🎄 Holidays! Favorite Christmas Albums

[Joe]

I was never able to get my hands on this Christmas album. I always wanted it, but never got my hands on it. I have never seen it in stores and the last time I went to go find it at Amazon.com it was listed with "limited availabilty". Maybe we'll try again this year. The only track I have ever heard from that album was a version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". I heard it on our old Swing/Easy Listening station WBYU. I can assume that album sold poorly since that was post-Jobim; everything Frank did not sell well (e.g Francis A. & Edward K., etc.).

Joe, remembering Frank's Reprise days...online

 

[Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar]

The last couple of weeks I have enjoyed listening to Kenny G's "Faith" A Holiday Album. Later amigos...Jay

 

[Tim Neely]

Several comments:
1. The Best of Christmas, that Capitol 2-LP set from 1968, was later split by Capitol into two single records called The Best of Christmas Volume 1 and The Best of Christmas Volume 2. Both of these were issued twice, once in the 11000 series in the late 1970s, the other time in the 16000 series in the 1980s.
1A. The Best of Christmas, all 20 songs, was issued on CD on Capitol (CDP 7 97458 2) in 1991. My copy is from the BMG Music Service (D 182743).
2. The Sinatra Family Wishes You a Merry Christmas, with that "Twelve Days of Christmas" version with the lovely lavender tie, was issued on the Artanis label on gold CD in 1999 through DCC, and though it's officially out of print, it isn't hard to find. It sold for about $20 at the time it was issued, and even today it sells for no more than that.
3. The cool version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by the Chipmunks (mostly by David Seville) is similar to an arrangement done by Art Carney (!!) in the 1950s.

My own favorite Christmas albums, in no special order:
A Very Special Christmas (the original from 1987, coincidentally on A&M)
A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records
A Charlie Brown Christmas -- Vince Guaraldi Trio
Music of Christmas -- Percy Faith
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music (the 1956 12" version on RCA Victor)
Merry Christmas -- Johnny Mathis
Christmas Portrait -- Carpenters
Merry Christmas -- Bing Crosby (12" Decca mono version)
The Christmas Rock Album (Priority Records, 1986 -- marked first LP appearance of "Thank God It's Christmas" by Queen, "Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You" by Billy Squier and a couple others)
A Jolly Christmas with Frank Sinatra
Noel -- Joan Baez
The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas (3-LP vinyl box)
Jingle Bell Rock (Time-Life 2-LP vinyl box)
A Fab Four Christmas and Have Yourself a FAB-ulous Little Christmas by The Fab Four (Beatles tribute group)
The Ventures' Christmas Album
Booker T. and the MG's in the Christmas Spirit
Christmas Comes Anew -- New York City Gay Men's Chorus (1991)

and so many, many more...

 

[martin]

Favourite Christmas albums.
I love christmas music and have a huge lot of christmas music on LPs and CDs. In my career so far, I have arranged and produced three christmas albums myself with different artists, and enjoyed it enormously, though the recordings themselves of course happened during spring and summer. Here are some of my favourites:
1. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: Christmas Album
2. David Foster Christmas Album
3. Chicago 25
4. Singers Unlimited Christmas
5. Mariah Carey Christmas Album
6. Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton Home for Christmas
7. Bugge Wesseltoft Snow on my piano (Norwegian jazzpianist of international fame)
8. J.E.Gardiner: Bach Christmas Oratorio
9. James Last Christmas Album (Ein Fröhliches Konzert zum Weinachen)
10. Carpenters Christmas Portrait

- greetings from the country where Santa lives - (looks that way nowadays,anyway)

Martin

 

[thestitch]

Loved reading all your suggestions for Christmas albums. Some I didn't even know existed!

Just a couple of additions to everyone's list, should be Elmo and Patsy with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and including "Percy the Puny Poinsettia", and one of the best around The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album. I had almost forgotten about this one myself, because my husband and I tend to play only CDs and this is one we have only on tape. Just got finished ordering it from Amazon on CD and was very happy to see that it was available! The track list is as follows:

Hallelujah It's Christmas
Mighty Like a Rose
Christmas Song
Country Christmas
Darcy the Dragon (my personal favorite!)
The Governor's Dream
Momma Mary (another favorite)
Guten Abend, Gute Nacht
Home for Christmas
A Time for Peace
Christmas Is Here Again
Tiny Angels (another great one!)

So, when you're sick of the old standards again and again, put on this one and have a good laugh!

Before I close, I just HAVE to say that Christmas Portrait is my all time favorite of them all, the true one and only quintessential Christmas album.

Happy Holidays to everyone!
Marilyn

 

[alpertfan]

My List:

1. A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS-Vince Guaraldi Trio
2. FAITH:A HOLIDAY ALBUM- Kenny G. (don't laugh!)
3. HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS' CHRISTMAS ALBUM
4. CHESTNUTS ROASTIN'- Nat King Cole

The first three I have on Compact Disc. Cole's I only saw on audio cassette.

 

[Tim Neely]

The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album is wonderful! I especially love the song "Christmas Is Here Again."

Another album that brings back fond memories is A Very Merry Christmas. This was a 14- or 15-track LP that was sold at the old W.T. Grant discount store chain in 1967, and every time I play it, I am taken back to Christmases of my youth. It was the first "grown-up" album my parents let me play.

Years later, I found out that it actually had a rare track: "The Star Carol" by Simon and Garfunkel, which was listed as "unreleased" on the Old Friends box that came out a few years ago.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

The last couple of weeks I have enjoyed listening to Kenny G's "Faith" A Holiday Album. Later amigos...Jay

I didn't even know it was possible to "enjoy" Kenny G - unless he was thrown from a 1,000 foot cliff...


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I forgot one other "gem" - the Dr. Demento Christmas novelty album, which featured Cheech & Chong's "Santa Claus And His Old Lady", which I believe was a 45 release only. The Dr. Demento album is the only album I've found that has this "song" on it.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Rudy]

It's quite a long track to fit on a 45--could have been one of those double-sided singles.

Right now I'm throwing a bunch of Bob Rivers tracks on a couple of CDs. It's some silly, corny fun. I'm more fond of the classic rock and oldies remakes than the other songs. It's an idea I have to put all the rock and oldies songs on one CD.

 

[Tim Neely]

It's quite a long track to fit on a 45--could have been one of those double-sided singles.

Another great record, "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" indeed was on one side of a 45 when it was first issued. It even came with a picture sleeve! The 45 was released in 1971, when Cheech & Chong still hadn't become huge (Big Bambu was still several months away).

You don't see too many CDs with this track on it. Most of them are Dr. Demento-related, but it's also on the Billboard Rock 'n' Roll Christmas CD on Rhino (1994).