Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Monday, December 5, 2022

Various Artists - Billboard Greatest R&B Christmas Hits (1990)


Skimpy but nonetheless useful budget compilation of Christmas songs from the Rhino label, mostly mining the gold mine of '40s & '50s R&B. A few can still be heard on the radio each December, but not nearly enough.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: 10 tracks, 27 minutes.

ArtistTitle
Year*
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers Merry Christmas Baby
1947
The Orioles (It's Gonna Be A) Lonely Christmas1948
Mabel Scott Boogie Woogie Santa Claus1948
Amos Milburn Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby1949
Lou Rawls Little Drummer Boy1967
Brook Benton This Time Of The Year1959
The Cadillacs Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer1956
Chuck Berry Run Rudolph Run1958
The Jackson 5 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town1970
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Silent Night1949
*date denotes first Christmas season that record made on one or more of the various Billboard charts
Included is the original version of Merry Christmas Baby (sung by pianist Charles Brown) and a few rarely heard tunes: the sad, smooth vocals of (It's Gonna Be A) Lonely Christmas, the ballad This Time Of The Year, and the bluesy Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby. The latter piece is certainly deserving of a cover/comeback/discovery. And don't miss Mabel Scott belting out Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955 - Present) (1989)

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