#Frank & Atlas are like barbie dolls to me

[raptureshots]

I'm the lonelier version of you, I just don't know where it went wrong :((

[younglarva]

Christmas Trumpets/We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Ray Anthony • [clip: Christmas stencils with Glass Wax] • Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo - Billy May • Frosty the Snowman - The Ventures • Deck The Halls - Los Straitjackets • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Sonar Sub Hunt] • Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Booker T. & The M.G.'s • We Free Kings - Rahsaan Roland Kirk Quartet • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Whirlybirds] • Exotic Night - Martin Denny • Jungle Bells (Dingo-Dongo-Day) - Les Paul & Mary Ford • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Ideal Pos'n Tammy doll] • Santa Claus Go Straight To the Ghetto - James Brown • Sleigh Ride/Santa Claus' Party - Ferrante & Teicher • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Atlas Rocket] • I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jimmy McGriff • Tit For Tat (Ain't No Taking Back) - James Brown • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Barbie] • Jingle Bells - Booker T. & The M.G.'s • Back Door Santa - Clarence Carter • Warm December - Julie London • Silver Bells - Booker T. & The M.G.'s • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Astro Base] • Gee Whiz, It's Christmas - Carla Thomas • Presents for Christmas - Solomon Burke • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Ideal Racing Boats] • This Christmas - Donny Hathaway • Soulful Christmas - James Brown • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Barbie & Ken] • Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday - William Bell • What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder • Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Ella Fitzgerald • Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!/Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Eddie Dunstedter • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Car Wash] • Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Dick Tracy Gun] • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Temptations • Merry Christmas Baby (live) - Ray Charles • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Dick Tracy Radio] • Let's Unite the Whole World At Christmas - James Brown • Jingle Bells/Jingle Bell Rock - The Hollyridge Strings • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Major Matt Mason] • Christmas Kisses - Ray Anthony • Sleigh Ride/Jingle Bells - Al Caiola • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Robot Commander] • Little Saint Nick - Hollyridge Strings • [clip: vintage toy commercial - Navy Frogmen] • It's Christmas Time All Over the World - Jackie Gleason Orchestra • Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year, Pt. 1 & 2 - James Brown • [download]

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• Trumpeter Ray Anthony (Christmas Trumpets) is currently the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra and is still active at 96 years young! Ray also did stints with Frank Sinatra, Al Donahue and Jimmy Dorsey but is probably best know for his string of hits with his eponymous orchestra in the 50s and 60s which blended pop, rock and easy listening styles into a popular top ten formula. He also worked on some television soundtracks (Dragnet, Peter Gunn) and even did a little acting himself in the early 1950s. He was also the second husband (until 1959) of actress/singer/sex-symbol Maimie Van Doren. •Roland Kirk (We Free Kings) was an iconoclast multi-instrumentalist known mostly for his unorthodox approach (often playing two or three horns at once), outspoken personality (he often went on satirical and absurdist political and philosophical rants during performances) and that he did all this as a blind person. Blinded as a child, he was playing saxophone professionally by the age of 15 and performed with many jazz greats of the time (that is Kirk you hear on lead flute on Quincy Jones’s 1964 hit, “Soul Bossa Nova” later popularized by the Austin Powers films). Kirk’s output as bandleader, composer, and solo performer, combined blues, soul-jazz, hard bop, avant-garde, classical and pop. Kirk succumbed to a stroke in 1977 but left a rich legacy of challenging and whimsical music. Two interesting bits of trivia: he added “Rahsaan” to his name not as a member of the Nation of Islam but because it had appeared to him in a dream; comedian and late night talk show host, Jay Leno toured with Kirk in the mid-seventies as his opening act and they would often improvise comedy bits together on stage during the performance.

• Eddie Dunstedter (Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer), was an in-demand organist in the radio and early television era who released a series of popular instrumental albums on the Capitol label (including several Christmas editions) throughout the 50s and early 60s. He retired from performing and went into the teaching profession in 1965 and passed away in 1974. He may be best known for the score of sci-fi shocker “Donovan’s Brain” (1953) starring future first lady Nancy Davis (Reagan).