Christmas Countdown - Day 7 - "Tell Santy I Live in a Shanty" (1936)

For Day 7 of our Christmas Countdown, we move into 1936 with a Depression-era Christmas song!

It's "Tell Santy I Live in a Shanty" from Frank Dailey and his Meadowbrook Orchestra with vocalist Ann Lee Davies on Bluebird:

Pretty snappy if not in keeping with the situation!

If remembered at all today, Frank Dailey was best-known as the owner of the Meadowbrook, a popular nightspot in New Jersey featuring bands that were more popular than his own ever was!

The Santy/Shanty rhyme had been used a couple of years before for the title song of the 1933 Warner Brothers "Merrie Melodies" cartoon "The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives" (see image at top), but I don't think that song as ever commercially recorded.

That cartoon is now in the public domain, so it's easy to find, but it's really a bit too politically incorrect to be lumped in holiday cartoon collections so frequently.

Eddy Arnold used the same Santy/Shanty concept in his 1949 hit "Will Santy Come to Shanty Town," but that's another story!

Christmas Countdown - Day 6 - "What Will Santa Claus Say? (When He finds Everybody Swingin')" (1936)

As our Christmas Countdown moves into 1936, the Swing Era is firmly underway, as evidenced by the song "What Will Santa Claus Say? (When He finds Everybody Swingin')" by Louis Prima!

So, here's Louis and his New Orleans Gang on Vocalion Records:

This track is probably the one I've seen reissued most out of any we'll encounter during this countdown. This is mostly because of Louis Prima's latter-day fame among wannabe swing hipsters!

Whatever the case, it's a solid platter!

For fun, let's listen again to the King of Swing himself, Benny Goodman and his great Victor recording of "Jingle Bells":

Can't hear that enough!

Christmas Countdown - Day 5 - "The Winter Waltz"

As we hit Day 4 of our Christmas Countdown, we have another seasonal song, "The Winter Waltz" from 1935!

Here's Al Donahue's band with vocalist Barry McKinley on Decca Records:

Al Donahue always had a good-sounding band. On the sweet side, but not in an overly stylized manner!

A fascinating contrast comes in the person of South African guitarist Len Fillis, who cut this instrumental version of the song in early 1936:

Kind of like a Britishy Roy Smeck?

Christmas Countdown - Day 4 - "The Santa Claus Express" (1935)

Still in 1935, we continue to Deck the Hall(s) as we move from George Hall to Henry Hall with Day 4 of our Christmas Countdown!

So, here's Henry Hall directing the BBC Orchestra with "The Santa Claus Express" on Columbia Records:

Love the train effects!

This recording sounds very British, except don't they call him Father Christmas?

Christmas Countdown - Day 3 - "Santa, Bring My Mommy Back to Me" (1935)

Day 3 of our Countdown to Christmas features another song lost to time: "Santa, Bring My Mommy Back to Me" from 1935!

Here's George Hall and his Hotel Taft Orchestra with star vocalist Dolly Dawn on Bluebird:

Per the (lovely) sheet music, it's actually Daddy that the singer wants back, but with billing as shown in the photo, Dolly can sing whatever she wants!

Speaking of George Hall, it seems to me he recorded another Santa themed song the year before:

Whatever became of that song?

Christmas Countdown - Day 2 - "I'll Keep Warm All Winter (With My Sunny Summer Love)" (1934)

For Day 2 of our countdown to Christmas, we have a snappy seasonal song: "I'll Keep Warm All Winter (With My Sunny Summer Love)" from 1934!

Here's Smith Ballew and his Orchestra with a budget label recording:

Smith's been popping up a lot, but I like his singing!

For another version of the song, here's Ted Weems on Columbia:

Always love to hear Red Ingle with the vocal, whether it's with Ted Weems, Spike Jones or his own Natural Seven!

If we flip over the Ted Weems record, there's another new seasonal song from 1934:

What became of that song anyway?

Christmas Countdown - Day 1 - "Under the Mistletoe" (1932)

Happy First Day of December!

Now that we're here, let's start our Christmas Countdown!

We have Christmas/Holiday/Winter songs from the 1930s in more-or-less chronological order each day until the big day!

First up is Lou Gold and his Orchestra with "Under the Mistletoe" from 1932:

The arrangement and vocal by Buddy Lane are not forward leaning by 1932 standards, but plenty of period charm!

And always good to hear obscure holiday songs!