"Dicken's Christmas Carol" - Ireene Wicker - (The Singing Lady) (1949) - Part 3

A few more thoughts on The Singing Lady, Ireene Wicker, and her little record of "Dicken's Christmas Carol" - no points for grammar, though!

This record is definitely an artifact of its time. It's certainly not what passes for entertainment these days, children's or otherwise, but I think it's quite charming.

If you can put yourself back into the 1940s before television took hold, it's easy to see kids being entertained by a nice lady who's telling you stories, whether it's on the radio or your phonograph.

I do think it's a stretch for the record label to say it's for "Tots 'n' Teens," though.  Tots definitely, but I can't imagine a 1949 teenage bobby soxer preferring this over the latest platter from Vic Damone or Frankie Laine!

I do like Ireene Wicker's style. She seems like she's talking to you, not at you, which I know I appreciated when I was a kid.

She was born in Illinois, which I guess explains her accent. Henry Higgins could easily figure that out.

I like how she establishes a separate voice for each character, which helps keep the story moving along.

Something not to sleep on is the unusual spelling of her first name. She apparently added the extra "e" on the advice of an astrologist, and had been using that spelling since at least the early 1930s. Interesting that such things were going on well before Dionne Warwick(e)!

In any event, this record is another fun little item that provides a window into the past.

"Dicken's Christmas Carol" - Ireene Wicker - (The Singing Lady) (1949) - Part 2

If you got a chance to listen to Ireene Wicker's 1949 adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," I'm sure you'll agree that it's an unusual interpretation!

I think her style is very engaging. It's like having a fun relative reading a story to you.  If you had a relative who did such fun voices!

Since the record in question is seven inches and plays at 78 rpm, there's not a lot of room for content, only a little over three minutes, but she gets a surprising amount of details in there.

We start off in Scrooge's office with Fred inviting him to dinner, then Bob Cratchit wanting the next day off.

No time for Marley, however, so we go right to the "Spirit" of Christmas Past. The spirit shows Scrooge all the happy Christmases from his past. An interesting take in that Scrooge used to have happy times, but had forgotten.

Next, the Spirit of Christmas Present brings Scrooge to Fred's house where Fred says nice things about them.

They go next to Bob Cratchit's house to see the family having a good time. All of the Cratchit kids are accounted for: Martha, Peter, Belinda, the two younger ones and Tiny Tim!

Scrooge is  worried about Tiny Tim's fate. The only special effect on the record is the filtered mike through which the spirit's voice comes.

When the spirit tells Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die unless the shadows of the future change, Scrooge reforms!

No need for a Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come, so Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning, goes to Fred's house for dinner and raises Bob's salary!

Happy ending after a very quick but delightful run through the story!

"Dicken's Christmas Carol" - Ireene Wicker (The Singing Lady) (1949) - Part 1

Dicken's Christmas Carol (1949)
Director: Joseph Leib
Scrooge: Ireene Wicker 

The short version of "A Christmas Carol" by Claude Rains aimed at the kiddie market brings to mind this earlier version, which is even shorter!

It's performed by Ireene Wicker, known to young radio listeners back in the day as "The Singing Lady."

One of her specialties was telling stories (often fairy tales) where she narrated and acted out all the parts and added singing as necessary.

She often had just a piano accompaniment with no sound effects.

Her style translated very well to records, so she made a bunch of them starting in the 1930s.

Fortunately for our purposes, when she was laying down some Christmas tracks for Regal Records in 1949, one of the things she recorded was a very condensed version of "A Christmas Carol" in her typical style.

You can listen to both sides below:

Next: Let's discuss!