Still in 1949, our Christmas music playlist includes the song that might get my vote for the most underrated Christmas song ever: "December" by the team of Al Rinker and Floyd Huddleston.
Floyd recorded the song as soloist with a chorus and orchestra led by Gordon Jenkins for Decca Records:
I think that's just a terrific song and I've always been surprised that there was apparently only this one commercial recording of it back then.
The version that I first was aware of and am most familiar with is by Kay Starr. Hers was also from 1949, but was recorded for Standard Transcriptions, which provided records for radio stations that couldn't be purchased in stores.
I first encountered on a CD back in 1990:
I'm always on the lookout for new-to-me vintage Christmas music, which was harder to find in those dark, pre-internet days and that CD was a fun little item, with Kay Starr's track worth the price of admission on its own!
That particular track has been anthologized quite a bit since 1990.
Interestingly, the backup is by the Billy Butterfield Quintet, but Billy does not play trumpet on the track. The backing vocal group is Three Beaus and a Peep, a fun name reminiscent of Six Hits and a Miss!
I think Kay Starr was great and could sing any kind of material. Like most of the other singers of the post-WWII period, she had experience as band singer, even cutting a couple of sides with Glenn Miller when she was 17!
"December" is kind of a generic title, but at some point it dawned on me that the song was the same as a track on Jackie Gleason's 1967 album "'Tis the Season" on Capitol Records:
How sweet it is!
I guess I had heard that before Kay Starr's version, but without knowing the words, I didn't make the connection right away.
Anyway, once the internet came along, I discovered the Gordon Jenkins record at some point and was happy to see that Floyd Huddleston got the chance to record his song!
Al Rinker, the cowriter, is an interesting show biz character. He was pals with Bing Crosby back in Spokane and they had a singing act. Al's older sister, the great singer Mildred Bailey, was working with Paul Whiteman's band and got them an audition with Whiteman in 1925. They teamed with Harry Barris to form the Rhythm Boys and were popular with the band, setting the stage for Bing's superstar solo career!
If you could "George Bailey" Al Rinker into never having been born, would Bing Crosby never have become a star? Hmmm...
Back to "December," there have been a ton of other songs with that title, but the only other version of the song in question I've run across is on the excellent 2017 album "It's Christmas Time Again" by Christian singer Charles Billingsley:
He gets the vibe right, which is somewhat rare for a contemporary artist tackling vintage material!
Back to Floyd Huddleston, he co-wrote another, even less-known Christmas song, "I've Got the Christmas Spirit," recorded by former Sammy Kaye vocalist Don Cornell for Coral in 1952:
I do like these little unknown gems!
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