In 1978, my family had yet to have cable. However, my grandparents had it and with it came the holiest of these new cable channels, HBO. Before MTV, HBO was the best reason to watch TV at my Grandparent's house. Around Christmas of that year, HBO aired a special featuring the impressionist, Rich Little. At the time, Rich Little was huge. Though looked at today as tacky, back then he was a bona-fide star! The special that aired on HBO was Little's version of the Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol". In true fashion, the cast was an ensemble made up of Little doing celebrity impressions. Scrooge was W.C. Fields, Cracthit was Paul Lynde and the Ghosts ranged from Richard Nixon to Humphrey Bogart to Peter Falk to Peter Sellers. Add Jean Stapleton, Groucho Marx, Johnny Carson, Jack Benny, John Wayne, Laurel and Hardy, James Mason, Jimmy Stewart and Truman Capote, and you have, in my humble opinion, a classic! For the next few years, HBO reran the special and it became a staple in my family's holiday viewing. Then it disappeared. I have always remembered it fondly and when I walked into that record store in Santa Monica (see earlier post) and saw the soundtrack from the album, it didn't take me long to spend my money on it. The album is pretty much the audio track from the special. Much like the story records of Star Wars and the like, this features all of the dialogue as well as the music from that HBO classic. It is a Canadian pressing and the cover states that it is the soundtrack from the 1979 CBC special. Obviously, HBO lent the special to Canadian Television a year later. Here is that album. BTW, the original special is finally on DVD. I purchased mine from Amazon and am patiently awaiting it's arrival to relive all of the glory! Here is the soundtrack album to "Rich Little's A Christmas Carol". Enjoy!
Rich Little's A Christmas Carol OST
The guest list featured: Sinatra, Dean Martin, Eddie Fisher, Vic Damone, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, James Cagney, and others. A little bit more on the raunchy side of the Celebrity Roasts, this features some great bits as well as some great singing and entertaining. This is a must own for any Sinatra collector! Listen in on the party as we feature "Sinatra's 42nd Birthday Party"! Enjoy!
He was the true King of Late Night and no one can take his place. During the Carson years, the Tonight Show was more than just an advertisement for the latest movie or tv show. It was an honest to goodness form of entertainment. People were invited on the show because Johnny wanted them on. Not because they had a new movie or a new sit-com or even a new record. It was just people that were on because Johnny felt that they were interesting and people wanted to see them. It was a lot cooler and as far as I'm concerned, it will never be the same. In 1974, Casablanca Records issued a collection of some of the best moments of the Tonight Show on a two record set entitled, "Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show". It features a roster of guest stars that would rival any late night show: Lenny Bruce, Groucho Marx, Ike & Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Lucille Ball, Pearl Baily, The Smothers Brothers, George Carlin, Billie Holiday, Glen Campbell, George Burns, Buddy Hackett, Jack Benny, Dean Martin, Desi Arnez and more. Here is that two record set for you to enjoy! 
The cover really intrigued me in that it had the faces of some of the most famous people of the radio era on the cover. The most interesting to me was Groucho Marx. However, other celebrities such as Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Phil Silvers, Danny Thomas, Lucille Ball, Joey Bishop, George Jessel, Gene Kelley, Red Skeleton, Art Linkletter and Jimmy Stewart all graced the cover. Upon listing to the album I was thrilled to learn that each of those stars had their own funny story to tell. Kind of like a book of jokes read by famous people. I loved it and have shared it with many of my friends. Now I share it with you. Hosted by the master of ceremonies, Bing Crosby, here is "My Favorite Story". Enjoy!
