Christmas All Year Community

Let's open up the music room, shall we?

As many know, Christmas tunes are an almost obsession for me, the more odscure, the better.

There are many year 'round Internet "Christmas Radio Stations" streaming Seasonal Sounds, but that is a topic for another thread.

Though I listen to the streams from time to time, I like digging for Christmas audio sources that are archived for download or later listening. For those without MP3 players, most of the sources I find may be saved to hard drive and burned on CD(s).

Be sure to share what you find!

To kick things off, I found this the other day and was happy that I did:

Theme Time Radio Hour with your host, Bob Dylan.

http://dsp.vscht.cz/pavelka/TTRH/ttrh01.html

Those of you with X-M Satelite Radio will be familiar with Bob's show. TTRH is archived by season and show number at the above link. For the two part Christmas 2007 show, scroll down to:

TTRH01-34-1-ChristmasAndNewYearsPart1 rapidshare archive 80006 KB
TTRH01-34-2-ChristmasAndNewYearsPart2 rapidshare archive 72016 KB

I right clicked on "archive" to download direct. Rapidshare takes you to their webpage but may download faster, especially if you have an account.

All the other great shows of the first season plus shows to date of the second season are there as well. Several of these shows are now in my i-Pod!

Why Fidelity is a podcast with constant show updates. Pretty much all content between Thanksgiving and New Years is Christmas. Most all the content is taken from forgottn vinyl or other sources.

View playlists/downloads all here - http://whyfidelity.blogspot.com/ As more shows are added the Christmas ones are moved down and then into the archive. At post time, all Christmas shows, playlists and download links are still on this one page.

Individual Show show titles and links (most current and working back):

2007- (at post time, all shows are still up at http://whyfidelity.blogspot.com/ )

Why Fidelity 108: Mr. Mistletoe
Why Fidelity 107 : My Christmas Tree
Why Fidelity 106:Bingle Bells
Why Fidelity 105: Jing-a-Ling-a-Ling
Why Fidelity 104: North Pole Penguin
Why Fidelity 103: Too Fat for the Chimney
Why Fidelity 102 - A Kiss For Christmas
Why Fidelity 101 - It Must Be Christmas
Why Fidelity 100 - Sing We Now of Christmas
Why Fidelity 99 - Comin' Up Christmas Time


2006 - All Christmas shows on one page here - http://tinyurl.com/yt8r9p

Why Fidelity 60: We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
Why Fidelity 59: Pour Some More Eggnog on the Fruitcake
Why Fidelity 58: I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You
Why Fidelity 57: Our Christmas Gift To You
Why Fidelity 56 : Christmas Is...
Why Fidelity 55: Snowmen and Reindeer and Elves, Oh My!
Why Fidelity 54 : A Carol For Another Christmas
Why Fidelity Podcast 53 : A Very Merry Why Fidelity

2005 - All Chrsitmas (plus others) shows one one page here - http://tinyurl.com/24twvy

Why Fidelity Limited Edition Bonus Christmas Show
Why Fidelity #23 - Christmas Special Part 4
Why Fidelity Christmas Special Part 3
Why Fidelity Christmas Special Part 2
Why Fidelity #20 - Christmas Special Part 1

Each episode is around thirty minutes. If nothing else, check out the site for the pictures associated with each show!

This is an article that I worte for an online Christmas Newsletter a couple of years ago. The link is still good.

Let’s tune in to a Christmas edition of Gene Autry’s “Melody Ranch” radio show!

From http://www.geneautry.com/home.php we learn that: “Hard-riding, sweet-singing, cowboy picture star Gene Autry” was heard each Sunday evening on radios across America via CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Gene’s Melody Ranch radio show aired for an unprecedented 16 years (between 1940 and 1956), featuring songs, comedy and action filled drama. Throughout the run, the show’s sponsor was cool, refreshing Doublemint Gum".

Old Time Radio Fans has a Melody Ranch Christmas show available for download:

http://tinyurl.com/l77l9
Title - Christmas Party
Size - 7.07 MB
(Webpage quote) "About this episode - We do not know the date of this otr western mp3 of Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. This is a Christmas otr show".


Although the Old Time Radio Fans site lacks information about the original show date, Gene states at the beginning of this show that Christmas is four days away. My research indicates that December 21 fell on a Sunday three times during Melody Ranch Radio’s 16 year run, 1941, 1947, and 1952. I lean toward the 1947 date since “Here Comes Santa Claus”, the first song on the show, was recorded and released that year. The audio sound quality suggests pre 1952 as well.

On a side note, one old time radio site offers a show (for sale) called “Melody Ranch Christmas Party”. They list the broadcast date as December 21,1948 which is on a Tuesday. I’ve found no indication that “Melody Ranch” was ever broadcast on a Tuesday.

So, boys and girls, gather around the fireside and turn on the radio as we go back in time before television was in every home. “Melody Ranch Christmas Party” has a run time of 30:53. In addition to Gene Aurty, the show features Johnny Bonds, The Cass County Boys, Carl Cotner, The Pinafores, and announcer Lou Crosby. In between the gentle banter and gags, Gene and company croon “Here Comes Santa Claus”, O Little Town of Bethlehem”, a Christmas medley, “White Christmas”, and “Silent Night”. The last half of the show is a skit that features a five year old girl named Susan that goes to live with her grandfather following her mom’s death. With the help of Gene and Company, grandfather has a change of heart about the existence of Santa Claus.

Click the link above and choose your preferred player (by right click then “save as”) or click here, http://tinyurl.com/f8h6j to go straight to the Quick Time Player version of the show.

Folks with Sirius Radio and/or Dish Network will be familiar with Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel. These shows are archived as audio streams (not sure about downloads) at ~ http://aash.littlestevensundergroundgarage.com/

For Christmas shows, click on the DJ/Host’s name on the left. Then choose any show from the month of December. So far I haven’t found any shows with exclusive Christmas content, but just about all shows in December have Christmas tunes in the playlist. Speaking of playlists, you may open the playlist with a separate link next to the show link.

As for Little Steven his ownself, he does do exclusive Christmas shows! In addition to Sirius, broadcast stations across the U.S. carry his syndicated Underground Garage show. For more on Little Steven’s Christmas shows, check here ~ http://www.littlestevensundergroundgara ... ive07.html
You’ll notice archived shows going back to 2002 under the heading. Christmas episodes working backwards are 299, 298, 247, 246, 195, 194, 144, 143, 90, & 38. Each show will open in a cool jukebox and a playlist is available.

The above content may require membership, but signing is is free and easy.

Time sensative! - Cheeze Pleeze is a podcast program with frequent updates. If you hurry, there are still two parts of the four part Christmas show in the archive ~ http://www.cheezepleeze.com/archive.htm

As the name suggests, this is music that has probably never received much, if any, air play! Nothing obscene tough, so check it out!

Kiddie records spent three years ripping old children’s recordings from 78rpm records. Each week from 2005 to 2007 a “new” old record was posted complete with cover scans.

Not surprisingly, weeks 48 thru 51 each year contained Christmas releases.

To see all the records by year, click on a year from the front page - http://www.kiddierecords.com/2007

There are direct links to each Christmas record, but this website only allows five url's per post. So, anyone taking advantage of these downloads will have to enter the main page (above) and go from there.

2005:
Week 48- Why The Chimes Rang -
Week 49- Christmas Party with “Two Ton” Baker -
Week 50- Howdy Doody’s Christmas Party -
Week 51- This Is Christmas: The Legend of the Christmas Tree & Tale of a Christmas Stocking -

2006:
Week 50 - The Nutcracker Suit for Children -
Week 51 - The Story of the Nativity (Gene Autry) -

2007:
Week 48- Assorted Holiday Singles -
Week 49- Assorted Holiday Singles -
Week 50 - Assorted Holiday Singles -
Week 51- A Christmas Carol (Basil Rathbone) -

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/climax.htm Cooose the first example, short and sweet.

Direct to mp3 file - http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clip ... climax.mp3

Not music, but cool anyway, especially for those Christmas CDs some of you record each year!

Holiday episodes of The Fibber McGee & Molly Show with plenty of Christmas content:

http://www.archive.org/details/fibbermc ... alsOTRKIBM

Noel+ wrote:Thanks! My Mom remembers her Grandma listening to Fibber McGre & Molly at Christmas time and is so excited about the link!

As my Grandma used to say, Goody Goody Gumdrops!

More OTR Christmas - http://tinyurl.com/44gwv9

All these can be downloaded to MP3 players and/or burned to CDs. Of course, if one digs around at the website, more non Christmas OTR can be found.

How about a poem? Read along and listen to:

Listening To Christmas by Alan Harris - http://www.alharris.com/audio/listening.htm

If midi file music is your cup of egg nog, check this out -

http://rosemck1.tripod.com/jukebox-christmas.html

Each song may be streamed and/or downloaded.

http://feelslikechristmas.com/christmas ... s-MP3.html

Stream and/or download.

The Little Match-Seller (Hans Christian Andersen)
read by Chuck Brown
(6 mins. 18 secs.)

Luke 2:1-20 (King James Version)
read by Chuck Brown
(2 mins. 42 secs.)

Luke 2:1-20 (World English Version)
read by Chuck Brown
(2 mins. 26 secs.)

Twas the Night Before Christmas (Clement Clark Moore)
read by Chuck Brown
(3 mins. 54 secs.)

http://www.hestermusic.com/Snowball/Snowball.html

Eric Hester is making available for a limited time the complete soundtrack to the movie "Snowball".


I haven't sampled it yet because I wanted to post it as soon as possible. You can bet I'll be busy in a short while! Can't say I know anything about the movie either.

Follow up to "Snowball" - The downloads are orchestrated pieces that are contained in scenes from the movie. I've also learned that "Snowball" will be a direct to video release.

Nothing about the music particularly brings Chrsitmas to mind. However, that may change depending on the success of the release. One never knows!

Speaking of independent films, "Jingle Bell Rocks!" is Christmas music documentary in the making by Mitchell Kezin. Hard core Christmas music fans like myself are anxiously waiting for the finished product!

Kezine's latest blog entry includes an excerpt from an interview with Bob Dorough. You deep below the surface Christmas music fans will instantly recognize Bob from his composition of and vocals on "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)". For the surface skimmers, this is a collaboration with Miles Davis from the early sixties.

To my understanding, there will be more interview excerpts forthcoming. Hear them here - http://jinglebellrocks.blogspot.com/

It ain't Sunday yet, but here's another Christmas sermon -
http://www.mooreschapel.org/pastor/audi ... -love.html from Moore's Chapel UMC in Elkton, Maryland

Though I'm skeptical about this one, I trust that they pay royalities somehow. They wouldn't have been around very long if not. As for myself, I'll be using this site as a guide to future music purchases. Looks like a few new tunes (at least to me) to track down on CD and/or to buy as a download.

i love wavs - http://ilovewavs.com/Holidays/Christmas ... sicPg1.htm

Eleven pages of Christmas tunes by various artists for download.