
Enjoy this one with glad tidings and best wishes from American Standard Time and KEXP.
This show (click the link below!) is most suitable for a Christmas Eve playback under the glow of Christmas lights, served with gin & tonics, nut crackers, and tangerines. So grab someone close, call the family, or if you're having a Blue Christmas (like many of the characters in these songs!), play it to get by.
This selection of vintage jazz and blues from the 40's, 50's, and 60's shares the many perspectives of the Holiday season- from the joys of plum pudding, marshmallow worlds, soul santas, reefer, and money, to the hard times of winter blues and lonliness. It's all here from some of the true greats- Fats Waller, Charles Brown, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Lou Rawls, Booker T & The MGs, Babs Gonzales, Ramsey Lewis, Otis Redding, and the classic Columbia recording by a reluctant Miles Davis, "Blue Xmas" (vocal by Bob Dorough).
And who knew that Santa spends the whole year getting high at The North Pole, or how cool he looks in his red suit, shades and cigarette talkin' jive? Jimmy Butler is not shy about wanting to trim ya (er, your tree...), Pearl Bailey wants money, Sonny Boy Williamson is caught looking in his baby's dresser drawers (not cool) and Rashaan Roland Kirk spins "We Three Kings" into "We Free Kings". It's pretty killer.
This is Christmas from the other side of the tracks, from back in the day. And in these hard times, perhaps William Bell's sentiment says it best when he sings "Why Can't Everyday Be Like A Holiday?" For the more grounded of you, perhaps the immortal words of Soul Brother #1, James Brown says it best in his plea, "Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year"
But for me, it's always Charles Brown who says it best,
"Merry Christmas Baby"
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(LISTEN TO THIS SHOW)
| 6:02 |
James Brown |
Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year |
Santa's Got a Brand New Bag |
Rhino |
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DJ Comments: Released as a single on King in 1966 ; Welcome to The Roadhouse's Very Vintage Christmas! |
| ---- air break ---- |
| 6:08 |
The Ramsey Lewis Trio |
Plum Puddin' |
More Sounds of Christmas |
Chess Records |
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DJ Comments: Audio of the group doing "Christmas Blues" from 1961: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKGeUPRjNZ8 |
| 6:10 |
Booker T. & The MG's |
Silver Bells |
The Original Soul Christmas |
Rhino |
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DJ Comments: Recorded in 1966 at Stax Studios in Memphis |
| 6:13 |
Otis Redding |
Merry Christmas, Baby |
Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology (disc 2) |
Rhino |
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DJ Comments: B-side of 1968 Atco single (A-side: White Christmas) ; http://melingo.com/thesoulnet/otis.htm |
| ---- air break ---- |
| 6:18 |
The Ramsey Lewis Trio |
Jingle Bells |
More Sounds of Christmas |
Chess Records |
| 6:18 |
Detroit Junior |
Christmas Day |
Blue Yule |
Rhino |
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DJ Comments: 1960 single on Foxy Records |
| 6:20 |
Solomon Burke |
Presents for Christmas |
The Original Soul Christmas |
Atlantic |
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DJ Comments: Live footage of the man in a big red coat with big white collar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPYyHGjLrwk |
| 6:23 |
The Supremes |
Little Bright Star |
Merry Christmas |
Motown |
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DJ Comments: Audio of "Little Drummer Boy" from the same album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo1X68Fgsv0 |
| 6:25 |
The Twistin' Kings |
Xmas Twist |
The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 1: 1959-1961 (disc 6) |
Hip-O Select |
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DJ Comments: Apparently aka The Funk Brothers, the Motown house band! http://trunk-of-funk.blogspot.com/2008/12/xmas-twist-twistin-kings.html ; http://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/04/24/139/ |
| ---- air break ---- |
| 6:30 |
Charles Brown |
Please Come Home for Christmas |
Charles Brown's Cool Christmas Blues |
Bullseye Blues |
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