"You're All I Want for Christmas" is one of the standard songs associated with Seger Ellis, an artist whose striking career also included jazz piano playing, a film appearances alongside the fascinating Ida Lupino and leading an eccentric brass choir. He began tinkling on the keyboard as a boy and was first engaged professionally as a radio performer in Texas in the mid '20s. This is where a roving talent scout from the Victor label heard him, resulting in Seger's first recordings. He was inspired to try a move to New York City, making out quite well there with a new series of sides spotlighting his vocal talents. He toured England in 1928 as a soloist. Ellis revealed yet another talent following a meeting with the popular vocal group the Mills Brothers in Cincinatti. He became the manager of this group for a few years, continuing to perform as a soloist through the '30s. Highlights of this period in which Ellis was in great demand include guest shots with the Paul Whiteman orchestra and the aforementioned film appearance, the 1934 One Rainy Afternoon. Beginning in 1936, Seger spent nearly a year creating music with a group he called the Brass Choir, then assembled something of a more normal instrumental big-band line-up for another group under his leadership. In the early '40s he was briefly in the Army, followed by a stint working in a defence plant. After moving back to Texas he began to be less active as a performer and more involved in the songwriting craft. His Christmas ditty was recorded by the likes of Al Martino, Frankie Laine and Bing Crosby. The Seger Ellis songwriting catalog also includes "No Baby, Nobody But You" and "You Be You but Let Me Be Me". ~ Eugene Chadbourne
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