A smaller Christmas, Day 21

The day after the blizzard, the morning after the silent night, brought a second round of snowblowing and shoveling.

The world did not end, but the afternoon and evening simply blew past in the whirlwind that ensues as Christmas draws near.

At 9 p.m. on many Friday nights, it’s time to listen to the Funky 16 Corners Radio Show. Each week, my friend Larry puts together a fine program full of vintage soul, R&B and jazz and streams it via Viva Radio.

Last night was the Funky 16 Corners Christmas Special. I missed it. Doing something else in the 9 o’clock hour.

However, Larry made a playlist, and I checked it twice. Gotta find out who’s naughty — yeah, the show opens with Clarence Carter and “Back Door Santa” — and nice — oh, there’s Donny Hathaway and “This Christmas.”

And also …

“We got that set started with the mighty Otis Redding.
Two sides of a fantastic single if you can find it. On the Atco label, the top side is of course his upbeat ”Merry Christmas Baby’
and the B side is one of the greatest Christmas soul records
of all time, Otis’ reading of ‘White Christmas.’ Very, very nice one.”

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

“Merry Christmas Baby,” Otis Redding, 1968, from “Christmas In Soulsville,” 2007. It’s a compilation of songs from the Stax label. It’s out of print but is available digitally.

Good song on its own, but you also ought to hear it in the context of Larry’s show. Head over to the Funky 16 Corners Radio Show page and scroll all the way to the bottom for the playlist and the link to the mp3 of the show. The shows also are available via iTunes podcast.

It’s been fun sharing this smaller Christmas with friends — I’m told there are more than five or six of you! — and sharing what friends have done. Scott and Derek were first, and now Larry.

Your Christmas music requests in the comments, please.

Please visit our other blog, The Midnight Tracker, for more vintage vinyl, one side at a time.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.