I'm excited to share my second mix for Christmas this year, which features seasonal tunes from international female pop singers of the 1960s. This was harder to put together than I thought! Being a big fan of both sixties girl pop from around the world and Christmas music, I figured this would be a piece of cake. But I soon realised I only had songs that fit the bill from a limited number of countries. Branching out more broadly was quite a fun adventure, and I really adore some of the songs on this mix that are new to me, like the stunning tracks from Monna Bell and Maria Dolores Pradera. I know some Rita Pavone but her 'White Christmas' cover, 'Bianco natale', had escaped me, and it's just gorgeous. It was also interesting to get a sense of which places went for Christmas pop singles, and which didn't. Italy, for example, had a booming young beat music scene but I found very little in the way of yuletide pop tunes. Most of the Italian stuff I found was very traditional, even, surprisingly, from some rock bands. Perhaps in some more religious countries, too contemporary an approach to Christmas songs was deemed too irreverant. I lucked out with some countries altogether – some places did not produce enough girl pop for their singers to also dabble in Christmas singles, others I don't really know where to begin exploring. If you know of any sixties holiday songs from female pop singers from countries I'm missing here, I'd love to hear your recommendatons. 

The gorgeous illustration of Sylvie Vartan accompanying the mix is by the very talented Olivier C. You can check out and support his amazing work here.

The name of this mix was inspired by the delightful titles of Japanese retro comps like Japanese Pop Cuties in Swingin' 60s or Japanese Pop Christmas In Dreamy '60s. I'm not intending to make fun of Japanglish at all; in fact, I found the syntax (or my attempt at it, which lacks the Japanglish flair) made more sense to me in trying to convey what this mix was about than conventional English structure would allow. 

Scene from the 1967 Spanish film, Codo con codo.

Rare footage of Georgie Fame performing on the West German music TV show, Beat! Beat! Beat! in 1967. (Update: replaced with better quality version from Youtube.)

I came across this great cover of the Georgie Fame classic 'Yeh Yeh' by Los Tres Sudamericanos, a 60s Paraguayan trio (two guys and one gal) who found success in Spain. I previously featured their version of 'The Girl From Ipanema'.

1. Los Tres Sudamericanos - Yeh Yeh (1965)
   
2. Georgie Fame - Yeh Yeh (1965)
   

Links: Georgie Fame, 'Yeh Yeh' @ songfacts.com, Los Tres Sudamericanos (bio in Spanish and a gallery of record sleeves).

Oh well. Better late than never.

Check out the excellent Dr. Moshe's Medicinal Music for some superb rare 60s garage and psych tracks. The Halloween tracks are especially amazing, in particular the very cool 'Dracula Ye-Ye':
 

Also, if you haven't already done so, proceed here* immediately to listen to Jarvis Cocker hosting 6Music's Rocket Science last Saturday. Three hours of Jarvis in top form, playing a quality selection of Halloween-themed songs. Heaven. By the way, if you stop the stream, you can resume where you left off - in case you don't want to listen to it all in one chunk.

I'm sure you'll want to track some of these songs down after listening to this broadcast, so let me start you off:

R. Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House (1967)

Edit: Let's all pretend we didn't see that gaff. I don't know what it is, but every time I've typed that today I've written the wrong name. I don't even like R Kelly. Very strange.

Links: R. Dean Taylor bio

*Update: The show is long gone, but it turns out I saved it at the time (link):

Some of the posts from Poupées de son, a feature originally posted in the sidebar:

Fumie Hosokawa - Yumemiru Chanson Ningyo

Buy: Gainsbourg: Made In Japan

Françoise Hardy - Le Temps de l'amour (1962)

Written by Jacques Dutronc for Françoise (a few years before they became a couple), this track is signature early Françoise, imbued with her usual combination delicate beauty and effortless chic cool.

'Le Temps' was adapted from an instrumental Dutronc had previously written for his earlier band, Les Cyclones.

Jacques Dutronc - Le Temps de l'amour (1980)

A fairly psychotic interpretation by Jacques himself, released on his 1980 'comeback' record, Guerre et Pets. If you enjoy French men shouting and synths as much as I do, I'm sure you'll enjoy this.

Would you not have just passed out if you ran into this couple in late 60s Paris? Phew.

Bonus Belated Double Up...

I just discovered I have an earlier version of the Ana D song Más I posted recently. This one's by another mysterious 60s 'chica ye-ye' named Betina. Gorgeous voice, and a killer rendition.