"Christmas Songs" (Columbia) by Sinatra (incl. 2019 HD release updates)*

Huh! No pinky ring?

 

I think the image is reversed.

 

Bingo. That's the first thing.

It's like my avatar and web page mirror image, which I flipped horizontally so that Frank would be facing the text:

​

(Paul Mock hates these reversed images, as he's reminded me on several occasions, which is why I addressed my inquiry to Paul.)

Can anyone figure out the other thing that is wrong about the photo on this CD? (It's not the pinky ring, John.)

 

I thought so. I watch too many detective shows. Frank is gripping the chair back with his left hand, which is wrong. Unnatural for a righty.

 

Wow, that's a real Hercule Poirot-type observation which never occured to me. I noticed from the side of Sinatra's hair part, and the asymmetry of his ears (one of which was damaged at birth).

 

Or, in honor of the recently deceased, Sinatra-friend, Peter Falk: a very Colombo-like observation!

 

WELL...since there was no change in the booklet I figured the point moot. The photo is from the film "Young at Heart" (post-Columbia) and it is the dreaded reverse negative!!!!!

 

Yep, those are my two inconsistencies. That's Sinatra as Barney Sloan, filmed in 1954, long after these Columbia recordings were made.

I can't find the exact pose in the movie, but there's no doubt this was taken during the filming of the Christmas scene in Young at Heart. (Same chair, same Christmas tree, same suit and tie, etc.) It may be a publlcity still, or from an outtake.

 

Do I win a toaster??

 

I have a couple of questions about a couple of tracks on this album - and was hoping one of the experts could help...

1) Track 11 - the intro by General Reynolds ... do we know for sure what year this was from? He mentions it being "the 6th Christmas since V-Discs have been coming to you". Assuming that Wiki is correct & V-discs began in October, 1943, then one would conclude it was from 1948.

2) The medley itself ... it states that this was a "dress rehearsal" for "The Frank Sinatra Show" recorded 12/5/45. The V-Disc itself did not appear until the following year. Would this have been broadcast on the radio on 12/5/45 - or just recorded? (When I look at the Radio Transcriptions for that date on SFF, it would seem like the actual program did not include "Joy To The World" & "White Christmas".) Just wondering if I should tag this as 1945 or 1946 as the "release date".

3) What was "Guest Star"?

Thanks!

 

bump

 

The intro by Gen. Reynolds and FS is from V-Disc 868, which was issued November 1948. But the following medley on the CD is NOT from that V-Disc...

 

The medley appeared (with no introduction) on Side B of Army V-Disc 652, which was issued July 1946. Skip to the 5:04 mark in this YouTube video for Side B...



The CBS Songs by Sinatra radio broadcast of December 5, 1945 did include the choir number "Joy to the World," but the actual concluding medley song was "Silent Night" (not the version on Track 2 of the CD). "White Christmas" in the V-Disc medley comes from the show of December 19, 1945 with the Bobby Tucker Singers (not the Bob Mitchell Boys Choir).

I hope that's clear (as mud?). Lots of splicing on the V-Disc and the CD presentation.

A 15-minute radio program, sponsored by the U.S. Treasury Department, which ran from 1947 until at least 1953.

 

Finally getting back to this thread after the holiday...

I see what you mean about lots of splicing!

On V-Disc 868-A, the songs that appear in the medley following Gen. Reynolds intro simply seem to be edits from Frank's Columbia records of those 3 songs. (Am I right?)

For V-Disc 652-B, they took "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" & "Joy To The World" (which was just the choir) from the 12/5/45 broadcast, dropped "Silent Night" and spliced on "White Christmas" from 12/19/45 in its place. Since these performances were first heard by the public in 1945, that's the year I'm going to put in the tag - not the year they were released on V-Disc (1946).

Thanks Bob! The resouces - and the way they are organized on the SFF site is quite impressive - I wish something like that could be done for artists like The Beatles, Presley, etc. - heck, any artist with a big legacy.

 

I just saw two pictures of the back of both the 1994 and 2004 cd versions of Christmas Songs By Sinatra.

Aside from the yellow border and as Bob pointed out look for the following:

At the bottom left of the back cd cover you will see the old Columbia Lp logo in a square absent on the 1994 release.

Then to the right the FBI anti piracy stuff and then bottom right the barcode.

Note on the original cd the barcode is top right and rotated 90 degrees.

This should help finding the remastered cd.

Also the photo is from the scene in Young At Heart where Doris is singing one of Gig Young's arrangements and Frank cigarette in hand is sitting and looking at people's reactions around the room during the Christmas after dinner scene.

 

Thanks! (And I actually found the specific program online. The internet is a wonderful thing sometimes - although the dog left the room in a hurry when Dorothy Kirsten started singing.....

 

Yes. The date I have for the edited remastering is May 10, 1948. The three Columbia recordings were made in 1945, 1946, and 1947, respectively. The B-side of V-Disc 868 contains three other Sinatra Christmas songs recorded for Columbia, the first of which is edited.

 

Unfortunately, that picture is a "reverse negative". It would have made for a great CD cover pic if they had not reversed it. Doing that is one of my biggest "peeves".

 

Bumping this thread for a cross-ref to the 2014 Sony budget Sinatra Christmas issue. (Not an exact duplicate, but it shares much of the same material.)

—> Frank Sinatra - The Classic Christmas Album (New Legacy Compilation)

 

Bumping this thread up for 2015. It looks like Amazon is showing the 2004 edition as being in stock:
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Son...TF8&qid=1320244138&sr=1-3&tag=viglink20252-20

(You can also still get the 1994 version from 3rd party sellers - a couple with fulfillment thru Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Son...sic&qid=1230308476&sr=1-5&tag=viglink20252-20)

I'd like to get the gold bordered 2004 version with a decently-printed booklet - but I don't know if I'm willing to pay $10 just take that chance to see if it comes with a good one! (Oh, and by the way. I did find a difference between the 1994 & 2004 booklets - the phone number for NJ residents to call Quality Management is different! )

 

The 12/28/47 "solo" re-recording of "White Christmas" was used in the 1948 Christmas Songs By Sinatra album, right? But what version was used on the Christmas Dreaming album in 1957? I'm guessing it was the "solo" version again, but wanted to make sure. Had they pretty much retired the 1944 version until the Christmas Dreaming LP/CD release in 1987?

BTW, I agree with Bob - the "solo" version is really nice! I like it better than the "hit" version with the chorus backing.

Also....which songs were released individually as 78 RPM "singles" (in the US)? I see:
White Christmas (in 1944 & 1945 with different non-Christmas B-Sides each year)
White Christmas in 1946 b/w Jingle Bells (Which was the A-Side? Discogs lists Jingle Bells as the A-Side - Whitburn's Christmas book lists it as the B-Side. If I had to guess, I would say Discogs was right, as he had just recorded Jingle Bells.)
Silent Night b/w Adeste Fideles in 1946
Christmas Dreaming (in 1947 with a non-Christmas B-Side) - not originally included on CSBS in '48.

I'm guessing that the other 3 songs from the 12/28/47 session + HYAMLC made their debut as part of the '48 "album".

 

Wrong: The 1948 album (78-rpm set and 10″-LP) used a reissue of the first (1944) recording with the Bobby Tucker Singers.

Wrong again: The 1957 LP used the same 1944 chorus version.

No: The 1987 album was the FIRST time the 1947 solo recording of "White Christmas" was issued in the US, and it contained BOTH the 1944 and 1947 versions.

The 1948 CSBS album set contained two reissue 78s (singles from 1946) with new catalog nos., plus two new records (not released as singles):

Record 1: "Silent Night" b/w "Adeste Fideles" (reissue)
Record 2: "White Christmas" (1944 ver.) b/w "Jingle Bells" (reissue with A/B sides reversed)
Record 3: "O Little Town of Bethlehem" b/w "It Came upon a Midnight Clear" (new)
Record 4: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" b/w "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (new)

The 10″ LP was released at the same time, with Record 2 ("White Christmas") leading off on Side A.

 

Thank you, Bob!! That's interesting. So do we know what prompted Frank to re-record "White Christmas" in late '47? Was it a case where they didn't like the result without the singers? Was it used anywhere else?

I held on to my Christmas Dreaming CD specifically for the "solo" recording of WC + the original takes. I'm really glad I didn't get rid of it in an "oh, I guess I don't need this anymore" moment in 1994 when CSBS came out on CD! The 2004 remaster of CSBS is my "go-to" for this material, but it's nice to have Christmas Dreaming also.)

 

Frank may have re-recorded "White Christmas" in 1947 because Bing Crosby did the same that year (reportedly because the master for Crosby's original 1942 hit version had suffered from frequent use). But unlike Bing, Frank did not try to duplicate his earlier effort exactly. (I.e., no choral group.) Prior to the 1987 Christmas Dreaming album, Sinatra's solo version was released only on a 78 in Australia. Go figure.

 

NEVER get rid of a Sinatra cd. They tend to go out of print fast. That cd you paid $5 for will cost you $20 used.