Old Enough to Forget

My dad loved Harry Belafonte. By extension as a kid and to this day I love Harry Belafonte. He always seemed to be a guest on the variety shows, and there was always something serious and also whimsical about Harry Belafonte's songs. He could be funny and endearing but he was also serious and was an activist for civil rights. All of this was of course alien to me. All I knew was here was a man who knew hold an audience in the palm of his hand and was a master at his craft. In the early '80s I discovered that one of my best friends Tony also loved Harry Belafonte, and his favourite song was "Matilda" which to me was fantastic. We would sing the song in our loudest voices, and it didn't really matter that we both loved rock and roll ... there was still room for Harry. There was always room for Harry. The records my father had I took many years ago, and then subsequently lost to water damage. Still bugs me that I didn't put those bloody boxes up off the concrete ...

I was searching for albums that I'd not heard of, and I found Christmas Time . The cover was wonderfully kitschy and the songs ranged from "Silent Night" to "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" which appealed to me. The back cover photo of Roger Williams looked sufficiently geeky to catch my interest. This was either going awesome or a train wreck. The original version of the album came out in 1959, and this re-issue is undated, likely from the early '60s. It was manufactured by MCA in Canada. Man I don't know why it was such a problem to put a date on things. I suppose there was a feeling this was timeless and as such didn't need a date. Perhaps in a way it is. I really didn't know what to expect, not knowing anything about Roger Williams, I didn't know if this was a vocal or instrumental collection of songs. Turns out Mr. Williams, was a pianist, and a really good one. There is certainly a nostalgic charm in hearing these old carols played ...