Here's an incredible double-sided bit of holiday wonderment from the master. Released in 1968 (exactly one year after Otis' tragic death), this superb record showcases the two sides of Otis; his reading of the perennial "Merry Christmas Baby" shows his uptempo driving vocals, while his take on "White Christmas" shows that this man could pull so much emotion out of a ballad and turn a song completely into his own.
Happy holidays, all: thank you for your kind words and comments which help keep this labor of loving going strong, three years down the line!
MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY
WHITE CHRISTMAS
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ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Derek!! Thanks for a year of great tunes!
ReplyDeleteGreat post - Otis was THE Man....Merry Christmas and long may your blog continue.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this one Derek. Your timing is perfect - and I'm not just referring to the Christmas season. I was just in the process of compiling everything I could find of Otis - my favorite singer ('tho I can alternate between him & Sam Cooke). A 'Best Of' CD and 5 of his albums is just not enough of this master stylist for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd lo' - you post this double-sided gem - 2 tracks I had never heard before. Thank you thank you - one of the highlights of my year. Keep up the great work.
Mick from Australia
hi Derek
ReplyDeletei can't play the second tune
is it a bug or my computer ?
Just checked it and it seems to be working fine; must be a bug, Cedric!
ReplyDelete