First off, let me say, this is a great Christmas record!  There are better Christmas records, but there is not a better Children’s Christmas record.  This is a Children’s Christmas record, (it came out as a 45 rpm EP, or a 2 disc set of 78 rpm records) recorded in 1951 featuring America’s first beloved marionette, Howdy Doody, and his creator Bob Smith.  Norman Leyden & his Orchestra provide the music.

Howdy Doody was at first just a voice.  It was a character voice Bob Smith would use on the air as a radio announcer at WNBC in New York.  In 1947, Bob Smith appeared in Puppet Playhouse, a locally produced children’s show.  After several appearances on Puppet Playhouse, there was a request to put a face to the voice, and Howdy Doody, the marionette puppet we all know and love, was born.  Originally, Howdy Doody was a crudely made marionette.  He wasn’t very attractive, almost downright scary in fact.

After a split with his previous colleague, Bob Smith hired Mel Shaw, a Disney animator, to come up with a better Howdy Doody.  He and Velma Wayne Dawson created the marionette we know today.  Through many cosmetic repairs, no changes have been made to Howdy Doody throughout the years.  Bob Smith was the original voice of Howdy Doody.

The Howdy Doody Show went on the air, live, in 1947, and stayed on the air until 1960.  The show was an instant success.  It featured a Western theme and Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody wore Western outfits.  Originally, the show accommodated about 16 children on a small set of bleachers.  Over the years that was expanded to be able to include up to 40 children.  The show featured skits between cast members, other marionettes, and Howdy Doody, as well as interactive games with the children.  And songs.  Lots of songs.

Other characters on the show included J. Cornelius Cobb, Sir Archibald, Chief Thunderthud, Princess Summerfall Winterspring and of course Clarabell the Clown.  Clarabell never spoke on the show.  He communicated only with a horn.  It wasn’t until the closing credits on the very last show that Clarabell spoke.  As the camera moved in, he whispered “Goodbye, kids”.  The original Clarabell the Clown was played by Bob Keeshan, better known as Capt. Kangaroo.  (Look for a review of Capt. Kangaroo’s Christmas CD in this blog’s future).

Everyone involved with the show was dedicated to producing the best children’s show anyone could.  All were dedicated to the characters they portrayed and most stayed with the show a long time.  Bob Smith was the most dedicated, continuing to appear with Howdy Doody well into the 1990s.  They even made an appearance on ABC’s Happy Days television show in 1975.

The 45 rpm record itself is bright yellow.  The front of the record sleeve features a picture of Howdy Doody with Buffalo Bob Smith and Clarabell the Clown on either side of him.  The background is light green and Howdy Doody is holding up a strand of green garland decorated with Christmas ornaments.  Howdy Doody’s name appears at the top and the words “Christmas Party” in red letters appears in a white banner below.

The back of the record sleeve features the same green background as on the front and features an advertisement for a couple of previous Howdy Doody 45s.  There are a couple of playful puppies running around as well.  Towards the bottom, in large letters, is the RCA Victor name.  Below are performing artist and production credits.  This is a big help to me.  It gives me more information about the record itself.

Included with the original release of the 45 is an insert that opens and features cartoon drawings of all the characters that appear on the record.

The 45 features 2 songs on each side, and the set of 78s comes with two discs with one song on each side.  Altogether, it’s 15 minutes of a Howdy Doody Christmas special.  Norman Leyden & his Orchestra provide the music.  The small orchestra features all the instruments you would expect to find in an orchestra, and they all make an appearance in the arrangements.  Because of that, this record has all the hallmarks of a top-notch production.

The record begins as the show would, but in the beginning of the show, the Peanut Gallery, as the children’s bleachers area was called, would be greeted with “Howdy doody boys and girls, do you know what time it is?”  They would shout back, “It’s Howdy Doody Time!”  Then everyone would sing the opening theme song.  That doesn’t happen here.  After the “Howdy doody, boys and girls”, the children are welcomed to the Howdy Doody Christmas Party.

There are a couple of short songs featured, and the show’s characters interact with each other and other marionettes.  A Howdy Doody Christmas and I Love To Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop Popcorn are both included in the 1^st act.  Trust me, these songs feature wonderful, elaborate arrangements that could only come from 1951.

As the story goes on, the problem is with Phineas T. Bluster, the shows’ antagonist, as well as the mayor of Doodyville.  His refusal to say “Merry Christmas” gets the rest of the gang motivated to get him in the Christmas spirit.  There are two or three short songs featured in each act.  Most are performed by the marionette puppets that live in Doodyville.

The 3^rd act is almost all songs.  The best feature is a great rendition of Jingle Bells by the entire cast, as Clarabell leads the melody with his horn.

The 4^th act opens with Buffalo Bob making his first appearance as he announces that Santa Claus is right outside the door.  But he won’t come in and deliver the toys until Mr. Bluster says, “Merry Christmas” and he must mean it.  I won’t spoil the ending.

This is fun Children’s Christmas music.  The short song lyrics include references that most children could relate to on any day of their life.  It uses the daily experiences of children to help the story along as the moral message is subtly delivered.

Regular readers of this blog would know that I absolutely love this.  It was well worth the $20.00 for a near mint copy.  It’s 1951 and the music is excellent.  Christmas is for children, or at least that’s what many Christmas songs say, and this Children’s Christmas record says it the best.

This was perhaps not the best children’s TV show ever.  After all, it WAS 1951.  As time moved on, Bozo would come along, and most cities had their own local Children’s shows as well.  On a national level, The Generation Y’s had H. R. Pufnstuf, The Millennials had Barney and the Gen Z’s had Blue’s Clues (which I thought was terrific in itself), but Howdy Doody was one of the first nationally televised interactive children’s shows.  And it was live.

This is going to be a difficult record to obtain.  Not really, you just have to search for a good copy on the internet.  Perhaps a yard sale would turn one up.  If you see one at a yard sale, buy it.  (Honestly, if the record is in poor shape, it won’t be worth owning.)  If you don’t want to keep it for yourself, you could take it to a record show and resell it.  But you should keep it.

As far as I know, this has never been released on CD.  There is a CD by Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody on Amazon, but it’s rather inexpensive (hint, hint) and I don’t know what’s on it.  There are other Howdy Doody LPs available on Amazon.  One is asking upwards of $200.00 and there is Howdy Doody’s other Christmas 45 from 1953 and they’re asking upwards of $200.00 for it.  That’s for a 45 rpm record!  It’s an EP, just like this one, so it has double the amount of music on it than a regular 45 rpm record would, but still…  I have a copy of it, but I didn’t pay anywhere near that, and it’s in mint condition.

I give this 45 EP :

*****