SIDE 1
1. Xmas Blues - Harmon Ray (Peetie Wheetstraw)
2. Did You Spend Christmas in Jail - Reverend J.M. Gates
3. When Was Jesus Born - Heavenly Gospel Singers
4. He Was Born In A Manger - Reverend J.M Gates
5. Don’t Think I Am Santa Claus - Lil Mclintock
6. Christmas and New Year’s Blues - Tampa Red
7. Will The Coffin Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates
8. Christmas Morning Blues - Victoria Spivey
SIDE 2
9. Death Might Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates
10. Santa Claus - Bo Carter
11. Christmas Morning Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson
12. Christmas Time Blues - Casey Bill Weldon
13. Santa, Bring My Man Back - Ozzie Ware
14. At The Christmas Ball - Bessie Smith
15. P apa Ain’t No Santa Claus - Butterbeans and Susie
16. Will Hell Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates
17. Christmas Morning Blues - Kansas City Kitty (CD bonus track only)
18. Santa - Lightnin’ Hopkins (CD bonus track only)
1. Xmas Blues - Harmon Ray (Peetie Wheetstraw)
2. Did You Spend Christmas in Jail - Reverend J.M. Gates
3. When Was Jesus Born - Heavenly Gospel Singers
4. He Was Born In A Manger - Reverend J.M Gates
5. Don’t Think I Am Santa Claus - Lil Mclintock
6. Christmas and New Year’s Blues - Tampa Red
7. Will The Coffin Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates
8. Christmas Morning Blues - Victoria Spivey
SIDE 2
9. Death Might Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates
10. Santa Claus - Bo Carter
11. Christmas Morning Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson
12. Christmas Time Blues - Casey Bill Weldon
13. Santa, Bring My Man Back - Ozzie Ware
14. At The Christmas Ball - Bessie Smith
15. P apa Ain’t No Santa Claus - Butterbeans and Susie
16. Will Hell Be Your Santa Claus - Reverend J.M. Gates
17. Christmas Morning Blues - Kansas City Kitty (CD bonus track only)
18. Santa - Lightnin’ Hopkins (CD bonus track only)
The Reverend J.M. Gates
There's probably not much point in posting this one, as the only place you'll find it now is on the secondary market (eBay and the like).
"Death Might Be Your Santa Claus" was a Record Store Day exclusive on Black Friday this year. Issued by Sony Legacy, the album collects up 16 (18 on the CD version) classic Blues sides from the early days of Columbia and Okeh records. The CD version was limited to 5000 copies, while the vinyl version was limited to just 3000. Since I love Blues and always try to support it and since no track list had been publicly released at the time, I dutifully went down to my local participating record store to pick up a copy. They informed me that they'd been shut out on that particular Record Store Day item and I had to scrounge them up on the secondary market.
The press (post Record Store Day) about the collection promised some music that didn't get included--notably Walter Davis' "Santa Claus Blues" and a second Lightnin' Hopkins track--and lavished praise on the label for making all of these rare Blues sides available again for the first time. Or something like that. And that might be true for the novice music listener. We obsessive Christmas music collectors, however, surely had just about all of these recordings already...from the recent Document "Blues Blues Christmas" CDs, if not independently. That's not a bad thing. It's just a fact. For those who still don't have this music in their collections, there are certainly some classics to be enjoyed. Butterbeans & Susie's "Papa Ain't No Santa Claus" is a mixdisc classic of the highest order and everybody ought to own a copy of Bessie Smith's "At The Christmas Ball" (which Columbia initially balked at releasing, thinking it not reverent enough).
There was, however, one track that caught my attention as I don't believe I have "Don't Think I Am Santa Claus" by Lil McLintock anywhere in my collection. I know the song through more recent (albeit fairly obscure) cover versions, but, unless it's under a different name or lost in the uncatalogued portion of my collection (which is quite a substantial chunk), it didn't ring a bell. So that was sufficient for me to justify the purchase. And, anyway...I gotz to support da Blues, whenever and wherever I can. I will say that there is far too much Rev. Gates on the collection for my taste. Just sayin'. The Rev.'s tracks are recordings of sermons from back in the day. An historical artifact of interest, to be sure, but a little of the Rev. goes a long way. But any Blues Christmas collection is a good thing, and there's no such thing as too much of a good thing.
If you're looking to add this one to your collection, it seems that the CD version is, at this moment, pretty well available and at reasonable prices (cheaper, in fact, than the Record Store Day price), though I'm pretty sure they'll dry up sooner or later. The vinyl version is already a bit tough to snag and that one will be a bit more pricey.
UPDATE: I meant to add that there is still lots of old time Blues music that hasn't been rediscovered and rereleased in the digital/CD era. Some of it recorded and bever even released on vinyl or shellac. I would love for some label to find and issue some of that, like Willie "Boodle It" Right's "Christmas Blues". Document has done a fine job of finding and preserving a good deal of the old Blues, but there is still much more work to be done.
"Death Might Be Your Santa Claus" was a Record Store Day exclusive on Black Friday this year. Issued by Sony Legacy, the album collects up 16 (18 on the CD version) classic Blues sides from the early days of Columbia and Okeh records. The CD version was limited to 5000 copies, while the vinyl version was limited to just 3000. Since I love Blues and always try to support it and since no track list had been publicly released at the time, I dutifully went down to my local participating record store to pick up a copy. They informed me that they'd been shut out on that particular Record Store Day item and I had to scrounge them up on the secondary market.
The press (post Record Store Day) about the collection promised some music that didn't get included--notably Walter Davis' "Santa Claus Blues" and a second Lightnin' Hopkins track--and lavished praise on the label for making all of these rare Blues sides available again for the first time. Or something like that. And that might be true for the novice music listener. We obsessive Christmas music collectors, however, surely had just about all of these recordings already...from the recent Document "Blues Blues Christmas" CDs, if not independently. That's not a bad thing. It's just a fact. For those who still don't have this music in their collections, there are certainly some classics to be enjoyed. Butterbeans & Susie's "Papa Ain't No Santa Claus" is a mixdisc classic of the highest order and everybody ought to own a copy of Bessie Smith's "At The Christmas Ball" (which Columbia initially balked at releasing, thinking it not reverent enough).
There was, however, one track that caught my attention as I don't believe I have "Don't Think I Am Santa Claus" by Lil McLintock anywhere in my collection. I know the song through more recent (albeit fairly obscure) cover versions, but, unless it's under a different name or lost in the uncatalogued portion of my collection (which is quite a substantial chunk), it didn't ring a bell. So that was sufficient for me to justify the purchase. And, anyway...I gotz to support da Blues, whenever and wherever I can. I will say that there is far too much Rev. Gates on the collection for my taste. Just sayin'. The Rev.'s tracks are recordings of sermons from back in the day. An historical artifact of interest, to be sure, but a little of the Rev. goes a long way. But any Blues Christmas collection is a good thing, and there's no such thing as too much of a good thing.
If you're looking to add this one to your collection, it seems that the CD version is, at this moment, pretty well available and at reasonable prices (cheaper, in fact, than the Record Store Day price), though I'm pretty sure they'll dry up sooner or later. The vinyl version is already a bit tough to snag and that one will be a bit more pricey.
UPDATE: I meant to add that there is still lots of old time Blues music that hasn't been rediscovered and rereleased in the digital/CD era. Some of it recorded and bever even released on vinyl or shellac. I would love for some label to find and issue some of that, like Willie "Boodle It" Right's "Christmas Blues". Document has done a fine job of finding and preserving a good deal of the old Blues, but there is still much more work to be done.
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