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| Album Covers from 1965 |
This is a question from grand-daughter Katelyn this morning with a very LONG answer. Why? Because I have loved Christmas carols since as far back as I can remember, and that is a very long time now. (Smile with a sigh.)
My youthful years culminated in my senior year in high school when I sang in the A Cappella Choir at East High School under the skilled tutelage of Lorraine Bowman. I also sang in the Madrigal group and the Boys Quartet, which only added to my pleasure and enjoyment.
During the month of December, we were booked solid all over Salt Lake City in ward sacrament meetings, civic groups, rest homes and other engagements like the shopping malls all over the valley. I remember one evening when we performed at the Hotel Utah, and returned to the parking lot to make the astonishing discovery that our family Monza four-door sedan had been stolen. Mercifully, it was later discovered on the side of a road by the police, presumably when the “joyriders” who had taken it ran out of gas.
Miss Bowman was an “institution” in music circles, and was also a member of the Tabernacle Choir. We used many of their arrangements in our programs. I note here that she never married and did not have her own family, so we became her “foster family” to which she devoted herself wholeheartedly. She died many years ago in a tragic single-car accident between here and Denver, during the Christmas holidays.
She produced two LP record albums each year for her choirs - one at Christmas, and another at year-end. They were prized souvenirs for all the graduating seniors who sang in the choirs at East High School, and I still have them in my closet with all my other all-time favorite records. Mom was a year behind me at East, so we have two separate collections from which we drew our selections to play each year. We did that for many, many years, and we shared those choice experiences with each other, especially during the Christmas season. I confess that I went digging through all my old records this morning in preparation for this chapter. What a TRIP that was!!
So, what are some of my favorites? Here are a few that top my memory:
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Silent Night (sung as background music while I narrated the Christmas Story from Luke 2)
Ring Those Christmas Bells
Carol of the Bells
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Do You Hear What I Hear?
God Bless You and Keep You
Teach Me To Pray
There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
Up on the Housetop
White Christmas
Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland
Twelve Days of Christmas
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
With Wondering Awe
I Believe in Christ
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| Madrigal Singers 1965 |
I have been playing those records this morning as I have written. Even after all these years, the 33 1/3 LP record has withstood all the tests of time. The same probably can’t be said for the old cassette tapes.
I attended our 60th high school reunion last summer. Sadly, about half our number are no longer with us in mortality. The longest segment of the evening consisted of a memorial video tribute to our classmates who had passed away. Time has moved on from those glory years of all our musical memories, but the music lives on forever.
Thanks Katelyn for this trip down memory lane. I’ve enjoyed it very much, and hope all of you did too!
Sending along all my love to each of you for a very Merry Christmas in 2025.
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