Jingle Bell Jawn #9: 'Christmas Time' -- The Caroleers

Back in the early days of the record album, there were many tiny record labels that would try to produce knock-off versions of anything hot or trendy to make a buck in the budget racks. You want some Hawaiian music? Here’s some Hawaiian music! Showtunes? Here’s your showtunes.

These albums wouldn’t feature famous artists or the most-beloved versions of well-known songs, but these records would get the job done, and at half the price!

I suspect that Christmas Time by the Caroleers was just that kind of album. Not a record that was ever meant to be beloved by the masses, but who knows? If someone grew up listening to Christmas time year after year because their mom or dad picked it up at the grocery store in 1957 and played it each Christmas around their house for the next ten years, then maybe this is the Christmas music those people love more than any other.

Jingle Bell Jawn #9: Christmas Time – The Caroleers (1957, Parade/Promenade Records)

How Did I Acquire This Album? This was a thrift shop find, but I don’t remember the specifics.

Does This Album Include a Version of “Jingle Bells”? Of course.

What’s The Story on This Album Though the back cover liner notes claim that the Caroleers “are now nationally famous”, I have my doubts. I would bet that hundreds of generic holiday albums, featuring no-nonsense versions of the basic Christmas carol/hymn repertoire were recorded in the early days of the LP. More than like available at your local drugstore for two or three bucks, a real bargain compared to the albums by big-name artists like Elvis or Bing.

What you get here is straightforward renditions of the basic tunes. Occasionally, you’ll hear an interesting musical arrangement or instrument choice, but nothing too jarring.

All things considered like Christmas Time have an anonymous feel to them – who are these alleged Caroleers anyway? – but there is a weird charm in the anonymity. Sure, the folks at Promenade/Parade Records were mostly just after your two or three bucks, but they still probably wanted you to have a happy holiday and they thought that the Caroleers could help provide that.

What Does This Album Mean to Me? If I had grown up with Mom and Dad playing Christmas Time by the Caroleers, it would be canonical to me despite the strictly utilitarian nature of its existence. Or maybe because of that nature.

Highlights: No specific song is a highlight but there are occasional sound effects or instrumental flourishes that pop up to surprise you.

Lowlights: None, really.

Oddities: Again, not any one song. But the very existence and survival of records like this might be the oddity here.

How Do I Rate This Album, in Strictly Musical Terms, on a Scale of 1 to 5 Jingle Bells? Two jingle bells for this one. If you needed a cheap but serviceable Christmas album in 1957, Christmas Time by the Caroleers would get the job done.

How Do I Rate This Album, in Personal Emotional Resonance (P.E.R), on a Scale of 1 to 5 Partridges in a Pear Tree?No personal resonance for me, but for a previous owner this might have been a holiday musical treasure. You never know about these things.