Merry Christmas (Johnny Mathis album)
| Merry Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | October 6, 1958 | |||
| Genre | Christmas music | |||
| Length | 44:08 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Al Ham, Mitch Miller | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Merry Christmas is the seventh album and first Christmas album by Johnny Mathis. Released in 1958 by Columbia Records (CL 1195/CS 8021), it was also the sixth original studio album by Mathis. This particular album had two different album covers (original cover release shown).
The album ranks highly among the many holiday albums released throughout the years due to its skillful blend of traditional Christmas carols ("Silent Night, Holy Night", "O Holy Night" and "The First Noel") with popular Christmas songs ("The Christmas Song", "White Christmas" and "Silver Bells"). As with a number of Mathis's previous albums, Percy Faith provided the album's musical direction.
In the first flush of his success, Mathis offered a safe popular music alternative to rock 'n' roll rebelliousness of Elvis Presley, also in the first flush of his success and born in the same year as Mathis. On this album, Mathis tries his hand at a Christmas song associated with Presley, "Blue Christmas".
| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Track listing
- "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" (Irving Berlin) – 3:32
- "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" (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
The 2003 CD reissue of the album on Legacy Recordings includes both sides of a 1961 Mathis Christmas single, "Christmas Eve" and "My Kind of Christmas", as bonus tracks.
Billboard album chart
Continuing his run of highly successful albums, this album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart in 1959, the year following its release, and peaked again at #10 in 1960 and at #12 in 1962.[1] The album also spawned a hit single, "Winter Wonderland", that peaked at #17 on the UK singles charts in 1958.[2]
References
- ↑ All Music Billboard Album Chart Position
- ↑ Johnny Mathis Hit Singles Billboard Singles Chart Positions