Mal Bellairs’ Christmas Show is a tradition for many Chicagoans, now including former Chicagoans all over the place. As Mal describes in the 1998 airing of his show, he started the show in 1955 at WBBM. Later, he continued the show at WIVS, his station in Crystal Lake. Mal describes the music here as the real music of Christmas. The tradition can now continue on the internet.
You can listen to the 1998 show here.
Here’s a link to the playlist of the music from the original 1955 show:
You can download the CDs of the 1998 Christmas Show here.
Merry Christmas! (Scroll down for links to the show from other years.)
Here are some of the album covers from the LPs Mal used.
We have added different years to our collection of Christmas shows:
- WBBM — 1955 & 1967
- The tradition of the Christmas show started at WBBM in 1955. This is the show after a dozen years.
- Click here to hear earlier versions recordings from 1955 and 1964.
- ( The 1955 tape is not the complete Christmas show.)
- WIVS — 1975 & 1977
- The show continued when Mal and Jo moved to Woodstock. These are recordings at WIVS/WXRD in Crystal Lake on December 21, 1975 and again on December 18, 1977. (We do not have tapes from every year though Mal did produce it every year.)
- 1998
- The 1998 show was done after Mal had been retired for a number of years. But Christmas was the time for him to bring you his show one more time.
1998 – The Last Show
We have created a separate track for each of the 72 songs to make it easier for you to recognize and select your favorite carols.
I was so happy to find this collection of Mal’s Christmas Programs. I listened to them for years from age 10 in 1967. I remember listening to Jo as she hosted Swap Shop, a call in program with things for sale. I also remember when Austin the scientist called in to explain just about anything. One of the Crystal Lake hardware stores sponsored a segment with Santa Claus on the air one Sunday Christmas show and it made for a heart warming afternoon. Mal had the talent to make you feel like you were part of the family, as he talked about his often and had a personal touch to the advertising spots he did. There is Christmas music here I have never heard anywhere else and it needs to be preserved. I moved to Brodhead, Wisconsin in 1972 and WIVS was a stretch but I still tuned in and tried to catch the Cinnamon Bear episodes after school before the station went to sleep. The Sunday before Christmas was always special with the Christmas music and history lessons we received. I have 5 generations of family resting at Oakland Cemetery in Woodstock and one day we stumbled across Mal & Jo’s resting spot. It’s nice to know he’s still near and dear to all of us. I’m glad he chose to come to McHenry County to share his talents, make it his home, and make our lives richer for it.
for years, from WBBM and then to Crystal Lake, every pre-Christmas I addressed my cards with Mal and his Christmas show. I will never forget the peace it brought me. Thanks for letting me comment on that wonderful memory! xoox
My new neighbor, Pat Bellair, loaned me 3 CD’s of all this music. Words cannot convey my gratitude to her for giving me the pleasure of all this nostalgic music and history included. Merry Christmas to all.
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I’m 63 now and I think every Sunday before Christmas was spent listen to the Christmas show
For fans of Mal — you should know that there is a great collection of recordings of him including several old Christmas shows (some from WBBM in the era of live music) on the http://www.VintageBroadcast.com web site. The first few pages at this link — http://www.vintagebroadcast.com/search/index/christmas/1 — are all Mal and Christmas. These recordings are for sale from that web site.