Holly Jolly X'masu

Welcome to episode 115 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the 1962 compilation, “Young Christmas.”

[]

I hope you enjoyed “Young Christmas.” It’s one of my favorite albums, not just because of the music, but also because of how scarce it is, and how lucky I was to get such an affordable copy. When I started researching this, I didn’t realize this would turn into a True Crime episode, at least in part. There was a lot more I could have added to Katsumi Shigeru’s story, but after multiple cuts and edits, I still had to adjust the tempo on that part of the episode to get it to fit within the running time of the song.

I lost a fair amount of sleep, but I’m glad I was able to get this out before the end of the month. I’m still a little behind schedule, but I’m going to try to get a few things done this week so that I’m not scrambling at the last minute with my Christmas In July episodes. If things work out, I might add another episode to my July schedule.

That said, join me back here next month for at least two really fun episodes. Up first is the 1970 album, “X’mas Golden Hits” by the Candle-Light Orchestra and the Singers Three. It has a great New Sound vibe, and if you liked Kayo Ishu’s “Scat Christmas,” you’re sure to enjoy this one. Then join me on the 25th for my fifth annual Christmas In July special. I’ll cover a selection of tropical and summery Christmas songs. It’s always an enjoyable episode and you won’t want to miss it.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I've added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you'd like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 95 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about Shoji Suzuki’s 1961 album, “Swingin’ Christmas.”

I truly hope you enjoyed this episode. This is one of my favorite albums and played a huge part in my collecting journey. I’d love to say it’s the best album in my collection, but I actually have several others that blow it away. I’ll be covering one of those on Christmas Day.

I mentioned Shoji Suzuki’s biggest hit, “Suzukake No Michi,” and I wanted to share a video of it with you. This is from 1987 and features the Rhythm Aces lineup that appeared on this album—Shoji Suzuki on clarinet, Toshio Suzuki on piano, Jimmy Takeuchi on drums, Ryusei Matsuzaki on vibraphone, and Yoichi Kobayashi on bass. I loved finding this and being able to see the entire band performing.

Shoji Suzuki and his Rhythm Aces – Suzukake no Michi – 1987

As hard as it is to believe, December is just around the corner, which means I’ll have a new episode each week. Throughout the month, I’ll be covering some of the best and most interesting albums in my collection. I’ll start off with the Meiji Gakuin University Glee Club’s 10th anniversary performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. After that, I’ll cover a really groovy late 60s album, “Christmas Song/New Year’s Song.” Then tune in for Kayo Ishu’s outstanding vocal jazz album, “Scat Christmas.” I’ll close out the year with a pair of extremely rare albums from the early 70s that have to be heard to be believed.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I've added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you'd like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 108 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, for my special Pro Wrestling Spectacular, I’m pitting the 1970s Christmas albums of pro wrestlers the Destroyer and Thunder Sugiyama against one another in order to determine which deserves the title of the Christmas World Heavyweight Champion.

This was a fun episode for me. I hope you enjoyed both wrestlers’ albums as much as I did. I watched a ton of wrestling when I was younger and went to the closed-circuit broadcasts of Wrestlemanias 3-6, watching all the action on the jumbo screens at Dayton’s Hara Arena. One of my fondest memories from my early teenage years was going to a TV taping to see Hulk Hogan during the height of Hulkamania. I’ve also been lucky enough to meet a bunch of wrestlers, including Koko B. Ware, Rob Van Dam, Taz, and newly-inducted WWE Hall of Famer, Paul Heyman. I don’t follow it quite like I used to, but I still enjoy seeing all the big events.

This episode was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun. I’ve been doing research for it off and on for about two years. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep track of all the blogs and articles I read. There were several things I wanted to double-check, but I couldn’t find where I’d read them originally so I had to leave them out. As promised in the episode, here’s Thunder Sugiyama’s debut single, “Crossroads.” I’m also including a match from each of them, both of which feature their mutual friend, Abdullah the Butcher.

Thunder Sugiyama – Crossroads

10.12.1975 - PWF United States Heavyweight title: The Destroyer (c) vs Abdullah The Butcher

12.11.1972 - Abdullah The Butcher/Ciclon Negro vs Masio Koma/Thunder Sugiyama 2 of 3 Falls

April is Jazz Awareness month, so join me next time for the 1998 album, “Jingle Jazz.” It has an unassuming and generic cover, but some of the finest Christmas Jazz you’re likely to hear. Then join me on the 25th for the 1986 children’s book and album, “Superman Santa.” It’s a lot of fun and one you won’t want to miss.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I've added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you'd like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 107 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the 2008 album, “Whistle Christmas,” by Whistle Man.

I hope you liked “Whistle Christmas!” as much as I do. Like I said in the episode, this is definitely better than my other April Fools offerings. I’ve mentioned before that I tend to listen to these albums at least a dozen times while researching and writing an episode. That can be a struggle occasionally, but it really wasn’t a problem this time around. There are only one or two songs I ever skipped while listening to it, and a few that I’ve added to my regular J-X’mas playlist.

Join me back here next week for my special, double-length Pro Wrestling Spectacular. Wrestlemania LV is this year, and to coincide with that, I’ll be covering the 1970s Christmas albums from pro wrestlers the Destroyer and Thunder Sugiyama. I have a poll running, so click here to listen to samples from each of the albums and vote on which wrestler you feel deserves to be crowned the Christmas Heavyweight Champion. This listen in to hear the results.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I've added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you'd like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 122 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the 1997 compilation, “Winter Gift Pops.”

I hope you enjoyed “Winter Gift Pops.” It’s a fun album and one I’ve been looking forward to sharing. As hard as I tried to get this episode out before the end of September, life got in the way. To say it’s been crazy is an understatement. Like I’ve said several times over the past few months, I’ll be doing my best to get caught up over the next few weeks.

Be sure to tune in later this month, or possibly early next month, as I talk about a pair of really great vocal Jazz albums from the 2010s. Up first is Mami Horie’s “The Swingin’ Christmas” from 2010. Then join me the following episode for Hiroko Williams’ fantastic 2016 album, “My Room For Christmas.” You’re sure to enjoy them both.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I've added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you'd like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

And don’t forget to order your limited-edition Kringle Krew ornament. All of us at the Christmas Podcast Network wanted to do something special this year, so we came together to offer our listeners the chance to help us spread some holiday cheer. Not only do you get the beautiful ornament pictured below, but 100% of the proceeds go to the Red Sled Santa Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping low-income, at-risk, medically-challenged, and terminally ill children during the holiday season. We have a limited number of these ornaments available, so be sure to order yours now, and help us bring a little love and magic to some children in need. From all of us at the Christmas Podcast Network, thank you for your generosity and support. Together, we can help create unforgettable Christmas memories.