HOLIDAY INN -- BING CROSBY & Fred Astaire Album Set, Six 78's - WHITE CHRISTMAS

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46

Decca record album set No. A-306 is "Holiday Inn" by Bing Crosby and others. It contains six 10-inch 78 RPM records, but listen carefully - only two of the records are original to the set. The other four are from two other Bing Crosby albums with Christmas themes. Label credits are to Bing Crosby (unless stated otherwise).

The first two are sides 1 through 4 of the Decca album set # A-550, a re-issue of the Bing Crosby set "Merry Christmas." They are:

Decca # 23777 -- "Silent Night" and "Adeste Fideles"

Decca # 23778 -- "White Christmas" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

The next two are sides 5/6 and 9/10 of the Decca album set # A-403, the original 5-record release of the Bing Crosby set "Merry Christmas." They are:

Decca # 18570 -- "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Danny Boy"  

Decca # 23281 -- "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (both by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters)

And the last two are sides 9 through 12 of Decca album set # A-306 ("Holiday Inn") - these are the only two that match the album.

Decca # 18428 -- "You're Easy to Dance With" and "I Can't Tell a Lie" (both by Fred Astaire)

Decca # 18429 -- "White Christmas" and "Let's Start the New Year Right" 

You will notice that there are two copies of "White Christmas" but they have different matrix numbers so they are presumably different versions recorded at different times. I believe Decca 18429 is the very first original recording of this song.

Most of the records are extremely shiny with just light scratches and manufacturing blisters. The two that are the more heavily played and abused are "White Christmas" (Decca # 23778) and "I'll Be Home for Christmas." I've played them all on my Audio-Technica turntable, and there were no skips or jumps, and mostly just typical light background noise, but more obtrusive on the two named above. Because of variations in tracking ability, filtering devices and needle weights, I can offer no guarantees as to how well they will play on your equipment.

The album itself is in very rough condition, with the spine missing altogether and the binding loose and in need of reinforcement. Most of the pockets have started to split at the bottom of the middle seam, and the cover has dampstaining and extensive edge wear, including some areas of paper loss.

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