Autumn is just days away, but here at The Second Disc, our thoughts have already turned to winter - and more specifically, to the music of the holiday season!  We're thrilled to announce the first-ever Christmas titles to be released on our own Second Disc Records label - and we promise that they'll get you in the spirit of the season!  On November 6, as part of Real Gone Music's mega-Christmas slate (more news on that VERY soon!), we'll be releasing Jim Nabors' Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings.  With 27 tracks and nearly 80 minutes' playing time, this release is packed with both of the beloved vocalist's long out-of-print Christmas LPs along with bonus tracks culled from rare singles and his best-selling gospel releases.  It will be joined by a newly-expanded edition of Lynn Anderson's 1971 beloved The Christmas Album - a classic album so rare that the original CD pressing from two decades ago routinely fetches in the three-figure range!

From his first appearances on The Andy Griffith Show, America fell in love with Jim Nabors' portrayal of the sweetly bumbling gas station attendant Gomer Pyle.  But Gomer was just one part of Nabors' persona.  Nabors also possessed a rich baritone that he used to great, and comic, effect on both Andy Griffith and then his own immensely popular spin-off, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., during its five-season run between 1964 and 1969.  Columbia Records signed the actor-singer in 1965, and after one album sung in Gomer's southern drawl, the label let Nabors' real voice soar.  His resonant tones were, of course, perfect for the sound of Christmas music.  Now, for the very first time, Jim Nabors' complete Christmas recordings for Columbia Records have been collected on this very special new release from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music.

The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings brings together 1967's The Jim Nabors Christmas Album with 1972's Merry Christmas, both of which are long unavailable on compact disc.  Produced by Jack Gold and arranged by Alan Copeland, Christmas Album featured Nabors on both secular and sacred carols, including a rousing "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and an inventive "Jingle Bells."  The Gold-selling album was so popular that it was the best-selling holiday album of 1969, and remained on the Billboard Christmas chart for an astounding seven years!  Merry Christmas teamed Nabors with producer Snuff Garrett (Cher, Vicki Lawrence) for a more contemporary set once again blending holiday spirituals and pop favorites including the much-requested fan favorite, "A Girl Named Noel."  The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings also includes the CD premiere of the rare single "I Was a King at Jesus' Birth," and adds three more seasonal selections culled from Nabors' beloved gospel recordings including two distinctive renditions of "Ave Maria" and his heartfelt recording of "The Lord's Prayer."  I've written the liner notes for this nostalgic new release which has been sparklingly remastered by Maria Triana at Sony's Battery Studios.  Jim Nabors' timeless, joyful Christmas classics have never sounded so vivid.  The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings just might have you and your whole family exclaiming, "Shazam!"

With the phenomenal success of her 1970 single "Rose Garden," Lynn Anderson was launched into the ranks of country and pop superstardom.  The Grammy Award-winning singer's string of No. 1 hits made her a chart fixture in the 1970s and indeed, one of the most successful artists of all time.  Among her most beloved recordings is 1971's The Christmas Album which arrived on Columbia Records while Lynn was still riding high from the worldwide success of "Rose Garden."  Christmas Album, produced in Nashville by her then-husband Glenn Sutton, featured Music City's A-team of musicians on a festive collection of both familiar and original yuletide tunes.  In addition to her spirited revivals of "Frosty the Snowman," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," Lynn introduced "Ding-a-Ling the Christmas Bell" and "Mr. Mistletoe," and in a classic three-hanky country weeper, insisted, "Don't Wish Me Merry Christmas."

The Christmas Album placed high on the Billboard Christmas chart in the year of its release, becoming an annual perennial for her legions of fans.  A limited CD release, however, came and went.  Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music have come to the rescue with the first-ever expanded CD reissue of this Christmas classic.  Our new edition includes the original album as well as four mono bonus tracks, all of which make their CD debut: all four sides of the special Christmas Seals promotional singles Lynn recorded in 1971 and 1972 as the charity's ambassador.  On these holiday treats, Lynn offers unique spoken introductions to each track!  The Christmas Album has been beautifully remastered by Vic Anesini at Sony's Battery Studios, and I've written the liner notes.  Lynn Anderson was just 67 years old when she passed away earlier this year, but her original Christmas Album stands as a happy and spirited tribute to her enduring legacy.

Both Jim Nabors' The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings and the expanded edition of Lynn Anderson's The Christmas Album are due from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music on November 6, and you can peruse the track listings and pre-order below!

Jim Nabors, The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Go Tell It on the Mountain (3:10)
2. Do You Hear What I Hear? (3:35)
3. Three Wise Men, Wise Men Three (2:30)
4. O Holy Night (4:08)
5. In A Humble Place (2:50)
6. O Come All Ye Faithful (2:34)
7. Jingle Bells (2:23)
8. White Christmas (2:55)
9. Christmas Eve in My Home Town (2:52)
10. Sleigh Ride (2:46)
11. I'll Be Home For Christmas (2:53)
12. Silent Night Holy Night (2:52)
13. The Lord's Prayer (2:37)
14. Ave Maria (1968 Version) (2:56)
15. I Was a King at Jesus' Birth (3:13)
16. (There's No Place Like) Home For the Holidays (2:48)
17. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) (2:42)
18. A Girl Named Noel (2:50)
19. The Little Drummer Boy (3:28)
20. I'd Like You For Christmas (2:54)
21. Joy To the World (2:20)
22. Silver Bells (3:02)
23. O Little Town of Bethlehem (2:45)
24. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (2:57)
25. The First Noel (3:00)
26. Give Me Your Love For Christmas (2:25)
27. Ave Maria (1971 Version) (2:28)

Tracks 1-12 from Jim Nabors' Christmas Album, Columbia LP CS 9531, 1967
Tracks 13-14 from Jim Nabors Sings The Lord's Prayer and Other Sacred Songs, Columbia LP CS 9716, 1968
Track 15 from Columbia single 4-45053, 1969
Tracks 16-26 from Merry Christmas, Columbia LP C 31630, 1972
Track 27 from How Great Thou Art, Columbia LP C 30671, 1971

Lynn Anderson, The Christmas Album: Expanded Edition (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Ding-A-Ling The Christmas Bell (3:00)
2. Jingle Bell Rock (2:02)
3. The Spirit of Christmas (2:41)
4. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (2:42)
5. Soon It Will Be Christmas Day (2:06)
6. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (2:31)
7. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (2:03)
8. Mistletoe (2:40)
9. A Whistle and a Whisker Away (2:33)
10. Frosty the Snowman (2:18)
11. Don't Wish Me a Merry Christmas (2:11)
12. Ding-A-Ling the Christmas Bell (1971 Promo Christmas Seals Version) (3:17)
13. Don't Wish Me a Merry Christmas (1971 Promo Christmas Seals Version) (2:27)
14. Frosty the Snowman (1972 Promo Mono Christmas Seals Version) (2:36)
15. Don't Wish Me A Merry Christmas (1972 Promo Mono Christmas Seals Version) (2:24)

Tracks 1-11 from The Christmas Album, Columbia LP C 30957, 1971
Tracks 12-13 from Columbia single AE7 1010, 1971
Tracks 14-15 from Columbia single AE7 1056, 1972