Following Sunday’s Jump for Joy, we make a quick jump back to 1939 for Cab Calloway’s great hit The Jumpin’ Jive.
Let’s spin Cab’s 1939 Vocalion record:
That’s just a blast — a perfect little nugget where everything snaps together. One of those records so alive, so self‑contained, that the contemporary cover versions never quite do it for me. It’s Cab’s song, full stop.
Here’s Cab again, singing The Jumpin’ Jive in the 1943 Twentieth Century‑Fox picture Stormy Weather, joined by the incomparable Nicholas Brothers:
That’s a tremendous amount of talent in one frame — Cab in full command, the band cooking, and the brothers defying gravity like it’s a parlor trick.
JJ's Jive
If we jump all the way to the 1980s, there is one version I love: Joe Jackson’s take from his 1981 A&M album Jumpin’ Jive:
Joe doesn’t just copy the style — he inhabits it. He treats the song like a living thing rather than a museum piece, and it shows.
And here’s Joe again, live on his 1986 tour:
Tom Teeley’s guitar gives the whole thing a rockabilly edge, and I dig it. It’s a different kind of jump, but still true to the spirit.
Warehouse Whispers
Time is a funny creature. When Joe Jackson’s version came out in 1981, 1939 felt like ancient history — a sepia‑toned world far, far away. But now more time has passed between Joe’s version (45 years) and today than had passed between Joe’s version and Cab’s original (42 years). Yet 1981 doesn’t feel distant at all.
We move into the (relatively) contemporary Country Music field with "Jingle Bells," stopping in 1997 with the cassette-only release "Wrangler Cowboy Christmas Volume V" from Universal Music Special Markets.
It's hard for me to believe that 1997 was 25 years ago, but the math doesn't lie! I guess the fact that cassettes were still being issued at that time also tells the tale!
That was also early in the whole Internet deal, with most people still not having home computers, but it was all growing fast!
1997 saw the fifth volume of the "Wrangler Cowboy Christmas" series, which were promo cassettes sponsored by the famous jeans (dungarees?) company. I don't really know how they were originally issued, but I hadn't come across any of the series before Volume V, which I was able to purchase online!
This had me thinking that the Internet was the greatest thing ever! And I stand by that statement!
The Wrangler series rounded up (cowboy talk!) various tracks from prior releases from the MCA family of labels and Volume V featured a version of "Jingle Bells" by Tracy Byrd, the popular neo-Western Swing singer, who had recorded it as a one-off for MCA for a previous compilation:
I like that a lot! You can never go wrong with a Western Swing beat!
Tracy also had another Christmas single with an even more pronounced Western Swing arrangement with 1999's "Merry Christmas from Texas Y'all" on MCA:
That one's been on my Country Christmas playlist since it came out!
Tracy Byrd's most obvious influence is George Strait - my favorite - who has cast a large shadow on the Country Music scene since the early 1980s.
The Wrangler series always had a cut from George (naturally) and Volume V featured the great swing number "When It's Christmas Time in Texas":
That was originally featured on George's 1986 MCA release "Merry Christmas Strait to You!" which was his first Christmas album and holds up well!
Mr. Strait cut his version of "Jingle Bells" for his third Christmas album, "Fresh Cut Christmas" in 2006:
We could be here all day listening to great George Strait Christmas records!
Another county superstar, Alan Jackson, was featured on Volume V with his terrific version of "A Holly Jolly Christmas":
I think that record is absolutely brilliant! It's one of my favorite holiday records of all time!
It was first released as part of the soundtrack for 1992's "Home Alone 2" and I bought a cassette of that soundtrack just to have this cut!
Alan has also released a lot of great Christmas music and he recorded his version of "Jingle Bells" for his 2002 album "Let It Be Christmas" (his second Christmas album) on Arista Nashville:
That's another fun swingy arrangement, with some horns added in!
Christmas and Country Music have always seemed to work well together and these artists with their traditional roots keep it going!
We continue with some "modern" (to me, anything past 1980!) renditions of "Jingle Bells" from a couple of jazz (or jazz-influenced) singer/pianists!
First is Diana Krall, who included a small combo version on her "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" EP from Impulse! in 1998:
That EP also included a great version of "Christmas Time Is Here":
That recording has been on my "modern" Christmas playlist since it first came out!
"Christmas Time Is Here" also appeared on Diana's 2005 "Christmas Songs" from Verve in the same recording, but the full-length album sported a new version of "Jingle Bells" featuring the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Here's the video:
A couple of fun versions!
Harry Connick, Jr. has released three Christmas albums, so you know "Jingle Bells" would be popping up somewhere!
It was first included a a bonus track on the special edition of 2003's Columbia album "Harry for the Holidays" available only at Target stores. I think the only way to hear that still is to get your mitts on the CD!
But another version of "Jingle Bells" surfaced on 2008's "What a Night!" album, also on Columbia:
Harry's Christmas albums are all good, but there's also a fun little nugget on one of his earliest albums. It's from 1989's ""Music From The Motion Picture 'When Harry Met Sally...'":
That album is really solid and was Harry's introduction to a lot of people!
