I Wish You a Merry Christmas

I Wish You a Merry Christmas
Studio album by Bing Crosby
Released	October 1962
Recorded	October 5, 1962
Studio	Radio Recorders, Hollywood
Genre	Vocal pop, Christmas
Label	Warner Bros.
Bing Crosby chronology
On the Sentimental Side (1962) I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962) Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)

I Wish You a Merry Christmas was a long-playing vinyl album of Christmas themed songs recorded by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records, and issued by Warner Bros. (W-1484) in 1962.

The tracks were arranged by Bob Thompson, Peter Matz and Jack Halloran and each conducted the orchestra for their own arrangements. The musical accompaniment was recorded on 23 and 25 July 1962 and Crosby over-dubbed his vocals on October 5, 1962.^[1]

The album was re-released by Capitol in 1977 (on LP) and again in 1988 (on CD) as Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics, with one track – "Pat-a-Pan/ While Shepherds Watched Their Sheep" – omitted. All the songs from the original album were included on a 1998 EMI CD called Winter Wonderland in the UK and on an updated 1999 Capitol CD of Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics in the US.^[2]

Reception

Billboard reviewed the album saying, "Crosby is a perennial holiday seller, and this LP should prove an important Christmas item for all dealers. The Crosby touch is everywhere evident and the material is drawn from the great Christmas catalog. Chorus and ork assist der Bingle on such Christmas standards as “Winter Wonderland”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.^[3]

Track listing

SIDE ONE

1. ”Winter Wonderland” (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2.27
2. ”Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane) – 2.52
3. ”What Child Is This? / The Holly and the Ivy” (Traditional) – 3.23
4. ”The Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) – 3.02
5. ”O Holy Night" (Traditional) – 3.36

SIDE TWO

1. “The Littlest Angel” (Mack David, Simon Rady) – 4.03
2. ”Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2.09
3. ”Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / It Came upon the Midnight Clear” (Traditional) – 3.08
4. ”Frosty the Snowman" (Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins) – 2.16
5. ”Pat-a Pan / While Shepherds Watched Their Sheep" (Traditional) – 2.53
6. ”I Wish You a Merry Christmas" (Traditional) – 1.54

References

1. Reynolds, Fred. The Crosby Collection 1926-1977. Part Five: 1961-1977: John Joyce. pp. 35–40.
2. "Amazon". Amazon. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
3. "Billboard". Billboard. November 3, 1962.