Christmas In July 2008-Day 31
July 31, 2008
Let's begin with the great Jo Stafford who passed away earlier this month. Her version comes from the LP Jo Stafford Sings Songs Of Scotland With Words By Robert Burns (Columbia CL 1043).
Version two is by The All-Star Orchestra Conducted By Bobby Byrne from the LP The Great Themes Of America's Greatest bands (Grand Award G.A. 33-392). You got another track from this LP earlier in the month.
Version three is a barbershop version by The Nighthawks, taken from their album The Nighthawks (Chord OBW-6211).
Version four is by George Hamilton IV, Arranged And Conducted By Don Costa, from the album George Hamilton IV On Campus (ABC-Paramount ABC-220).
Version five is from Guy Cheney and the LP Everybody Sing (Mercury MG 20131). I'm guessing this LP was in response to all those Sing Along With Mitch albums, but I'm not certain. You'll see what I mean.
Version six is by The Gene Lowell Chorus and the album Halls Of Ivy (Warner Bros. W 1244, 1959). I think I shared something else from this album, too.
Version seven is from the great Jerry Colonna and the album Let's All Sing With Jerry Colonna (Liberty LRP 3046), where it wraps up the side-long medley on side one. I hope you don't mind, but I edited out all the other songs.
Version eight is an unedited medley called Auld Lang Syne: Skye Boat Song, Bonnie Dundee, Hundred Pipers, Auld Lang Syne, and it's by the Dagenham Girl Pipers from their album The World Famous Dagenham Girl Pipers (Capitol T10125).
Version nine is still another medley, this time including May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You, Now Is The Hour and Auld Lang Syne by Ralph And Buddy Bonds from the LP Open House With Ralph And Buddy Bonds (Epic LN 3492).
I'm getting tired of typing... Version the tenth is the last medley, this time entitled Swingtime In Scotland: The Campbells Are Coming; Comin' Thro' The Rye; Loch Lomond; Auld Lang Syne. It's performed by The Daphne Hellman Quartet on the album Holiday For Harp (Columbia Harmony HL 7167). This is another record you've seen before this month.
Number eleven is from the unstoppable Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra from the LP The Wonderland Of Bert Kaempfert (Decca DL 74117). This was the only track that I recorded and lost this month. For some reason, after I had recorded and tagged it, the file got corrupted and showed as zero bytes. So I had to redo this one.
Number twelve is The Russ Williams Orchestra from A Tribute To The Big Bands (Tops-Mayfair 9660S). Yes, it's from a cheap label, but at least the record is on cool yellow & black marbled vinyl!
Lucky thirteen belongs to Knuckles O'Toole, or, if you prefer, Dick Hyman, and his album Sing A Song With Knuckles O'Toole And His Singin' Gang (Grand Award GA 240 SD). I went to an art show recently by Dick Hyman's wife, but neither he nor she were in attendance. Shame, I wanted to get one of my records signed.
Numbers fourteen and fifteen are both by Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians. They form the intro and finale to the performance captured on the LP The Guy Lombardo Show Recorded Live At Lake Tahoe (Capitol ST 1393).
Number sixteen is again Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians, this time in a hi-fi re-recording from the album Guy Lombardo In Hi-Fi (Capitol W738). You got a much more exciting song from the record earlier in July.
I'm sure you're tired of hearing Auld Lang Syne at this point, so here's a little bonus 17th track. It's Happy New Year from Janeen Brady, from one of the kids records I first shared yesterday, I Have A Song For You, Volume 2-About Seasons And Holidays (Brite Music, 1980).
And that's it. Hope you're happy. Here's the download link, and don't miss the shares from 2006 and 2007. My fingers hurt...
Change We Can Believe In and Change We’re Having Trouble Adjusting To
July 31, 2008
CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN (particularly at the national level) works for me.
But in many ways I think Sarasotans may have had quite enough change in recent years. Change in economic fortunes, in gas prices, property taxes, insurance. We've had to change our old assumptions about what to do when a hurricane approaches [Nobody is saying anymore: "I have a friend I can stay with in Arcadia."] We are changing our assumptions about whether our beaches are uncontaminated. Changing our understanding of what restaurants remain open. Changing perceptions about how fast our school age population is growing or if it is growing at all. Changing our belief that sea level isn't rising. Changing our minds to accept that North Port is bigger (geographically and population-wise) than the City of Sarasota.* Lots of changes.
And the recent Ringling Bridge name flap underscores what may be a local reality: that tinkering with what may seem to some like minor issues actually has big effects on Sarasotans. [I think 3,875 online petition signatures in less than a week is evidence enough that citizens do feel affected.]
Some are tempted to dismiss the bridge name issue as a tempest in a teapot -- much ado about nearly nothing.
I don't see it that way. I think our local landscape has been so dynamic, so subject to change that ostensibly insignificant changes can end up being very distressing to people.
In this setting of seemingly constant change, landmarks and history and vacant lots that don't change end up being reassuring touchstones in our lives - anchors of permanence that help keep us oriented and connected to where we live.
And I think part of the reason people fight so hard to thwart developments, or protect trees or save old buildings is not because they can't accept the idea of new neighbors or that the tree provides crucial habitat or the building is part of a unique architectural legacy (which may be true); but simply because the loss of such landmarks can be profoundly disturbing when one already feels overwhelmed by change, when every other landmark is gone and people are down to one familiar, reliable thing that persists and it is about to be flattened.
I'm not a no change guy. I think people and neighborhoods and communities need to change or they will stagnate. But I believe it is healthy and helpful to hang on to what we feel is unique or special about the places we frequent.
We can't save everything and I don't think we should try. But I think we should work hard to identify what makes our places special and work hard to retain what we can of those, even if it is only a representative sample.
I'll skip the final crescendo that ties this line of argument into my campaign and what I've been doing the last 30 years and just leave it at my realization that seemingly little things do matter, perhaps disproportionately, to people. That doesn't make people unreasonable, it makes them observant and caring and connected to where they live. That's a good thing.
So one change I believe in is changing to acknowledge people's legitimate attachment to place and rather than dismissing it, finding ways to allow needed change while resisting unnecessary change. Like changing a bridge, but not its name.
*The City of Sarasota still has a 450 edge over North Port in registered voters. It will be interesting to see if North Port can narrow or close that gap by Nov. 4th.
MAYOR PROPOSES PLACEMENT OF PLAQUES HONORING GIL WATERS
July 31, 2008
Madeline’s New Jewel
July 30, 2008
Congrats, Madeline, for another highly polished gem!
To read this story go to Madeline's website, www.madelinemora-summonte.com and follow the link to Everyday Fiction.
Submitted by
Russ Heitz
Christmas In July 2008-Day 30
July 30, 2008
Let's start with Ev'rybody's Good For Christmas by Steve Clayton & Gail Contini from the album Holidays To Sing About (Ultrasound ULT 3420, 1979).
Track two is Jingle Bell Rock by Greg & Steve from the LP Holidays And Special Times (Youngheart VR009-R, 1989). This is the only non-original song in the bunch.
Track three is Sleigh Bells-Russia by Catherine Slonecki from the album Children's Songs Around The World (Activities AR 56, 1989).
Track four is Santa's Coming from the album Holiday Songs (Macmillan, 1987) credited to no-one in particular, so I credited to Sing & Learn, the name of the series of records it seems to be from. They've changed up the number of reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh from eight to ten. Not sure why.
The rest of the tracks are all by Janeen Brady from the album I Have A Song For You, Volume 2-About Seasons And Holidays (Brite Music, 1980). They are I Like To Play In The Snow, Playful Little Jack Frost and The Very Best Part Of Christmas Time.
That's it, seven more songs, though I'm afraid none of them are as good as my favorite track in this vein, What If Snowflakes Came In Flavours. Here's the download link, now get busy and download them. Don't forget the shares from 2006 and 2007, and don't say I never gave you anything.
Welcome To KSC
July 30, 2008
When you visit Kennedy Space Center, they don't have little girls dressed as Mickey Mouse to greet you, they have people of indeterminate sex dressed as Apollo-era astronauts to greet you. And the red stripes indicate that this was the commander of whatever mission he or she might be on...
Christmas In July 2008-Day 29
July 30, 2008
Let's start with the only two tracks that have any sort of link. Both of these tracks are by The Modern Jazz Quartet from their LP Plastic Dreams (Atlantic SD 1589, 1971). The two tracks are titled England's Carol and Variations On A Christmas Theme, but you'll recognize them as God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen and The Twelve Days Of Christmas. I don't know why they felt the need to rename them here. Maybe they get higher songwriting royalties or something.
Track three is We Three Kings Of Orient Are by The Brass Of The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, Conducted By Alfred Newman from Hallelujah! (Capitol P8529). I've already brought you other Christmas tunes from this LP here and here.
Track four is I Love To Tell The Story/Angels We Have Heard On High by Jack Conner, from another album I've shared tracks from with you before, I Love To Tell The Story (Christian Faith Recordings JC 243). Gotta love that marimba sound!
Track five is March Of The Toys from Frederick Fennell And Orchestra from the album Frederick Fennell Conducts Victor Herbert (Mercury Perfect Presence Sound Series PPS6007). I thought I'd shared this one before, but I can't find any sign that I have, so I must have been mistaken.
Track six is the only version of My Favorite Things that I've shared all year. Got lots of versions in the pile, but this is the only one I recorded. It's by Richard Hayman And His Orchestra and comes from the LP Rogers And Hammerstein's The Sound Of Music (Mercury Wing SRW 16228). Actually, it looks like I've got a typo in there and called him Mannerstein. Odd...
The seventh and final track is a nice version of Our Winter Love by Al Caiola, from his LP Greasy Kids Stuff (United Artists UAS 6287, 1963). You can always count on some good guitar work from Mr. Caiola.
There you have it, seven more Christmas in July tracks. Here's the download link, now have a blast. And as usual, don't forget about 2006 and 2007.
Gone
July 30, 2008
CITY WELCOMES NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
July 30, 2008
WSLR News for August 1, 2008
July 30, 2008
