Julie London's Holiday Album

As is the case every Christmas, it's time for Julie London's Christmas album that never was. London, for whatever reason, never recorded a holiday album, just one side of a 45. So several years ago, I assembled all of her seasonal tracks for a faux release. London is a favorite of mine. She had a cool, sultry singing style that never felt forced. Her sophisticated, hip phrasing was deeply nocturnal and consistently relaxed. And she loved off-beat songs and aced them with a beckoning delivery backed by seemingly effortless vocal power. [Photo above of Julie London and Les Brown at a recording session in 1957, by Leonard McCombe for Life magazine]

I've long wondered why London resisted recording a holiday LP. Her sole holiday side of a 45—I'd Like You for Christmas (1957)—was written by her husband, Bobby Troup. Did London keep the Yule at arm's length because she thought recording a holiday album would be square? Or did her label, Liberty Records, decide to avoid one to preserve her with-it image? Or maybe she recorded one but it's lost among dozens of other forgotten reels in some vault.

And why should we be London-less this time of year? So I crafted a London holiday album by assembling her winter-themed tracks. I playfully named it Julie London Wishes You a Merry Christmas. This year, once again, it's time to give a listen to my phantom London Christmas classic using eight seasonal songs:

Here's I'd Like You for Christmas...

Here's Warm in December...

Here's I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm...

Here's Sleigh Ride in July...

Here's November Twilight...

Here's The Thirteenth Month...

Here's The Party's Over...

And here's London with Pat Boone singing Winter Wonderland on TV's Pat Boone in Hollywood in 1967...