In the history of recorded music, there have been thousands of Christmas albums released by a wide range of artists across the world. So many in fact, that some of these albums have not received the full recognition that they deserve. Many of these recordings are surprisingly out-of-print, but most are readily available to eager Christmas music fans (with deep pockets!) from Ebay, flea markets, or finer Goodwill Stores.
Presented here for the very first time are 8 of the “finest” examples of recorded music, Christmas or otherwise, that you will likely ever find. You’ll be able to tell just how great these albums are just by looking at the fantastic cover art. Check out these classics:
Top tracks: “Sausages for Santa” & “(Meat You) Under the Mistletoe!”
By the mid-1960’s The Monkees were one of the most popular groups in the world. Many imitators sprung up around that time and one of the most successful were The Mom and Dads. If you’ll notice, the Moms and Dads even used the Monkees distinctive font style in their logo. This quartet of Mabel, Darrell, Herb & Arlo experienced near Beatles-like popularity and were at their pinnacle of success when they released this album in the winter of ’67. Unfortunately, by spring of ’68 things began to fall apart when The Moms and Dads' open marriage was revealed.
Top track: “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa, Santa, Santa!”
Famous German underwear model Heino recorded many albums in his day. The title of this, his 20th album, translates to “German Christmas and Festive Songs” and was recorded shortly after some elective eye surgery.
Top track: “Ist Das Eine Orange in Dienem Lieder Hosen?”
In 1958, the duo of Kenny & Corky were practically a household word. They were on TV, radio, movies; and when they finally released their big hit: “Nuttin’ For Christmas”, these two “adorable” puppets were on top of the world! Sadly, the duo split up after Corky returned from a solo tour with a mysterious case of “termites”. Kenny never sang again, instead he went on to produce some of the biggest acts in the business, like Frank Sinatra, Cher and Thore Skogman.
Top track: “Nuttin’ For New Year’s Either!”
Organist-extraordinaire, Lenny Dee released this lost classic "Happy Holi-Dee" in 1965. Accompanied by a full orchestra and his three frisky poodles, Buc-Buc, Bo-Buc and Banana-Fana, Lenny created a holiday masterpiece! This record is long out of print and very few copies exist. Look at that photo and you can almost imagine the sounds you would hear!
Top track: “Santa Don’t Park By That Hydrant, Please!”
When Croatian popstar Kico Slabinac came out with “Christmas with Kico” in 1984, the world just wasn’t ready for it. (Maybe it was the bangs.) After opening for Van Halen’s ’84 European Tour and an MTV special “Christmas with Kico in Ft. Lauderdale”, the album just didn’t take off. After that Kico turned his back on pop and switched to traditional Croatian folk music. This limited release is now highly coveted by collectors.
Top track: “(I’m Dreaming of a) White Eyebrow”
Tiny Tim’s Christmas Album… ok, the cover says it all on this one. I’ve got nothing.
Top track: “Tip-Toe Through the Mistletoe”
Finally,
you may remember William Hung from his time on American Idol a few years ago. Well, he may not have won that competition, but this crooner certainly won the hearts of music lovers around the globe! His first, of “hopefully” many, holiday records was “Hung For the Holidays”.
Top track: “I Wanna Be A Bobble-Head For Christmas!”
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at some truly timeless holiday music, and I apologize to applaud anyone who decides to track down these elusive records and add them to their collections.
Merry Christmas! Or, as Heino would put it; Frohe Weihnachten!
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