Jimmy Joyce, além de conceituado arranjador de corais e vocais, é professor de música. Seu "Scoring for Voices" foi um dos meus livros de cabeceira durante um período (pré-internet) em que, morando nos USA, eu vasculhava as bibliotecas e livrarias de New York, em busca de livros didáticos sobre essa fascinante arte de escrever para vozes. Uma curiosidade: Jimmy é especialista em arranjos para corais infantis e infanto-juvenis. E o seu atestado de competência foi assinado por ninguém menos que FRANK SINATRA, que o convidou para escrever e reger o coral, num álbum de Natal que gravou com seus filhos Tina & Frank Jr.
(*)Billy May dispensa apresentação...
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THE JIMMY JOYCE SINGERS
Family-based outfit of singers who were equally busy recording albums and performing on television. On 23rd August 1954, they backed Frank Sinatra on a trio of tracks: “The Christmas Waltz”, “When I Stop Loving You”, and “White Christmas”. In fact, much of their recording output was Christmas fare, such as Billy May’s 1958 offering, A Christmas to Remember. They are also the background singers on Allan Sherman’s hilarious take on “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, on which they were required to sing a dozen tongue-twisting and regrettable gift ideas. It reached #5 on the Christmas chart. In 1963, they recorded This is Christmas: A Complete Collection of the Alfred S. Burt Christmas Carols. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1964. In 1965, they backed Alvin & The Chipmunks on Chipmunks Sing with Children. They did another Christmas album in 1968, The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas. A single from the album, “It’s Such a Lonely Time of Year” backed with “Kids” by Nancy Sinatra was released in 1969. The same year found them backing Petula Clark on Just Pet, which reached a modest #176 on the Billboard Top 200. In the 1970s, they made several appearances on TV. They did three episodes of The Red Skelton Show in 1970, including “You Can Take the Boy out of the Country if You Promise Not to Bring Him Back”. They also appeared on a series of Tim Conway specials, simply titled The Tim Conway Comedy Hour, which aired in the fall of 1970. In the early ‘70s, they appeared on another variety program, The Bobby Darin Amusement Company. They rallied ‘round the flag for the patriotic musical extravaganza, Make Mine Red, White and Blue, hosted by Fred Astaire in 1972. In the mid-‘70s, they provided the singing voices for Harold Lloyd’s World of Comedy, an unusual re-working of Lloyd’s silent films with new music, narration and sound effects. You can catch their act on a number of CDs, including many of the aforementioned. In 2007, they made the cut on Alvin & the Chipmunks’ Greatest Hits: Still Squeaky After All These Years. Other albums on which they have appeared include Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Abide With Me, Allan Sherman’s Allan in Wonderland, and Kay Starr’s I Hear the Word. Jimmy Joyce has passed on, but many of other members are still active.
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ALBUM REVIEW
The Jimmy Joyce Singers were one of those groups who rarely appeared on their own (although they somehow released two different Christmas albums), but they often appeared as backup on other artists records. And the orchestra they've chosen to work with here belongs to none other than the great Billy May. There are even a couple of instrumentals on here that are all Billy May. Here's The Jimmy Joyce Singers With Orchestra Conducted By Billy May - A Christmas To Remember (Warner Bros WS 1237, Vitaphonic Stereo, 1958).
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MINHA OPINIÃO
Neste álbum, os JIMMY JOYCE SINGERS acompanhados pela orquestra do grande Billy May, cantam um repertório um pouco diferente do usual em discos de Natal. Apenas uma canção, "We wish you a Merry Xmas" é figurinha carimbada: as demais são pouco conhecidas. Muito bonito...
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THE JIMMY JOYCE SINGERS & BILLY MAY ORCHESTRA: A Christmas to Remember
THE JIMMY JOYCE SINGERS
Milt Chapman
David Joyce
Jimmy Joyce
Jon Joyce
Rick Lipp
Darice Richman
Oriell Smith
Kathy Westmoreland
TRACKS/FAIXAS
1. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
2. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
3. An Old Fashioned Christmas
4. Jingle Bells Around The World
5. Christmas Hop
6. Medley Of Foreign Carols
7. Round About Christmas
8. Santa Claus Sleigh Ride
9. The Story Of Christmas
10. Christmas Dinner Country Style
11. Reprise Medley
12. Medley Of English Carols
