Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Juliette's Christmas World - Juliette

Continuing with the Christmas Made in Canada! theme, here's the second and probably coolest album I'll share with you this Christmas season (in my humble opinion), Juliette's Christmas World by ("Our Pet") Juliette, the 1960s Canadian TV icon.

There were three staples of a Canadian Christmas in the early-to-mid '60s: snow, Hockey Night in Canada on CBC and Juliette. No wonder then that Juliette would record a Christmas album, in this case for RCA Camden, showcasing her enchanting vocal talents with arrangements by Jimmy Dale and backed up by a quartet of voices known as The Swingers.

The album is at turns delightful, swinging cheese ("That Holiday Feeling" - destined for your next Christmas party music compilation), earnest good fun ("Sing Hosanna, Hallelujah") and heartfelt meditation ("Scarlet Ribbons" - surely one of this LP's most-played tracks if the groove distortion is any indication!) The dominating mood, however, is smooth - thanks to Juliette's caramel phrasing and Jimmy Dale's mellow arrangements ("Christmas is a Day of Miracles".)


I think every year each Christmas music blog shares out one album they're really excited about, and I think this one is mine. I've checked and I don't think this album has been shared elsewhere, and it's definitely never been released to CD. Relive then a mid'60s Canada, and let Juliette sweep you back to a cold, wintry Saturday night...

(My apologies for skipping the back cover -- I'll try to scan that and add it as an additional download as soon as possible.)

Please enjoy: Juliette's Christmas World

19 comments:

  1. Thanks! I'm looking forward to listening to this and imagining my Canadian cousins listening to it back when I was listening to Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff at Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never heard of her, but she has a fine voice. Thanks for a terrific album.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you. As a Canadian, I remember my parents listening to her. Great voice! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful! I'll need to steal a track for the ADVENTure In Carols. Not sure which one....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Did SCTV base a character on her or her specials? Lola Heatherton looks a lot like her.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I had the album and was fortunate to digitize the album. It just broke today in fact. I was looking for the mp3 of online and have been unsuccessful so far.

    ReplyDelete
  7. OMG!!!!
    i've been hoping for years to see the CD, as i remember well the vinyl that made such an impression on my childhood. and how appropriate that i should find your blog on xmas night!!
    thank you, thank you, thank you!!
    :)~

    ReplyDelete
  8. Juliette's version of "That Holiday Feeling" beats the holly berries outa Steve & Eydie. When I was a tyke, "Our Pet" (Juliette!) used to come on TV just after Hockey Night In Canada. I couldn't stay up that late, but I am now, in headphones!
    Nice rip too - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks

    Downloaded this before Christmas. It was one of my mother's favorite Christmas Albums and one of here favorite singers. We had a copy of the LP but it is very scratchy and skips in a few places.

    What a great copy this is. It brought back many memories of Christmas when we were much younger THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  10. To Tera;
    No, Juliette had more class. The inspiration for Catherine O'hara's great sendup was Joey Heatherington.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I left you a comment on december 25th 2010, and I leave one now, only to say thanks again as I much enjoy Juliette's songs, thanks to you. I had made a copy on tape of the scratchy vinyl Lp my mom had, but even the tape died eventually...

    Any idea why it was never marketed since we see so much retro stuff on the shelves?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ticklebear (never thought I'd write that!) - it would be nice if this was released on CD, however I don't think Juliette's profile is high enough to generate interest from RCA (now Sony?) It's a shame too as the upload has been downloaded about 550 times from this little-known Christmas music blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. WHAT???
    You don't like "TICKLEBEAR"?...
    :D
    THAT'S OK!!
    If you saw me, you'd think I'm anything but...
    Don't be fooled by appearances.

    I had been looking for years on the web, and your post showed up only a couple of weeks before my latest attempt. I call this destiny, and the end of my treasure hunt. It's blogs like yours that make it interesting.

    I'm pretty sure there's enough people in Canada remembering her favorably, but you're right, it is still too small a market for those big companies...

    Too bad for them.
    :D

    BTW:
    Have a great holiday season, since it is approaching. I did my decorations tonight. I guess I'm all set now!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you so much for this one, what a gem! Best wishes from Germany!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you. This LP is new to me, but after reading the comments, I'm looking forward to hearing it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for this. This reminds me so much of Christmases with my parents who sadly left us far too early. Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete