Carpenters Christmas 45's

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Could anyone tell me if I have all the Carpenters Christmas 45's that have been released? I am referring to all stock and promo 45's. I am not speaking of re-issues (ex. forget me nots or memory series)

I'm trying to determine if the following 5 are all the Christmas 45's released. I'm not just talking about the song titles but also the labels. I know there is a website that lists the 45's but they don't include all the promo's. So if you have one not listed either a stock or promo please let me know, I do not know if my collection is complete. (again no re-issues or memories series). I've noted below side 1 and 2 and if it has the Haeco processing for each 45.

Thanks
Side 1

Side 2 HAECO

Side 1

Side 2 HAECO

Side 1

Side 2

Side 1 HAECO

Side 2 HAECO

Side 1

Side 2

 

[W.B.]

Only one thing: 8620-S was a "Forget-Me-Nots" (later "Memories") reissue. After all, it was in that catalogue series. And looking at the stock issue of 1648-S, it looks for all the world like a Monarch pressing. (Columbia pressings from their Pitman, NJ plant have the small A&M logo on the left, below the text therein.)

Speaking of Pitman: Here is the stock copy of the original (AM-1236-S) "Merry Christmas Darling":

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Thanks W.B. This is exactly what I am looking for, it appears my collection is not complete. Even though I have what you posted in the promo version, I do not have it in stock.
I also appreciate you telling me that my 3rd 45 down #8620 is actually from the re-issue series even though it is a promo, I will label that inside the cover so I remember.

 

[Harry]

I do not have the top one on your list, Chris, nor the last. I have a stock copy of your third one with the number 1991-S on the silver/tan label and another on the Forget-Me-Nots series with the 8620-S number. Both of those are in a picture sleeve with the Carpenters logo in green at the top and the song titles in large red fancy type below. On the older stock copy there's also an ad for the TV special:

Don't Miss The Carpenters' Christmas TV Special
Friday, December 9th, 9-10 P.M., ABC​

I also have a 1236-S like W.B. pictured, but with a different font, and the HAECO-CSG designation on the lower left, under the A&M logo- it's in a picture sleeve with a black & white picture of Karen and Richard, with their little "signature" and Christmas greeting printed in white on Karen's hair.

Another 1236-S I have is a promo, but different from the one you pictured. The titles, "STEREO" and Carpenters designations on mine are printed in red. Yours with the black print almost looks like the color scheme they used for mono promos, yet it says stereo. Mine has both Mr. Guder and MCD in red, like a standard stereo promo. Oh, and it's also housed in a plain green sleeve.

I never knew there were this many variations.

Harry

 

[W.B.]

I also have a 1236-S like W.B. pictured, but with a different font, and the HAECO-CSG designation on the lower left, under the A&M logo- it's in a picture sleeve with a black & white picture of Karen and Richard, with their little "signature" and Christmas greeting printed in white on Karen's hair.

The label you describe (HAECO designation on the lower left) sounds like it's a Terre Haute, IN pressing. Is there a "T" within the dead wax, i.e. A+M CSG2068-T1?

 

[Harry]

Yes, on one side there's a TI - on the other is a TIII.

Harry

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Thanks Harry for your info on your 45's.

Do you think that there is any chance that the promo of mine above with 1236-S of MCD and Mr Guder is really a mono 45? Since Harry mentioned his version of this 45 is color red both sides. I always thought red meant stereo side and black usually meant mono. At least that is the way with alot of the Carpenters mono/stereo promos.

The run in on this WLP 1236-S is MCD-CSG-2068S-M4, Mr Guder-CSG-2069S-M4.

I imagine since there is so many s' on the run in and label that this is stereo but the black labels are throwing me off.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Well it appears I do in fact have the same 45 that W.B. mentioned in his pic. I went through all my 45's as you can see pictured, this 45 was mixed up and therefore I did not see it earlier today. I have so many that this box is about maxed out of space.

Here is my 6th Christmas Carpenters 45 I own (yes it's clean, those marks are permanent in the run in ) I might also add that Mr Guder is the short version on the 45's. Whenever I hear it on 45 I am always waiting for the rest of the ending but it just cuts off, wonder if that was to get radio to play it.

My collection of 45's

 

[W.B.]

Funny - I also have the picture sleeve in question. (Must've been their second, after "We've Only Just Begun.") And I can see why the grooves are so thick and it could be summed up in eight letters - HAECO-CSG. Or, as Carnac the Magnificent on the old Johnny Carson Tonight Show would put it, "How do you pronounce 'Hai-ko-zig' (phonetic pronunciation)?"

 

[Harry]

Thanks Harry for your info on your 45's.

Do you think that there is any chance that the promo of mine above with 1236-S of MCD and Mr Guder is really a mono 45? Since Harry mentioned his version of this 45 is color red both sides. I always thought red meant stereo side and black usually meant mono. At least that is the way with a lot of the Carpenters mono/stereo promos.

The run in on this WLP 1236-S is MCD-CSG-2068S-M4, Mr Guder-CSG-2069S-M4.

I imagine since there is so many s' on the run in and label that this is stereo but the black labels are throwing me off.

Just the fact that it's printed as a HAECO-CSG indicates that it's stereo. That processing wouldn't make any sense in regard to mono where both sides of the stereo sound are in fact identical. I'm sure your record above with the black label is stereo - I am just amazed at the variations in printing styles of the labels.

Harry
...listening to his new ABBA - THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS box set, online...

 

[SakuraSYayoi]

Chris, you can see Japanese Gold Record of "Superstar" on NHK BShi Special. Side B for Japanese "Superstar" was "Merry Christmas Darling".

Sakura
....went to see ABBA in concert....

 

[Rudy]

FYI: I moved the ABBA box set discussion to its own thread in the Small Circle forum.

 

[Harry]

FYI: I moved the ABBA box set discussion to its own thread in the Small Circle forum.

I attempted to do just that a couple of times this afternoon and got "Invalid_Sessio" errors.

Harry

 

[W.B.]

Yes, on one side there's a TI - on the other is a TIII.

Indeed, the only stock copies I've seen of the original "MCD" (#1236-S), both in person and perusing eBay, were pressed by:
- Columbia in Pitman, NJ;
- Columbia in Terre Haute, IN; and
- Monarch.
Have yet to see a Santa Maria, CA pressing though. With the more bronzeish ochre (leaning towards the green) as in use on A&M/Spector 45's pressed by Columbia, and on vinyl as opposed to styrene. No doubt they'd use their own fonts, as Pitman and Terre Haute did . . .

I don't know if, in Canada, A&M was still being distributed by Quality or if they struck out on their own at this point. For when they went "independent" in Canada, RCA's Smiths Falls, Ontario plant was one of the main pressing plants they used.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

My stock MCD 1236-S is Pittman, NJ (assuming the P2 stands for this)
My white label promo MCD 1236-S is Monarch( assuming M4 stands for this)

If often wondered why a MCD stock mono was never pressed, it certainly could have since it was released in the time other mono's were pressed. I've yet to ever see one.

I'll never forget that video link from a couple yrs ago someone posted here of the factory inside and how they made records from begining to end, it was really amazing to watch.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

And looking at the stock issue of 1648-S, it looks for all the world like a Monarch pressing. (Columbia pressings from their Pitman, NJ plant have the small A&M logo on the left, below the text therein.)

Yes your right, it says M5 on the MCD side and M2 on the Santa Claus side.

My WLP of Santa Claus 1648-S is S1 both sides.

 

[Rudy]

I'll never forget that video link from a couple yrs ago someone posted here of the factory inside and how they made records from begining to end, it was really amazing to watch.

If I recall, it was the RCA plant manufacturing 78RPM shellac records, from cutting the master (in wax!) to pressing the final product. The movie is old, but the process is still basically the same today! (Where today, masters are cut in lacquer and the finished records are pressed in vinyl.)

I remember I got it from http://archive.org. If you search for RCA, you may find it there. I have it on my computer, and intended to burn it to a DVD. May do that tonight, in fact, now that I think of it...

 

[W.B.]

My stock MCD 1236-S is Pittman, NJ (assuming the P2 stands for this)
My white label promo MCD 1236-S is Monarch( assuming M4 stands for this)

Correct on both fronts. (My copy of AM-1236-S has a "-P1" at the end of each lacquer number.)

And I noticed that it wasn't until after the silver/tan label was introduced that Columbia/Santa Maria began pressing A&M promo 45's (hence, the "-S1" at the end of each lacquer number on the 1648 promo).

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Found this at my local record store yesterday in a box of promo's he just received, I took a chance that I may have already had this one but it appears from the #1991 that I did not have this promo. I think this is the one Harry mentioned above as this one came with the pic sleeve promoting their Christmas special Friday Dec 9, 9-10 p.m. ABC.

Maybe W.B. can shed some light on the run in, I noticed that it was scratched out, was this a mistake that they corrected and caught, wonder if this was common back then to make mistakes in the run in and go to the trouble of fixing it. Hard to capture on photo, the run in states:
MCD side: A&M 2068 S (RE-2) (scratch) S3
Christmas Song: A&M 12357 S (RE-2) (scratch) S2

 

[Harry]

Mine is a stock copy of 1991-S with no scratch-outs in the stamper number.

Harry

 

[W.B.]

Found this at my local record store yesterday in a box of promo's he just received, I took a chance that I may have already had this one but it appears from the #1991 that I did not have this promo. I think this is the one Harry mentioned above as this one came with the pic sleeve promoting their Christmas special Friday Dec 9, 9-10 p.m. ABC.

Maybe W.B. can shed some light on the run in, I noticed that it was scratched out, was this a mistake that they corrected and caught, wonder if this was common back then to make mistakes in the run in and go to the trouble of fixing it. Hard to capture on photo, the run in states:
MCD side: A&M 2068 S (RE-2) (scratch) S3
Christmas Song: A&M 12357 S (RE-2) (scratch) S2

What was scratched out? That might be your clue. And it would appear that the promo of the 8620-S reissue was released a year later, just by the different font used for the matrix numbers as opposed to what was used on 1991-S' promo. But I've seen similar cases on other lacquers on other labels, this scratching-out and writing over business.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Impossible to read, it's been scratched out pretty good on both sides, I'd only be guessing.

 

[bluebird1111]

I was just browsing this thread and I don't see my copy represented, so here are the scans.