Bing Crosby is practically synonymous with Christmas. For over sixty years, people have grown up with him being part of the soundtrack of the holidays. Name just about any classic Christmas song, and chances are der Bingle recorded it at some point. His take on "White Christmas" is possibly the most popular piece of recorded music ever. I would guess that in the three days since Thanksgiving, most of us have already heard it at least once.
Several years ago I found a Crosby CD in the bargain bin simply called Christmas Album
. The most intriguing thing about is that I didn't recognize a single song on it. For the longest time, I couldn't find any information about it, but last year I finally hit up Steven Lewis' excellent Bing Crosby Internet Museum and found the answers. It was originally released in 1971 as A Time To Be Jolly, and was recorded with the accompaniment of the Les Brown Orchestra and the Jack Halloran Singers. Some of the arrangements definitely have that early 70's vibe that hasn't aged particularly well (though that kind of adds to its retro charm), but the songs are fantastic. It's kind of surprising that none of them seem to have been recorded by any other artists in the ensuing years. If you're a Bing fan, or just looking for some fresh Christmas songs you haven't heard a million times before, I'd highly recommend checking it out. For only six bucks, it's a bargain.Bing Crosby - "And The Bells Rang" (mp3) from Christmas Album
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