Vanessa Williams --- Star Bright...i LOVE it.. and definately Linda Eder's!! YES YES YES...i love the woman...she is one in a million and her new beau is sooooo handsome and TALL!!!
well, my 2 fave of all time still are "Merry Christmas and have a nice life" by Cyndi Lauper and "Ho - Ho - Ho" by RuPaul. My secret alternate is "Mr. Hankey's Christmas" which always has me in stitches! I'm looking forward to this years "Carol's for a Cure" that someone here turned me on to when I needed a new something for this year - Jingle Bells Everybody!!
"It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance." -
Elizabeth Taylor
Michael Ball Christmas Rockapella Christmas A Charlie Brown Christmas with Vince Guaraldi Trio
Sorry, I guess only the first one would be Broadway related. But it's excellent...five out of five stars for me. A well crafted album with an interesting mix of songs. And Ball's voice...mmmm.
Rockapella Christmas...oh it's just great fun. If you haven't listened to any Rockapella listen to a sample somewhere. It's my guilty pleasure after watching Carmen Sandiego years ago...lol. Those boys can sing and play..themselves.
Charlie Brown Christmas..as someone else said..CLASSIC. You cannot hear this music without thinking of the holiday special. Ford is doing a tv ad right now using the song Linus and Lucy and all I can think of is the animated special.
Since it hasn't yet been mentioned...the NEW Barbara Cook COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.
For me, Broadway musical cast albums for Promises, Promises, A Christmas Carol, the Gifts of the Magi and Hard Candy Christmas from Whorehouse as well as The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, which ends with God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen conjurs up instant nostalgia.
I also loved Joan Baez Noel, Peter Paul and Mary Christmas (the video even has a young Daisy Egan in her dads lap), Charlie Brown Christmas and most of all, Mr Magoo Christmas Carol...with its Broadway styled score.
Harry Connick Jr's "When My Heart Finds Christmas"
and at least once a year, for old time's sake I must pop in a classic - The New Kids On The Block - Merry Merry Christmas, with the unforgetable song "Funky, Funky Christmas".
I can't believe that no one has mentioned Nancy LaMott's Christmas CD...absolutely a beautiful recording and some songs you don't hear often - It is a "must-own" for anyone who loves great vocals and fantastic lyric phrasing.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
Another vote for Michael Ball's Christmas CD -- which was available in Colony when I was in Manhattan on November 18. Another favorite is Rosemary Clooney's White Christms.
Barbra Streisand's Christmas Album The old Firestone recordings with lots of 50's and 60's recording artists, opera singers, and Bway legends...but my favorite is the one with Julie Andrews singing "The Bells of Christmas."
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
I was raised on Julie's Bells of Christmas - such a lovely recording with amazing arrangements - they've been re-released in the past few years and are available again after many years. Another pair of recordings I'd highly recommend are those two Julie Andrews CDs
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
ooh...are they released on cd? I just did a quick search and came up empty...you've given me hope red!
off topic sorta, those were really well produced albums, and the arrangements are all wonderful. My other favorite is Jack Jones' "This is That Time of the Year"...so cheesy, but he is great.
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
My folks had those old Firestone albums too, but Julie Andrews' Christmas CD (with Andre Previn) is essentially the same thing from what I can tell. It should be out there.
Note to RedHot - I mentioned Nancy's CD in my post on the first page of the thread. i agree it is a truly special and wonderful album.
julie's cd w/ andre previn (a classic! beautiful arrangements!) seems to be out of print and available only as an import. i was raised on that pavarotti x-mas cd -- i don't even really "hear" it anymore--but i think it's good. streisand's 2 x-mas cd's are being re-formatted and sold together--don't know if they're out yet --but i'd get it. any x-mas music by nat cole, ella fitzgerald and mel torme is my favorite. the vince guarauldi cd is on my IPOD and i play it when it's not even xmas, i love it so much. i am also loving ann hampton callaway's THIS CHRISTMAS -- jazzy and beautiful, and a great duet w/ liz on the original GOD BLESS MY FAMILY.
Call me (REALLY) old school but my favorite Christmas CD's are still the classic recordings by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and the like. I know they are not technically "Broadway" performers, but the are most definitely synonymous with Broadway and have covered many a Broadway tune. Every year I also have to watch some of my favorite Christmas musical movies. It is tradition to watch White Christmas, Scrooge, and Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol with a great score by Broadway composer, Jule Styne. Of course, "Thank You Very Much" will be stuck in my head until January!
"You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering." --Harold Hill from The Music Man
Christine Ebersole's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is sublime. Gotta love the key change!
"Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth" this time recorded by Anthony Rapp & Everett Bradley is one of my favorite holiday pairings.
And Davis Gaines can sing "The Christmas Song" to me anytime!
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
And for the Contemporary Christian fans among us, I recommend Mercy Me's "The Christmas Sessions."
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
As I listen to my "Christmas" playlist on my iPod, I am reminded that the original "A Very Special Christmas Album" is also excellent.
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near