I hear even more voices

An Evening In December, Vol. Two; First Call; David Maddux, singer and arranger

In 1922, Bates Burt took the job as the pastor of an Episcopal Church in Pontiac, Michigan. Reverend Burt also, in that same year, began the tradition of creating an annual Christmas card which he could send to family members and parishioners. On the cover of the card he rendered an original Christmas carol, setting both the words and music himself. For many years he did this. Reverend Burt’s son, Alfred, born in 1920, had shown an interest in music at the young age of ten. After learning the cornet and piano, he attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1942.

For the family Christmas card in 1942, Reverend Burt asked his son to compose the music for that year’s carol, “Christmas Cometh Caroling.” From that point on, Alfred wrote the music for the family’s Christmas cards, with the tradition continuing through 1954. Mr. Burt died in February of 1954 only 24 hours after having composed “The Star Carol”, the carol that Mrs. Burt put on the final family Christmas card. Over the years, their Christmas card roster had grown from 50 to 450 recipients of this unique art form. The famous fifteen Alfred Burt Carols include “Caroling, Caroling”, “We’ll Dress the House”, “Some Children See Him”, “All On A Christmas Morning” and “This Is Christmas”, sometimes called “Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries”.

In 1987, after the success of “An Evening In December”, First Call entered the studio for a second evening in December. This second album matches the original album in quality and style. It opens with a rich arrangement of Alfred Burt’s “Caroling, Caroling” and closes with a resplendent chart on “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day”, using both the traditional tune and the strain made popular by Frank Sinatra.

Melody Tunney, Marty McCall and Bonnie Keen marketed themselves as a ready-made trio dubbed “First Call” for backup vocals and other studio recordings. Having the reputation as the “first call” for music producers, their name also fit with their conviction in making their Christian beliefs first in their lives. Initially, “An Evening In December” only served as a side project to their vocal backing vocation; none of the members of the trio foresaw any type of recording or touring career. But sales of the album took off, and offers began to pour in from high profile Christian artists like Amy Grant and Sandi Patty to join them on tour. They have recorded several albums since the two volumes of “An Evening In December”.

Credits: To Bates and Alfred Burt, for seeing that a very precious gift, indeed, is one that has been created by your own head and your own hand, investing time, not money, in a creation for one whom you love.