Sounds of Christmas
Sounds of Christmas | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 4, 1963[1] | |||
Recorded | July 12, 16, 17, 25, 1963 | |||
Genre | Christmas | |||
Length | 38:19 | |||
Label | Mercury Records | |||
Producer | Don Costa | |||
Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Christmas with Johnny Mathis | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | Review |
Billboard | positive[2] |
Sounds of Christmas is the second
This album also differs from the 1958
Two songs from the album, "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Have Reindeer, Will Travel", were released that year as a single, and the former spent its one week on the Billboard's Christmas Singles chart at number 21 in December 1963 and had another one-week showing there at number 11 in December 1964.[6]
In 1971, Columbia Records reissued the album on its budget Harmony imprint as Christmas with Johnny Mathis, with different cover art and the two songs from the 1963 single omitted. This incarnation of the album was later reissued on compact disc. The complete album was issued on CD with its original title, art, and track list by Legacy Recordings in November 2014 as part of the box set The Complete Global Albums Collection. The 2015 Mathis compilation The Complete Christmas Collection 1958–2010, a 3-CD set on the Real Gone Music label, also includes the entirety of the Sounds of Christmas album in its track list.
History
After a highly successful career as a recording artist with
In the
Reception
Billboard wrote, "Arrangements by Don Costa are tasteful"[2] and noted that the album included "some fine newer tunes."[2]
Track listing
Side one
- "The Sounds of Christmas" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) — 2:35
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) — 3:34
- "A Marshmallow World" (Peter DeRose, Carl Sigman) — 2:37
- "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (traditional) — 3:19
- "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) — 4:12
- "The Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) — 3:32
Side two
- "Have Reindeer, Will Travel" (Livingston, Webster) — 3:31
- "The Secret of Christmas" from Say One for Me (Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) — 4:12
- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks) — 2:20
- "Peter J. Wilhousky) — 1:22
- "Christmas Is a Feeling in Your Heart" (Joe Darion, Joe Kleinsinger) — 3:03
- "George Frederick Handel) — 4:02
Recording dates
From the liner notes for The Complete Global Albums Collection:[1]
- July 12, 1963 — "The Secret of Christmas", "The Sounds of Christmas"
- July 16, 1963 — "Christmas Is a Feeling in Your Heart", "Have Reindeer, Will Travel"
- July 17, 1963 — "Carol of the Bells", "Hallelujah Chorus", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "A Marshmallow World", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
- July 25, 1963 — "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", "The Little Drummer Boy"
Billboard Christmas Albums chart positions
Debut date[5] |
Peak position[5] |
---|---|
11/30/63 | 2 |
12/5/64 | 7 |
12/18/65 | 13 |
12/17/66 | 45 |
12/9/67 | 18 |
12/14/68 | 11 |
Personnel
- Johnny Mathis – vocals; adaptation ("Carol of the Bells", "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", "Hallelujah Chorus")[7]
- Don Costa – producer[1]
- Glenn Osser – arranger[1]
- Jack Feierman – conductor[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f (2014) The Complete Global Albums Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88843091432.
- ^ a b c "Album Reviews". Billboard. 1963-10-05. p. 28.
- ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 504.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d Whitburn 2004, p. 167.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 48.
- ^ a b c (1963) Sounds of Christmas by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Mercury Records SR-60837.
Bibliography
- Whitburn, Joel (2004), Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004), Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-161-6
- Whitburn, Joel (2010), Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition, Record Research Inc., ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3