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They mean it literally; these doo-wop Christmas songs collected for this 1997 album are all collector's items of some value. The book Merry Christmas Baby lists some of these tunes among the rarest Christmas songs on the market. Many of these tunes were mastered to CD directly from the cleanest vinyl copies the producers could find because in most cases, the original tapes simply don't exist. Some of these turn up on other compilations, like "Christmas in Jail" by the Youngsters and "Rockin' and Rollin' With Santa Claus" by the Hepsters, but a lot of these probably are making their CD debut here. Songs here range from The Robins' 1951 "Have a Merry Xmas" to "The Christmas Spirit" by The Motivations from 1970. The producers give the listener value for money too; there are 27 songs on this CD. I'm partial to "Santa Claus Baby" by The Voices, "Mambo Santa Mambo" by The Enchanters and "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by The C. Quents, but you may have some other favorites. There are two New Year's tunes, "I'll Stay Home New Year's Eve" by The Creators and "New Year's Eve" by The Cameos.

Clyde McPhatter leads the way on this 1954 rendition of the Hollywood classic, the version on which Elvis Presley based his rendition. Which makes it historic on two counts, since this arrangement is the one that got Irving Berlin angry enough to try and get Elvis' version banned. On its own merits, of course, it's wonderful, adding a languid rhythm to a song typically crooned a little too reverently. The flip side is a ballad version of "The Bells of St. Mary's." The Drifters, a later iteration anyway, returned in 1964 with "The Christmas Song," available on Atlantic's Soul Christmas.

The cover says "Vocal jazz and R'nB classics," and they span a period from 1946 to 1966, a period during which popular vocal dance music began to separate from the jazz realm and cleave to the R'nB and rock genres. Nevertheless, some fairly significant jazz names appear here doing what was essentially the pop music of the time -- Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton, Pearl Bailey, Lena Horne. This 1989 album  -- still available for purchase -- features great songs that live up to their titles: "Cool Yule," "Santa Done Got Hip," "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus," and so on. Highlights include Eartha Kitt's original version of "Santa Baby," Big John Greer's "We Wanna See Santa Do the Mambo," Ms. Bailey's request for a "Five Pound Box of Money," and Satchmo himself is represented three times, the best of which is "'Zat You, Santa Claus." Great stuff for when your Christmas party needs a "hip" replacement.

This 1953 record was arguably the Catwoman's greatest hit, and it's a tough one to cover; Madonna's version on A Very Special Christmas is basically an homage, and not many female singers muster the moxie to equal the original. If it's possible for a human being to purr a three-minute record, Eartha did it. The gold-digging sentiments in the song may sound dated, but it wouldn't take much imagination to make them current -- in fact, a number of hip-hop revisitations revel in the opportunity to substitute 21st century bling for Eartha's wishes. Of course, a lot of folks today wouldn't mind having that '54 blue convertible she asks for, especially in showroom condition. Not satisfied with her haul for '53, she recorded a sequel, "This Year's Santa Baby," in which the convertible's a clunker and she wants a private plane, and the yacht's leaking so "hold your breath... I want the Queen Elizabeth." Bob Bailey tips us that Eartha also recorded "Nuttin' For Christmas" and she alters the lyrics to "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas/Cause I didn't want to be bad." He adds, "Guess the approach in 'Santa Baby' didn't work." Ironically, she passed on Christmas Day 2008.