., 1972. They were taken from logger reel recordings recorded
at such slow speeds that one side of an 1800-ft. reel fit nearly
20 hours. As a result, the sound quality isn't stellar, but these
commercials are, for the most part, listenable.
WKYE,
Bristol, Va - Pre-Christmas commercials, 1978
These are from a reel of commercials aired in October, 1978
(There was a Friday the 13th that month, which is why that keeps
getting mentioned). I picked out commercials that mention
Christmas, winter, and/or cold weather. For those of us that live
in the Bristol, Tenn./Va. area, they give a picture of how the
Bristol Mall used to be.
At this time, I'll pay tribute to the Piccadilly Cafeteria in the
Bristol Mall, which closed down in 2011. Thanks to all involved
in the Piccadilly.
Parks-Belk
"Belk Days Sale" commercials, 1983 I put this here because of all those winter
clothes and blankets.
Village
Discount Center A commercial with my dad, Cecil Reed, when he
worked at WBCV in Bristol, Tenn.
And now, let's
let those Christmastime festivities begin!
The next 2 entries are
from 16" transcription records.
"Jill's
Juke Box Christmas Show", 1947
From what I could find out online: Martha Wilkerson (1918-99) was
working at the Office of War Information during World War II. At
the same time, she was doing a show with her husband on a radio
station as "Jack & Jill". With the
"popularity" (or infamy - take your pick) of Tokyo
Rose, the Armed Forces Radio Service thought we aughta have our
own version for the troops - so "G.I. Jill" was born.
In 1943, she became the new host of a show called "G.I.
Jive", and was pretty big with the 18-34 male soldier
"demographic", so to speak. Sometime later, the name of
the show was changed to "Jill's Juke Box".
1948
Christmas Seal campaign - "The Mark Warnow Show"
"Television
Christmas" - Mindy Carson, 1949
With the unwieldy title of "(I want a) Television Christmas
(a world of magic all my own)", this was a promotional 78
recorded by RCA Victor for the purpose of advertising this
relatively-new device. Each side has a different version of the
song, so I'll present both versions here.
Production library
records were used by many radio stations. They had instrumental
music as well as generic jingles, which a station's announcer
and/or DJ used to make a station promo, mention things about a
local business to make a commercial, and other things.
The next 3 cuts are from a 16" transcription record called
"Musical Weather Jingles", from a library called World
Program Service, where a "weather bird" gives a brief
weather forecast. I selected 3 weather conditions associated with
Christmastime.
"Snow and Colder", "Snow and Cold",
"Rain Changing to Snow" (Apologies for the little
"sexist" comment in the last one.)
"The
Twelve Days of Christmas" - Tom Glazer, 1950
"The Lord's Prayer" - Amos and
Arbadella People who know about old-time radio, or have
seen "Amos & Andy" TV tapes, may be familiar with
the Christmas episode every year that had the scene with Amos and
his girl Arbadella listening to "The Lord's Prayer" on
their radio. Columbia Records made a 78RPM re-creation of this
scene.
Lang-Worth
"Radio Hucksters and Airlifts", 1957
Here are production library records
related to Christmas. 101,
side 1 - "Weather: Christmas"
These tracks announce different weather conditions.
"STORM: Keep Christmas Fire Glowing", "CLEAR &
COLD: Temperature Slowly Dropping", "CLEAR: Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer", "DAMP & CLOUDY: Hi There
Folks", "SNOW: Christmas Shoppers Listen",
"FAIR & WARMER: Christmas Bells are Ringing",
"RAIN: We're Santa's Reindeer", "GENERAL: Listen
as the Christmas Bells" 101,
side 2 - "Time Signal: Christmas"
These were played before a DJ announced the time.
"Soon It Will Be Christmas Day", "Yule Log is
Brightly Burning", "Twinkle Christmas Star",
"Christmas Cards", "It's Christmas Time",
"Christmas Season is So Grand", "Ol' St. Nick
Rides Over Snow", :"Santa Claus Says" 102,
side 1 - "Station Identification: Christmas"
These were played before a DJ gave a station ID.
"Santa Claus is a Merry Old Soul", "Christmas
Comes But Once a Year", "Christmas Bells",
"Joyous Christmas Season", "Sleigh Bells
Ringing", "Merry Christmas Everyone",
"Christmas Candies, Christmas Toys", "Candy Canes,
Christmas Holly"
"Happy
Birthday Jesus" - Little Cindy
Golden Records EP: "Christmas Carols"
Before the "Mitch Miller and the Gang" album with the
annoying kid - and probably before he had a
"gang" - there was this 45RPM Golden Records EP with
music by "The Sandpiper Chorus and Orchestra under the
direction of Mitch Miller". This thing had 3 songs on each
side. Due to how short each song is, the entire EP is on one
player here.
"Joy to the World", "O Little Town of
Bethlehem", "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", O,
Come all Ye Faithful", "Hark! The Herald Angels
Sing", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
Line
Material 45RPM record, 1959
"The Kinds of Christmas"
"Santa's North Pole Band"
New World library D770, side 2
In this, the earliest World
Broadcasting System record I have from when they moved from
16" transcriptions to 12" LP's, and from New York to
Dallas, side 2 contained only Christmas jingles. As a
"Christmas present", I'm including the instrumental
versions because they have something I never heard before in
production library records: You hear the bandleader counting up
the band!
"Christmas Insert #57: How Many Days", Christmas Insert
#58: Please Tell Me", "Christmas Insert #59",
"Christmas Gift Shop: Let's Take a Look".
Bobby
Rydell & Chubby Checker 45, 1960.
"Jingle Bell Rock"
"Jingle Bells Imitations"
Christmas (Toys) Pepper's "Creative Sales Service"
library record 5208, 1963
Walter Brennan Christmas album
This album was titled "'Twas the Night Before Christmas ...
at Home", even though he didn't recite that poem on the
album. But what is here are real doozys.
"White Christmas"
"Just Three Letters for Christmas"
... and a merry Christmas to you too, buddy.
"A Farmer's Christmas Prayer"
"GULL-DERN"
ALERT Meaning, this is your only
chance on the album to hear him say his famous word, only once.
"Henry Had a Merry Christmas"
Couldn't they just buy one?
"Old Time Christmas Stories"
"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"
"Silent Night"
"Christmas Together"
"Let the Bells Ring Out"
"A Good Year for Santa Claus"
"O Come All Ye Faithful"
Robin Hood Records 45's
"Jingle Bells"
"T'was the Night Before Christmas"
"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"
"The First Noel"
From
CRC's Money Maker 901, approx. 1966
Christmas Gifts CRC Money Maker 902, approx. 1966
Tanner Total Sound Library record 3401,
1968.
"Five Shopping Days til Christmas"
"Four Shopping Days til
Christmas"
"Three Shopping Days til
Christmas"
"Two Shopping Days til
Christmas"
"One Shopping Day til
Christmas"
Here are the rest of the jingles on that record.
"Gifts for Dad",
"Gifts for Mother", "Gifts for Children",
"Santa's Visit", "Gift Wrapping",
"Season's Greetings", "Christmas Lay-Away",
"Toys", "Christmas Ideas", "Christmas
Party Supplies", "Christmas Cards / Wrapping
Supplies"
From
Tanner Total Sound Library 3402, 1968
"Christmas Instrumental" (a slow rendition of
"Jingle Bells"), and "Christmas Shopping
Central" (I know we can do that real-time voice-pitch-change
stuff with our computers nowadays, but in 1968?!)
Tanner
Total Sound Library 3405, 1969
"Christmas Greeting", "Christmas Greeting"
(another one), "Santa is Here", Christmas
Greeting", "Christmas Shopping Downtown",
"Christmas Shopping General" (Does anyone ever give
Christmas presents to "the mailman" anymore? Nowadays,
are you even allowed to?), "Christmas
Greeting", "Christmas Lay Away", "Christmas
Gift Headquarters" (The intro sounds more like the 4th of
July than Christmas), "Santa is Coming"
From
Tanner Total Sound Library 3502, 1969
Christmas-related acapella sing-lines.
"Indian
Santa Claus" - Lorene Mann
1/16th of me is wincing
right now. Well,
tough Tonto.
