Merry Christmas (Johnny Mathis album)
| Merry Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Original LP cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 6, 1958[1] | |||
| Recorded | June 16, 18, and 20, 1958[2] | |||
| Studio | CBS 30th Street Studio New York City[2] | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 44:08 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Mitch Miller Al Ham[2] | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate cover | ||||
 Reissue LP cover | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis, with accompaniment by arranger/conductor Percy Faith and his orchestra. It was released by Columbia Records on October 6, 1958.[1] The selections are a mix of traditional Christmas carols (such as "Silent Night", "O Holy Night", and "The First Noel") and 20th-century tunes of the season (including "The Christmas Song", "White Christmas", and "Silver Bells").
The album debuted on Billboard magazine's list of the 25 Best-Selling Pop LPs in the US in its December 15, 1958, issue and got as high as number three during its initial four-week run.[3] It made additional appearances there each holiday season from 1959 to 1962 and on the magazine's Christmas Albums and Pop Catalog Albums charts in subsequent years.[1] It received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for reaching sales of 500,000 copies in the US in December 1960[4] and in 2013 ranked as one of the top selling Christmas albums of all time with five million copies sold.[5]
Four songs from the album – "Winter Wonderland", "Blue Christmas", "White Christmas", and "Sleigh Ride" – were also released on the EP Merry Christmas, Vol. 1, which reached number two during the 1958 holiday season and number seven the following year on the magazine's Best-Selling Pop EPs chart.[3] "Winter Wonderland" also spent three weeks on the UK singles chart, where his recording peaked at number 17 over the course of three weeks that began on Christmas Day 1958.[6]
The album was initially released only in the monaural format but became available in stereo in 1959.[7] It was issued in the UK by Fontana Records and was later reissued in 1962 with a different cover both there and in the US.[7] The original cover was used for compact disc pressings, the first of which was in 1984,[8] and an edition featuring two bonus tracks was released on September 16, 2003.[9] The 2015 Mathis compilation The Complete Christmas Collection 1958–2010, a 3-CD set on the Real Gone Music label, also includes the album in its track list.
Track listing
[edit]Side one
[edit]- "Winter Wonderland" (Richard B. Smith, Felix Bernard) – 3:19
- "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 4:18
- "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish) – 2:58
- "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson) – 3:02
- "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Buck Ram, Kim Gannon, Walter Kent) – 4:04
- "White Christmas" from Holiday Inn (Irving Berlin) – 3:32
Side two
[edit]- "O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam) – 4:35
- "What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)" (William Chatterton Dix) – 3:58
- "The First Noel" (Traditional) – 3:49
- "Silver Bells" from The Lemon Drop Kid (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans) – 3:34
- "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (Richard Storrs Willis, Edmund Sears) – 3:08
- "Silent Night, Holy Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr) – 3:51
2003 CD bonus tracks
[edit]- "Christmas Eve" (Allyn Ferguson, Sidney Shaw) – 2:56
- "My Kind of Christmas" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:02
- above two released as a single on 11/17/61[2]
Recording dates
[edit]Original album
[edit]From the liner notes for the 2003 CD release:[2]
- June 16, 1958– "The Christmas Song", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Silver Bells", "White Christmas"
- June 18, 1958– "Blue Christmas", "O Holy Night", "Sleigh Ride", "Winter Wonderland"
- June 20, 1958– "The First Noel", "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", "Silent Night, Holy Night", "What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)"
2003 CD bonus tracks
[edit]From the liner notes for The Complete Christmas Collection 1958-2010:[10]
- September 11, 1961 – "Christmas Eve", "My Kind of Christmas"
Billboard album chart positions
[edit]| Debut date | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Best-Selling Pop LPs[3] | Christmas Albums[3] | Top Pop Catalog Albums[3] | |
| 12/15/58 | 3 | — | — |
| 12/21/59 | 10 | — | — |
| 12/26/60 | 10 | — | — |
| 12/18/61 | 31 | — | — |
| 12/8/62 | 12 | — | — |
| 11/30/63 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/5/64 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/11/65 | — | 7 | — |
| 12/3/66 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/2/67 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/7/68 | — | 5 | — |
| 12/27/69 | — | 15 | — |
| 12/1/73 | — | 3 | — |
| 12/24/88 | — | 18 | — |
| 12/23/89 | — | 20 | — |
| 12/22/90 | — | 16 | — |
| 12/7/91 | — | 17 | — |
| 12/14/91 | — | — | 24 |
| 11/28/92 | — | — | 10 |
| 12/5/92 | — | 12 | — |
| 12/4/93 | — | 21 | 14 |
| 12/3/94 | — | 35 | — |
| 12/10/94 | — | — | 29 |
| 12/16/95 | — | — | 37 |
| 12/21/96 | — | — | 33 |
| 12/28/96 | — | 39 | — |
| 12/19/98 | — | — | 48 |
| 12/18/99 | — | — | 49 |
Personnel
[edit]Original album
[edit]- Johnny Mathis – vocals; liner notes
- Mitch Miller – producer[2]
- Al Ham – producer[2]
- Percy Faith – arranger and conductor[11]
- Friedman Abeles – photography[11]
2003 CD bonus tracks
[edit]- Irving Townsend – producer[10]
- Percy Faith – arranger and conductor[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c (1993) The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records CK-57194.
- ^ a b c d e f g (2003) Merry Christmas by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records CK 92705.
- ^ a b c d e Whitburn 2004, p. 167.
- ^ "Sounding Off: The Best in Recorded Music". Ebony. December 1987. p. 18B.
- ^ "The Top Selling Christmas Albums of All Time". billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Johnny Mathis - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Johnny Mathis – Merry Christmas". Discogs. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Merry Christmas - Johnny Mathis - Releases". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Merry Christmas [Bonus Tracks] - Johnny Mathis – Release Info". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ a b c (2015) The Complete Christmas Collection 1958-2010 by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment RGM-0400.
- ^ a b (1958) Merry Christmas by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CL 1195.
Bibliography
[edit]- Whitburn, Joel (2004), Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004), Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-161-6
