Sunday, July 22, 2007

The John Gary Christmas Album


John Gary wishes you a Merry Christmas! How do I know that? It says so, right on the back of this LP!

Who is John Gary? He was a versatile vocalist (3 whoppin' octaves), born in 1932 who passed away in 1998. While he never achieved the mainstream status of many of his contemporaries, he recorded 23 albums for RCA Victor (see more at Wikipedia), including this gem, The John Gary Christmas Album.

Featuring the soothing vocals of one John Gary, orchestra arranged by Peter Matz and background vocalists, this is a wholly enjoyable little Christmas album. Straight laced, and timeless in that early 1960s mode. All of the standards are here, with a few lesser-known titles like "Little Snow Girl" and "Sweet Little Jesus Boy", beautifully rendered by our new tree-gazing music friend, John Gary.

But wait! Wasn't this released on CD, you ask? It was. In 2000 on Restart Records and now languishing out-of-print. Plus, the version I've uploaded is in Mono (RCA also issued a stereo LP). Consider this the best way to hear this album without taking away sales of an album no longer on sale... (Got that?)

Update! — This album is now available - in stereo - on John Gary's official website. Buy it today!


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20 comments:

  1. Traitor VicJuly 23, 2007 at 4:08 AM

    Fantastic! Thanks so much.

    Hope your Christmas in July is as Merry as mine has been.

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  2. ErickJuly 25, 2007 at 11:24 AM

    Thank you for this album. My mom had this record and I grew up listening to it every Christmas. It brings back wonderful memories.

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  3. DaveNovember 27, 2007 at 10:40 PM

    I"ve never heard this LP, but I grew up with a W. T. Grant's Compilation LP that has him singing "Sweet Little Jesus Boy". It is one of my fondest memories of Christmas music from the 60's listening to my Dad's Lps. Thanks for sharing.
    Dave

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  4. DanDecember 8, 2007 at 11:00 PM

    hey, hi-fi, I am just sitting down to write a post about you and I got to tell you that 3 John Gary songs are going onto my year round ipod mix, thanks.

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  5. AnonymousDecember 3, 2008 at 5:55 PM

    THANK YOU! Yes, i also grew up with this every Christmas. Dad liked good jazz (yeah!) and Mom liked John Gary, Andy Williams, etc... That said, i have NEVER heard anyone do "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" like John Gary (probably plying guitar for himself) -- a nice mix of jazz-inspired chords and not-too-sentimental strings. Kudos -- and all done both in the spirit and letter of the law!

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  6. AnonymousDecember 31, 2008 at 6:33 AM

    it would not be christmas without listening to the john gary christmas album it means so much to me to hear little snow girl and sweet little jesus boy.it really makes the season for me.NOTHING brings me back to my childhood christmas quite like this album,this year my dad had it on the record player for me when i got home. thanks sooo much

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  7. nrachubaNovember 14, 2009 at 7:40 PM

    I just stumbled across your site and I am hooked! To my surprise I see that you have the John Gary Christmas Album! This was a fav of my late Mom. i grew up listening to this album every year. Thank you for the download. I have been searching for this in CD format and have been unsuccessful, sadly. Thank for making this a fabulous Christmas!!

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  8. SandmanDecember 1, 2009 at 12:18 PM

    I still have the original album, albeit a bit on the worn and torn side. Thanks to you, I've got a clean sounding memory of footed, winter pj outfits and staring at the tinsel twinkling noble fir. Cheers!

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  9. AnonymousDecember 8, 2009 at 7:42 PM

    Thanks! What a great Christmas album!!

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  10. AnonymousDecember 31, 2009 at 1:55 PM

    The John Gary Christmas album from the original Stereo source tape is available at johngary.com.....currently.....John

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  11. AnonymousJanuary 8, 2010 at 10:13 PM

    John . . . thanks for the info. I'll be ordering it for sure. Noreen

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  12. UnknownNovember 30, 2010 at 11:16 AM

    Found you during a search for the John Gary Christmas Album, looking for both the songs you mentioned. They were such a part of my Christmases growing up.

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  13. WandersDecember 8, 2010 at 9:27 AM

    This is one of my all time favorite Christmas albums. Thanks for sharing it with everyone. It's a shame it is out of print. I listen to it every year.

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  14. :-jDecember 11, 2010 at 11:43 PM

    I have a digitized version of the LP with all the crackles and pops. I just found this year that three of the songs have 0 bytes. I still have the LP but no turntable.
    I was so happy to find this link. Thank you!
    jefndener

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  15. TadDecember 17, 2010 at 6:35 PM

    This is a very nicely remastered mono version. Thanks! The stereo cd version is available at John Gary's family website. The family has the rights to the original RCA master tapes. Well worth getting.

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  16. Vincent DesjardinsDecember 19, 2010 at 2:30 PM

    Thanks so much for posting the John Gary Christmas album and reminding me of what a great singer he was. He's one of those celebrities I remember seeing on talk shows when I was growing up.

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  17. nrachubaDecember 20, 2010 at 11:37 AM

    Ordered the CD from the official John Gary site. It is wonderful! Worth every penny!!

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  18. LeahJanuary 20, 2011 at 9:11 PM

    This was THE Christmas album we listened to every season when I was a kid. I was hoping to find it when helping to clear out my mom's garage, but no luck. Ahh, but what joyous luck to find it here. So many lovely memories of laying next to the Christmas tree, crossing my eyes to make the lights go fuzzy, and hearing John Gary singing "The Christmas Song" and "Little Snow Girl" on the turntable. His clear tenor voice so sweet and soothing. Thank you so much for making this available to download. It will be treasured until that old family vinyl pops up.

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  19. AnonymousJuly 19, 2013 at 8:30 PM

    I just found your blog. Is this link no longer active? I would love to have this album.

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  20. CMW4766October 10, 2015 at 2:02 PM

    1964’s The John Gary Christmas Album, arranged and conducted by the great Peter Matz, went to No. 3 for the smooth vocalist the year it came out. An instant classic, it remained on the Christmas charts for four straight years after that. Real Gone Music brings this Christmas gem to CD with its original artwork in a new presentation featuring liner notes by John’s widow Lee Gary and remastering by Maria Triana at Battery Studios!

    Release Date: October 9th, 2015
    Real Gone Music
    Formats: CD
    Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal

    http://shop.realgonemusic.com/products/john-gary-the-john-gary-christmas-album-cd

    http://www.amazon.com/The-John-Gary-Christmas-Album/dp/B013PZTHLE/ref=pd_bxgy_15_img_z

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