Search - Bing Crosby, Andrews Sisters :: A Merry Christmas with Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters

The original King and Queens of Christmas music

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 09/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although Christmas music has been around for humdreds of years, it's popularity now owas a lot to Bing Crosby and (to a lesser extent) the Andrews sisters, with the outstanding and extremely popular Chrismas songs they recorded in the 1940's.This is a sample of their Christmas music. They only recorded six Christmas songs together, all included here, the rest of the tracks featuring one or the other.The duets are Jingle Bells (their most famous Christmas duet), Twelve days of Christmas (a song which has inspired many parodies, some of which are extremely funny, but this is still the best straight version of the song I've come across), Mele Kalikimaka (a Hawaiian song), Santa Claus is coming to town, Here comes Santa Claus and Poppa Santa Claus.Bing sings seven solo tracks - these are identified in the Amazon[.com] track listing and are generally slower than the other songs, although Christmas in Kallarney is a very upbeat song. The slow songs provide a nice contrast to the songs featuring the Andrews sisters (with or without Bing), which are mostly bright, uptempo songs.Most of the Andrews sisters tracks without Bing feature Guy Lombardo, including Christmas Island, a million selling single for them. Christmas candles is a really beautiful song which is much slower than usual for the sisters and it's great to hear.Some reviewers suggest some of the songs are dated, but how many modern songs will still sound modern in sixty years time? Many of the greatest Christmas songs were written in the thirties and forties. The versions here are still as enjoyable as any more modern versions - and I also enjoy those. As to the obscure songs, they merely add to the enjoyment. Not every song can become a standard.This collection is not a comprehensive collection of their music, and you can find most (maybe all) of these tracks on their other albums, but this is a very convenient and highly entertaing collection with a great mix of songs and styles."

Nice Recording

William S. Robbins | Sun Prairie, WI USA | 12/30/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The fun thing about this CD is that most of the songs are not traditional Christmas songs, which get so over-played during the holidays. So these cuts add a fresh dimention to your holiday mix if you drop this CD into your random CD carosel."

The Voices Of Christmas Past

William S. Robbins | 08/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"MCA (Decca) can be sure of brisk sales when Christmas rolls around simply by virtue of owning the rights to the music of Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, two of the more prominent names that spring to mind when thinking about Pop Christmas tunes. It all began in the early 1940s when Decca released their 78 rpm album No. A-403 containing five records (Silent Night, Holy Night b/w Adeste Fideles, White Christmas b/w God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, I'll Be Home For Christmas b/w Faith Of Our Fathers, and Let's Start The New Year Right b/w Danny Boy - all by Bing with John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra and Max Terr's Mixed Chorus, and two included in this compilation, Jingle Bells b/w Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town billed to Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters With Vic Schoen & His Orchestra.



The A-side of that last single charted at # 19 in 1943 and # 21 in 1947, while the B-side scored at # 22 in 1947 on Decca 23281. Other single releases involving Bing and the girls did not fare as well insofar as the charts are concerned, but that in no way lessens their eternal appeal. In 1949, on Decca 24658, came Here Comes Santa Claus b/w The Twelve Days Of Christmas, with the A-side coming two years after Gene Autry scored a # 5 Country/# 9 Pop with it, followed by returns to the charts in 1948, 1949 and 1950. Also in 1950, Bing and The Andrews turned out Decca 27228 which combined Mele Kalikimaka, now heard almost every year, with Poppa Santa Claus. On all these releases the backing orchestra was that of Vic Schoen's, who did most of the Andrews Sisters' hits.



Without Bing, the sisters had Christmas Island go to # 7 in 1946 b/w Winter Wonderland on Decca 23722, billed to The Andrews Sisters with Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians. The A-side charted again at # 20 in 1947 and # 26 in 1949, while the flip made it to # 22 in 1946. The same pairing then took The Merry Christmas Polka to # 18 in 1949 b/w Christmas Candles on Decca 24748. In 1950, Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling b/w Parade Of Wooden Soldiers (not included) came out on Decca 27242, and on Decca 27251 they had I'd Like To Hitch A Ride With Santa Claus b/w The Christmas Tree Angel, all four sides with Vic Schoen's orchestra.



None of those 1950 cuts made any charts, but the A-side of the last release was a # 22 in 1950 for Bing and his sons as part of a medley called A Crosby Christmas (Parts 1 & 2) on Decca 9-40181. Under the billing Gary, Phillip, Dennis, Lindsay and Bing Crosby (with The Jeff Alexander Choir and John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra), the youngest, Lindsay, sang I'd Like To Hitch A Ride With Santa Claus. The following year, in 1951, Fran Allison (of Kukla, Fran & Ollie TV fame) had a # 14 hit with the B-side shown as (Sweet Angie) The Christmas Tree Angel.



Several of the cuts here are by Bing alone, with Happy Holiday, done with The Music Maids and John Scott Trotter, coming out as the flip of his September # 2 hit Be Careful, It's My Heart. You have to think that, had this been released as an A-side closer to Christmas it too would have charted. From 1947 we get O Fir Tree Dark, written by Ken Darby and done with the Victor Young orchestra and The Ken Darby Singers, which came out as the B-side of Decca 24144 b/o The Christmas Song (not here), and from 1950 comes Looks Like A Cold, Cold Winter, with the Sonny Burke Orchestra and The Lee Gordon Singers, which was the B-Side to his # 24 hit A Marshmallow World (also omitted here) on Decca 27239.



In 1951, with Trotter and Judd Conlon's Rhythmaires, Bing cut Christmas In Killarney, a year after hits by Percy Faith & His Orchestra and Dennis Day, b/w It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas (which was a hit that year for Perry Como) without chart success, and from 1955 we get four sides done with Buddy Cole & His Orchestra - The First Snowfall (also involving Judd Conlon's Rhythmaires) which was the flip of The Next Time It Happens (not here) on Decca 29777, and Is Christmas Only A Tree? which came out on Decca 29790 b/o Christmas Is A-Comin' (another omitted here).



Even so, simply a great seasonal compilation with excellent sound, contents discography, and four pages of liner notes written by E.B. (Wig) Wiggins, American Representative of the International Crosby Circle, mixed with several more vintage photos."