The most wonderful time of the year is upon us once again, and as longtime readers know, The Second Disc is always excited to spread the holiday spirit!  This year is a particularly special year for us, as we're thrilled to bring not one, not two, but three new releases to CD on November 4 via Second Disc Records in association with the premier label for holiday tunes, Real Gone Music!

First up is the CD debut one of the most-demanded holiday albums of all time.  For more than six decades, Jack Jones has been celebrated as one of America's most legendary vocalists.  Frank Sinatra called him "one of the major singers of our time," while Paul Williams noted, "He doesn't perform a song; he lives it."  Williams would know, as one of the writers of Jones' immortal theme to The Love Boat.  But "The Love Boat" and beloved hits like "Wives and Lovers" and "Lollipops and Roses" merely scratch the surface of Jones' remarkable career.  One of the crown jewels of his impressive discography is 1964's The Jack Jones Christmas Album.  On the Kapp Records release--arranged and conducted by the great Marty Manning--Jones wrapped his velvet pipes around some of the most cherished Christmas favorites of all time.  Lush renditions of "White Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" are among the most beautiful ever recorded, while Jones' renditions of "Sleigh Ride," "My Favorite Things," and Frank Sinatra's "Mistletoe and Holly" truly swing.  Unbelievably, a CD release has always eluded this fan-favorite holiday perennial...until now!  Our Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music edition has been remastered by Mike Milchner from the original stereo tapes lovingly housed in the Universal Music vaults, and features my own liner notes.  John Sellards has beautifully designed all three of our releases this year including The Jack Jones Christmas Album, with original artwork for each and every title.  This is truly one Christmas album that belongs in every family's collection!

Earlier this year, we were proud to bring some of Eddy Arnold's rarest music to light on CD with the release of Each Road I Take: The 1970 Lee Hazlewood and Chet Atkins Sessions!  Now we're returning to Eddy's songbook with a special seasonal treat. "Music for the holiday - sung with taste and authority!"  That's how RCA Victor described the 1962 release Christmas with Eddy Arnold, the superstar entertainer's first holiday album.  Whether the style was country or pop, Eddy Arnold always sang with taste and authority - as well as tremendous warmth and a big heart.  Between 1945 and 2008, "The Tennessee Plowboy" notched 147 U.S. chart hits, sold over 85 million records, and earned inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and The Grand Ole Opry.  The music of Christmas was near and dear to Arnold's heart, and between 1949 and 1967, he recorded two dozen holiday favorites for the RCA Victor label.  Now, we have compiled every one of those seasonal sides on The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings, including the complete Christmas with Eddy Arnold album produced by Chet Atkins and featuring Nashville's finest musicians.  This first-ever compendium of Eddy Arnold's yuletide music boasts his own "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" and "Will Santy Come to Shanty Town," along with Boudleaux Bryant's "Christmas Can't Be Far Away" and family favorites such as "Up on the Housetop," "Winter Wonderland," "White Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock" - all rendered in the timeless, smooth Arnold style.  Rare, never-before-on-CD singles and special holiday greetings from Eddy himself round out this definitive collection with never-before-seen photographs from the Sony Music Archives and my new liner notes.  Every track has been newly remastered by Grammy Award winner Mark Wilder at Sony's Battery Studios.  The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings is one high-spirited stocking stuffer you won't want to miss!

Last but certainly not least, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are revisiting one of the most successful Christmas albums of all time!  Are you ready to sing along with Mitch?  Between 1961 and 1964, Mitch Miller invited television audiences to "follow the bouncing ball" as he conducted his cheerful chorus on musical favorites of every kind.  Miller's television show was an offshoot of his hit series of Columbia "Sing Along" LPs, which were just one of the avenues by which Miller practically defined popular tastes in the '50s and early '60s.  At Columbia Records, the onetime child prodigy and trained oboe player nurtured the careers of Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, and Doris Day, and established the role of the producer in pop music.  His reach even extended to young children, as he spearheaded the Golden Records label.  In 1958, Mitch Miller & The Gang released one of their most enduring albums: the original Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch featuring rousing renditions of beloved carols including "Silent Night," "Deck the Halls," "The First Noel" and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear."  Surprisingly, this classic LP--which went to No. 1 on the charts and hit the Top Ten for three straight years after that--has never seen a complete, authorized reissue on CD anywhere in the world.  Now, this family sing-along gem is finally arriving on CD in a deluxe, expanded reissue sporting the original, classic cover art!  And that's not all.  Eight rare bonus tracks, many appearing for the first time on CD, have been added to Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch. You'll hear spirited versions of the Broadway favorites "Be a Santa" and "Pine Cones and Holly Berries," as well as the original recording of "Must Be Santa," a favorite of none other than Bob Dylan! Mitch also offers "Season's Greetings" and "Auld Lang Syne" from a long out-of-print holiday collection.  This deluxe edition has my new liner notes as well as those from the original LP, rare photos from the Sony Music Archives, and of course, the lyrics for you to sing along!  Maria Triana at Sony's Battery Studios has sparklingly remastered from the original tapes!

The Jack Jones Christmas Album, Eddy Arnold's The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings, and Mitch Miller & The Gang's Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch are available on November 4 from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music!  And you won't want to miss details of the rest of Real Gone's November 4 mega-Christmas slate...watch this space TODAY for that announcement!  Pre-order links for the three Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music titles are available below!

Jack Jones, The Jack Jones Christmas Album (Kapp KS 3399, 1964 - reissued Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

1. Sleigh Ride
2. White Christmas
3. The Village of St. Bernadette
4. My Favorite Things
5. I'll Be Home for Christmas
6. Medley: Angels We Have Heard on High/Silent Night/Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)
7. Do You Hear What I Hear?
8. Lullaby for Christmas Eve
9. The Christmas Song
10. Mistletoe and Holly
11. The Christmas Waltz
12. Medley: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/It Came Upon a Midnight Clear/The First Noel

Eddy Arnold, The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

1. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (1949 Version)
2. Will Santy Come to Shanty Town (1949 Version)
3. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (1950 Version)
4. White Christmas (1950 Version)
5. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1950 Version)
6. Christmas Can't Be Far Away (1954 Version)
7. I'm Your Private Santa Claus
8. A Present for Santa Claus
9. Sittin' on Santa Claus' Lap
10. Christmas Greeting
11. Christmas Can't Be Far Away (1962 Version)
12. Will Santy Come to Shanty Town (1962 Version)
13. Jingle Bell Rock
14. White Christmas (1962 Version)
15. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1962 Version)
16. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (1962 Version)
17. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
18. Winter Wonderland
19. Up on the Housetop
20. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
21. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
22. O Little Town of Bethlehem
23. Silent Night
24. The Angel and the Stranger
25. This World of Ours (Cette nuit-la)
26. New Year's Greetings

Tracks 1-2 from RCA Victor record #48-127, released September 16, 1949
Track 3 from RCA Victor record #48-127 (Second Pressing), released June 15, 1950
Tracks 4-5 from RCA Victor record #21-0390, released October 6, 1950
Tracks 6-7 from RCA Victor single #47-5905, released November 5, 1954
Tracks 8-9 from RCA Victor single #WY-490, released November 11, 1954
Tracks 10, 26 from RCA Victor promo EP Christmas Greetings from RCA Victor and Groove Recording Artists, SP-45-128, released December 1963
Tracks 11-22 from RCA Victor LP Christmas with Eddy Arnold, LSP-2554, released October 21, 1962
Track 23 from RCA Victor LP Nashville Christmas Party, LSP-2579, released October 1962
Track 24 from RCA Victor single #479027, released November 22, 1966
Track 25 from RCA Victor single #47-9387, released September 19, 1967

Mitch Miller & The Gang, Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch: Expanded Edition (Columbia CS 8027, 1958 - reissued Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)

1. Joy to the World
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. What Child is This
4. We Three Kings of Orient Are
5. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
6. Silent Night, Holy Night
7. Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly
8. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
9. O Come. All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
10. The First Noel
11. The Coventry Carol
12. Away in a Manger (Luther's Carol)
13. O Little Town of Bethlehem
14. Season's Greetings
15. Must Be Santa (Single Version)
16. Christmas Spirit (Single Version)
17. Be a Santa (Single Version)
18. Medley: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear/Away in a Manger
19. Whispering Hope (Single Version)
20. Pine Cones and Holly Berries (Single Version)
21. Auld Lang Syne

Tracks 1-13 from Christmas Sing-Along With Mitch, Columbia CS 8027, 1958
Track 14 from Season's Greetings: A Christmas Festival of Stars!, Columbia CS 8189, 1959
Tracks 15-16 from Columbia Single 4-41814, 1960
Track 17 from Columbia Single 4-42240, 1961
Track 18 from The Great Songs of Christmas: Album Three, Columbia Special Products CSP 117, 1963
Tracks 19-20 from Columbia Single 4-42914, 1963
Track 21 from Season's Greetings:  A Christmas Festival of Stars!, Columbia CS 8189, 1959