Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra

Artist: Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra

LP: Christmas Day With Sammy Kaye

Song: "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"
vocals: Ray Michaels & the Kaydets

[ listen ]

Song: "Christmas Child (Loo, Loo, Loo)"
vocals: Ray Michaels & the Kaye Choir

[ listen ]

This year I'm planning to swing and sway on Christmas day with Sammy Kaye. Hip-hip-hooray! Lead vocals on the two tracks here are by the velvety-voiced Ray Michaels, whom I wasn't able to find any info about on the internet. Backing vocals are provided by Sammy Kaye's Kaydets and the Kaye Choir. You can read about Lakewood, Ohio native Sammy Kaye by clicking here.

[ Sammy Kaye: March 13, 1910 — June 2, 1987 ]

Maynard Ferguson and His Orchestra

Artist: Maynard Ferguson and His Orchestra

LP: Si! Si!—M.F.

Song: "Si! Si!—M.F."

[ listen ]

Looks like I missed Maynard's birthday—he would have been 83 years old last week if he hadn't passed away back in the summer of 2006. One might blandly suppose that the "M.F." in this album's title track stands for "Maynard Ferguson," but after hearing how this guy blows his crazy horn, it's more like—"Sí! Sí!—Motherfucker!" You can read all about M.F., the talented Canadian trumpeter extraordinaire, on Wikipedia here, find lots of neat photos and other things on his official website here, and the liner notes from the back of Maynard's brilliant 1962 "Sí Sí" LP are included below.

[ Maynard Ferguson: May 4, 1928 — August 23, 2006 ]