Mighty Echoes Doo Wop Around The Christmas Tree CD

Memphis International revisits its Brooklyn International imprint with the second album by the guys who don’t need no stinkin’ band: The Mighty Echoes. Now, they explore classic Christmas repertoire with the most powerful weapon in the mankind’s musical arsenal: the human voice, actually, four of the most extraordinary voices ever to blend and bend, in fine a Cappella style.Now, in their twentieth year, The Mighty Echoes have finally tackled the Christmas songs for which their audiences have long been asking. Running the gamut from “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” to “Blue Christmas” to “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and including John and Yoko’s evocative “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” the group’s take on the iconic material is both refreshing and familiar; there’s just about everything you could hope for in a Christmas album. The Mighty Echoes’ reputation for vocal perfection and mirthful performances has made them a favorite among both doo-wop aficionados and the glitterati. They’ve performed for the likes of President Bill Clinton, Lou Reed and at the Superbowl. Their TV credits include "Who¹s the Boss?" "Murphy Brown," "Family Matters," "Brooklyn Bridge," and "Frank’s Place." They have performed on bills with Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Steve Wonder, Tony Orlando, The Coasters, The Marvelettes, The Marcels, Chubby Checker, Gene Chandler, Little Anthony, The Shirelles, The Penguins, Gene Chandler, The Dixie Cups, The Duprees, The Four Seasons, The Moody Blues, Patty Page and many others. The Mighty Echoes include baritone Harvey Shield who hails from England and wrote The Bay City Roller’s “The Way I Feel Tonight,” the tartan terrors’ last hit. The bass voice of Charlie Davis has been described “as deep as an open trench” and that ethereal alto-spheric voice belongs to Jon Rubin, namesake of cult power pop band The Rubinoos of Berserkley Records renown. Doo Wop Around The Christmas Tree marks the Brooklyn International debut of second tenor John Lathan, the newest member of the group who is from Alabama, the birthplace of quartet singing. His electric performing persona and powerful voice puts the cherry on top of The Mighty Echoes' joyful sound.Doo Wop Around The Christmas Tree was produced and arranged, engineered and mixed by Rubinoos co-founder Tommy Dunbar. Liner notes are by legendary Christmas music authority Eddie (Eddie G) Gorodetsky who concludes “A collection like this would be doomed to failure unless the artists bring something remarkable to the performance. Or are naked. I believe you will find this disc remarkable. And The Mighty Echoes kept their pants on the whole time they recorded it.”

Formed in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, the a cappella doo-wop group the Mighty Echoes have been keeping the 1950s flame alive ever since. This collection of seasonal songs features the traditional favorites you'd expect, plus a soaring take on John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," and their version of the Dixieland classic "Christmas Time in New Orleans."

Mighty Echoes: John Lathan, Jon Rubin (tenor saxophone); Harvey Shield (baritone saxophone); Charlie Davis (electric bass).