It's Christmas Time
Hank Thompson was a honky tonk and Western swing singer from Texas and his 1964 Sundazed reissue will be a true gift to lovers of both genres. Thompson wraps most of his tunes in pedal steel, trimmed by the fiddles and piano of the Brazos Valley Boys, but it's his big, no-frills personal vocal style and handful of originals that makeIt's Christmas Timememorable and collectible. For this effort, Thompson penned "I'd Like To Have An Elephant For Christmas" (a perfect novelty flipside for "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas") and the even more charming "Mr. And Mrs. Snowman." For the more adult minded, there's his "Gonna Wrap My Heart In Ribbons" and a lovable oddity titled "Its Christmas Every Day In Alaska." Thompson's style has long gone out of favor in Nashville and LA, but for those with an ear for cowboy sincerity and a hankering for country and western music before it became Country, here's a little overlooked gem ready to be gift-wrapped.  --Martin Keller