Christmas Eve!

 Happy Christmas Eve!

Of course, Christmas Eve is also known as the Night Before Christmas, so let's hear Stan Freberg with his version on Capitol Records in 1955:

Don't sleep on the label describing this as a Christmas Story (?) - question mark included!

The little girl is 9 year old child actress Babette Bain, who does a great job of keeping up with Stan!

Now let's hear the flipside, which is Stan's awesome take on the then-current novelty hit "Nuttin' for Christmas":

The wackiness extends to the label on this side as well, as it's described as Vocal with Burglar!

Stan Freberg was simply brilliant!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

There aren’t a lot of Thanksgiving songs, but here’s a nice record from Irving Aaronson and his Commanders that fits nicely:

 

We have more to be thankful for than most people during the Depression, so enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 

In keeping with the situation, here's Ted Cassidy with "The Lurch" on Capitol Records in 1965:

  

That's just so cool!

Seasonal Songs - "Summer Holiday" (1963)

We leave Independence Day and Baseball and American-ness for a bit to cross back over the pond to England with Cliff Richard and his hit "Summer Holiday" on British Columbia Records in 1963:

A fun, poppy sound!

That British number one hit was the title song from Cliff's movie "Summer Holiday," which was released at the peak of his pre-Beatles popularity!

Cliff's backing group, The Shadows, also had a song featured in the movie and said song, "Foot Tapper," was also a number one hit:

Can't argue with the title!

Bonus 78 - "Robbie-Doby Boogie" (1948)!

Speaking of Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson, here's a great tribute to them in the form of the song "Robbie-Doby Boogie" by singer/guitarist Brownie McGhee on the Savoy Records label in 1948:

Love it! The time had really come!

Now, "Robbie-Doby Boogie" is not well-known these days, but Brownie McGhee had actually recorded the even more obscure "Baseball Boogie" for the even smaller Alert label in 1947:

Also a fun tribute to Jackie Robinson!

Brownie was a fan!

Larry Doby!

A shoutout to Larry Doby, who on this day in 1947 became the second player (after Jackie Robinson) to break the color barrier and the first in the American League when he made his debut with the Cleveland Indians.

After his playing career, Larry became the second African-American manager in MLB in 1978 (following Frank Robinson in 1974).

A true trailblazer!

Larry was eventually elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. Overdue, but he was still around to enjoy the honor.

This past weekend, the Cleveland Guardians unveiled a mural featuring Doby and Robinson along with pitching great Satchel Paige:

Pretty cool! Here's a link to more.

Happy Fourth of July!

 Happy Fourth of July!