23: “The Merriest” — June Christy

When vocalist record a Christmas album, you often get an album of covers and standards, but hipster June Christy bucked that trend in 1961 with her ‘This Time Of Year’ album. She chose instead to record a whole album of new compositions by the team that wrote her hit “Night Time Was My Mother,” Arnold Miller and Connie Pearce Miller.  She also engaged her fellow Stan Kenton alumni Pete Rugulo to conduct. “The Merriest” is my favorite from this often overlooked singers contribution to the Christmas genre, combining a swinging track and June’s cool Christmas wishes for the hipsters, beats and other bohemian types.