Any Major Rhythm & Blues Christmas
It’s the season of Christmas mixes. We kick off with a Rhythm & Blues mix which I know the good readers of this corner of the blogosphere will dig. So will their friends — share the joy of R&B yule widely on Facebook, Twitter, and so on. If you open the link (as you will have to for the password), click on the relevant sharing button on the bottom of the page. And please don’t be shy to comment!
So, this compilation features 29 tracks which more or less (and mostly more) would be called R&B — “Race Records”, as the labels put it without much subtlety in the 1940s and ’50s.
There are lots of great stories behind the artists here, but being pressed for time I cannot go into them. One is worth mentioning: The Marquees, the short-lived group that emanated from the Rainbows and sort of merged with Harvey Fuqua’s Moonglows. One of the Marquee members was Marvin Gaye. I have no idea whether he sang on Santa Done Gone Hip; do any readers know?
While I was preparing this mix I received the news of the death of Earl Carroll, singer with The Cadillacs, whose version of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is among my favourites (and I do like the song, despite my tongue-in-cheek critique of it HERE).
And let The Youngsters’ song be a warning: Do not drink and drive! And not only because you might be caught, but because it is a dangerous and despicable thing to do.
As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home moonshined front and back covers. As mentioned, password in the comments.
TRACKLISTING:
1. B.B. King – Christmas Celebration (1962)
2. Mabel Scott – Boogie Woogie Santa Claus (1948)
3. The Moonglows – Hey Santa Claus (1953)
4. Charles Brown – Merry Christmas Baby (1947)
5. J. B. Summers – I Want A Present For Christmas (1949)
6. The Debonairs – Christmas Time (mid-’50s)
7. Keith Davis – Let’s Exchange Hearts For Christmas (mid-’50s)
8. The Orioles – Lonely Christmas (1949)
9. The Falcons – Can This Be Christmas (1957)
10. The Five Keys – It’s Christmas Time (1951)
11. Bubber Johnson – Let’s Make Every Day A Christmas Day (1955)
12. Nancy Wilson – That’s What I Want For Christmas (1963)
13. Bobby Nunn – Christmas Bells (1951)
14. Big Joe Turner – Christmas Date Boogie (1948)
15. Chuck Berry – Run Rudolph Run (1958)
16. The Hepsters – Rockin And Rollin’ With Santa Claus (1955)
17. The Drifters – I Remember Christmas (1964)
18. The Shirelles – Blue Holiday (1961)
19. Jesse Belvin – I Want You With Me At Christmas (1956)
20. Oscar McLollie with his Honey Jumpers – Dig That Crazy Santa Claus (1954)
21. Felix Gross – Love For Christmas (1949)
22. Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers – Merry Christmas Baby (1947)
23. Hadda Brooks – White Christmas (1950)
24. The Youngsters – Christmas In Jail (1956)
25. The Marquees – Santa Done Gone Hip (1959)
26. The Cadillacs – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1956)
27. The Marshall Brothers – Mr Santa’s Boogie (1951)
28. The Enchanters – Mambo Santa Mambo (1957)
29. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Happy New Year (1953)
…More Christmas Mixes
Any Major Christmas Favourites
Any Major 1980s Christmas
Any Major 1970s Christmas
Any Major 1960s Christmas
Any Major 1950s Christmas
Christmas Mix, Not For Mother
Any Major X-Mas Mix
Any Major Christmas Pop Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas Pop Vol. 2
Any Major Christmas Carols (in pop)
Any Major Christmas Bells
Any Major Smooth Christmas Vol. 1
Any Major Smooth Christmas Vol. 2
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 2
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 3
Any Major Doop Wop Christmas
Any Major Rhythm & Blues Christmas
Any Major Country Christmas Vol. 1
Any Major Country Christmas Vol. 2
Any Major Acoustic Christmas
Christmas In Black & White Vol. 1
Christmas In Black & White Vol. 2
Christmas In Black & White Vol. 3
Song Swarm: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
PW = amdwhah
Great compilation. Sure beats listening to the usual oldies of Bing, Frank, Perry & Co.
Oh and a Merry Festive Season to you too!
Regards
Bob
Thanks for all the efforts made in this compilation and the precedent one, AMS 1966. Always great songs and voices to discover.
Ravel, Montreal, Quebec
Said it before. Will say it again. Thanks very much. Fantastic compilation that 50% of the household will certainly enjoy!
Thanks man! Great comps, like the site.
Thanks a lot. Every X-mastime, and a few times in between, I visit your site, and it’s always a pleasure.
Great mix!
Mirrored in Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/user/aenm/playlist/6sIfrBVgd2vdo42oZ7jvuq
Thanks as always for another fine compilation.
what are you 12? passwords don’t need to be used anymore. you’ve been dropped.
Don’t be such an utter dick, dick. Passwords are necessary to try and prevent early file deletion. But, hey, nobody is forcing you to make use of the free service I provide here. If you don’t like it, good-bye.
Happened to go back to listen to some of this tonight–getting in the spirit of the season and all–and I noticed that the version of “Merry Christmas Baby” here is NOT the original Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers version. That’s not Charles Brown singing–sounds like a woman, in fact. Sounds like a more recent recording, too. Anyone know who it is?
Thanks as always for the music. Really nice collection.
Just to be clear, in the comment above I’m talking about cut 22. Cut 4 does seem to be Charles Brown, although I don’t think it’s the 1947 version.
Also dead links
As i remeber it was one of the best mixes!
New link: http://rapidgator.net/file/973a1276baa2df07425b98159541f4f3/R&BXmas.rar.html
Thanks for this too!
Any chance of a Zippy mirror? Love your stuff!
Not that anyone is checking here, but just in case, is this still downloadable? I’ve tried, just get the countdown all over again.
Thanks.
I’ve tested it. It works fine on my side. Maybe you caught it at a time of overloaded servers?
Thanks for checking, never had an issue with Rapidgator. Odd.
I’ll try another browser.
good evening!