Christmas time (and the holidays in general) is without a doubt my favorite time of year! It has been ever since I was a little girl. I love the lights. I love decorations. And I LOVE THE MUSIC. As a result, I have been collecting vintage Christmas records for ages—there is something about a holiday song played on a hi-fi that makes it even more festive. Reminds me of the music my parents would play for us when we were kiddos.
Back in the day, Christmas music was so much more fun and interesting. Nowadays I feel like all we get are the “diva” croonings of the latest R&B star slaughtering an old carol with vocal acrobatics. In the 50s, 60s, 70s people actually wrote new christmas songs and did innovative versions of old standards. There were also TONS of compilations featuring all the stars of the day. I especially loved the album artwork—take a look at just a few of these:
This next one has a rather worn and uninteresting-looking cover (bowl of apples by the roaring fire, anyone?) oh yo, but just you wait! Open this lovely LP up and see what’s inside……
A pop-up house! It’s so cute and adorable….
But on to the REAL reason behind today’s post. As most of you know I’m an obsessive thrifter and vintage lover….and as a result I have amassed a big collection of cheesy-but-delightful holiday records. Over the past years I have wanted to digitize my vinyl as a way to preserve it—and so I could share it with others. I’ve transformed a fair amount of my albums to MP3 and thanks to the help of my super cool friend Spencer (from the awesome SAP Music blog who has one of the best record collections around) I’ve managed to build a fun menagerie of retro MP3s. So I wanted to share with you some of my favorite vintage holiday tunes! So without further ado, presenting:
The ALIXMAS 2010 Retro Holiday Mix!
It’s all goofy cocktails-by-the-fire kinda music. Some highlights?
“Too Fat for the Chimney” — Gisele Mackenzie
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” — Loretta Young
“A Christmas Song” — Shawn Phillips (sorta dixieland cowboy xmas)
And of course the groovy smooth sounds of David Cassidy
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”— The Partridge Family
It’s an eclectic mix and I played it non-stop last year. I’ll be putting together some more in the coming weeks. Feel free to link here and share the Christmas love!
{NOTE: MIX IS OFFICIALLY UNLOCKED FOR DECEMBER!}
Can’t wait to get home and add it to my collection!
WHAT?! this generosity is madness i tell you, MADNESS. you’ve just made this xmas 500% more awesome. thank you 😀
There is nothin like a really old scratchy Christmas record! Its allI listen to at this time of the year!!!
Hope you both had a beautiful thanksgiving!xo
Come by and visit me when you get a chance 🙂
xo
http://www.littlemissheirlooms.blogspot.com
Hi lady!
Thanks so much for stopping by…i’m heading over your way right now!
: )
Ooohhhh….goody! Can’t wait to listen to this mix – vintage Christmas here we come!
Thank you!
Cheers
Ness
this is beyond fantastic, i CAN NOT WAIT to pop this on while we wax nostalgic over ornaments and christmas decor this weekend.
and the pop up house?! wow.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is precisely what I needed this Christmas!
This is a great gift! Thanks Alix!
Marla!!!! How are you lovely lady?? And how is the fabulous Stella?? xox
super duper great alix!
i love this! oooh, may i put in a request?? maybe one of jackson 5 song from their christmas album you mentioned in your retro holiday post??
Oooh yes. That album is my fave fave fave!
Oh lawdy—this is some GOOD STUFF here, Alex. Some wholly new old stuff for these ears! Thanks for setting us all up for fabulous Christmas music. Been blasting it all morning! Holiday smoochies to you, XO Kelly
So glad you like! I should post this to the 3MPM Facebook page! Is that allowed?
i love it i love it i love it. and that pop-up house is amazing. what a fun thing to pull out every year!
Alix – I just happened to find this treasure and was wondering if you would still be willing to share the password needed to download what looks/sounds like an amazing mix! Thanks! Jason (jvandiver1@gmail.com)
Alix, I remembered how awesome your Vol. 2 mix was when I downloaded it a few years ago. I never downloaded this one. Could I possibly have the password emailed to me? Pretty please? =D If you can, here’s my email: analovesjoe[at]aol[dot]com
Oh! Scratch that. I have it! LOL