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Christmas PastThis peach of a reissue was compiled by Westside, a British label specializing in soul. Christmas Past (1998) brings together varied holiday releases from the Roulette family of labels (End, Dimension, Colpix, and others). In most cases, the disc even includes both a- and b-sides of the singles! Truly great rhythm classics by the Cadillacs, Orioles, and Pearl Bailey sit side-by-side with novelties of unspeakable weirdness. These include chucklers by Jim Backus (pre-Mr. Magoo) and Howard Morris (best known as Ernest T. Bass on the Andy Griffith Show), but the winner has got to be "There Won't Be Any Snow (Christmas In The Jungle)," in which our hero is stuck in Vietnam for the holidays - and gets fragged for Christmas!

That song by Derrik Roberts (misspelled by Westide as "Derrick") was actually cut in two versions - the one that Westside uses, where the protagonist gets shot, and another with a different closing verse that allows him to survive. As documented in 45cat, the label wanted to give disk jockeys the option to not bum their listeners out. The happier version is available on Bear Family's huge boxed set, Next Stop Is Vietnam: The War On Record 1961-2008.

Albums Albums

SongsEssential Songs

  • After New Year's Eve (Heartbeats, 1957)
  • Be-Bop Santa Claus (Babs Gonzales, 1958)
  • Christmas Prayer (Valentines, 1955)
  • Department Store Santa (Howard Morris, 1960)
  • Don't Cry For Me This Christmas (Marcels, 1961)
  • Five Pound Box Of Money (Pearl Bailey, 1959)
  • Happy New Year Baby (Jo Ann Campbell, 1958)
  • I Want A Boy For Christmas (Del-Vets, 1961)
  • I Wish You A Merry Christmas (Little Eva & Big Dee Irwin, 1963)
  • It's Christmas Once Again (Frankie Lymon, 1957)
  • (It's Gonna Be) A Lonely Christmas (Orioles, 1948)
  • Jingle Bells Cha-Cha-Cha (Pearl Bailey, 1959)
  • Merry Twist-mas (Marcels, 1961)
  • My Boyfriend's Coming Home For Christmas (Toni Wine, 1963)
  • Oh Holy Night (Orioles, 1950)
  • Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Cadillacs, 1956)
  • Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Harmony Grits, 1959)
  • There Won't Be Any Snow (Christmas In The Jungle) (Derrik Roberts, 1965)
  • What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (Orioles, 1949)
  • Why Don't You Go Home For Christmas? (Jim Backus, 1958)

Further ListeningFurther Listening

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