Okay... you're probably saying to yourself "Self, that cover looks awfully familiar. Have I seen that somewhere before or have I just drank too much eggnog???"
Before you dial up the EggNog Anonymous hotline, this identical cover was used as an alternate of The Murk Family's Christmas album. It later appeared as an alternate cover for Mickey Rooney's Christmas album (but if you saw the other cover, you'd understand why this one was used... you've been warned!).
When I saw this album at a thrift store in Chicago, I was half tempted to pass it up - who needs yet another Christmas organ album and I don't need a THIRD album with the same cover in my collection. Or did I? I read the back and kept asking myself "Why does the name Frank Pellico ring a bell?"
I added the album to the pile and continued on my merry way (you can never beat 25 cents for an LP). Only after I left the city limits of my former hometown and got back to my current hometown of Fort Wayne did I discover the treasure that made the 150+ mile trek east.
Frank Pellico grew up in Chicago during a time when roller rinks regularly featured live organists playing skating music. In high school, Frank studied the organ under the tutelage of Al Melgrand, the legendary organist of the massive Barton organ installed in Chicago Stadium during Chicago Blackhawks hockey games.
Pellico began playing at roller rinks throughout Chicago and played nightly at the Matterhorn Supper Club in Palos Hills, IL. His reputation as a top-notch organist was secured when in 1970, he was hired by the Chicago Cubs to play the Lowrey organ at all of their home games at Beautiful Wrigley Field.
It was around this time that Frank recorded an album entitled "Touching" that featured his amazing organ skills on the Hammond X-66 organ:
In 1976, Pellico and the Cubs parted ways (the new organist was Vance Fothergill - real Cub fans know this stuff). Frank continued to play all over Chicago as well as continue his recording career. That takes us up to 1978 - the year of the Christmas album you're looking at.
Disco was ruling the airwaves at the time and Frank wanted to stay current. Click on the back album cover to read what you're about to listen to.
When you hear the very first notes of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", images of "Hill Street Blues" will immediately come to mind. Then the cool organ kicks in and transforms the experience to a whole new level.
It's a unique album - a true testament to its times. Any sports bar in Chicago would be proud to have this album in their collection and would gladly play it on their speakers during happy hour.
As the 1980s began, Frank still recorded his music and played the organ wherever and whenever he could. It was around this time that amazing things were happening for the occupants of Chicago Stadium.
The Blackhawks sported a new look with youngsters like Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour, and Chris Chelios. The Bulls were putting a nucleus of talent together around a kid from North Carolina... some guy who wore #23... name of Jordan...
In the early 1990s, the Blackhawks and Bulls were packing them in at the Stadium as a vacancy opened up for an organist on the old Barton organ. They needed someone who understood the massive organ, someone who had experience, someone who could rile up the crowds.
One last note: as many sports arenas around the country move toward the school of "ESPN Rock Jams" and phase out organists altogether, Chicago stands alone as one of the few sports towns that openly embrace their organists.
Nancy Faust has been playing for the White Sox since the mid-1970s and is credited with introducing the "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" song to sports. Gary Pressy has had the Chicago Cubs job since 1987 and played with Harry Caray all those 7th inning stretches. He now plays with tone-deaf celebs during the stretch (GROAN!!)
Frank Pellico's been with the Blackhawks since 1991 and the ownership recently tried to cut into his playing time. The fans quickly rallied to his side and he's still a fixture above the home ice.
In yesterday's post, I gave props to Buster over at Big 10-Inch Record for posting some darn good shares this downloading season. Late last month, I posted an entry that mentioned that two albums I originally had planned on sharing out were already posted to Buster's blog.
One of those two albums was this gem of a Christmas album. I was ready to file it away for the winter and move on to other shares when our friend Ernie (not Bert) pointed out in a comment that Buster had posted a high-fidelity copy of the album whilst mine read STEREO!
It's commonplace here for me to miss small things like that. Maybe it's the early stages of Alzheimer's... Thanks for bringing that to my attention Ern!
Backstory: Marjorie Chandler was born in 1926 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada - just across the river from Detroit, Michigan. She developed a love for music and began singing on radio stations on BOTH sides of the river in her teens. It was also during this time she adopted a new stage name: Dorothy Collins.
On a trip to Chicago in 1940, 14-yr. old Dorothy met bandleader/composer Raymond Scott and was quickly hired into his band. Throughout the 1940s, Scott mentored, tutored, and taught everything Collins needed to know about phrasing, breath control, etc., and became a popular vocalist of the day.
In 1949, CBS asked Scott to take over the bandleading duties for one of its popular shows, "Your Hit Parade". Just as they were getting their feet wet in radio, NBC decided to create the television version of "YHP". With her good looks and style, Dorothy quickly became a fan favorite and rose to stardom.
"Your Hit Parade" was a huge hit on television throughout the 1950s. People tuned in weekly to see and hear the popular songs of the day with male vocalists Snooky Lawson, Russell Arms, and another popular female Canadian vocalist named Gisele MacKenzie!
Then came rock-n-roll. With the advent of Elvis, Ricky, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and others climbing the charts, "Your Hit Parade" tried desperately to stay in touch with the times.
Needless to say, "Your Hit Parade" took a dive in the ratings. Before its run ended, Collins went into the recording studio to create the album you're looking at. With the backing of Nathan Van Cleve & His Orchestra, she recorded twelve straightforward rendtions of Christmas songs.
Nothing really jumps out at you, style wise. Except Collins' wonderful voice.
After the demise of "YHP" in 1959, Collins appeared on television shows and in musical theater. In 1971, she was one of the original cast members in the Stephen Sondheim landmark musical "Follies" and was nominated for a Tony Award for her role.
For five years (1974-1979), she was co-host of a syndicated version of "Candid Camera" with Allen Funt. One such stunt that I remember was Dorothy driving a Volkswagen bug into a gas station and asking the attendant to fill it up. They had replaced the gas tank with a 55-gallon drum inside the car! One guy stood there for 20 minutes in bewilderment!
After "Candid Camera" ended, Collins settled into semi-retirement and made occasional public appearances after that. She had suffered with asthma for most of her life and as she got older, the disease took its toll in 1994. She was 67.
To modify an anonymous quote that has become famous: "Never judge an album by its cover".
Earlier this year, I was surfing through the holiday album listings at eBay when I discovered this album. I was shocked two different ways - the first being that I was able to track this album down at a reasonable price, the second was that stupefying cover.
Let's start at the beginning to fully understand this.
George Mitchell had come from a musical family - his grandfather was a well-known Scottish choir master and both of his parents were singers as well. He learned piano at an early age and during World War II, he organized military choirs and made a name for himself throughout the armed forces.
After the war, Mitchell went to work for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and organized radio choirs and shows utilizing his own handpicked glee club entitled "The George Mitchell Choir". As television began its ascent in popularity over radio, Mitchell began working on variety shows and specials for the new medium.
In 1957, the BBC decided to run a special entitled "The 1957 Television Minstrels" and called in Mitchell. With female dancers called "The Television Toppers" and a rechristened male choir called "Mitchell's Minstrels", the basis was formed for the show. It was a ratings winner.
The following year, the BBC and Mitchell decided to expand the special into a regular weekly series. The newly named "Black And White Minstrel Show" began broadcasting on Saturday nights, featuring a Mitch Miller-type singalong format for the home audiences.
In addition to solo and group minstrel numbers (complete with red make-up which looked black on camera), folk, foreign, and country/western songs were featured as well. The show was an instant hit and became a Saturday night tradition in England.
It was around this time that the Minstrels began a successful recording career. Their first album, "The Black and White Minstrel Show", was released in 1960. Other top-selling albums were "Another Black and White Minstrel Show" from 1961, and "On Stage with the Black and White Minstrels" in 1962.
If this wasn't enough, Mitchell began a stage show in 1960 that featured live performances by the Minstrels. It ran successfully throughout the entire decade and beyond. By 1964, the BBC TV audience had reached a staggering 16.5 million viewers each week - the same year the civil rights movement here in America was reaching its peak.
In 1967, the BBC decided that "The Black And White Minstrel Show" would be one of the first shows to shown in colour. Bad mistake.
John Lennon described it as "a stupid show". A group called "The Campaign Against Racial Discrimination" regarded the show as "insulting" and delivered a petition to the BBC requesting that it be taken off the air. Mitchell's solution to the problem was inviting actual black performers onto the show to sing with the others in blackface.
The controversy never fully went away and the show remained on the air. However, it began a long, slow slide in popularity and its regular viewership was now around eight million every Saturday night.
In 1970, Mitchell decided the time was right for a full-blown Christmas album. Rounding up his minstrels and his talented soloists John Boulter, Margaret Savage, and Dai Francis, they recorded the album you see before you.
When you drop the needle on this album, all controversies and preconceived notions instantly disappear. This is a remarkable album that grabs you from note one and doesn't let up until the very end. There's not one bad track in the lot.
Each side contains two amazing medleys of Christmas songs and each soloist is given plenty of room to shine. Mitchell's exceptional arrangements really come across well in each song. This is, by far, the album I'm most proud of presenting this Christmas.
As the show entered the 1970s, the format remained the same and the once-acceptable blackface aspect of the show was dropped in an effort to qualm the controversy. It didn't matter - the ratings still were dropping slowly thanks to raised racial awareness. The fact they were playing music that dated back to the American Civil War undoubtedly hurt as well.
The stage show ended its run in 1972 after an amazing 6,477 performances and went onto the road, touring the English countryside with live shows. On one such tour, a young British comedian named Lenny Henry appeared with the troupe and has regretted the move ever since.
In 1975, George Mitchell was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II and continued with "The Black And White Minstrel Show" for three more years on TV. The BBC finally decided to cancel the show in 1978 - an incredible twenty year run for the program.
Mitchell handed the reins of the "Minstrel" show empire to his son Rob, and retired to America. The Minstrel show was kept alive on tour for another decade or so. One Internet source claims the final show was in 1987. Another source puts the date around 1992. It might still be running somewhere (who knows?).
Never judge an album by its cover... How true, how true.
