Betty Clooney at Christmas

Betty Clooney's sister Rosemary is a Christmas icon for her seasonal records and her appearance in the 1954 film White Christmas. But Betty herself was a fine singer who made a few holiday records, which we have for you today.

Those of you who have heard the Clooney sisters' Columbia recording of "Sisters" will know that Rosie and Betty had very similar voices. Betty's was slightly cloudier. She does quite well with today's pair of songs.

The first offering is "Christmas and You," which Joni James also recorded in 1953, and which appears on James' Christmas LP.

Betty's version came out on the ultra-obscure R.K.C. label, but is well produced with backing by the ex-Elliot Lawrence arranger Frank Hunter, who manages to work both "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells" into his chart.

The songwriters were Russell H. Faith and Clarence Way Kehner, whose biggest hit was Sinatra's "Somewhere in Your Heart." The B-side of "Christmas and You" wasn't by Clooney.

Stalwart blog follower gimpiero brought this one to my attention. Thanks to him and to longtime pal Ernie, who may have tipped me to the next number. (If I have that wrong, please let me know!)

Betty's second offering is "Let's Go Home for Christmas," an attractive waltz on another obscure label, Studio, out of Detroit. The backing this time is by a group led by Joel Nash, a popular local pianist.

I've also included the flip side of "Let's Go Home for Christmas," a non-holiday song called "I Was Wrong." On its first pressing of this number, Studio's label called it "Was It Wrong." (It was.) In its vast reaches, Internet Archive has each label, so I've included them in the download.

Both of these records may have been demos, which Betty was doing at the time, although they seem like elaborate productions for that purpose. And the Studio recording might not have reprinted labels if it wasn't a commercial issue.

I hope to prepare another post featuring Betty's other singles, which I'm sure are worth hearing. Although she did not make that many records, she was on television regularly in the 1950s, and certainly had a successful career before her early death at age 45 in 1976.

Betty Clooney does her Christmas shopping