WEDNESDAY WRAP

CD SHOWCASE MEMORIES

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HOLIDAY EDITION
From now until 01/06/2016, the regular features of “Wednesday Wrap: CD Showcase Memories” (9p US central) & “CarTunes Saturday: CD Showcase Memories” (8a US central) are pre-empted by highlights from the “CD Showcase – Holiday Edition” radio shows I hosted 12/24/2009, 12/24/2010 & 12/24/2011.

This entry features 3 songs from the 4th hour of my 12/24/2010 radio show: Garth Brooks’ “Silent Night, 1987”, The Harry Simeone Chorale’s “The Little Drummer Boy” & Mannheim Steamroller’s “We 3 Kings”. Also featured: red Ford Thunderbird, photographed by OC,SHer CHRIS L S at the 2015 Ocean Gate Car Show….
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#1 “Silent Night, 1987” | Garth Brooks
My favorite version of this song is not the most-popular (that’d be Bing Crosby’s, the 3rd best-selling single of all time) or even Brooks’. My favorite version is the 1 on the Christmas album by John Denver & The Muppets. In that version, Denver takes time to tell the story of this song. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had written the lyrics in 1816. With the parish’s organ being broken & needing repairs, Mohr desperately wanted music to be part of the Christmas Eve service in 1818. Mohr asked Franz Xaver Gruber to compose a melody with guitar accompaniment, & the 2 performed the song for the 1st time 12/24/1818 at St Nicholas Parish in Oberndorf Austria. Since, the song has been recorded by a plethora of artists from all genres. In his version, Brooks recalls the story of coming home for Christmas 1987, a year I’ll never forget as well.


#2 “The Little Drummer Boy” | The Harry Simeone Chorale
This song, a favorite of mine, was written by Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941 & was originally known as “Carol Of The Drum”; it was based on a traditional Czech carol. 1st recorded by the Trapp Family Singers in 1955, the song was further popularized 3 years later when this version was recorded by THSC (1958). A wide variety of artists have recorded it since.


#3 “We 3 Kings” | Mannheim Steamroller
John Henry Hopkins Jr (rector of Williamsport PA’s Christ Episcopal Church) wrote this carol (lyrics & music) in 1857 for a Christmas pageant in New York City NY. Originally, Hopkins worked as a journalist in NYC & studied to become a lawyer, but chose to join the clergy upon graduation. He then studied at NYC’s General Theological Seminary, where he became the school’s 1st music teacher. Hopkins published the carol 5 years after he wrote it (1862). It has become a popular Christmas song, recorded by many artists, including this band, founded by Chip Davis & specializing in blending classical music & rock.

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