Columbia (1952)
As Christmas day falls on a Wednesday, we're going to skip Ed Lover Dance Day for this week. While I know a lot of folks would try to make me believe that "Christmas In Hollis" fits the bill as a Christmas song, for me it's just a little too gimmicky and doesn't really put me in the same sort of place as something a bit more melodic.
When it comes to melody at Christmas time, you'd be hard pressed to find someone better than Gene Autry. Gene Autry is the purveyor of many of my very favorite traditional Christmas tunes and while he doesn't always get mentioned in the same breath as a Bing Crosby or a Perry Como (Or those Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer people), his catalog of Christmas tunes is second to none.
The two songs on this 7" are not two of his most well known, but they are two of my favorites. Gene was known as the Singing Cowboy in the 50s and was part of many of the kid friendly westerns of the era. Now I'll be honest, I've never seen any of those, but I'm impressed by the cross marketing he came up with to make those cowboy fans grab a Christmas record of his. "Merry Texas Christmas You All" is one of my all time favorites. Over a bed of slide guitar, acoustic strumming and rousing woodwinds, Gene tells us about how Texans see things a bit differently from the sort of Christmas songs you usually hear full of snow, but they are as jolly and festive as the next folks.
"Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Texas, That Is)" goes down a similar path as the A side, paining Santa Claus as more of a cowboy character on his 'buck board' filling little kids boots with candy galore. While I always really liked these songs as a kid, I've grown to love them even more as I've gotten older, especially as my wife is from Texas. While she never heard these songs growing up, I've really enjoyed sharing them with her and they've become part of our yearly Christmas music traditions.
Gene Autry - "Merry Texas Christmas You All":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGs1BaA7co
Gene Autry - "Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Texas, That Is)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agLmsP3wZIk
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