As we continue with "Jingle Bells," we find ourselves in 1947 with a couple of instrumentals from musicians with the surname Smith!
We start with Arthur Smith, famous for "Guitar Boogie," with, naturally, "Guitar Jingle Bells":
That is definitely Guitar Jingle Bells!
The original issue on Super Disc has such an unusual artist credit on the label: Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith's Sensational Trio (Formerly Rambler Trio). Awkward!
When MGM Records picked up the Super Disc recordings for national distribution in 1950, they went with a somewhat simpler credit:
Sounds good under any name!
MGM paired the "Guitar Jingle Bells" with this number:
It's an interesting amalgam of titles of other Christmas songs forming the framework for a more-or-less original song!
We move from guitar virtuoso Arthur Smith to organ virtuoso Ethel Smith, who cut "Jingle Bells" for Decca Records in 1947:
Ethel Smith was very popular in the mid to late 1940s, with her glamorous appearance leading to her appearing in several movies in addition to her recording career.
Here she plays "Tico Tico" (her signature tune) in the 1944 MGM movie "Bathing Beauty":
That's a fun flick that also features Harry James and Xavier Cugat with their bands, plus Basil Rathbone!!
We jump ahead to 1966 for another organist named Smith - Jimmy Smith with this cut from the awesomely named "Christmas Cookin'" on Verve Records:
It definitely cooks!
Ethel and Jimmy on organ and Arthur on guitar - great musicians all!
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