2. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Rudolph Statler Orch.
3. Joy to the World - International Pop Orchestra
4. Merry Christmas - Cameos
5. Auld Lang Syne - Lonesome Travelers
6. White Christmas (3 O'Clock Weather Report) - Bobby The Poet
7. Winter Wonderland - Rudolph Statler Orchestra
8. I'll Stay Home (New Year's Eve) - Jaynells
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - International Pop Orch.
10. Jingle Bells Imitations - Bobby Rydell & Chubby Checker
11. Twelve Days of Christmas - Mexicani Marimba Band
12. Donde Esta Santa Claus - Toni Stante
13. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Rudolph Statler Orchestra
14. The First Noel - International Pop Orchestra
15. New Year's Eve - Cameos AMAZON
16. Auld Lang Syne - Beethoven Ben REAL GONE MUSIC
17. Deck the Halls - International Pop Orchestra
18. Sock It to Me Santa - Bob Seger & The Last Heard
But the British invasion decimated sales and, by the end of 1967, the label was finished--its catalog acquired by Abkco. Life went on, as it always does. But by the mid 90s, people began to notice that most of the great great songs from the Cameo and Parkway labels--including some very big hits--were completely unavailable on CD. Even the original version of "The Twist", Chubby Checker's immortal smash that hit #1 in both 1960 and in 1962, had not been issued on compact disc. If you bought a compilation boasting "The Twist" at the time, you soon realized it was a re-recording.
Abkco finally issued a Cameo-Parkway box set in 2005, and Gordon Anderson and Collectors Choice had stepped up to the plate in 2010 to bring many more lost treasures into the digital age. It was all about to culminate in a virtual holy grail for Christmas music fanatics--"Cameo-Parkway Holiday Hits" was on the schedule for release for Christmas 2010, containing 19 seasonal tracks from the Cameo-Parkway vaults, only a few of which had ever been issued on CD. And while it's true that Abkco had released a digital download album containing all but two of those treats back in 2008, I said then and I'll say now--this is one collection I refuse(d) to buy in mp3 format; I want this one in hard copy.
So we ordered last year and we waited. And a hard copy CD of "Cameo-Parkway Holiday Hits" never came. I can't even express how disappointed I was. And then the sale of Collectors Choice was announced. And that, it seemed, was that.
But this year came the news that Gordon Anderson--along with Gabby Castellana--was forming a new collectors label, Real Gone Music. It was quickly released to Christmas collectors that Ed Ames and David Rose would finally see a CD release of their Christmas classics this November. And then came Real Gone's official release schedule for the quarter. And right there on November 15 was "Cameo-Parkway Holiday Hits". It was a "Holy Crap!" moment for me, I can tell you. Yessir, the Gods of Christmas music are smiling down upon us this year. Thank you Gordon and Gabby. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.