I collect different media types of the White Christmas movie and its accompanying soundtrack. Of the latter, I own it several times as an LP record. I have two different UK editions and three Japanese pressings. I also own it on more recent audio formats such as cassette and CD. The original American LP edition on Decca still eludes me, as I am waiting for a pristine copy to show up at a reasonable price. I also have it as a box set with three 45 rpm EP’s.
When the movie came out in 1954, long-play recording formats were in a state of transition. The LP record was a new invention and many people didn’t have record players able to play at the 33⅓ rpm speed. When we think about the early 1980’s, LP’s and cassettes were the most common formats in production, although 8-tracks and reel-to-reels were still being made but in very low quantities, and CD’s were in their infancy. Yet in the mid-fifties, the record-buying public might have had as many as three formats to choose from: the LP. the 45 rpm EP, or the aged 78 rpm 10″ shellac discs.
The White Christmas soundtrack did in fact come out as a five-disc 78 rpm box set. I have long been on the hunt for such a rare format, and had never seen one in real life nor come across one for sale on Discogs…until a few weeks ago. A vendor in New York state had one in VG+ condition for sale at a very reasonable price. The vendor listed it as such:
Media Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
All 5 discs are in excellent condition, very clean with minimal to no scratches, some light sleeve rash and spindle marks. Includes original inner sleeves. Box corners are intact, very light ring wear, and some mild edge wear to box.
I couldn’t pass this one up. As soon as I saw the notification in my in-box, I pounced on it. When I picked up the package yesterday afternoon, I was not disappointed. Excellent condition, exactly as the vendor advertised it.
The following pictures are from the Discogs listing for the item. The discs come in a box and not an accordion folder with disc sleeves as pages, which was a common way to issue 78 albums at the time. The front lid is hinged and there were no tears along the seam. My box cover does not have a tear in the black border as seen (barely) on the top left of the Discogs photo:
And here are photos of the 78 rpm disc sides from 1 to 10. I do not know why Decca released the song sides out of order from their appearance in the movie. Compare the track order with that of the 45 rpm EP set in the first hyperlink above, which corresponds to the order the songs are in the movie:
Side 8 omits the two songs sung in medley, “Blue Skies” and “I’d Rather See a Minstrel Show”, before “Mandy”:
I do own a record player that plays 78’s, yet not a special needle for this playing speed. I would be reluctant to play the discs anyway, yet upon inspection they look clean and deserving of the VG+ assessment. The original Decca inner sleeves don’t even have any slits in the seams.