Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus: Christmas Music for Those Who Have Heard Everything

Ira Ironstrings | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 11, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B0000DG014
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,741 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #100 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > Lounge

Track Listings

1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

2. Jingle Bells Stomp

3. Skater's Nightmare

4. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

5. Christmas Is For The Birds

6. My Two Front Teeth

7. Deck Them Halls

8. Over The River And Through The Woods

9. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

10. Frosty The Snow Man

11. Sleigh Ride

12. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town

Editorial Reviews

Now, here's a holiday album that just might ring a (sleigh) bell! Ira Ironstrings was Fritz Guckenheimer's fictional Dixieland cousin, whose real identity, it can now be revealed, was big-band guitarist Alvino Rey of ''talking'' steel guitar fame! Ira a.k.a. Alvino made a bunch of wacky albums for Warner Bros. right when the label started back in the '50s, but this one is without a doubt the most beloved of the bunch if you're to believe the various collector's chat rooms on the Internet. Original artwork, crystal-clear mastering and notes by one of the legions of kids who grew up listening to Ira and his band round out the kind of Christmas release you'd only find on our Collectors' Choice Music label!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ira Ironstrings Is Great!, March 31, 2004

By 

Steven Cooper (Midwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus: Christmas Music for Those Who Have Heard Everything (Audio CD)

It's great to hear some of the wonderful 50's & 60's music being reissued on CD. Ira (who is really Alvino Rey) made some great records for Warner Brothers. The music was arranged by the great Matty Matlock who played clarinet for Bob Crosby and arranged much of Bing's music. Matty's son told me how Matty would go to Alvino's house all the time with hundreds of pages of music scores under his arm. The sideman on the Ironstring's recordings were most of Matty's "West Coast" dixieland studio players - pianist Stan Wrightsman, drummer Nick Fatool, trumpeteers Johnny Best & Shorty Sherock, trombonists Abe Lincoln & Moe Schneider, etc. The music on this album sounds a lot like the arrangement of the theme song of the old TV show "My Mother The Car." Matty wrote that too. It's all full of humor & creativity. The kind of musical creativity you DON'T hear these days! I own a lot of Matty's music & I'm keeping it alive in the 21st century playing it with my orchestra all over the Midwest.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, We Know Who "Ira Ironstrings" Is!, February 27, 2004

By 

Peter Kline (Coral Springs, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus: Christmas Music for Those Who Have Heard Everything (Audio CD)

When this album and several others by "Ira" were made for Warner Brothers Records in 1962 he was under contract to Capitol Records. At the time Jim Conkling was president of WB having moved over in the same capacity he had at Capitol Records. Jim was also "Ira's" brother-in-law. He asked him to record under a psuedonym because of his Capitol affilation. On tuesday February 24th, 2004 Alvino Rey passed away at age 95. That's who "Ira Ironstrings"is/ was.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystery musician that is a classic, February 15, 2004

By 

Leonard Skwiera (FORTVILLE, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus: Christmas Music for Those Who Have Heard Everything (Audio CD)

I have looked for this album for atleast 40 years. My friend owns an original copy which I tranferred to CD. You have never heard christmas music played like this. It is played in dixieland jazz style with heavy use of a bass clarinet, banjo, and muted mallet xylaphone. If this album doesn't get your feet tapping and your head bobbing, you don't have rhythim. No one knows who Ira Ironstrings is, and it is still a mystery today. I also own two other albums by Ira Ironstrings released on Warner Brothers in 1959 and 1960 titled "Ira Ironstrings Plays: With Matches" and "The best damn dance band in the land". I would love to get those albums on CD.