Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

It’s December, and the little corner of the Internet in which we gather presently can’t help but reverberate with the sound of Christmas. And the mix I’ll post later this week — before I go on a little break until after I’ve unwrapped my pretend presents — will be suitable Christmassy.

This mix of Christmas seen through the kaleidoscope of the blues, however, hardly inspires the warm glow of the Victorian Christmas idyll. But what the collection may lack in old-fashioned Christmas spirit it makes up in great music and many fine lyrics. I am but an innocent country boy, so I’m not sure if any of these singers are making sexual innuendo, but I half expect some might. Of course, there is the usual blues theme of being broke, issuing sentiments which in 2020 has a louder echo than it has had for many a decade.

The timeframe this mix covers the years 1930 to 1965, a time that saw a sea-change in music, but blues didn’t change much. I suppose the blues was as it was before rock & roll, and it was as it was after rock & roll. In our money, that time-span is equivalent to 1985 to the present. If you are of a certain age, 1985 feels like the day before yesterday. What’s time anyway when a Christmas song from 1994 tops the UK charts 26 years later.

This mix is a good companion piece to the Any Major Christmas Rhythm & Blues collection from 2012, which in turn accompanies the Any Major Christmas Soul series (Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3), which in turn goes well with Any Major Smooth Christmas (Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3).

On Thursday we stay in a black & white mood with a mix of Christmas recordings from the 1940s, which include a few more blues songs.

As ever, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R, and includes home-moaned covers. PW in comments.

1. Jimmy McCracklin – Christmas Time (Part 1) (1961)
2. Amos Milburn – Christmas Comes Once A Year (1960)
3. Jody Levins – Jingle Bells Boogie (1954)
4. Titus Turner – Christmas Morning Blues (1952)
5. Mabel Scott – Boogie Woogie Santa Claus (1948)
6. J.B. Summers with Doc Bagby’s Orchestra – I Want A Present For Christmas (1949)
7. Tampa Red – Christmas And New Year Blues (1934)
8. Butterbeans & Susie – Papa Ain’t No Santa Clause, Mama Ain’t No Christmas Tree (1930)
9. Bumble Bee Slim – Santa Claus, Bring Me A New Woman (1936)
10. Johnny Moore’s Blazers – Christmas Eve Baby (1947)
11. Cecil Gant – Hello Santa Claus (1950)
12. Charles Brown – Christmas With No One To Love (1961)
13. John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas (1960)
14. Freddy King – Christmas Tears (1961)
15. Gus Jenkins and His Orchestra – Remember Last Xmas (1956)
16. Johnny Otis Orchestra with Little Esther & Mel Walker – Faraway Blues (Xmas Blues) (1950)
17. Jimmy Liggins – I Want My Baby For Christmas (1950)
18. Felix Gross and His Orchestra – Love For Christmas (1949)
19. Little Willie Littlefield – Merry Xmas (1949)
20. Lowell Fulson – Lonesome Christmas (1951)
21. Floyd Dixon – Empty Stocking Blues (1951)
22. Julia Lee and Her Boyfriends – Christmas Spirits (1948)
23. Victoria Spivey – I Ain’t Gonna Let You See My Santa Claus (1936)
24. The Honey Dripper – Let Me Hang Your Stockings In Your Christmas Tree (1936)
25. Leadbelly – Christmas Is A-Coming (1940s)
26. Larry Darnell – Christmas Blues (1950)
27. Little Johnny Taylor – Please Come Home For Christmas (1965)
28. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Santa (1965)
29. Chuck Berry – Spending Christmas (1964)

GET IT! or HERE!

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 Smooth Christmas Vol. 3
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 2
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 3
Any Major Doo 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
Any Major Christmas ABC
Song Swarm: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Or all in one place