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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Kokomo Jo - Caribbean Christmas: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the World's Best Christmas Album

My favorite Christmas album is a cassette tape called Kokomo Jo - Caribbean Christmas that I got from a truck stop near Farmville, VA in 1992.  The tape is now worn out, but thankfully someone has uploaded the full album to the web as an MP3, (click to listen) thus preserving it in digital form and giving you a chance to experience the same joy that I have known for the last 20+ yuletides.

You might think my love for this album is in jest, but you'd be wrong.  It's a sincere appreciation that has only grown deeper as the years have passed.  Maybe it's because Side A is Calypso and Side B is Reggae (you won't be able to tell the difference), maybe it's the singer - presumably Mr. Kokomo Jo himself - singing in a that ultra-cool Jamaican accent, maybe it's because it was recorded in Nashville, TN, maybe it's the constant, rock steady synthesized drum machine.  All I know is that Kokomo Jo - Caribbean Christmas is the music I rely on to get in the holiday spirit!

Track List:
Side One (Calypso) 1. 3:08 Caribbean Christmas 2. 3:45 It Came Apon A Midnight Clear / Hark The Herald Angels Sing 3. 3:53 Jingle Bells / I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day 4. 3:17 Joy To The World 5. 3:47 Go Tell It On The Mountain 6. 2:49 Up On A House Top

Side Two (Reggae) 7. 2:51 We Wish You A Merry Christmas 8. 3:17 Deck The Halls 9. 2:57 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 10. 3:43 We Three Kings 11. 4:10 What A Child Is This / Away In A Manger 12. 3:25 O Come All Ye Faithful / O Little Town Of Bethlehem

If you didn't click the link above to hear this album, here's another chance.  Kokomo Jo - Caribbean Christmas.

2 comments:

  1. This really is a cool Christmas collection. I bought it back about 1992 and used to play it in our business. Especially like the sax versions of “What Child is This” and “Away in a Manager”. Lost the cassette long ago. So glad to find it all here. I lived in Connecticut back in the 90s but now in Florida where the sounds are even more appropriate. Thanks for posting.

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  2. I agree. Surprisingly fun, good, and energetic music. I wish he had done more albums. John from Minnesota

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