Tag Archives: Larry Levine

V.A.: A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records

On November 22, 1963, “Philles” label released “A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records”, an album of Christmas songs. It was recorded September – October 1963, at “Gold Star” in Hollywood, and was produced by Phil Spector. In 2003, the album was ranked at no. 142 on “Rolling Stone” magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, and in 2019, it was ranked the greatest “Christmas Album of All Time”.

Personnel:

  • Darlen Love – performer (White Christmas, Marshmallow World, Winter Wonderland, Christmas, Baby Please Come Home)
  • The Ronettes – performer (Frosty the Snowman, Sleigh Ride, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)
  • Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans – performer (The Bells of St. Mary’s, Here Comes Santa Claus)  
  • The Crystals – performer (Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers)
  • Phil Spector – performer (Silent Night)
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Bill Pitman – guitar
  • Tommy Tedesco – guitar
  • Nino Tempo – guitar
  • Irv Rubins – guitar
  • Leon Russell – piano
  • Al De Lory – piano
  • Don Randi – piano
  • Ray Pohlman – bass
  • Jimmy Bond – bass
  • Hal Blaine – drums
  • Sonny Bono – percussion
  • Frank Capp – percussion
  • Jack Nitzsche – percussion, arrangements
  • Jay Migliori – saxophone
  • Steve Douglas – baritone saxophone
  • Roy Caton – trumpet
  • Lou Blackburn – horns
  • Johnny Vidor – strings
  • Larry Levine – engineer

Track listing:

  1. White Christmas – Irving Berlin
  2. Frosty the Snowman – Steve Nelson, Walter Rollins
  3. The bells of St. Mary’s – A. Emmet Adams, Douglas Furber
  4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
  5. Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
  6. Marshmallow World – Carl Sigman, Peter DeRose
  7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Tommie Connor
  8. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer – Johnny Marks
  9. Winter Wonderland – Felix Bernard, Dick Smith
  10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers – Leon Jessel
  11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home – Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector
  12. Here Comes Santa Claus – Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman
  13. Silent Night – Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber

Leonard Cohen: Death Of A Ladies Man

death_of_a_ladies_man

On November 13, 1977, “Warner Bros” label released “Death of a Ladies’ Man”, the fifth Leonard Cohen studio album. It was recorded June – July 1977, and was produced by Phil Spector.

Personnel:

  • Leonard Cohen – vocals
  • Phil Spector– guitar, keyboards, background vocals, vocal arrangement, rhythm arrangements
  • Art Blaine – guitar
  • Jesse Ed Davis– guitar
  • David Isaac – guitar
  • Art Munson– guitar
  • David Kessel – guitar, backing vocals
  • Al Perkins– pedal steel, slide guitar
  • Sneaky Pete Kleinow– guitar, pedal steel, slide guitar
  • Dan Kessel – organ, synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Michael Lang – keyboards
  • Tom Hensley – keyboards
  • Bill Mays – keyboards
  • Don Randi– keyboards
  • Pete Jolly– keyboards
  • Barry Goldberg – keyboards
  • Bob Robitaille – synthesizer, assistant engineer, synthesizer programming
  • Devra Robitaille – synthesizer
  • Ray Neapolitan – electric and upright bass
  • Ray Pohlman – bass, guitar
  • Jim Keltner– drums
  • Hal Blaine– drums
  • Terry Gibbs– percussion, vibraphone
  • Gene Estes – percussion
  • Robert Zimmitti – percussion
  • Emil Radocchia – percussion
  • Don Menza– flute, saxophone, wind, horn arrangements
  • Jay Migliori – saxophone
  • Steve Douglas– flute, saxophone, wind
  • Conte Candoli– trumpet
  • Charles Loper – trombone
  • Jack Redmond – trombone
  • Bobby Bruce – fiddle, violin
  • Brenda Bryant – backing vocals
  • Ronee Blakley– backing vocals
  • Billy Diez – backing vocals
  • Oma Drake – backing vocals
  • Bob Dylan– backing vocals
  • Venetta Fields– backing vocals
  • Gerald Garrett – backing vocals
  • Allen Ginsberg– backing vocals
  • Clydie King– backing vocals
  • Sherlie Matthews– backging vocals
  • Bill Thedford , Julia Tillman Waters, Oren Waters, Lorna Willard – backing vocals
  • Nino Tempo– arrangements
  • Larry Levine– engineer
  • Bruce Gold – engineer, engineer assistant
  • Stan Ross – engineer, assistant
  • John Cabalka – art direction
  • Bill Naegels – design
  • Ron Coro – design

Track listing:

All lyrics by Leonard Cohen, all music by Phil Spector.

  1. True Love Leaves No Traces
  2. Iodine
  3. Paper Thin Hotel
  4. Memories
  5. I Left a Woman Waiting
  6. Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-On
  7. Fingerprints
  8. Death of a Ladies’ Man