Jingle Bells - Part 6 - Two from Decca!

We move a little further into the 1940s with a couple of stellar versions of "Jingle Bells" on Decca Records, from right before and right after the recording ban...

First up is Woody Herman and his Orchestra from 1942:

That was recorded on July 31, 1942, which was literally just before the infamous recording ban began!

It catches the Herman band at an interesting time, as it was morphing from his earlier Band That Plays the Blues into his First Herd, which started recording for Columbia Records after the ban ended.

Whoever "Clarence" was, he was a lucky guy!

Carolyn Grey is the vocalist on this side, although she doesn't get to sing a lot. I associate her more with Gene Krupa's band from later in the 1940s.

She and the band do add the "Hey!" after "One-horse open sleigh," though!

Every record needs a flipside, so what did they go with for this one? Naturally it was:

The band really gets swinging on both those tunes!

We move ahead to 1943 when Decca Records settled with the Federation of Musicians and began recording again.

This team-up of Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters was one of their first recordings with an actual orchestra in more than a year:

That's just so much fun! Bing teamed up with the Andrews Sisters quite a bit in the 1940s and they always seemed like they were having a great time!

I guess that's the most famous recording of "Jingle Bells" ever, as it was a good seller at the time as a 78 rpm record and it was later included on Bing's first Christmas album (shown at the botton of the page) and other variations ever since!

And what was the flipside? If you've been paying attention, you already know:

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and "Jingle Bells" really were the go-to Christmas songs back in the day, starting with Harry Reser in 1934!

Here's "Billboard's" take on the commercial viability of the disk:

And the musicality:

Interesting that it's Maxene Andrews who sings the duet part with Bing! I always figured it was Patty!

So, a couple of great records from Decca from right before and right after the recording ban!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 5 - In the Miller Mood!

We enter the 1940s with another version of "Jingle Bells" that I think merits a more in depth look...

Glenn Miller and his Orchestra cut this in 1941:

That's good, vintage Glenn Miller!

Paula Kelly surrounded by Modernaires Bill Conway, Hal Dickinson (Paula's future husband), Chuck Goldstein and Ralph Brewster in 1941.

Going by the label, it would appear that Harold Dickinson and Bill Conway of the Modernaires vocal group wrote the special lyrics and Glenn Miller worked with  ace arranger Bill Finegan on the musical arrangement.

Billy May plays his trumpet while Glenn Miller plays with his trombone.

The muted trumpet solo is by Billy May, also a great arranger who got a chance to show off his trumpet skills with the Miller band before his arranging/conducting career took off.

I think the record's a lot of fun, but I think it works best in context, as in part of the whole Glenn Miller fabric.

It seems to me that if modern audiences know Glenn Miller at all, they might know "In the Mood" maybe "Moonlight Serenade" and probably nothing else.

So, I think when "'Jingle Bells' by Glenn Miller" appears on a "Christmas Swing" or whatever anthology, they don't know what to make of it. Specifically, I think the vocal chorus by Ernie Caceres throws them off.

In fact, I've come across the song multiple times in edited form, removing that part. It goes at least as far back as the early 1980s. I'm not sure if it was a political correctness thing or not and I'm also not sure if subsequent reissues always intend to use the edited track or if the compilers just pick the wrong thing!

Ernie Caceres (left) on baritone sax and Tex Beneke on tenor in "Sun Valley Serendae" (1941)

Whatever the case, Ernie Caceres was a very talented musician who enjoyed a lengthy stay with the Glenn Miller band, anchoring the sax section with his baritone sax and also playing alto sax and the occasional jazz clarinet solo.

Glenn Miller liked to present a complete entertainment package with his band, so he had Ernie sing on a few numbers for the sake of variety. Such vocals would invariably reference his Mexican heritage (although he was actually born in Texas) as part of the Good Neighbor Policy toward Latin countries of the time.

Here's another example on the studio recording of a song from the 1941 movie "Sun Valley Serenade":

Ernie's vocal on "The Kiss Polka" from earlier in 1941 is very similar to his vocal on "Jingle Bells."

On this old Irving Berlin tune (a depression era number from 1932 dusted off as a WWII morale booster 10 years later) Ernie sings a chorus in Spanish:

You may have caught that Marion Hutton and the Modernaires refer to him as a "Good Will Ambassador," tying into the whole Good Neighbor Policy. It's actually an attempt at celebrating diversity!

Context is everything!

The main vocal star of "Jingle Bells" is another native Texan (obviously!): Tex Beneke. Tex was a mainstay of the Miller band and provided lots of tenor sax solos along with lots of folksy vocals.

He sang on a number of Miller hit records, none bigger than this number which was also from "Sun Valley Serenade":

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" was a million-seller back when records just did not sell in the millions and the feat was celebrated with the then-novelty of RCA presenting Glenn with a gold record!

Glenn Miller was extremely popular and not the least part of his popularity was due to his radio broadcasts, the most famous being those sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes.

Luckily for posterity's sake, Glenn had many broadcasts recorded so he could study the band's performance, always looking for ways to present the best product to his public.

As a result, we have the good fortune to be able to listen to a live version of "Jingle Bells" from the Chesterfield broadcast of December 24, 1941:

I really like this version. It seems like the band and singers are having a blast. I also always enjoy hearing future movie star Paul Douglas as announcer.

I'm actually more familiar with this live version, having played it on an LP many times back in the day before acquiring the studio version on another LP. It still throws me that Tex sings the "I've got my horn to keep me warm" line differently!

OK, so what was on the flipside of Glenn Miller's 78 of "Jingle Bells" anyway?

Well, following the pattern from the Benny Goodman/Tommy Dorsey holiday release of a few years earlier, RCA paired Glenn's "Jingle Bells" with a version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" by another artist, this time pioneering electric guitarist Alvino Rey and his Orchestra:

I think that is so much fun and it sounds exactly how "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" by Alvino Rey should sound, with his electrified steel guitar licks and the Four King Sisters singing hep lyrics!

I remember seeing the King Sisters and their extended brood as the King Family on TV when I was a kid and Alvino Rey, who was married to Luise King was always around with his guitar!

What a treat this record must have been for 1941 record buyers as the U.S. entered WWII!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 4 - Late 1930s!

We continue along with our survey of "Jingle Bells" recordings with a handful from the latter half of the 1930s.

We start off with the extremely talented multi-instrumentalist and arranger Benny Carter with his Swing Quintet and this version recorded in England in 1936:

Benny Carter provided a lot of good music over a very long career!

Next we move to 1937 with this interesting take on the tune by Scottish import Ella Logan (later best-known for the Broadway hit "Finian's Rainbow"):

That's good fun, with a real late-1930s feel!

I find it interesting that Ella only sings the chorus and none of the verses. And she sings "Jingle all the day" each time, rather than "Jingle all the way." I don't know of another record in which the singer does that!

And I'm stumped as to why the label reads "Jingle (Bingle) Bells." She never sings "bingle" at all. Is it just to indicate it's a wacky version?

From 1938, we have Vernon Geyer playing the tune on the Hammond Electric Organ, which had only been around a few years:

That has a good sound! Intriguing to me is that record shows the title as "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells," which is unusual, if not as wacky as throwing "bingle" in there!

Also from 1938 is this recording from a transcription disc (made for radio broadcast as opposed to retail sale) by the King Cole Trio:

Always cool to hear Nat "King" Cole with his trio (Nat on piano with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince at that point) and this is very early in his stellar career, Nat being only 19 at the time!

Also of note is that they actually mention Christmas at the end of the tune, turning it into a Christmas song!

The year 1939 finds Dick Powell still firmly in crooner mode as he sings with The Foursome:

Dick Powell could really sing, but we knew that!

The Foursome is intriguing as it included Del Porter (above, third from left), who played clarinet and ocarina in addition to singing and was later a very important member of Spike Jones's City Slickers group!

Also from 1939 is this record by Tiny Hill and his Orchestra:

Naturally, as with anyone nicknamed "Tiny," he was actually a very big guy - literally "America's Biggest Bandleader!"

I like his intentionally corny sound and good-natured vocals!

What's interesting on Tiny's record is that they add the "Hey!" after "Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh." We always did the "Hey!" when I was a kid and it seems so common-place now that you would think it was actually part of the song. But it's not and this, I think, is an early example, at least on record.

We wrap up 1939 with this really well-done version by the Victor Salon Orchestra, under the direction of Rosario Bourdon:

That's good work by the Canadian cellist/arranger/conductor Bourdon!

This was the flipside of "The Night Before Christmas" by famous radio announcer Milton Cross.

Hey, let's listen to that too:

That's a solid two sides on that frequently reissued record (as at the top of this page)!

Next: we move into the 1940s!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 3 - The King Swings!

As we continue with our "Jingle Bells" review, I think there are some versions that are extra special and deserve a bit of the spotlight to themselves!

The first of such records is this one by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra on Victor Records.

We left  off  1935, and we're still in that year, but we seem to musically jump ahead a light year or two with this cut by the King of Swing himself:

That's the stuff! This is one you can just listen to as entertainment without it seeming like a history lesson!

The Goodman band really kicked the Big Band/Swing era into high-gear with records like this.

Trumpet star Bunny Berigan sat in with the band for this session a couple of weeks before he joined the band and he just lights it up!

And although the label credits Fletcher Henderson with the arrangement (and he wrote many brilliant arrangements for BG), "Jingle Bells" was apparently actually arranged by Spud Murphy.

You can read more about this terrific record here.

This side plays as a swing record that just happens to be based on a seasonal song, but was apparently one side of a special holiday release by (RCA) Victor, as the flipside is Tommy Dorsey's version of a relatively new Christmas song:

In addition to being an early version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," which was published the year before, it was also an early recording by Tommy Dorsey leading his own band, as it was recorded just a few months after Tommy split from the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, which morphed into Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra, and formed his own band, mostly by taking over Joe Haymes's group.

Trumpeter/vocalist Cliff Weston (from the Haymes band) sings the first chorus then Edythe Wright takes over with a jazzier interpretation.

TD's band definitely had a strong Dixieland flavor early on.

Back to Benny Goodman, an interesting counterpoint to the commercial recording of "Jingle Bells" is a second recording of the same arrangement made by BG and his band for the Thesaurus transcription service, which provided recordings for radio station use as opposed to retail sales.

The tricky thing is that many bands used pseudonyms for transcription sessions, such as the Rhythm Makers on this version of "Jingle Bells":

No mistaking that's the Goodman band!

Of note is that Pee Wee Erwin has the trumpet solo here, replacing Bunny Berigan. He does a solid job, although nobody could really complete with Bunny!

Also, BG's clarinet solo is not the same as on the record, which shows the arrangement allowed room for improvisation.

The tenor sax solo by Art Rollini sounds much more like the record, however, but I understand that Art wasn't so much an improviser but he could easily read and play any arrangement.

These transcription songs were recorded in one take during marathon sessions, so you can see how well-rehearsed the Goodman band was!

Next we have an interesting bunch of sides from the latter half of the 1930s!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 2

We continue our journey into the world of "Jingle Bells" with some recordings from the early-to-mid 1930s.

First up is a quick little version by Phil Spitalny from 1931. This was before he started leading the all-girl orchestra for which he was best-known (and as seen in "Here Come the Co-Eds" from 1945!):

This was released on Hit of the Week Records, which were pressed on something called Durium and could be bought for only 15 cents. 1931 being the depths of the Depression, it was a good deal to get a couple of well-performed songs for that price.

Also from 1931 is this "regular" record by Joe Gumin and his Orchestra:

I don't know too much about Joe Gumin but I understand he was popular in the Midwest back in the day.

This version is interesting in that has choruses sung in different languages. Except for the Pig Latin one, I don't know if any are authentic. Probably not the most PC thing ever!

Another territorial band from the era was led by Charles Dornberger. They played in Canada a lot and I believe this record was cut in Montreal:

That's pretty fun, especially the new verse about modes of transportation with the sound effects!

Always bringing the fun were the various recording groups led by ace banjo player Harry Reser, such as the Clicquot Club Eskimos and the Six Jumping Jacks. This one is billed under his own name but still features his regular vocalist Tom Stacks:

That's just a blast! Love the vocals of Tom Stacks!

These preceding records still all kind of have a 1920s feel to me, but things would be changing.

A more early-to-mid 1930s band sound is featured on this version by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra with Ozzie sharing vocal duties with Harriet Hilliard, also from 1934:

This was actually recorded a year before Ozzie and Harriet got married! 

Big band aficionados know that Ozzie was a popular bandleader and Harriet (Hilliard) a singer/actress before they started their long-running sitcom on radio then TV.

Fascinating is that this version uses the old-school lyrics that go "Oh what joy..." instead of "Oh what fun..." What was up with that? 

We go a little bit back to an older sound with this 1935 recording by the American Novelty Orchestra:

There were tons of records recorded by various bands under various pseudonyms such as this one on cheap record labels such as this one. Hard to say which band this was. Maybe Joe Greene, maybe Jack Shilkret (pictured above). "Cheap" refers to the price, not the performances on such records!

We're off to interesting start and next we'll jump head on into the Swing Era!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 1

I had fun assembling the songs in some of the recent posts, so I thought I'd look in depth at some of the most popular Christmas songs, kind of following the evolution in more or less chronological order.

We start off with perhaps the most famous song ever, "Jingle Bells."

While it's a seasonal song and not specifically a Christmas song, it's become indelibly linked to the holiday season. Just a couple of notes puts you right in the Christmas spirit!

The song was written by James L. Pierpont in 1857 with the original title of "The One Horse Open Sleigh," but has long been known as "Jingle Bells," based on the chorus.

You can read a lot about the origin of the song on the Internet (with plenty of fanciful speculation), but we're concerned with recordings of the song.

There are a ton, so it will take a while!

My aim is not to discuss every version I can find, but ones that are of interest to me for various reasons.

We start off with a couple of recordings of historical interest.

The first recording of "Jingle Bells" that still exists is a cylinder from 1898 by the Edison Male Quartette under the title of "The Sleigh Ride Party":

Pretty fun. Records are such little windows into the past - you can imagine how great it was for people at the time to be able to listen to recorded music in their homes!

That record has a winter vibe, but nothing Christmassy!

Here's another version. It's 27 years later, but the Shannon Quartet is still pretty old-school:

That's pretty fun and a good refence point as a traditional version of the song with all three verses.

Next: We move into the 1930s!

1945 Bonus Song!

We have one more song from 1945 to consider: "I'm Beginning to See the Light."

It kind of struck me that could be the answer to a song title riddle like on the old radio show "Beat the Band." Something like, "What did Scrooge say to the Ghost of Christmas Present when asked if his feelings toward Christmas had changed?"

In any event, I think it's a great song and had some great versions that were popular in 1945.

I've always wondered how the melody came together, as it's credited to Harry James, Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges. 

Johnny Hodges (at left) takes a solo.

I "get" Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington, as Johnny was a star musician in Duke's band and Duke often would take a tune or melody that one of his musicians would thought up, then elaborate on it until he had a complete song.

But how did rival bandleader Harry James get involved? I've never found an answer!

Whatever the case, the James and Ellington bands both cut great versions of the song.

Harry's was the biggest hit:

Harry James made so many great records. He was sensational on trumpet, had top musicians in his band and great taste in vocalists.

Kitty Kallen (as heard on this record) was one of the best. Not surprising that she had a very successful solo career!

And the little guitar interludes by Allan Reuss give it that extra something special!

Duke's record is great too:

That was just a tremendous band that could play anything. Great section work in addition to great soloists.

I really like Joya Sherrill's vocal. Hard to believe she was only 17 at the time!

Another popular version featured a team-up of Decca recording artists Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots:

Besides Ella, you really only hear Ink Spots lead singer Bill Kenny on this record, with the rest of the group barely audible while humming in the background. At least I think you can almost hear them!

Bill's style contrasts nicely with Ella's and I think they sound good on the few lines they sing together toward the end of the record.

Also popular was this version on the smaller Majestic label by Cootie Williams, the great growl trumpeter who had formerly starred with the Ellington band:

Solid version! I don't know much about vocalist Tony Warren, but he's pretty good!

Cootie teamed up with Ella Fitzgerald on tour around this time, but they didn't record together due to being signed to different labels. They must have been great together!

Not making much a splash due to being on a tiny label is this version by singer Dick Brown:

I like it, but it does seem slight compared with the powerhouses above. 

I don't know much about Dick Brown, other than he was later the male singer on the radio show "Stop the Music." That was the most infamous of audience participation shows that pundits thought spelled the end of quality radio entertainment!

I did find this interesting snippet about Dick Brown from "Billboard" magazine, though:

That's something!

Oh, and Dick Brown was at one point married to radio actress Charlotte Manson, who played Patsy on the "Nick Carter" show. See, it always comes back around!

The song pops up in what I think is an unlikely place - a Roy Rogers western!

But Dale Evans plays a nightclub singer in "The Man from Oklahoma" so she got to sing it:

That's not bad at all! Dale had sung with a couple of bands early on so she knew her way around a pop song!

Before we leave, we have a couple of contemporary British versions of "I'm Beginning to See the Light."

First is the "Forces' Sweetheart," the legendary Vera Lynn:

She was hugely popular in England and passed away just last year at the age of 103!

Also popular in England for a long time, if not as long as Vera Lynn, was Geraldo, who recorded this version with his orchestra:

That's pretty snappy!

I like the vocal by Carole Carr a lot!

But what's the deal with the British versions having slightly different lyrics? There must be some reason!

We need Dick Brown to tell Charlotte Manson that we have another mystery for Nick Carter!