1940s Christmas Playlist - Part 24 - "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

We come to the end of our 1940s Christmas music playlist with a 1949 song that's one of the best-known Christmas songs ever: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!"

Gene Autry was the first to record the song on Columbia Records:

Rudolph's rise to fame in the music world parallels his story as the song was rejected all over town until Gene Autry recorded it as an afterthought and next thing you know, Rudolph and his song went down in history!

Rudolph started as an advertising character for Montgomery Ward (a once-mighty chain of department stores) created by Robert L. May in 1939. May's brother in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, adapted he character into the song, which eventually was recorded by Mr. Autry.

The success of that song following Gene's earlier hit "Here Comes Santa Claus" from 1947 established him as the foremost purveyor of Christmas novelty songs. Despite his huge success as as singing cowboy in movies, Gene's most famous these days for those songs.

So many versions available for 1950!

"Rudolph" was so popular during the 1949 holiday season that it seemed like everyone who passed on the song before took a crack at it in 1950!

There's always a twist, though, isn't there? Peruse this ad from the "Billboard" issue of October 1 1949:

That indicates that Eddy Howard had already recorded his version for Mercury Records! 

And, indeed, the issue from December 31, 1949 shows it as available on Mercury Record number 5360:

So, unless the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was working for "Billboard" magazine, Eddy's record was released in 1949, despite most sources saying it was 1950.

Let's give it a listen:

Fun effects on that one, but no points for copy editing on the label!

(Don't forget Eddy's recordings of the not-as-successful advertising character "Uncle Mistletoe" and not-as-loveable "Ebenezer Scrooge!")

That "Billboard" blurb also mentioned that "Rudolph" was also available by T. (Ted) Black on Dana Records, so let's listen to that one too:

That's also fun!

So, the moral of the story is that Gene Autry didn't have the only recording of "Rudolph" that was available in 1949, it's just that his was the first and by far the most popular!

We have one more rendition from 1949, this from the "Fibber McGee and Molly" show of December 6 featuring "Teeny" (Marian Jordan) singing with the King's Men:

Those lyrics are so different! Where did they come from? Did Ken Darby of the King's Men do a rewrite?

Incidentally, you may recognize announcer Harlow Wilcox from his similar duties on Basil Rathbone's recording of "A Christmas Carol" from 1942!

A couple of 1950's new recordings of note include Bing Crosby's version on Decca Records:

The way the song is presented plays more like a radio version to me, like an arrangement they would do on Bing's show, but not so much on a record. Unlike Gene Autry's version, it doesn't (teddy) bear up to repeated listening.

But fun to hear Rudolph make a little cameo appearance!

Whose nose is redder - Rudolph's or Spike's?

Another 1950 version of note to me is the one by Spike Jones and his City Slickers on RCA Victor:

Fascinating that Rudolph (himself) sings the whole song in the first person, expanding upon the Bing Crosby version, as if the events were happening in real time!

That's a really cute Rudolph voice. I think it's by Marian Richman, as she's credited with doing Peter Cottontail's voice on Spike's 1951 record of that song and it sounds similar. It's definitely not George Rock as I sometimes see!

Spike's version is also set up like a little audio skit and Spike's writer Eddie Maxwell even gets label credit!

Let's jump ahead to 1960 with one more version that also has a little framing story. It's by the Chipmunks from the Liberty Records LP "Around the World with the Chipmunks" also released as a single:

Rudolph's voice is closing in on the one from the famous Rankin/Bass TV special from 1964!

The original context of this cut was that David Seville and the Chipmunks met Rudolph while visiting the North Pole on their trip around the world. It was later included on the "Christmas with the Chipmunks" LP from 1962 and the countless reissues since.

There have been a zillion other recordings of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but just like in the movies, Gene Autry always comes out on top!

1940s Christmas Playlist - Part 23 - "Merry Christmas Waltz" (1949)

Our 1940s Christmas music playlist certainly includes some songs that have more or less slipped through the cracks and we have another one today: "Merry Christmas Waltz."

This one did get a couple of recordings at the time, including this gem from Buddy Clark on Columbia Records:

This was one of the last songs recorded by Buddy Clark, who tragically passed away in a plane crash on October 1, 1949, about a month after the recording date.

Capitol also got in on the tune with Gordon MacRae:

I think Buddy Clark and Gordon MacRae offer an interesting contrast in their vocals.

Buddy, to me, is kind of conversational and sounds like what a normal person would sound like if said normal person had a really great voice. Gordon also had a great voice, but sounds like a singer, you know?

We have one more recording of "The Merry Christmas Waltz" from 1949, this one on Decca from the ubiquitous Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians:

That is full-on Lombardo, which must have seemed so dated to anyone with even the slightest amount of hipness in 1949!

I think Kenny Gardner was a good vocalist. He can't compete with Buddy Clark or Gordon MacRae, but he goes along with the schmaltz instead of fighting it!

I don't think RCA Victor had a recording of "Merry Christmas Waltz" for whatever reason, but they did have society pianist/bandleader Larry Green cut a competing 1949 song, "Our Christmas Waltz":

That's pleasant, but not a lot of oomph.

Decca also got out a version of "Our Christmas Waltz" by country superstar Red Foley with Judy Martin:

Same song, totally different style. Larry Green and Red Foley weren't competing for the same gigs!

I feel I must point out that while Red sings "Our Christmas waltz," Green Vocalist Ray Dorey sings "The Christmas Waltz." Was there a reason?

The smaller Rondo label also got out a version that wouldn't be confused with either of the other two. It features star organist Ken Griffin with vocalists Karen Ford and Bill Snary:

The organ certainly gives it a holiday vibe. And this uses both "our" and "the" in there!

If we jump back a year to 1948, there was a different song titled "The Christmas Waltz" and think it got just one recording, which was by country artist Cliffie Stone on Capitol:

That's very nice too and pairs well with Red Foley's record.

None of these songs went anywhere, but a Christmas waltz song finally broke through in 1954 with Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's "The Christmas Waltz" recorded by Frank Sinatra on Capitol:

Frank re-recorded it a couple of times and several other artists have also recorded it, so Christmas waltzing goes on!

Let's sneak in one more unique recording, this one also titled "Merry Christmas Waltz," by Gene Autry on Columbia in 1955:

Nice tune and rare non-novelty holiday offering from Gene!

1940s Christmas Playlist - Part 8 - "Here Comes Santa Claus" (1947)

Our 1940s Christmas music playlist moves into 1947 and we run into another big one: "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Gene Autry!

Here's Gene's original on Columbia Records:

That, to me, is the goods! I think everything comes together on that record. The song, the vocal, the western swing band, the sleigh bells. It's very high on my list of favorite holiday recordings ever!

In retrospect, it was something of a milestone as in addition to introducing a much-recorded standard, it was Gene Autry's first Christmas recording and set the stage for his encounter with a particular reindeer a couple of years later!

The record was very popular, but as Gene was co-writer and publisher, he was the only artist to record the song for 1947, but for 1948 there were competing versions by country and western artists Jesse Rogers on RCA Victor and Cliffie Stone on Capitol with Red Foley joining in on Decca in 1949. All good!

It was 1949 that saw the song first appear in non-country versions by other artists.

A popular version was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters on Decca:

I like that version well-enough and appreciate the extra little "happy days" and whatnot flourishes, by I feel like they don't take the song seriously enough. I know it's a novelty song, but I like my novelties respected, you know?

That brings us to this 1949 recording by Sammy Kaye's band on RCA Victor:

Now, that's a novelty arrangement for sure, but it's sincere. I know that Sammy Kaye is largely dismissed as a corny musical lightweight when thought of at all these days, but he took his business seriously and his groups were always totally professional.

One more 1949 version was from new solo star Doris Day on Columbia Records:

Always good to have a cameo from Mr. Claus!

Once the 1950s rolled around, the floodgates really opened for "Here Comes Santa Claus" and it's been recorded by all sorts of artists in all sorts of styles.

For my dough, though, you can't top the Singing Cowboy!

Pre-Thanksgiving Bonus!

With a particular holiday rapidly approaching, we sneak in another kiddie record, this time with a Thanksgiving theme courtesy of our singing cowboy pal Gene Autry!

Here, from Columbia Records in 1950, are both sides of Gene's Thanksgiving single:

Of course we associate Gene with Christmas music, but you can see Columbia wanting to branch out to other holidays. But these Thanksgiving characters didn't catch on like Rudolph, Frosty or Peter Cottontail.

"Billboard" was lukewarm on the record in the review from the October 7, 1950 issue:

I can't say I disagree with the review, but I don't think it really clicked with the moppets!

Looking back and over-analyzing kiddie records 70-odd years later is always an interesting proposition, but my take is that "Little Johnny Pilgrim" is vaguely non-PC in that mid-twentieth-century manner and Guffy's story isn't really inspiring, as all he did was not get eaten!

And I don't like the idea of my potential dinner being, sentient, you know?

Points for having "Johnny" in the title of the A-side, though, and I really dig the artwork!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 11 - Singing Cowboys!

We pick up the "Jingle Bells" trail with some singing Cowboys!

We start with the gentleman who put the idea of a singing cowboy on the map - Gene Autry!

Here he sings "Jingle Bells" on his "Melody Ranch" radio broadcast from December 22, 1946:

That is a very snappy version and I like the new Christmas verse a lot!

Flash-forward to 1959 when Gene cut a studio version of "Jingle Bells":

I think this version is OK, but not as good as the earlier radio version. This doesn't have enough of a western sound.

The flipside of that 45 is interesting, though:

"Santa's Comin' in a Whirlybird" has that real late 1950s novelty record sound. It's pretty fun and is over well before it wears out its welcome!

Both of these tracks have been reissued tons of times, including on this album that I had (still have) and loved (still do) as a kid:

Although it features re-recordings of some songs, the originals and Gene's linking narration make it must-have for any Christmas music collection!

Next up we have a singing cowboy by way of that being the stage name of one Lloyd Copas. Here's Cowboy Copas on King Records in 1947:

That's a really great version! 

Cowboy Copas was a very popular performer, but he's probably best-remembered for being on the ill-fated plane with superstar Patsy Cline and fellow veteran singer Hawkshaw Hawkins.

Next we have Bill Boyd and his Cowboy Ramblers on RCA Victor in 1947:

The flipside is a nice version of the relatively under-recorded "Up on the Housetop":

Very catchy record from Bill Boyd, who is not the same William "Bill" Boyd who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy!

We're in for some time travel whiplash as we jump back to 1959 to meet up with former movie singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely with this single from his Christmas album on Shasta Records:

Pretty cool, and it shows Mr. Wakely was not behind the times! 

The whole album is pretty fun!

The Jimmy Wakely Trio with Gene Autry. Left to right: Jimmy, Gene, Johnny Bond and Dick Reinhart

Jimmy was a fine singer and starred in a series of B-Westerns for Monogram in the mid to late 1940s after having provided musical support with his trio (including Johnny Bond) for other cowboy stars earlier in the decade and performing on Gene Autry's "Melody Ranch" show.

Here's a great record from 1953, closer to Jimmy's heyday on Capitol Records:

Love it!

Next we jump all the way to 1967 and the King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers with this mashup (before that phrase was a thing):

Very clever and great yodeling!

The label credits Roy and Dale Evans as the track was from their album "Christmas is Always," but I don't think Dale sings on this number.

At some point, Roy's separate "Jingle Bells" track was rescued from the Capitol vaults and released on its own. I ran into on this CD from 1995 (maybe the first release of that track?):

Awesome CD by the way!

So, some great tracks by moving picture and recording  singing cowboys!

"Jingle Bells" - Part 7 - Boogie Woogie!

We continue our "Jingle Bells" survey with a trio of "boogie" sides from 1943, 1949 and 1950!

We start in 1943 with Will Bradley, the bandleader most associated with boogie woogie, and an all-star small group:

This particular record on the independent Beacon label was cut in late 1943 after Beacon and other small labels, as well as the smaller "big" labels Decca and Capitol made a deal with the Federation of Musicians and were able to start recording again.

Here's a couple of pieces from "Billboard" that explain everything:

Very informative!

Bandleader Ray Noble flanked by his trombonists - Glenn Miller (left) and Will Bradley (when he was still Wilbur Schwichenberg!)

Will Bradley is an interesting case study of a bandleader. He was an absolutely tremendous trombonist - Glenn Miller said he was the best in the biz - but apparently did not like all the things that went into running a band, so he mainly opted for a long and lucrative career as a studio musician.

(left to right) Band singer Terry Allen, leader Will Bradley and co-leader/drummer/singer Ray McKinley

The irony of "Jingle Bells Boogie Woogie" is that when Will did co-lead a band in the early 1940s with drummer Ray McKinley, the band's biggest hits were boogie numbers like "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar" and "Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat," numbers favored by Ray but not Will, leading to their split.

By 1943, Will Bradley had given up the band but would sometimes lead studio groups and probably got a kick out of playing a boogie woogie number with his musician buddies.

We jump ahead to 1949 with another boogie version, this one more of a rhythm and blues take on the tune, courtesy of saxophonist Freddie Mitchell:

Freddie was the musical director for the small Derby label and made some records like this one in addition to backing the label's singers.

We next dip our toe into the 1950s with Johnny Bond's western swingy version:

You gotta dig the DJ with the crewcut on Columbia's promo label!

Gene Autry and Johnny Bond with just a couple of fans!

Johnny Bond was a very talented singer/songwriter/guitarist who worked with Gene Autry and Jimmy Wakely in addition to cutting some of his own records with his Red River Valley Boys on Columbia.

Here's what "Billboard" said about Johnny's record:

I think it deserved a higher rating, but I'm not a music reviewer from 1950, no matter how much I'd like to be!

The flipside as mentioned in the review is pretty snappy, so let's give it a listen:

I could definitely see Johnny's pal Gene Autry singing "I Wanna Do Something for Santa," but Gene had plenty of other Christmas songs to record!