Christmas Passed 2007

It's late on Christmas eve as I post this, I've been running behind all month.

This is a compilation I just recently threw together rather quickly. I hope it came out OK. I didn't get the chance to completely check out each song. I didn't even make a cover for it.

This comp features Christmas songs by artists who passed away during 2007 (is that morbid?). I know there are a ton more I could have included, but I didn't have the time to search for them. Enjoy.

Track List

1. Monster's Holiday - Bobby "Boris" Pickett (died April 25 - age 69)
2. At Christmas Time - Dan Fogelberg (died December 16 - age 56)
3. Mele Kalikimaka - Don Ho (died April 14 - age 76)
4. This Christmas - Don Ho
5. 18 Shopping Days Till Christmas - Frankie Laine (died February 6 - age 93)
6. I Believe - Frankie Laine
7. I'd Like To Have An Elephant For Christmas - Hank Thompson (died November 6 - age 82)
8. Ave Maria - Luciano Pavarotti (died September 6 - age 71)
9. Panis Angelicus - Luciano Pavarotti
10. 11 Shopping Days Till Christmas - Mary Kaye Trio (Mary Kaye died February 17 - age 83)
11. Christmas City - Merv Griffin (died August 12 - age 82)
12. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Merv Griffin
13. Merry Christmas Polka - Merv Griffin
14. Frosty The Snowman - Porter Wagoner (died October 28 - age 80)
15. We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Porter Wagoner
16. Jingle Bells - Porter Wagoner
17. Do You Hear What I Hear - Robert Goulet (died October 30 - age 73)
18. Sleigh Ride - Robert Goulet
19. The Christmas Waltz - Robert Goulet
20. O Come All Ye Faithful - Tammy Faye Bakker/Messner (died July 20 - age 65)
21. White Christmas - The Drifters (bass singer Bill Pinkney died July 4 - age 81)

Click the link below to download --

--> Christmas Passed 2007 <--

A Dynamite December

Here's the holiday pages from the December 1976 issue of Scholastic's Dynamite magazine.

Besides the cover story about Donny & Marie, the other featured articles were --
The Amazing Spider-Man: Meet his makers!
"When I Was a Kid": Ron Howard tells his whole story from the beginning to the "Happy Days" of today.
Jay J. Armes: Getting the facts on a real private eye!

THE WORLD$ MO$T EXPEN$IVE HOLIDAY GIFT$

BUCK THE GIFT-BUYING SYSTEM!

December Is Monster Month!

Count Morbida's Monthly Puzzle Pages

Christmas Photos

I didn't get the chance to go through all of my old Christmas photos, but here's two that I had on hand --

Me and my brother, probably late 60's

My nephew and son with Santa in 2004

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town/Frosty The Snowman OST

ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. & JULES BASS PRESENT
THE ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK RECORDINGS

SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN
Told and Sung by
FRED ASTAIRE Starring the talents of:
Mickey Rooney and Keenan Wynn


FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
Told and Sung by
JIMMY DURANTE
Starring the talents of:
Billy De Wolfe and Jackie Vernon

Lyrics by JULES BASS * Music by MAURY LAWS
Both RANKIN/BASS TV Specials written by ROMEO MULLER

This a rip of the CD released by Turner Records/Rhino in 2002.

Click the link below to download --

--> Santa Claus/Frosty <--

Christmas Misc.

If you're looking to download classic Christmas music from vinyl, you need to visit these sites --

FaLaLaLaLa (check out the forums)
Ernie (Not Bert)
Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace Else

Here's a couple of interesting Christmas songs --

If you grew up in the late 70's and early 80's you probably wanted some Star Wars toys for Christmas. Here's a song that celebrates that. From the Twelve Months Of Christmas blog.

Christmas Tauntauns by Kristy Dawson

Be sure to get Christmas In The Stars: STAR WARS Christmas Album that I posted last year.


To go along with The Twelve Days Of A Cleveland Browns Christmas that I posted a few weeks ago --

The Twelve Days Of A Pittsburgh Steelers Christmas

(scroll to the bottom of the page for the link)


Eating Tips for The Holidays

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an 'eggnog-aholic' or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone! Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other peoples food for free. Lots of it. Hello???

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat - have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Holiday Announcement

Well, I'd planned on sharing a bunch of Christmas music and photos this month, but my darn personal life keeps getting in the way. It's nothing that we won't eventually overcome, but right now it sucks. I'm still gonna try to get a few Chistmas posts up before the 25th (just not as many as I'd hoped).

Happy Holidays everybody and thanks for perusing the Wonderful Wonderblog!

Do You Fear What I Fear

If you like your holidays filled with mirth, mayhem, madness, monsters and murder than this is the compilation for you. I put this comp together because I'm a huge fan of monsters and Christmas. I hope you enjoy it.

Track Listing

1. A Really, Really Scary Merry Intro - SheDaisy
2. (All I Want For Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth - The Count
3. I Hate Christmas - Oscar The Grouch
4. 100,000 Turkeys - Chris T-T
5. A Visit Form St. Nicholson - Bob Rivers Comedy Corp.
6. Jingle Hells Bells - Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio
7. Away In A Madhouse - Matt Fahey
8. It's The Most Horrible Time Of The Year - J.D. Titan
9. Dead By Xmas - Hanoi Rocks
10. Happy Ghoultide - Roy Odis
11. How The Grinch Stole Christmas - The Ohio City Singers
12. Little Drummer Boy - Tonto, Tarzan and Frankenstein
13. 13 Shopping Days Till Christmas - Boris Karloff
14. HMH Foyer - Haunted Mansion Holiday
15. HMH Graveyard - WDI
16. HMH Madame Leota 13 Days Of Christmas - WDI
17. HMH Stretching Room - John Debney
18. Scary Bells - Disneyland
19. Humbug - The Alcoa Singers
20. The Stingiest Man In Town - The Alcoa Singers
21. It's Christmas Or Us - Old Friend, Chorus
22. Monster Christmas Mash - Dracula, Chorus
23. No Presents For Christmas - King Diamond
24. Special Message To Station Owners - Boris Karloff
25. Psycho - The Western Caravan feat. Thirsty Dave
26. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Mutineers
27. Silent Night, Deadly Night (Title Score) - Perry Botkin, Jr.
28. Santa's Watching (from Silent Night, Deadly Night)
29. Secret Satan - Karkis
30. Santa And The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
31. The Munsters Scary Little Christmas closing
32. Auld Lang Syne - The Lothars

Click below to download --

--> Do You Fear What I Fear <--

Some notes --

Tracks 7 & 8 are from a CD called A Very Scary Solstice by The HP Lovecraft Historical Society. You can buy the CD here. They also have a free download of the song "Blue Solstice" from An Even Scarier Solstice.

Tracks 19 & 20 are from the album An Old-Fashioned Christmas. The full album is available for download at A Christmas Yuleblog.






Tracks 21 & 22 are from the album Monster Christmas Mash. This is one of my favorite albums that I've had since it came out in 1974. It's probably the reason for my love of monsters and Christmas. You can download it at Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!!.

More scary Christmas music is available at the Universal Horror Sounds blog.

HOLIDAY HORRORS - A Seasonal Compilation









TALES FROM THE CRYPT - Have Yourself A Scary Little Christmas (1995)








A MERRY MONSTER CHRISTMAS (1964)

Evel Knievel, RIP

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over crazy obstacles including Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.

Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.

Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills. He also suffered two strokes in recent years.

Longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundle said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Clearwater condominium and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital.

"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" Rundle said.

Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.

"I think he lived 20 years longer than most people would have" after so many injuries, said his son Kelly Knievel, 47. "I think he willed himself into an extra five or six years."

Read the full story here.

Here's a comic book add from the 70's featuring Evel Knievel toys. Me, my brother and friends had some of these when we were kids. Mr. Knievel was an icon and he will be missed.

A Couple Of Christmas Songs

Fulfilling a couple of requests --

Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You're A Lovely Guy) by Max Headroom. Click here to go to my original post from last year with a new download link.






The Twelve Days Of A Cleveland Browns Christmas by Elliott, Walter & Bennett. This single was released in 1980 at the height of the Browns Kardiac Kids era. Download it here.





Click here to see all of my holiday posts from last year.

Quiet Riot Lead Singer Kevin DuBrow, RIP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot, which scored a hit with "Cum on Feel the Noize," was found dead in a Las Vegas home Sunday. He was 52.

Determination of the cause of death was pending an autopsy and toxicology results, Clark County coroner's spokeswoman Samantha Charles said.

A neighbor summoned police and paramedics to the house, where he was pronounced dead, police and coroner's officials said.

There was no forced entry, and no suspicious circumstances were reported, police Officer Jose Montoya said Monday.

Quiet Riot was best known for its 1983 cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize." The song, featuring Dubrow's powerful, gravelly voice, appeared on the band's album "Metal Health" — which was the first by a metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

DuBrow recorded his first solo album in 2004, "In for the Kill," and the band's last studio CD, "Rehab," came out in October 2006.

Cum On Feel The Noize

Mama Were All Crazee Now

YouTube video's courtesy of 80sMetalVideos.

Black Friday!

Thanksgiving day is almost over and as usual I ate WAY too much. After dinner we went to the movies and saw Fred Claus. It was a cute movie, but I think I could have waited to rent it next Christmas.

Now it's time for BLACK FRIDAY! Some people might think I'm crazy, but I don't mind the crazy crowds and waiting in line for hours. I'm a patient man. We're not going at 4:00 AM though, we're going to wait until 7:00 or 8:00 AM and see what's left. I have to work Friday, I need to get a couple of hours of sleep before all of that crazy shopping.

The first time I went shopping on Black Friday was 2004. Back then we did go at four in the morning. While I was at Best Buy a reporter from our local newspaper (The Akron Beacon Joural) interviewed me and took a bunch of photos. I was the main photo of the article in Saturday's business section (by the way, I didn't spend $480. I only bought video games and DVD's).

Thanksgiving At My House

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Here's a few old photos of Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. We never did anything too spectacular. Mom made a big meal and we watched the parade and football. It was usually just me, my brother, mom and dad. As I've done for the past ten years or so, I'm spending Thanksgiving at my in-law's house this year.
1988 - Mom, my brother and dad digging in
1989 - Me, mom and my brother
1995 - Dad and mom (nice job getting their faces in the photo)
1995 - Me buttering my rolls

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

This is my 200th post. Boy, how time flies.

It just didn't seem like Thanksgiving unless I watched the Macy's Parade every year when I was growing up. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't like to watch parades on TV, so I have to sneak it in if I can.

I decided to search YouTube for some parade clips from the 70's and 80's. I found some from the 80's but none from the 70's. I did find a cool clip from the 60's though. I also threw in a few from the early 90's. Enjoy.

The Munsters Escort Santa


1981 - Aileen Quinn as Annie


1984 - Fraggle Rock Float


1985 - Care Bears Float (with Miss America Susan Akin)


1987 - Marvel Universe Float


1989 - Marvel Universe Float (with Melba Moore)


1989 - The Joker Float


1993 - Spider-Man Balloon (with deflated head)


1993 - Sonic The Hedgehog Balloon (Not shown - Sonic smashing into a lightpost and exploding. Yes, the hedgehog's balloon happened to pop, thus prompting the crew to use stock footage of Sonic before the collision.)


1993 - Bart Simpson Balloon

"Mr. Whipple", RIP

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 19) - Dick Wilson, the actor and pitchman who played the uptight grocer begging customers "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin," died Monday. He was 91.

The man famous as TV's "Mr. Whipple" died of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, said his daughter Melanie Wilson, who is known for her role as a flight attendant on the ABC sitcom "Perfect Strangers."

Over 21 years, Wilson made more than 500 commercials as Mr. George Whipple, a man consumed with keeping bubbly housewives from fondling the soft toilet paper. The punch line of most spots was that Whipple himself was a closeted Charmin-squeezer.

Read the full story here.

Turkey Stuffing Mix

Here's my Turkey Stuffing Mix. You know, there really aren't that many Thanksgiving "carols". Included in this mix are some commercials furnished by the National Goose Council called "Goose Who's Coming To Dinner?", narrated by Bill Cullen.

Stephen put a link to a song in the comments section that you can add to the mix. I suggest you get it. Thanks Stephen.

Track Listing

1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - George Winston
2. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dialog 1
3. Beware Of Geese? - Bill Cullen
4. Prayer For Thanksgiving (Valerius) - Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops
5. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dialog 2
6. It Should Really Be Called Goose Day - Bill Cullen
7. Thanksgiving At My House - Pat Godwin
8. Turkey Gobble 1
9. National Bird? Why Not The Goose? - Bill Cullen
10. Thanksgiving Canon - Girl Scouts
11. Thanksgiving Day - John McCutcheon
12. Thanksgiving Day - Bob Hope
13. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dialog 3
14. What's Really Traditional? You'd Be Surprised - Bill Cullen
15. Thanksgiving Day Parade - Spencer Ross
16. The Thanksgiving Song - Adam Sandler
17. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dialog 4
18. Turkey Dinner - Ruth Roberts
19. WKRP Turkey Drop 1
20. WKRP Turkey Drop 2
21. Turkey Gobble 2
22. Woman's Work and What a Job They Did - Bill Cullen
23. Turkey In The Straw - Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Orch.

Click below to download --

--> Turkey Stuffing Mix <--

Here's some clips of "The Turkey Drop" from the classic episode of WKRP In Cincinnati. Some sound bites of this are included in the Turkey Stuffing Mix. Clips courtesy of SchradeBOFH.

Re-Up's

I've had some requests to re-up some expired links. Here they are --

Toon Tunes: Action-Packed Anthems & Funny Bone Favorites
Christmas In The Stars: STAR WARS Christmas Album
A Classic Cartoon Christmas
A Classic Cartoon Christmas, Too

To complete the Classic Cartoon Christmas trilogy, you'll need to download this compilation that I put together -- A Classic Cartoon Christmas, Three

Paul Norris (Co-Creator of Aquaman), RIP

Comic book artist Paul Norris died Nov. 5, 2007 at age 93.

He co-created Aquaman with DC Comics writer-editor Mort Weisinger in More Fun Comics # 73 (Nov. 1941). Paul also worked on, among others, the Sandman in Adventure Comics.

By 1942, Norris was drawing the newspaper strip Vic Jordan for the New York daily, PM. He worked with Prize Publications creating Power Nelson, Futureman and Yank and Doodle.

His contract with PM required that he work exclusively for that publication, which he hadn't realized when he signed up, so he had to stop working on Aquaman about a year after he created it.

But he got other breaks. Norris went on to work for King Features Syndicate and had stints on Flash Gordon and Secret Agent X-9. In 1948, he took over the Jungle Jim Sunday feature for a few years when Austin Briggs gave it up.

In 1952, he took over the science fiction comic strip Brick Bradford from artist Clarence Gray. He drew the strip for 35 years, until he retired in 1987.

Read a tribute to Mr. Norris from Mark Evanier's News From Me.

Paul Norris on Wikipedia.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Does anyone have any novelty football songs? The ones usually made by local personalities about NFL teams or players. I've only got one track and it's a Christmas song called The 12 Days of a Cleveland Browns Christmas. I'd like to put together a compilation of these songs. If anyone has any, could you email an mp3 of the song to me? I'll post the compilation before football season ends (if I get anything).

Speaking of football, Sunday is the Pittsburg Steelers vs the Cleveland Browns. I've been a life-long Steelers fan while my wife roots for the Clowns Browns. It should be a fun afternoon.

Funny Bone Favorites Volume II

OK, I guess we can forget about a Thankgiving Countdown :). Let's move on to some other stuff.

Back on August 11, I shared my version of a record I had in the 70's called Funny Bone Favorites. You can still download it here. I decided to make another volume called, amazingly, Funny Bone Favorites Volume II. Just like the original, all the songs are from the 1970's or earlier.

Track Listing

1. The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins - Leonard Nimoy
2. Daffy Duck's Rhapsody - Mel Blanc
3. Gitarzan - Ray Stevens
4. God Bless My Underwear - Peter Pan Singers
5. Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh - Allan Sherman
6. Inka Dinka Doo - Jimmy Durante
7. King Tut - Steve Martin
8. Lumberjack Song - Monty Python
9. Mahna Mahna - Mahna Mahna & The Two Snowths
10. Mr. Jaws - Dickie Goodman
11. My Ding-A-Ling - Chuck Berry
12. Popcorn - Hot Butter
13. Rubber Biscuit - The Blues Brothers
14. Shaving Cream - Benny Bell
15. The Streak - Ray Stevens
16. Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen
17. They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haaa! - Napoleon XIV
18. Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport - Rolf Harris
19. Ting-A-Ling-A-Loo - Benny Hill

Click the link below to download --

--> Funny Bone Favorites Volume II <--

Thanksgiving Countdown 2007

Who's up for doing a post-a-day Thanksgiving countdown?

Anyone?

Hello? Is this thing on?

I'm Done...

Not with the blog, just the Halloween posts. I had a great time sharing all my monsterous memories with everyone. I hope you enjoyed it also. I'm going to take some time off from blogging (maybe a week or so) to get some stuff done that I've been neglecting the past month. Thanks to everyone that took the time to leave comments, I'll try to respond to most of them in the next few days. I'm also a few days behind on reading all of the other blogs that participated in the Halloween Countdown. I have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks again and I hope you had a wonderful Halloween.

Creepy Autographs Part 4

This is the last of my creepy autographs.

I met actor Michael Berryman at the Twisted Nightmare Weekend in 2006. I seem to have misplaced his autograph. If I ever find it, I'll add it to this post.

Lloyd Kaufman - President and co-founder of Troma Entertainment. I e-mailed him and he sent me this autograph.

Local horror host Son of Ghoul.