Don Ho - The Don Ho Christmas Album

I found this one, and snapped it up. Sadly it looked to be in better condition than it actually was ... but I can stream it if I want to hear it without the Rice Krispie Players adding their own textures to the songs. It didn't matter, at least for the first few times that I played it in the basement.

Don Ho, you know Mister Tiny Bubbles himself, was someone I knew of, more than I knew of. I always figured he was a one-note joke and I didn't get the punchline. I had no idea what to expect. Somehow, in my mind, I figured he'd be milking his 1967 hit and signature song. "Tiny Snowballs" and the like. "Tiny Bubbles," from what I've read, was originally penned for Lawrence Welk as a tie-in to his champagne music. Mr. Welk passed, and Don Ho received it and scored a touchdown with it.

Released in 1967, Don Ho nailed it with his easy listening collection of Christmas standards, "Silver Bells", "The Christmas Song", and a wonderfully slowed down and sultry version of "Mele Kalikimaka" that is better than you'd expect it to be.

One of the things I enjoy most about a lot of the older albums is getting to hear songs I've not heard before. The opening track, "The Song of Christmas," written by Kui Lee, was new to me, and a wonderful way to lead off the album. Others, like "O Bambino (One Cold And Blessed Winter)" and "Merry Christmas Neighbor" were a nice change from hearing yet another insipid version of "Jingle Bells" or "White Christmas" although there are some standards here ... it is a Christmas album after all.

Don Ho had a really warm baritone, and for an album that I've not heard before, it feels like a long-lost friend. It still amazes me that I'm still discovering music I've not heard that is this good.

Weird.

The album closes with a really nice medley of "Some Children See Him & Po La'i E (Silent Night)," which tied everything together. The album contained eleven songs and eight of them clocked in well under three minutes. I know it's an old adage to leave people wanting more, but this seemed to be over so quickly it seemed unfair.

If you're a fan of classic Christmas music, this is really something you need to add to your list. The nice list, just in case I wasn't being clear.

The Don Ho Christmas album was a great way to kick off the holiday season. It's too bad he didn't call himself Don Ho Ho Ho at least for this one.

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