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But really - these are shamefully botched compact discs, especially the two Merry Christmas Baby reissues. Most heinously, they are mastered from extremely scratchy LP copies - not from the master tapes that no doubt exist, at least for the mid-50's recordings and later. Adding insult to injury, the cover art is positively mangled, looking as though it were reproduced on a mimeograph machine in dire need of an overhaul. Of course, Gusto provides scant annotation, but what's worse, they stick a big, ugly barcode over what appears to be the original liner notes of both LP's - argh! Rhythm And Blues Christmas, while produced specifically for CD, is only marginally better. Consisting primarily of cuts from the King and Federal vaults (de-emphasizing the Swing Time family of labels), the mastering of Rhythm And Blues Christmas is lackluster, though noticeably improved. That's fine, but a few of these tracks have about as much in common with genuine rhythm & blues as my grandmother. I mean, who the hell are the King Karoleers?

All kvetching aside, however, most of the the music featured on Merry Christmas Baby (and its bargain basement offspring) is spectacular. In an era when most Christmas music was family-oriented or religious in nature, Merry Christmas Baby presented a wholly nontraditional holiday, with scant mention of Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus, or Jesus Christ. Rather, Christmas was seen as a time for love and sex, loneliness and tears - and for throwing a helluva party. In the swankiest way yet heard, Merry Christmas Baby personalized the Christmas experience for the urban black community, sparking a tsunami of incredible Christmas records that wouldn't subside till the early 1970's.

So let's talk about the music. First and foremost, we've got "Merry Christmas Baby" by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers (Exclusive, 1947) featuring a laconic Charles Brown very early in his career. Brown's 1956 Aladdin Records version of this classic (which he recorded numerous times) is definitive, but the Swing Time rendition is thoroughly charming and sexy - in a word, essential. On the uptempo tip, Mabel Scott's "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" (Exclusive, 1948) sets a milestone. Ms. Scott (briefly married to Brown) paints St. Nick in thoroughly adult terms, igniting a trend which completely redefined the Jolly Old Elf - on later records, Santa would be-bop, mambo, rock & roll, and do the twist. Other songs, like Lowell Fulson's "Lonesome Christmas" (Swing Time, 1950), Jimmy Witherspoon's "How I Hate To See Christmas Come Around" (Supreme, 1947), or Freddie King's "Christmas Tears" (Federal, 1961) were nothing less than consummate blues records - they just happened to be about the holiday season.

Many of the Hollywood masters, however, were happier, nominally conventional affairs. The Ebonaires' "Love For Christmas" (Hollywood, 1955), Johnny Moore's "Christmas Dreams" (Hollywood, 1956), and Lloyd Glenn's "Sleigh Ride" (Swing Time, 1950 - not the famous Leroy Anderson composition, by the way) all couched Christmas in sweeter terms but were exceedingly soulful, nonetheless. One such song, "Christmas In Heaven" by Billy Ward & The Dominoes (King, 1953) features a novice Jackie Wilson on vocals and is prototypical of the sort of over-the-top melodrama Wilson would later hone to a sheen at Brunswick Records. Meanwhile, the later King-Federal cuts (such as those exclusive to Rhythm And Blues Christmas) introduce elements of rock 'n' roll to the proceedings. Hank Ballard & The Midnighters (most famous for their bawdy "Work With Me Annie") rock the house with "Santa Claus Is Coming" (King, 1963) where as Amos Milburn - sounding like Fats Domino - adopts a comfortable gallop on "Christmas (Comes But Once A Year)" (King, 1960).

All of which argues that somebody - Rhino, Hip-O, Shout! Factory, Collector's Choice, whoever - should reissue this historic music with the love and respect it warrants. New York independent label Night Train took a step in the right direction with their Swing Time Christmas (1995), which captures a heapin' helpin' of Christmas tracks recorded for Swing Time and various affiliated labels. In addition to several mentioned above, Swing Time Christmas compiles exceedingly rare tracks from the likes of Big Joe Turner ("Christmas Date Blues," 1948), and Dexter Gordon ("Jingle Jangle," 1952), and Lowell Fulson ("Christmas Party Shuffle," 1952). Most delightfully, however, we are treated to Jesse Thomas' original version of "Christmas Celebration" (which B.B. King rode to great acclaim for Kent Records in 1962) and a bizarre track by Cecil Gant (who also recorded as Gunter Lee Carr). In "Hello Santa Claus," Gant makes explicit the divinity of Saint Nicholas, promising "God will bring Santa Claus to you." Wow!

On the downside, Swing Time Christmas largely cleans up the same crappy masters as used on Merry Christmas Baby, and it (logically) ignores the Hollywood and King-affiliated material recorded after Swing Time ceased to exist. And, Night Train is a very small, poorly-distributed label, so Swing Time Christmas may be tough to find. Keep looking, though - it's worth it!

It's also worth mentioning that Capricorn Records, a label that rode the Southern rock train to glory in the early 1970's (most famously with the Allman Brothers), put out The Swing Time Records Story (a 2-CD box) in 1993. In the liner notes, the producers observe that "some of Swing Time's biggest hits were Christmas singles," and they promise a blues and R&B Christmas collection in the near future. Capricorn's fortunes waned, however, and it never happened.

Postscript. Astute observers may note that funk potentate James Brown recorded for King Records for many years, and yet his copious Christmas music for the label is not included on any of the records discussed here. Apparently, Starday Records - who purchased King in the late 60's - sold Brown's King masters to Polygram in the early 70's before Starday itself was sold to Gusto a few years later. Thankfully, the Godfather's yule glory is preserved on Polygram's Funky Christmas (1995).

Finally, in 2008 Gusto hauled out the old masters (sic) once again for 24 Greatest R&B Christmas Hits, issued as both a CD (through Amazon) and MP3 download (through iTunes, though it's now deleted). The label had been fairly active leading up to that album, issuing quite a few download-only albums through online outlets. Some of them, like the Billy Ward reissues (see iTunes) , are quite good. Sadly, 24 Greatest R&B Christmas Hits is mastered from the same old crappy vinyl, this time with a layer of echo slathered on top. Shockingly predictable. [top of page]

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