tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83755702597596119442012-01-17T01:20:16.429-05:00Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-61736485955214290632011-12-20T20:41:00.000-05:002011-12-20T20:52:06.762-05:00

Hoo boy, just days from Christmas 2011! My apologies for the lack of prolific album shares, but I seem to end up recording more than I can share here. Why not finish 2011 with a doozy — albeit a title that has been shared previously elsewhere (via Ernie Not Bert). My philosophy: I ripped it, so I might as well share it! Here then is Christmas Surprises From The Ralph Hunter Choir. This one has

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-47729080854287866652011-12-14T20:40:00.000-05:002011-12-14T20:42:48.208-05:00

Waldo de los Rios, according to Wikipedia, was an Argentine composer, conductor and arranger. He passed away in 1977, just a few years after he recorded and released this album, Christmas with Waldo de los Rios (aka "Navidad Con Waldo de Los Rios") for Hispa-Vox (Capitol in North America). Rios was known for adapting classical music into a contemporary (for the time) easy-listening style and

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-79875205973113753322011-12-13T08:51:00.000-05:002011-12-14T20:41:27.555-05:00

Hi folks — just an update... I had a couple of albums ready to go to post, however one was recently shared elsewhere (Christmas Surprises with the Ralph Hunter Choir — though I might still share it!) and another was recently released on CD (We All Need a Little Christmas by The Golddiggers.) So instead I'll post another album this week. New post here!

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-40004739227495345642011-11-30T19:41:00.001-05:002011-11-30T21:04:46.586-05:00

Getting the (snow) ball rolling on 2010, here's a various artists album, Christmas Is For Children, from Lion Records (L70079) dated 1958, featuring a trio of kiddie tunes from Barry Gordon ("I Like Christmas"), Little Rita Faye ("I Fell Out of the Christmas Tree" — for you rural Christmas nuts) and Leslie Uggams ("The Fat, Fat Man"). You'll find the sound quality varies between each track (

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-91274549042649343692011-11-12T13:04:00.000-05:002011-11-12T13:04:23.523-05:00

Howdy, folks! I've been working on my annual Christmas compilation, aptly titled Hi-Fi Holidays,  and it struck me — I've got to get to sharing some Christmas music on this here blog again. Please stay tuned, more musical yuletide memories are in store. See you soon!

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-8771553409470206592010-12-22T17:00:00.000-05:002010-12-22T17:00:00.312-05:00

It's December the 22nd... And you are longing to be up... North...? The date may be wrong, but the sentiment is the same -- everyone wants a Christmas Made in Canada! To round out my album shares this season, I present to you Meilleurs Voeux (Season's Greetings) (1963) featuring the rollicking organ sounds of Mr. Lucien Hetu, of Montreal, Quebec. Recorded on a Gulbransen Rialto K, Hetu guides us

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-63771142802653221682010-12-15T19:09:00.000-05:002010-12-15T19:09:29.298-05:00

Christmas Made in Canada! rolls on... Before there was Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Anne Murray... There was Wilf Carter! An East-Coaster (he hailed from Nova Scotia), Carter -- according to Wikipedia -- is the father of country music in Canada, and judging by the photo on the cover, was one happy dude. And it shows in this RCA Camden recording of 10 Christmas tunes, Christmas in

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-13836619691108510952010-12-08T21:37:00.002-05:002010-12-08T21:39:27.987-05:00

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

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-83086741507539246252010-11-29T21:23:00.001-05:002010-11-29T21:24:28.400-05:00

Earlier I mentioned a theme for 2010's posts, and now it's time to reveal that theme: Christmas Made in Canada! Yes, that's right, Hi-Fi Holiday is HQ'd in the Great White North. What better place in the world to celebrate the Yuletide season, where it's very cold outside, baby, for almost five months a year! Kicking off Christmas Made in Canada! is Boris Brott conducting members of the Hamilton

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-44084321288144543292010-11-09T19:36:00.000-05:002010-11-09T19:36:42.842-05:00

Before I begin posting the promised "themed" albums this season I thought I'd first post an album (or two) I've wanted to share but for one reason or another never had the opportunity. The first is the fantastic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (1963, Decca) performed by Wayne King and His Orchestra & Chorus featuring the Wayne Robinson Singers.  I've nabbed two tracks from the album for

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-3490279591216070912010-10-21T09:14:00.001-04:002010-11-09T19:38:34.789-05:00

Hi, folks! Sharing time -- and Christmas -- are right around the corner, and I'm hurriedly recording some great music for Hi-Fi Holidays.  This year my posts will probably be themed (more on that later), so I hope you come back in a few weeks to check out what's new.  See you then! 11/9/10 - Update! All new links will be hosted on Mediafire.  Older Rapidshare links will be updated ASAP.  Enjoy.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-75935244762074590352009-11-30T19:25:00.001-05:002009-11-30T19:28:51.536-05:00

I've been slacking a bit, so it's time to show Hi-Fi some love.  Here's a new album:  The Gene Lowell Chorus' Caroling Caroling (that's right, no punctuation!) Released on album in 1958 (Warner Bros. Records / WS 1233), this warm-sounding, yuletide fest for male choir is a great Christmas Eve mood-setting choice. Consisting mainly of the aforementioned male choir, there is also occasional brass

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-59274754068721198062009-10-06T20:33:00.001-04:002009-10-27T18:34:48.504-04:00

Woohoo, Christmas 2009 is fast approaching! Well, it's about three months away. But I can't wait, because I've recorded a handful of albums this summer that I need to share. NOW. First up is The Christmas Voices of Walter Schumann, the Pickwick Records re-issue and electronic stereo-ification of 1951's Christmas In The Air. The contents of this album have been shared out a few times on some

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-55357048073027699612008-12-23T19:05:00.000-05:002009-10-14T13:17:24.217-04:00

One more in the series of 'Living' albums, and perhaps the last post this year, here's The Spirit of Christmas by The Living Strings. This one might be the most shared Christmas album on the planet, I'm not exactly sure. But since I recorded the album for myself, I thought I should share it here too.It's up to the usual standards of the series with nice arrangements by composer Johnny Douglas,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-77312644148968578902008-12-17T22:25:00.001-05:002008-12-17T23:12:58.281-05:00

Christmas music blogs are a wonderful thing. There's a handful of really great ones that dig deep each year by taking the time to restore and share some great LPs that were once lost to time. If there's a downside, it's that these great blogs have posted some great stuff I'd planned to share! I'm not going to ask them to stop -- just the opposite. But that's enough whining, it's almost

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-5296681721194358382008-11-19T20:56:00.001-05:002008-11-19T21:10:12.500-05:00

The "Living" series continues with... The Living Guitars! Yes, this is an entire album featuring your favorite Christmas classics all accentuated for guitars. But this should really be called The Living Guitars and Organ and Bells, because that's what you'll find in the 1969 selection.It's a breezy and brief album (just shy of twenty-three minutes), with the arrangements best suited for lighter

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-9333555852321785412008-11-11T00:49:00.000-05:002008-11-19T21:09:13.096-05:00

The actual title of this one is Christmas With The William Booth Singers and The International Staff Band of The Salvation Army. But that's too long to fit in a blog post title!CWTWBSATISBOTSA, for short, is a neat little album. It's a mix of vocal tracks with band, and instrumental only tracks, warbled out with gusto by the brass-heavy Salvation Army band. It's the only Christmas music I've

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-77692639419453624692008-10-17T20:46:00.000-04:002008-11-19T21:10:38.970-05:00

Johnny Cole (aka Johnny Kaye, aka The Voices of Christmas, aka...!) must have been a workhorse for Crown Records. Under a number of guises he churned out a handful of Christmas albums for the label , including Wishing You A Merry Christmas. All while while channeling his very best Perry Como.On Wishing You..., Johnny's sleepy tone is backed by his enthusiastic chorus. It's not the pinnacle of

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-71607783091526443862008-10-17T01:24:00.000-04:002008-10-17T20:02:09.084-04:00

We're rolling now. It's Fall, the temperature is dropping (at least here it is) and it's time to start posting some albums. I've been waiting all summer for this!First up is Merry Christmas by The Mills Brothers. 12 familiar favorite songs all performed with emphasis on the Mills' vocal stylings, with minimal accompaniment (organ, chimes, harp). Highlights include "O Holy Night" (when isn't

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-11278144130370204172008-07-05T01:09:00.000-04:002008-07-21T20:07:06.077-04:00

It's July... Time for some Christmas tunes?Here's a quickie, "Christmas Suite For Orchestra" by Richard Benson and Orchestra from the Reader's Digets 4-LP set Joyous Music For Christmas Time.According to a review on Amazon of the set, Joyous Music For Christmas Time originally retailed for: "$7.99 ($1 more if you wanted stereo.)This album was available every year until 1973 and eventually sold

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-48483740302935518782008-06-10T17:58:00.001-04:002008-06-10T18:00:23.143-04:00

Hi folks, seems like there's people visiting here even as the temperature rises outside and Christmas is a distant memory. I'm checking in to let you know there's more music to come. I've been recording a lot of LPs over the past month, some gems, some less so! Please stop by every once and awhile and hopefully you'll find something you like.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-54000930609170480742007-12-23T15:00:00.000-05:002007-12-23T15:16:56.031-05:00

Regretfully I've been so busy with work that I haven't had the opportunity to post as many albums as I'd like before Christmas. So I'm going to add one today - Paul Mauriat's The Christmas Album - and one tomorrow to make up for it. This is a top-notch offering from Mauriat, for full orchestra and wordless chorus. There's the old favourites here: "Jingle Bells", "White Christmas", "Silent

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-26308792700030228952007-12-12T23:10:00.000-05:002007-12-12T23:43:24.628-05:00

A double-LP set deserves a long title, and this one has one! This is Shell's Wonderful World of Music: Special Christmas Edition by the Longines Symphonette Society. According to Wikipedia, The Longines Symphonette Society was a record label created by the watch company Longines. Makes perfect sense.Here are 20 carols performed in the wholly inoffensive choral/orchestral tradition ("Little

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-27480502111217034302007-11-27T02:05:00.000-05:002008-10-17T20:02:44.807-04:00

As I write this, Christmas is just 29 days away. Wow, it seems like I was just putting up an album in July!Seasonal sharity is in full swing so I figured I'd get my butt in gear and join in. My first album of Christmas '07 is the kiddie-centric record Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Rudolph's Second Christmas, featuring two stories narrated by Paul Wing, written by Robert May, with music by

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-72218888696095815262007-07-22T19:03:00.000-04:002007-07-24T13:40:11.913-04:00

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

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-8457501125601072902007-07-11T17:58:00.000-04:002007-07-24T13:40:26.087-04:00

Okay, let's get this party started. To celebrate Christmas In July, here's Sammy Kaye's Christmas Serenade a 10" LP from Columbia Records (CL 2541). I haven't been able to track down a recording date for this LP, but Ernie Not Bert's blog shared an album with the same name last year (though with different contents). That LP was dated 1951 (see link).This is a mix of fun tunes with more serious

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-35163164902624869772007-07-07T13:17:00.001-04:002007-07-07T13:21:27.205-04:00

Hi folks. It's July, and apparently the Christmas music blogs begin to wake up and add a few new albums to celebrate the halfway point between last Christmas and next Christmas. I too have a few classics I'll be adding to Hi-Fi Holiday over the next few weeks. Time to fire up the record player!All of my previously shared albums are still available for download, so if you've been waiting (and

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-29659847099391303382007-01-01T23:16:00.000-05:002007-01-01T23:18:51.791-05:00

Well, it's 2007, and officially the end of the Christmas season. Thanks to everyone who visited, and checked out the music. Special thanks to those who posted their comments. You made it worthwhile!I now have 12 months to get more Lps recorded, and cleaned and ready for next Christmas. I might add one to the blog here and there throughout the year, so check in every once and a while to see if

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-6531931172117591462006-12-20T23:23:00.001-05:002009-11-11T00:07:41.427-05:00

Okay, another album before Christmas... It's that time of the year... Wait, didn't Jack Jones sing that on Firestone's Your Favorite Christmas Carols? He did, and that's the latest album on the blog. It's like Circus of The Stars: Jack Jones, the Vienna Choir Boys, and Roberta Peters all perform a mix of new, old and non-secular tunes arranged and conducted by Irwin Kostal. The highlight is

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-40671008251919848102006-12-17T23:52:00.000-05:002011-11-23T22:14:46.046-05:00

We're hurtling towards Christmas here, so I guess I should step on the gas a bit and offer another album. This one is The Little Drummer Boy by The Living Voices and just happens to be my personal favorite album this year. Why? Well, to me it's just perfect Christmas music: the mixed vocals are in that mid-'60s stylization, and the orchestral accompaniment is light -- there's nothing on this

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-62331192176042651922006-12-13T01:55:00.000-05:002006-12-13T02:11:59.287-05:00

Here's a nice little album from 1958, Mery Christmas (imaginative title, yes?) performed by John Clayton his Orchestra and Chorus. Who is John Clayton? Can't tell you. A search of Google only finds jazz arranger and band leader John Clayton, who is still very much alive and would have been just a few years old when this record was released. It's unlikely than that he was involved with

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-54540954401594524302006-12-04T20:21:00.000-05:002006-12-04T21:01:58.866-05:00

The first album I'd like to share isn't really comprised of the standard set of Christmas favorites. Instead it's a 1973 songs, sound and story album from Disneyland Records called The Sounds of Christmas, featuring Peter Renoudet (aka Renaday) singing and narrating his heart out. Renoudet sounds like a mock-sincere Will Ferrell character, and the album's twice-sung title track, "The Sounds of

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375570259759611944.post-60643197526975383142006-12-04T20:15:00.000-05:002006-12-04T21:09:11.896-05:00

Hi all - and welcome to this new blog, devoted to the Christmas music of yesteryear. Please join me as I share some of the musty old LPs I've been lucky enough to discover these past few months.What's with the URL? Well, I had some difficulties remembering my login/password for hifiholidays.blogspot.com, so when I went to re-register, half-paying attention, I typed in hif-fi-holidays. Let that

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13711489411524084622noreply@blogger.com6