The Great Songs of Christmas from Goodyear: 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Stanley Arnold Story

Who is Stanley Arnold, and what does he have to do with the Goodyear Christmas albums? Everything, as it turns out. The liner notes for the first nine albums gave credit to a firm known as “Stanley Arnold & Associates,” and I always wondered what that meant. I found the answer in a book called “Tale of the Blue Horse and Other Million Dollar Adventures”, authored by Stanley Arnold himself.

Simply put, Stanley Arnold was an idea man. He originally worked for the ad agency Young & Rubicam, then struck out on his own. He didn’t want to start an ad agency, he started an idea agency, coming up with marketing ideas for companies but letting them (or their ad agencies) handle the details themselves. One of those ideas was getting Goodyear to put out an album of Christmas songs. His logic was simple: “Santa Claus never used a tire, but it occurred to me that Christmas had two deep connections with Goodyear. First, everyone is interested in Christmas; second, Goodyear sells many, many tires during the pre-Christmas season. That would be the million dollar idea for Goodyear, I decided: an album of Christmas music.” He was adamant that the album not be one of “cutie” songs like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” or “Rudolph”, but rather of classic tunes done by quality artists – a collection worthy to be called “The GREAT Songs of Christmas.”

Arnold was savvy business-wise, not just in the idea department. He had Goodyear act as the outlet for the album, but did not require them to actually invest anything in it; that way, Goodyear couldn’t lose a penny on the deal even if no one actually bought the record. But he did have to convince Goodyear to think big: they initially thought 30,000 copies nationwide would be sufficient for Columbia to make; Arnold was thinking 3 million. They eventually compromised at 900,000. The success was proven by a simple act: by December 1, Goodyear ordered its advertising agency to stop all advertising for the record –because there weren’t any left! The print order for the 1962 album was 1.5 million, and almost 2 million for the 1963 album. History repeated itself, and those albums sold out well before Christmas also. (One additional note: the ad agency that created, and prematurely had to cancel, the ads for the albums was Arnold’s old firm, Young & Rubicam.)

“Tale of the Blue Horse” was published in 1967, and the Stanley Arnold acknowledgment stopped on the albums two years later. I don’t know if the contract ran out, or Goodyear decided to take over, or if Columbia decided to deal directly with Goodyear. But at least we know how this whole thing got started. Based on his writing, Arnold thinks quite a bit of himself. But that ego has given millions of us a million memories – and the fact that you’re reading this shows that those memories carry on many years later. God bless you, Stanley Arnold!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

8 Tracks!

Laugh if you will, but they were once as common as CD's (and CD's are slowly disappearing in the download age, but that's another story). Here's what I've found so far; I suspect there are more floating out there in a thrift store somewhere...

Album 10 (1970)

Christmas Is.. (1972)

Great Songs of Christmas - Perry Como & Eugene Ormandy (1977)

Monday, December 7, 2009

Album Six

The Great Songs of Christmas - Album Six
Columbia Special Products CSM 388 (Mono) / CSS388 (Stereo)
1966

Silent Night - Barbara Streisand

Do You Hear What I Hear? - Andy Williams

The Christmas Song - Johnny Mathis
- edited from version on original album

The Holiday of Love/Caroling, Caroling - The King Family

Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring - Pablo Casals
- uncredited: Columbia Symphony Orchestra & chorus

O Little Town of Bethlehem/It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - The King Family

O Come, All Ye Faithful - Jan Peerce

Ave Maria - Barbara Streisand

Frosty the Snowman - Ray Conniff

We Need a Little Christmas - New Christy Minstrels

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Ray Conniff
- extracted from medley on original album

Noel Nouvelet - Jan Peerce

March of the Kings - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

White World of Winter - Bing Crosby

Il Est Ne - New Christy Minstrels

Still, Still, Still - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Away in the Manger - Mahalia Jackson/Percy Faith

We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Ray Conniff
- extracted from medley on original album

Print ad for Album Six:

Album Five

The Great Songs of Christmas - Album Five
Columbia Special Products CSP 238S (Stereo) / CSP238M (Mono)
1965

O Holy Night - Andy Williams

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Andre Kostelanetz
- extracted from medley on original album

Caroling, Caroling - Anna Maria Alberghetti

Jolly Old St Nicholas - Maurice Chevalier

The Little Drummer Boy - Phildelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy

The Star Carol - Anna Maria Alberghetti

We Three Kings of Orient Are - Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy

Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Angels We Have Heard on High - Andre Kostelanetz

Silent Night - Maurice Chevalier

The Lord's Prayer - Richard Tucker

Sleigh Ride - Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Dinah Shore

O Little Town of Bethlehem - Richard Tucker
- uncredited: Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming / Some Children See Him - Diahann Carroll

O Come All Ye Faithful/The First Noel - Danny Kaye

Silver Bells - Doris Day

Jingle Bells / It's Christmas Time All Over The World - Sammy Davis Jr
- 'Jingle Bells' intro not available anywhere else!

Sample print ad for the LP:

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Album Four

The Great Songs of Christmas - Album Four
Columbia Special Products CSP 155S (Stereo) / CSP155 (Mono)
1964

The first of three editions that were available in stereo and mono versions

Silent Night - Mary Martin

O Little Town of Bethlehem - New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein

O Come All Ye Faithful - Robert Goulet

Joy to the World - Phildelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy

Good King Wenceslas - Percy Faith

What Child Is This - Brothers Four

Holy, Holy, Holy / Abide With Me - Mahalia Jackson

Ave Maria - Isaac Stern

Toyland - Doris Day

The Shepherd Boy - New Christy Minstrels

Deck the Halls - New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein

The First Noel - Mitch Miller

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Andre Previn

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - Brothers Four

Coventry Carol - Mitch Miller

O Come Little Children - Phildelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy

Go Tell It On the Mountain - Brothers Four

Sing Hosanna, Hallelujah - New Christy Minstrels

Sample print ad for the album:

Friday, November 20, 2009

Goodyear or not Goodyear?

When is a Goodyear Christmas album not a Goodyear Christmas album? Some copies of the first album did not list Goodyear on the album cover, although it did say "Created Exclusively"; you can also find copies of Albums Two through Seven with the Goodyear reference blotted out on the cover (although it's still sometimes mentioned in the liner notes). I'm figuring that either Columbia tried to market these through other businesses besides Goodyear, or maybe these were versions you got when you ordered a prior edition using one of the order forms. The first album has the most variations of all. The initial release was on the 'Columbia Record Productions' label, and while the cover had the Goodyear mentioned on the front and back covers, the labels on the disc itself themselves did not mention Goodyear. Then came the unbranded version, with no mention of Goodyear on the front or back covers and the record company name on the disc label now saying 'Columbia Special Products'. The next part of the mystery I'm not sure about: I have found disc labels with the 'Columbia Special Products' name that have no Goodyear mention, and others that do! Still not sure how all that can be, but there it is.