Welcome to episode 74 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the Christmas flexi-discs released by the confectionary company, Juchheim.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to spin on my record player was “It’s A Super Spectacular Day” from the 1980 Mad Magazine Super Special. A few years later, it was superseded by “I’m A Boinger” from the Bloom County collection, “Billy And The Boingers Bootleg.” Thanks to those and a few other I had, I’ve always had an affinity for flexi-discs.

When I started collecting Japanese flexis, I bought up all the affordable ones I could find. I soon got the point where most of the ones I’d see show up for auction that I didn’t already have were the really scarce ones. I’ve managed to get quite a few of them, and some of the music on them is outstanding.

The Chieko Sogawa and Motoyuki Suzuki flexis are some of my favorites. They feature top-notch jazz from extremely obscure artists that you literally can’t hear unless you buy the original disc. It’s the sort of thing that got me into collecting.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and my glimpse into the world of Japanese Christmas flexi-discs. Some the music that can only be found on flexi-disc really rivals the best of my vinyl albums, and I look forward to sharing them eventually. Join me back here on the 25th for what will likely be my last Black History Month episode, at least until Chris Hart releases another Christmas album. I’ll be talking about Chris Hart’s “Christmas Hearts 2,” which features another mix of popular Japanese and Western Christmas tunes, as well as an original or two. If you liked his first album, you’re sure to enjoy this one as well.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 72 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the Royal Hawaiian Boys’ album, “Hawaiian Time Vol. 3: Christmas In Hawaii.”

I’m in a rush to get this out so I won’t have much to say here. My 2022 was awful. I gave a friend this analogy: Years ago, we saw Lebron James play in the high school championships, right before he joined the NBA. It was literally like watching a top NBA star playing against high school kids. In terms of awfulness, that’s how 2022 was in comparison to 2020 and ’21 for me. This year’s keeping the trend going, so I’m a little behind schedule.

That said, I hope you enjoyed learning about the Royal Hawaiian Boys and Poss Miyazaki. There’s plenty of Hawiian-style Japanese Christmas music out there, so you’ll be hearing more like it eventually. Join me back here next week for Riichi Maki’s “New Sounds Of Christmas.” I had to overcome all sorts of obstacles to finally get a copy, but the end result was worth it, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy hearing it.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

 

Episode 72: The Royal Hawaiian Boys’ “Christmas In Hawaii”

Welcome to episode 70 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the virtually unknown 1988 City Pop compilation, “Christmas Lovers” from BBM Records.

This is one of those albums that gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. I’d spent hours listening to City Pop Christmas songs and playlists on YouTube, and I was familiar with all the really popular songs and most of the more obscure ones as well. Everything here was entirely new to me, and each of the songs was fantastic. How it’s flown under the radar for so long escapes me. It was the same feeling I had the first time I listened to ZE Records’ “A Christmas Record” in the late 90s.

While the artists here are all extremely obscure and don’t seem to have done anything beyond this one album, I hope I help to shed a little light on their work. This has become one of my favorite Japanese Christmas albums, and I feel it holds its own against the other better-known 1980s compilations.

Be sure to join me back here next week for my special New Year’s Eve episode. This time, I’ll be covering the Blue Diamonds, who were known as the Indonesian Everly Brothers. It’s a short, wonderful album on par with the Christmas music from their American contemporaries. If you like early American Rock, you’re sure to enjoy it.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

 

Welcome to episode 68 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the King Orchestra’s 1978 album, “Jingle Bell – Christmas Karaoke Collection.”

Despite some disappointment, I was glad to finally add this album to my collection. When I first started buying these records, I built a fairly substantial wishlist, and any time I finally get one of the albums that’s been on it from the beginning, I get a feeling of satisfaction. That might change when I listen to it, but at least I can enjoy the achievement for a little while.

As I mentioned in the episode, these first two of the month were done while battling COVID. It wore me out more than I thought it would. I didn’t realize how much it impacted my recording until I was editing this episode and had to cut out tons of lengthy pauses and deep breaths. I’m hoping to be fully back on track in the next week or so.

I hope you enjoyed some of the music here, and the background about King Records. Join me next week for one of my absolute favorite Japanese albums, “Mint Sound’s X’mas Album.” It’s a spectacular compilation from 1987, loaded with a fantastic array of mostly original songs. It’s one of the first albums I bought, and one that really got me hooked on collecting Japanese Christmas music. This is one episode you don’t want to miss!

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Episode 68 –King Orchestra’s “Jingle Bell – Christmas Karaoke Collection”

Welcome to episode 66 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be wrapping up my “Big In Japan” month with a selection of records from a variety of artists who found their biggest or initial success in Japan.

This is easily one of the episodes I’ve been most excited to record. While the nostalgia invoked by Bob McGrath, and the relative notoriety of Jennifer Connelly’s record were big deals, those paled in comparison to everything I was able to uncover about Paul Anka’s “Christmas In Japan.” I’ve mentioned before that I’m not in the best position to uncover facts about Japanese Christmas music that my friends in Japan don’t already know, so when I do, it’s a huge accomplishment for me. I’ve always liked Paul Anka, so the fact that his record was involved made it even more meaningful.

As promised in the episode, here are the English lyrics to “Vive Le Vent”:

Long live the wind, long live the wind Long live the winter wind Which goes whistling, blowing Through the tall green Christmas trees, oh!

Long live the weather, long live the weather, Long live the winter weather Snowballs and new year’s day and happy new year Grandma!

Along the long road All white from the white snow Walks an old man With his cane in his hand And all above the wind Which whistles in the branches Blows on him the romantic tune That he sang as a young child, oh!

Merry, Merry Christmas To the thousand candles Which delight toward heaven The night’s bells. Long live the wind, long live the wind Long live the winter wind Which brings to old kids Their memories of yesterday, oh!

And the old man Goes down toward the village It’s the time when everyone is good And the shadow dances near the fire But in each house There floats a festive air Everywhere the table is set And you hear the same song, oh!

I ran a little long in spots this episode, so I had to edit out a few bits. One thing I regretted cutting was the fact that “Christmas In Japan” was released on both 45 and 78. I’ve seen one copy of the 78 for sale. Unfortunately, I didn’t bid on it. I’ll keep looking, though.

Jimmy Osmond’s record was a fun one to pick up. It was also surprisingly hard to find. I had a copy sitting in my wish list on one of the record sites for a couple months, but when I went to buy it, their copy had sold. It took over a year for another copy to show up. Since then, I’ve seen dozens of them, but there was a long stretch where I’d started to worry that I’d never see another.

From a pure nostalgia standpoint, Bob McGrath’s EP was one of the biggest highlights of my collecting career. Of the human characters on “Sesame Street,” Bob was always my favorite. Hearing his “Jingle Bells” the first time took me back to my childhood. When a copy of his “White Christmas” single showed up a month or two ago, I couldn’t pass on it.

I resisted getting “Jennifer’s X’mas” for quite some time. Now that I have it, I don’t regret it, although I’m glad I didn’t pay as much as some others have.

Jennifer Connelly on “The Graham Norton Show”

I hope you’ve had as much fun listening to and learning about these artists who were “Big In Japan” as I did collecting and researching their music. Join me back here next month as I celebrate Christmas with four weekly episodes. Up first is the Hibari Children’s Chorus and their 1965 album, “Good Child’s Christmas Party.” After that, I’ll be covering the King Orchestra’s 1978 album, “Jingle Bells – Christmas Karaoke Collection.” Then join me later in the month as I talk about one of the greatest Japanese Christmas compilations to come out of the 1980s, “Mint Sound’s X’mas Album.” Finally, on Christmas Day, listen in as I cover a virtually unknown City Pop Christmas compilation. It’s one of the coolest records in my collection and one you don’t want to miss.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Episode 66: A Very “Big In Japan” Christmas

Welcome to episode 64 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In the first of my “Big In Japan” episodes, I’ll be discussing American figure skater Janet Lynn’s 1973 album, “A Joyful Christmas With Janet.”

I’ve always been intrigued by the “Big In Japan” phenomenon. It wasn’t something I gave a lot of thought to when I first started collecting Japanese Christmas music, though. However, not long after I started checking the various Japanese sites for other albums I could get, I started seeing Janet Lynn’s album show up. I had no idea who she was at the time, but I was curious when I saw her album because it seemed a bit out of place. The album’s cover, with Janet’s face smiling out from the middle of a wreath, didn’t fit in with most of the Japanese albums I was seeing.

After a small bit of research, I was able to uncover the basics of Janet’s life and her “Big In Japan” status. I decided to get her album and that I would eventually cover it as part of a series of “Big In Japan” episodes. It took me nearly two more years, but I finally got the other records I was hoping to cover.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Janet Lynn and my “Big In Japan” overview. Join me back here next week as I talk about the Ventures and their 1965 Christmas album. Then join me on the 25th for the real highlight of the month, when I’ll be discussing several other artists who were “Big In Japan.” I have a few really rare and enjoyable records lined up and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 62 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the 2010 compilation, “We Wish You A Happy.”

A lot of my collecting requires leaps of faith. So many of the albums I buy aren’t available online, so I can’t sample them in advance. This is especially true of the older ones, but even a lot of the music from the 1990s and later still can’t be streamed. I learned early on that the bloggers I rely on for recommendations have vastly different tastes than I do, so while a recommendation from them may be a start, I try to look for something else in their comments or the album’s content to convince me that I might like a particular album.

“We Wish You A Happy” was one where I had nothing to go on other than recommendations a clip of Riddim Saunter’s “Guest Of A Christmas.” I was glad I put my doubts aside and got it, though, because it turned out to be an enjoyable album.

I hope that at least a couple of the songs here suited your tastes. I felt there was enough variety that nearly anyone could find something to enjoy. I have some great and unique albums lined up, so be sure to tune in in November. Up first, for Christmas Podcast Day on November 1st, I’ll be revisiting one of my earliest episodes. I’ve remastered Episode 5, where I talked about Jackey Yoshikawa’s “Christmas With Blue Comets.” You’ll get to hear more of the albums plus a few songs from Jackey’s later Christmas EP. Then listen in the rest of the month as I talk about artists who were “Big In Japan.” I’ll be talking about everyone from figure skater Janet Lynn, to the Ventures, Jimmy Osmond and others, including a couple of hard to find records that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 60 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the 1990 compilation, “White Album ‘90.”

This is a fun album overall and I enjoyed listening to it again while preparing for this episode. Some of the tracks are real standouts, and if I were to do a “best of” playlist, I’d include at least three of the songs from this album. I’m still not sure why it took as long as it did to find a copy, but it was definitely a worthy addition to my collection.

It’s been hectic lately. I won’t say I’m back on track, but I’m glad I was able to hit my deadline for this episode. While not every song on here will appeal to everyone, I hope everyone found at least a couple they enjoyed. Be sure to listen in next month as I cover a pair of wildly different albums. Up first, I get back to the sort of music that really drew me into Japanese Christmas music with Kaoru Akimoto’s “Tenor Sax Mood White Christmas” from 1968. It’s a wonderful Mood Kayo album, and one that, when I started collecting, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get. Then join me on the 25th for NiW! Records’ 2010 compilation, “We Wish You A Happy.” It’s a great collection from a wide array of more recent Indie bands. You won’t want to miss them.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Episode 60 – “White Album ’90”

Welcome to episode 58 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the 1988 compilation, “The Night Before Christmas.”

My lack of free time really hit a critical point this month, which is why this episode is a few days late. I’ve been looking forward to covering this album because it’s really one of the best 80s compilations. It’s also the only place you can find most of the songs on the album. Only Kazuo Zaitsu and Hidemi Yamamoto’s songs were released elsewhere.

I hope you’ve enjoyed at least a few of the songs on “The Night Before Christmas.” It really does have something for everyone. Join me back here in September as I talk about a couple albums from the 1990s. First up is Mika Kanai’s “Clam Chowder” from 1997. It’s more of a winter-themed album, but it includes a couple Christmas songs, and I couldn’t resist getting it due to the title. Then join me on the 25th as I cover another compilation, “White Album ’90,” from 1990. It features an eclectic selection of songs and was one of those albums that took me over two years to track down. You don’t want to miss them.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Episode 58 – “The Night Before Christmas”