A Christmas Conaty Edition Of The Big Broadcast ( Part 01 of 02)


The holidays are very much a time to spend with old friends. I imagine there are many of my fellow listeners & fans of The Big Broadcast , who are like myself & have turned their collective backs on the modern world  with our faces to the wall, even if only to escape it’s horrors for a short time. So if you are like me, you can find a bit of solace retreating into the " digital twilight " & returning to simpler times via old time radio shows, repeat showings of the old "Tonight Show", classic films or even re watching  Peanuts/Paul Lynde/KISS Christmas specials from childhood ....whatever your means of escape; by all means be sure to be on it. This year there has been plenty more happening & not much of it good. Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday night this year & " what would Santa Claus say, if he found none of us swing in'--?"  That's right; my audio gift is available to you by streaming or downloading this special 90-minute digital edition of "The Big Broadcast"--- or as I have called it; "A Christmas Conaty" edition of the Big Broadcast .  Think of it as a Big Broadcast that "never was", but "has been" compiled from past shows with Rich giving us intros & outros of some vintage seasonal songs. It's submitted for your approval;   A " best of"  seasonal mix. Personally I don't think Rich would do an entire hour of Christmas music on The Big Broadcast, as it would be hard to suit everyone's tastes... he was like that rare bartender that knew his clientele & also knew how to mix a perfect cocktail every time. Rich was planning a Big Broadcast Christmas CD & possibly a "Best Of" vinyl Long-Play record album...for "the kids"... (I can hear him now; " Vinyl makes a comeback; what a hip crowd!" )   Hopefully there maybe something you hadn't heard before; but hopefully it is something you want to hear again....& there is more! I just felt that anything beyond this time frame began to repeat itself & how many "Jingle bells" are too many? There is always next year. I originally put this together for myself & it occurred to me, that you might want a Big Broadcast holiday playlist with commentary from Rich himself.  So here you go. If you listen closely you may hear the changes in his voice over the years & remember this is a "Frankenstein" compilation & not a real Big Broadcast nor meant to be. I have remastered most all of the musical material in order for the sound levels to be consistent & in a couple of cases, taken new transfers from my own 78 RPM recordings (Like the Decca pressing with Tom Stacks & Harry Reser), & in one case (1934's "Christmas Night In Harlem"), I used what appears to be an alternate take that appeared on the RCA Victor "master" series some years ago for the superior sound. The 2 files have been decompressed for the 4 shared site & that's so you can download it & take it on the go, or where ever you may want to stream this festive mix & as the good folks used to say at the Radio Reruns company: "We hope any variance in audio quality will not take away from your pleasure in listening to this; one of the all-time great shows..."  Happy Holidays & Cheers! "Rhythm Saved The World" Tricky. (Patrick)

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.