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Christmas Music Albums

 
 
Reply Sat 23 Dec, 2006 09:25 am
Elvis' Christmas Album
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elvis' Christmas Album

Studio album by Elvis Presley
Released 1957
Genre Christmas Vocal
Length 30:09
Label RCA Victor

Elvis Presley chronology
Loving You
(1957) Elvis' Christmas Album
(1957) Elvis' Golden Records
(1958)



Released in November 1957, Elvis' Christmas Album is a very popular holiday album that continues to sell well. It was actually Elvis Presley's fourth long-playing (LP) album, peaking in the top spot on the Billboard Album Chart for four weeks in late 1957. The album was reissued in 1958 (with a different sleeve), and reached the album charts each year until 1962, eventually selling over three million units worldwide.[1]




Album Content
The original 1957 LP featured twelve tracks - six songs per side - divided into a program of secular Christmas songs on Side A, ( featuring four songs made popular by other artists, plus two new numbers), and traditional Christmas carols and gospel numbers on Side B, including Frankie Laine's pop-spiritual hit, I Believe. Elvis had previously released the album's last four numbers of Side B on his Peace in the Valley EP, issued in April 1957 to public acclaim (highest position #39 on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart; #3 on the Extended Play (EP) chart).[2]

While some of the songs selected were traditional Christmas fare, such as O Little Town of Bethlehem and Silent Night, Elvis selected a new blues-based rock and roll number with which to open the album. The song, Santa Claus Is Back In Town, was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, two writers responsible for some of rock and roll's most finely-honed satire (Willie Mae Thornton's "Hound Dog", The Robins' "Smokey Joe´s Cafe"), as well as having already supplied Elvis with two of his biggest hits ("Hound Dog" and Jailhouse Rock).

Elvis had asked the pair to come up with another Christmas song during sessions for the album and, within a few minutes, they had the song written and ready for recording. Originally titled "Christmas Blues", this slyly risqué number is given a full-throated treatment by Elvis who, aided by the gritty ensemble playing from his band,[3] was determined to ensure that this Christmas album would not be easily ignored.

Much of the remaining program was performed in a more traditional manner appropriate to the solemnity of Christmas ("I'll Be Home For Christmas", "Silent Night", "O Little Town of Bethlehem"), although Elvis' innate sense of occasion shone through on his left-of-centre reading of Ernest Tubb's 1949 hit, Blue Christmas.


Controversy
The Bing Crosby hit White Christmas, which appeared every year on the Billboard charts from 1942 to 1962,[4] became the centre of controversy upon the album's release, with calls by the song's composer Irving Berlin to have the song, and the entire album, banned from radio airplay.[5] After hearing Presley's version of his song, which Berlin saw as a "profane parody of his cherished yuletide standard", [6] he ordered his staff in New York to telephone radio stations across the US, demanding the song be discontinued from radio play. While most US radio stations ignored Berlin's request, at least one disc jockey was fired for playing a song from the album, and most Canadian stations refused to play the album.[7]

The controversy was, ironically, fuelled by Elvis' performance of the song in a style mirroring the version by Clyde McPhatter's group, The Drifters, which had been a Top 10 rhythm and blues hit in 1954-1955. Unlike Elvis' recording, however, their version attracted virtually no adverse reaction, and certainly no reported opposition from Irving Berlin. Part of the reason that The Drifters' version of White Christmas was less controversal was because that version was played only on black radio stations. Most mainstream stations did not take interest in The Drifters' version back then and would not until the 1980's.


45 rpm releases
The other new composition on the album, "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" was paired with "Santa Claus Is Back In Town", and issued as a UK single concurrently with the album's release. The single reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart in November 1957.

No US singles were issued from the album until 1964, when Blue Christmas was paired with Wooden Heart ( failing to reach the Hot 100), while "Blue Christmas"/"White Christmas" became a Top 20 UK hit in late 1964. "Santa Claus Is Back In Town"/"Blue Christmas" was a 1965 single release for the US market, but failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100.

An EP, "Elvis Sings Christmas Songs", was released in December 1957, reaching #1 on Billboard's EP charts. Track listing: "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)", "Blue Christmas", "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas". [8]


Re-releases
The original Elvis Christmas Album was out of print by the late 1960s. Still, there was interest in the album. As a result, RCA decided to re-release the album in an altered version in 1969. The album would have a new cover and was released on its budget label Camden (where they also re-released Perry Como's Christmas Album). This record had a blue RCA label as opposed to the then-orange RCA Victor label. This release eliminated the four non-Christmas gospel tracks, and added the 1966 recording If Every Day Was Like Christmas. To round off the number of tracks to ten, Mama Liked The Roses, issued a year later as the B-side to The Wonder Of You, was added. The religious and secular Christmas songs were also mixed together. RCA eventually eliminated its Camden label. In 1971, Elvis released another Christmas album called "Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas" with songs like Silver Bells, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Winter Wonderland, and others.

In the late 1970s, RCA stopped issuing the revamped original Christmas album, but assigned the rights to a budget label called Pickwick. This album continued to be in print until the late 1980s. At that point, RCA released the 1969 version on CD. This version has been in print on CD ever since. All the album's songs are also included in the box set "The King of Rock 'N' Roll: The Complete '50s Masters."


Original LP track listing
Side One

"Santa Claus Is Back In Town" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 2:26
"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) - 2:25
"Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" (Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman) - 1:56
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Buck Ram, Kim Gannon, Walter Kent) - 1:55
"Blue Christmas" (Bill Hayes, Jay Johnson) - 2:09
"Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" (Aaron Schroeder, Claude Demetrius) - 1:54
Side Two

"O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillip Brooks, Lewis H. Redner) - 2:37
"Silent Night" (Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber) - 2:25
"(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)" (Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey) - 3:22
"I Believe" (Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman) - 2:05
"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (Thomas A. Dorsey) - 3:21
"It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" (Stuart Hamblen) - 3:52

Recording data
Tracks 1-8 recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, from September 5 to September 7 1957.

Tracks 9 and 11 recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on January 13, 1957.

Track 10 recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on January 12, 1957.

Track 12 recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on January 19, 1957.


The 1969 Elvis Christmas Album Track Listing
Side One

"Blue Christmas" (Bill Hayes, Jay Johnson) - 2:09
"Silent Night" (Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber) - 2:25
"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) - 2:25
"Santa Claus Is Back In Town" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 2:26
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Buck Ram, Kim Gannon, Walter Kent) - 1:55
Side Two

"If Every Day Was Just Like Christmas" - 2:55
"Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" (Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman) - 1:56
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillip Brooks, Lewis H. Redner) - 2:37
"Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" (Aaron Schroeder, Claude Demetrius) - 1:54
"Mama Liked The Roses" - 2:38
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Sat 23 Dec, 2006 09:27 am
Merry Christmas (Johnny Mathis album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released 1958
Genre Christmas music
Length 44:08
Label Columbia Records
Producer(s) Dave Edmunds for Rockpile Productions
Professional reviews
AllMusic Review

Johnny Mathis chronology
Good Night, Dear Lord
(1975) Merry Christmas
(1977) Swing Softly
(1978)



Merry Christmas is the seventh album by Johnny Mathis. Percy Faith provides the album's orchestration.


Track listing
"Winter Wonderland" - 3:19
"The Christmas Song" - 4:18
"Sleigh Ride" - 2:58
"Blue Christmas" - 3:02
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" - 4:04
"White Christmas" - 3:32
"O Holy Night" - 4:35
"What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)" - 3:58
"The First Noel" - 3:49
"Silver Bells" - 3:34
"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" - 3:08
"Silent Night, Holy Night" - 3:51
0 Replies
 
jespah
 
  1  
Reply Sat 23 Dec, 2006 02:50 pm
My 2 faves:

Quote:
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector


Quote:
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album

Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released 16 November, 1964
Recorded 18 - 30 June, 1964
Except "Little Saint Nick":
20 October, 1963
Genre Rock
Length 27:37
Label Capitol Records
Producer(s) Brian Wilson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is a seasonal offering by The Beach Boys, released in the 1964 holiday period. Containing five original songs and seven standards, the album proved to be a long-running success for subsequent X-mas seasons, initially reaching #6 in the US Christmas album chart in its year of release and eventually going gold.

Of the original songs, "Little Saint Nick" was already famous, having been a hit single the year before, and is now considered to be very much a standard alongside most Christmas favorites. "The Man With All The Toys" was another hit during Christmastime 1964. "Christmas Day" is noteworthy for being the first Beach Boys song to feature a lead vocal from Al Jardine.

While leader Brian Wilson produced and arranged the "rock" songs, he left it to Dick Reynolds, an arranger of The Four Freshmen, a group Wilson idolized, to arrange the orchestral backings on the traditional songs to which The Beach Boys would apply their vocals. Of the many highlights, there are "We Three Kings Of Orient Are", "Blue Christmas" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town".

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album has gone down in history as one of the best-loved Christmas albums and, after releasing an incredible four albums in 1964 (in addition to the single hits they were having), The Beach Boys were able to put a very successful and exhausting year behind them.

"Little Saint Nick" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) - 2:00
Features Mike Love on lead vocals
Album version is a different mix from the 1963 mono single
"The Man With All The Toys" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) - 1:32
Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
"Santa's Beard" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) - 2:00
Features Mike Love on lead vocals
"Merry Christmas, Baby" (Brian Wilson) - 2:20
Features Mike Love on lead vocals
"Christmas Day" (Brian Wilson) - 1:47
Features Al Jardine on lead vocals
"Frosty The Snowman" (Steve Nelson/Jack Rollins) - 1:54
Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
"We Three Kings Of Orient Are" (John Henry Hopkins) - 4:03
Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
"Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes/Jay W. Johnson) - 3:09
Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (J. Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie) - 2:20
Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) - 2:29
Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" (Kim Gannon/Walter Kent/Buck Ram) - 2:44
Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
"Auld Lang Syne" (Trad. Arr. Brian Wilson) - 1:19
Features Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine on lead vocals

Singles
"Little Saint Nick" b/w "The Lord's Prayer" (Capitol 5096), 2 December 1963 US #3 (on X-mas chart)
"The Man With All The Toys" b/w "Blue Christmas" (Capitol 5312), 16 November 1964 US #3 (on X-mas chart)
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (Capitol (S) T 2164) is now released on The Beach Boys' 1998 X-mas compilation Ultimate Christmas.

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album hit #6 in the US X-mas album chart during a 13 week chart stay spread out from 1964 to 1968.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_Boys%27_Christmas_Album
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Sun 24 Dec, 2006 08:29 am
One of my favorite albums is by Harry Belafonte. It may be called
To Wish You a Merry Christmas.
I won't go look that up. When I bought it on vinyl, Mary's Boychild was not on it. But, my CD copy has that for the lead-off song. I like the music and the chorus, and some song selections are not what you hear elsewhere. The medleys are my favorite tracks.
0 Replies
 
djjd62
 
  1  
Reply Sun 24 Dec, 2006 08:44 am
A Very Special Christmas (album)

Released 1987
Genre Christmas music
Length 51:11
Label A&M Records
Producer(s) Jimmy Iovine

A Very Special Christmas is the first in a series of Christmas music-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released in 1987 and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine for A&M Records.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/-edit-_A_Very_Special_Christmas.jpg/200px--edit-_A_Very_Special_Christmas.jpg

Track listing

1. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" - The Pointer Sisters
2. "Winter Wonderland" - Eurythmics
3. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" - Whitney Houston
4. "Merry Christmas Baby" - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
5. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - Pretenders
6. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - John Mellencamp
7. "Gabriel's Message" - Sting
8. "Christmas In Hollis" - Run-D.M.C.
9. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - U2
10. "Santa Baby" - Madonna
11. "Little Drummer Boy - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
12. "Run Rudolph Run" - Bryan Adams
13. "Back Door Santa" - Bon Jovi
14. "The Coventry Carol" - Alison Moyet
15. "Silent Night" - Stevie Nicks
0 Replies
 
djjd62
 
  1  
Reply Sun 24 Dec, 2006 08:54 am
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00006L9NX.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

1. Winter Wonderland - Phantom Planet
2. Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Coldplay
4. Green Sleeves - Vanessa Carlton
5. Blue Christmas - Bright Eyes
6. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Sense Field
7. 12/23/95 - Jimmy Eat World
8. Rudolph - Jack Johnson
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan
10. Bizarre Christmas Incident - Ben Folds
11. What a Year for a New Year - Dan Wilson
12. Sweet Secret - Neil Finn
13. Snow - Loreena McKennitt


http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0000AM6O3.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

1. Spotlight On Christmas - Rufus Wainwright
2. The Winter Song - Eisley
3. O Holy Night - Avril Lavigne & Chantal Kreviazuk
4. Xmas Cake - Rilo Kiley
5. Silent Night - Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan
6. Donde Esta Santa Claus? - Guster
7. Rudy - The Be Good Tanyas
8. Christmas Song - Dave Matthews Band
9. Go Tell It On The Mountain - Oh Susanna
10. Green Christmas - Barenaked Ladies
11. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Martina Sorbara
12. Donna & Blitzen - Badly Drawn Boy
13. White Christmas - The Flaming Lips
14. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Sixpence None The Richer


http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0002S94XY.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

1. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - Polyphonic Spree
2. The Christmas Song - The Raveonettes
3. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab For Cutie
4. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - Pedro the Lion
5. Bittersweet Eve - Belsana
6. Christmas Time is Here - Ivy
7. Baby It's Cold Outside - Royal Crown Revue with Vicky Tarefe
8. Wonderful Christmastime - Tom McRae
9. Fairytale of New York - Pilate
10. Jingle Bells - Lisa Loeb
11. Christmas for Cowboys - Jars of Clay
12. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Copeland
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Bi-Polar Bear
 
  1  
Reply Sun 24 Dec, 2006 09:13 am
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/stevetheq/merryaxemascover.jpg
0 Replies
 
hamburger
 
  1  
Reply Sun 24 Dec, 2006 12:03 pm
here is my favourite christmas-cd :
"it's a spike jones christmas" .

spike jones , his wife helen , his children (linda lee , spike jr. , leslie ann and gina maria) and his band let loose with 35 christmas favourites !
starting with : jingle bells , they go on to : nuttin' for christmas , santa claus' son and end with "what are you doing for new year's eve ? " .
a good hour of truly "beautiful" music and plenty of laughter !
melly chwissmas to all !(from : all i want for christmas are my two front teeth ...)
hbg
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