Alfred Burt - First Recordings of The Carols

First Recordings of The Carols

Twelve of Burt's carols were released in time for the holiday season of 1954 on a 10-inch vinyl album called The Christmas Mood (Columbia CL 6336). The album was credited to "The Columbia Choir", conducted by Bud Linn and produced by "Edwin L. (Buddy) Cole", as the LP jacket credits him, who was at that time the husband of Yvonne King Cole. The "Christmas Mood" was recorded by the Columbia Choir under the direction of Grafton (Bud) Linn at St Michael's and All Angels Episcopal church, on Coldwater Canyon Ave. in Studio City California of which Al and Ann were members.

The album remained in print for several Christmas seasons. In 1955, the original 10-inch LP was reissued with a new catalog number (CL 2546) as part of Columbia's short-lived "House Party Series," which was designed to keep the 10-inch album alive, even as most labels released most of their new LPs on 12-inch discs. In 1957, the album was reissued once again, this time on a 12-inch LP as CL 1051, with some instrumental arrangements by Ralph Carmichael.

Capitol Records artists Tennessee Ernie Ford, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians and Nat King Cole recorded Burt's carols. In 1958, Ford recorded "The Star Carol" for his first full-length album of Christmas music and named the entire album of songs named after it. The Star Carol (Capitol T/ST 1071) peaked at Billboard #4 in the Christmas season of 1958-59 and reappearing on either the main LP charts or the special Christmas charts for a decade thereafter. In 1959, Waring recorded the Christmas LP The Sounds of Christmas (Capitol T/ST 1260), and six of the Burt carols appeared on it: "Caroling, Caroling," "O Hearken Ye," "Jesu Parvule," "The Star Carol," "Come Dear Children," and "This Is Christmas" (the latter also known under the name "Bright, Bright the Holly Berries"). Finally, Cole recorded "Caroling, Caroling" on his 1960 album The Magic of Christmas (Capitol W/SW 1444), which was reissued under the title The Christmas Song in 1963 and has remained in print ever since.

The first recording of all 15 of Burt's carols was in 1964 by the Voices of Jimmy Joyce called This Is Christmas: A Complete Collection of the Alfred S. Burt Carols (Warner Bros. W/WS 1566). The original Columbia Choir album did not include "Christmas Cometh Caroling," "What Are the Signs," and "Sleep Baby Mine."