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Swingin' ChristmasAround the middle of the 1990's, hipsters weary of noisy grunge and angry rap sought a kinder, gentler alternative. Into this breach stepped swing music, also described by such sobriquets as exotica, lounge music, and cocktail jazz. The resulting mania, however fleeting, shone its spotlight on such forgotten geniuses of the bachelor pad as Les Baxter, Martin Denny, and Esquivel. But, the revival also spawned new outfits like Combustible Edison and Squirrel Nut Zippers, spurred a consumer frenzy for all things swank, and inspired at least one great movie - Swingers (1996).

Of course, the swing revival also gave rise to a vast array of CD reissues, mixing gen-u-wine jazz (Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald), easy listening semi-classics (Jackie Gleason, Herb Alpert), unforgettable characters (Louis Prima, Tom Jones), and a whole pack of rats (Frank, Dino, Sammy, and their crew). Some of the best discs compiled during this brief renaissance were part of Rhino Records' Cocktail Mix series, and a few years later the label issued some smokin' seasonal sequels - the spicy Mambo Santa Mambo (2000) and Swingin' Christmas (2001), a cross-label compendium of cool, rhythmic classics. While neither of those discs was part of the aforementioned series, both extended the premise expertly, and each neatly encapsulates a wonderful chunk of Christmas pop culture.

Despite the title, the treasures of Swingin' Christmas are manifold, representing a variety of genres clumsily lumped together under the umbrella of swing. Beginning in 1942 with the thundering big band stomp of Woody Herman, the disc encompasses post-war boogie (Lionel Hampton, Louis Prima), suave 60's exotica (Esquivel), and sub-Sinatra crooning (Vic Damone, Jack Jones). Along the way, the listener is fêted with some of the best Christmas music ever recorded. Most significantly, no less than three Louis Armstrong cuts grace Swingin' Christmas - fully half of his seasonal output for Decca Records during the mid-50's - with songs like "Cool Yule" forming a manifesto for guys like me (read more).

Mambo Santa MamboI Dig Thee, Lord Jesus

The list of essential songs captured by Swingin' Christmas (see below) is damn near equivalent to its track listing, but perhaps foremost among these is Kay Starr's wild and irresistible "(Everybody’s Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag" (1950). Almost forgotten till its inclusion on Swingin' Christmas and other swing revival discs, Starr's winking paean to Kris Kringle intimates that something illicit might be in Santa's bag - something every crazy hipster craves. Or, in the alternative, perhaps Santa's swingin' sack packs a punch wholly outside the realm of toys and candy. Regardless, songs like "Man With The Bag" signaled a cultural sea change. Christmas became a somewhat secular, slightly decadent holiday more about bounty and booty than the birth of a savior.

Nothing illustrates this quite as well as the jaw-dropping ditty "That Swingin' Manger" by a certain Mr. Bob Francis. Whether intended as a modern tribute to the Christ child or a tongue-in-cheek swipe at organized religion, "That Swingin' Manger" is darn near unprecedented in its hilarious bad taste. Francis transforms the traditional carol "Away In A Manger" into a dizzying display of hepcat sacrilege, declaring "I dig thee, Lord Jesus," as though it's the highest of compliments. "That swingin' manger," Francis concludes, "it's one cuckoo bed."

Here's the real punchline: It's a fake! The song is from Blame It On Christmas! (1995), a parody album masquerading as a collection of rare "weird Yuletide classics from around the world," complete with fictional liner notes. Those notes claim the song was recorded in May, 1961, and go so far as to describe Bob Francis as "The Poor Man's Frank Sinatra" best remembered for his work with arranger Bernie Mendelssohn (great name, that). If Rhino was in on the joke, they hid it well. By all appearances, they fell for it, and I know I did, believing the song to be genuine for many years - and I wasn't the only one. At long last, the internet made such hoaxes easier to reveal, and I discovered the truth. That it's fake doesn't dim the brilliance of "That Swingin' Manger," but it does mean I have to laugh at myself instead of the artist.

Ultra-Lounge Christmas CocktailsNobody's Perfect

Anyway, like so much of Rhino Records' holiday catalog, Swingin' Christmas is a handy, concise building block for a solid record collection. Comprised of 18 tracks - a few of them quite rare - Swingin' Christmas is far from comprehensive and a little less than perfect. Why, for instance, include the Manhattan Transfer when their contribution stretches nearly 30 years past the album's next-most-recent cut, Tex Beneke's 1965 "Sleigh Ride"? (That is, not counting the perfectly executed "Swingin' Manger" parody.) Why include two versions of two titles ("Sleigh Ride" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town") when more variety would have been so simple? But, simply stated, Swingin' Christmas is the single best sampler of this sort of music - an excellent place to start, at the very least.

Which implies there's somewhere else to go. There is - an almost endless string of rich jazz, blues, and easy listening Christmas albums sure to dazzle the dreams of serious collectors. I heartily recommend the Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails series (drawn mainly from the Capitol Records archives) as well as any of Capitol's earlier, highly-prized compilations (read more). The Croon & Swoon series is nice, too, and GRP's The Joy Of Christmas Past is great, surveying the jazz holdings of Universal Music (including the rich Decca catalog).

Toss in some collections by independent labels (for instance, Louisiana Red Hot Records' Santa Swings), elusive imported albums (like Blue Christmas), plus oodles of collections from individual artists (especially Louis Armstrong) - and you'll be swingin' well past December 25th!

Rhinophilia

At the height of the CD era, Rhino Records gave us about two dozen marvelous compilations documenting holiday music in a dizzying variety of genres including country, blues, doo wop, reggae, punk, and new wave (read more). Together, these albums documented the history of recorded Christmas music in the 20th century, and Swingin' Christmas was one of the last - and best - in the series. Other volumes that swing mightily include the spicy Mambo Santa Mambo mentioned above, Hipsters' Holiday (1989), Jingle Bell Jam (1994), and Santamental Journey (1995).

Hipsters' Holiday
Jingle Bell Jam
Santamental Journey
Blue Yule
Croon And Swoon
The Joy Of Christmas Past

Rhino licensed tracks from many disparate labels for use on those specific albums - long before there was such a thing as iTunes or Spotify. So, sadly, virtually none of Rhino's Christmas collections made the leap to the world of downloads or streaming. I wish I could say that there are equivalents in the virtual world but, mostly, there are not. That said, you can find most of the Swingin' Christmas tracks online, but they may not be properly licensed or, worse, they might be taken from inferior sources. So, caveat emptor. [top of page]

Albums Albums

SongsEssential Songs

  • Boogie Woogie Santa Claus (Lionel Hampton, 1950)
  • Christmas Blues (Jo Stafford, 1953)
  • Christmas Night In Harlem (Louis Armstrong, 1955)
  • Cool Yule (Louis Armstrong, 1953)
  • (Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag (Kay Starr, 1950) Top 100 Song
  • Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Les Brown, 1952)
  • Marshmallow World (Vic Damone, 1950)
  • Mistletoe And Holly (Jack Jones, 1964)
  • A Root'n Toot'n Santa Claus (Tex Beneke, 1951)
  • Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Eddie "Lock Jaw" Davis, 1958)
  • Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Woody Herman, 1942)
  • Shake Hands With Santa (Louis Prima, 1951)
  • Sleigh Ride (Tex Beneke, 1965)
  • Sleigh Ride (Jack Jones, 1964)
  • That Swingin' Manger (Bob Francis, 1995)
  • White Christmas (Esquivel, 1959)
  • 'Zat You Santa Claus? (Louis Armstrong, 1953) Top 100 Song

Further ListeningFurther Listening

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