I have" An Accapella Christmas" CD by the Haven Quartet. I was playing it in the car last week. You see, I've been working a bit with Rowan on learning to sing. He wanted no part of it until we got to the Little Drummer Boy with the vocal percussion parts and "Rum Pa Pums." I really wanted to make it so you could hear this version of Drummer Boy, but I cannot find it on YouTube or anywhere else. I own the CD but also cannot figure out how to add it to my blog. So you will have to imagine a 2-year old with great verbal skills asking for rum-pum song over and over again. What joy!
My Grandmother used to listen to the Haven of Rest on the radio. When I came back to Christ in 1972 I was delighted to find the program still on the air! Sadly, it is now only available in Cincinnati by listening to the Dayton station.
A little history: "The Haven Quartet, a four-man Christian vocal group, began in 1934 as
the musical arm of the Haven of Rest radio broadcast ministry. Radio
was a medium in its infancy, and Christian broadcasting in particular
was a new, uncharted territory. The Haven of Rest program, titled after
the old gospel hymn of the same name, and replete with nautical
references, was broadcast live, Mondays through Fridays, originally from
the studio of pioneering radio station KFI in Los Angeles. As the
broadcast became better known, it began being aired over a larger and
larger network of radio stations in the US and Canada from its own
distinctive ship-like studio in Hollywood, complete with portholes and
decks. The Haven Quartet would sing 4-5 songs live over the air during
each day's broadcast, either a cappella or with organ accompaniment.
"By the 1950's, the group had begun pre-recording the broadcast music
in library fashion, and due to popular demand, began issuing recordings
of their music to their listeners and the general public. Today, after
65 years of musical excellence, the Haven Quartet continues to record
their trademark treatments of traditional hymns and gospel songs, as
well as contemporary Christian music. Fresh, creative, arrangements, a
bright, clean vocal sound, and impassioned lead vocals from each of the
four quartet members: these are the hallmarks of the Haven Quartet."
So, Mary nodded, we sang our song for Him, and hopefully, it was sweet to His ears.
Merry Christmas!