Customer Reviews

Blues, Blues Christmas (1925-1955)

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Listening to most Christmas records is like trying to swallow a 50 pound soggy Christmas cake. This CD - Blues, Blues Christmas: 1925-1955 is like eating one rare perfect truffle.

Some of these songs are very very weird, such as DEATH MIGHT BE YOUR SANTA CLAUS, which is shouted by a minister at his congregation. The song LET'S MAKE CHRISTMAS MERRY, BABY, sung by Amos Milburn, is smolderingly sexual with the lyric "I want to slide down your chimney" sung to his girlfriend. THE SANTA CLAUS CRAVE, an old old blues number sung by Elzadie Robinson, was one of the Christmas blues I'd always wanted to hear, and it's on this CD. Some of the recordings are from the 1920's and they sound scratchy and worn, but it only adds to the authenticity of the experience of listening to them. This is the most unique Christmas record I've ever heard, and it's my favourite Christmas record now.

Without a doubt, this is the best collection of early blues, hot-jazz and gospel Christmas music available. Every cut is a gem, especially the recordings from the 1920's and 30's.

If you're a fan of old-time music, this is the Holiday CD for you.

I would also recommend Dust-to-Digital's "Where Will You Be Christmas Day?"

Chock full of un-familiar holiday goodies that not everyone will appreciate at the dinner table, save those cool cats and chicks who crave for alternative early bluesy shuck and jive, tales of christmas woes and boogies. And, I don't have to get up to change each 78 rpm record on the victrola!

Then look no further than this 2-disc set and its companion Volume 2. Since neither the blurb above, nor the other reviews, show the contents of this excellent release I have included them for your information:

Disc 1: 1. Christ Was Born On Christmas Morn - Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon; 2. Christmas Morning Blues - Titus Turner; 3. Hep Cat's Holiday - The Cats & The Fiddle; 4. Christmas Blues - Ralph Willis; 5. Junior's A Jap Girl's Christmas For His Santa Claus - Willie "61" Blackwell; 6. Papa Ain't No Santa Claus (And Mama Ain't No Christmas Tree) - Butterbeans & Susie; 7. Trim Your Tree - Jimmy Butler; 8. Christmas Blues - Gatemouth Moore; 9. Bring That Cadillac Back - Harry "Fats" Crafton & Doc Bagby; 10. Christmas Man Blues - Bertha "Chippie" Hill; 11. Hello Santa Claus - Cecil Gant; 12. Christmas And No Santa Claus - Bumble Bee Slim; 13. Love For Christmas - Felix Gross & His Orch; 14. Happy New Year Darling - Lonnie Johnson; 15. Christmas And New Year's Blues - Tampa Red; 16. Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby - Amos Milburn; 17. Christmas Spirit - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends; 18. At The Christmas Ball - Bessie Smith; 19. How Will You Spend Christmas? - Rev. A.W. Nix; 20. Xmas Blues - Herman (Harmon) Ray; 21. How I Hate To See Xmas Come Around - Jimmy Witherspoon; 22. Christmas Date Boogie - Pete Johnson & Big Joe Turner; 23. Christmas Boogie - Sugar Chile Robinson; 24. The Christmas Song - Leadbelly; 25. Happy New Year - Lightnin' Hopkins; 26. The Wrong Way To Celebrate Xmas - Rev. Edward W Clayborn

Disc 2: 1. Santa Claus - Bo Carter; 2. Christmas Time Blues (Beggin' Santa Claus) - Black Ace; 3. Happy New Year Blues - Mary Harris; 4. Christmas Christmas Blues - Charlie Jordan; 5. Happy New Year, Baby - The Johnny Otis Orchestra; 6. Far Away Blues (Xmas Blues) - The Johnny Otis Orchestra with Little Esther & Mel Walker; 7. Christmas Morning Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson; 8. Christmas In Jail - Leroy Carr; 9. Christmas Mornin' Blues - Kansas City Kitty & Georgia Tom;10. Did You Spend Christmas Day In Jail? - Reverend J.M. Gates; 11. Death Might Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates; 12. Happy New Year Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson; 13. New Year's Eve Blues - Smokey Hogg; 14. Christmas Blues - Larry Darnell; 15. When Was Jesus Born? - The Sons of Heaven; 16. I Want A Present For Christmas - Doc Bagby & J.B. Summers; 17. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra & Sonny Parker; 18. New Year's Resolution Blues - Roy Milton & His Solid Senders; 19. Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson; 20. Let Me Hang My Stockings In Your Christmas Tree - Roosevelt Sykes; 21. The Santa Claus Crave - Elzadie Robinson; 22. Santa Claus - Walter Davis;23. Christmas Morning Blues - Victoria Spivey; 24. Christmas Time Blues - Boll Weavil (Willie McNeil); 25. Empty Stocking Blues - Floyd Dixon with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers; 26. Boogie Woogie Santa - Mabel Scott.

The set is accompanied by a full-colour 20-page booklet with informative liner notes by Blues historian Jeff Harris, as well as a full discography of the contents. Many of the artists here are members of The Blues Hall Of Fame, and several of the tracks were hit R&B singles.

I bought this cd set because I needed material for a Christmas radio show.

I found it to contain a good variety of tunes (& gospel sermons) from different eras.

There were even some 'Happy New Year' themed tunes which I was able to use for my NYE show the following week.