12 Songs of Christmas (Etta James album)
Encyclopedia
12 Songs of Christmas is a holiday
album by American singer Etta James
, released in October 1998 through the record label Private Music
. The album, produced
by John Snyder, features standards arranged mostly by pianist Cedar Walton
and solos by Walton, George Bohanon on trombone and Red Holloway
on tenor saxophone. Critical reception of the album was positive overall. Following its release, 12 Songs reached a peak position of number five on Billboard
Top Blues Albums chart.
and solos by Walton, George Bohanon on trombone and Red Holloway
on tenor saxophone. The album combines James' blues style with a jazz sound. 12 Songs, recorded during May and June 1998, was produced
by John Snyder with Lupe DeLeon serving as executive producer
.
The album opens with "Winter Wonderland
", originally by Felix Bernard
and Richard B. Smith
, followed by James Pierpont
's "Jingle Bells
". A "bluesy" rendition of Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore
's "Merry Christmas, Baby
" trails "This Time of Year" (Hollis, Owens). Other holiday standards appearing on the album include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
" (Ralph Blane
, Hugh Martin
), John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie
's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
", and "White Christmas
", originally by Irving Berlin
. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
" , originally by Mel Tormé
and Robert Wells
, "The Little Drummer Boy (Carol of the Drum)" (Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone
), Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr's "Silent Night
", and "Joy to the World
" (George Frideric Handel
, Lowell Mason
, Isaac Watts
) follow. The album closes with a rendition of Adolphe Adam
and John Sullivan Dwight
's "O Holy Night
".
of The New York Times
wrote a positive review for the album, claiming that James turned standards into "suave after-hours jazz arrangements" that seemed "cozy and intimate". He wrote that James was "surprisingly reverent" and sounded "downright devout" on "Joy to the World". Entertainment Weekly
Matt Diehl felt that James' performances brought both "sass and class" and "ooze[d] passionately with old-school soul". David Hinckley of New York City's Daily News awarded 12 Songs "two-and-a-half bells" out of four. Rolling Stone called 12 Songs a "tour de force of interpretive rethinking" with "scintillating, bluesy spins on Yuletide evergreens". The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
Dan DeLuca also complimented the set.
The album received some negative criticism. Larry Nager of The Cincinnati Enquirer
awarded the album two out of four stars and wrote that James had the ability to make "the ultimate blue Christmas disc" but failed to do so. Nager complimented "Merry Christmas, Baby" but considered the performance to be a "rare bit of juke joint" among "supper club sounds" that left him "wanting more".
Credits adapted from Allmusic.
Top Blues Albums chart. In 1999, James had five albums chart in the United States: Life, Love & the Blues
, 12 Songs of Christmas, Heart of a Woman
(1999), as well as two compilation albums Best of Etta James and Her Best (1997).
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
album by American singer Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, released in October 1998 through the record label Private Music
Private Music
Private Music is a United States record company founded in 1984 by experimental musician Peter Baumann, as a home for instrumental music. Initially signing such artists as Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Patrick O'Hearn, and Baumann's former bandmates Tangerine Dream, the record label specialized in New Age...
. The album, produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by John Snyder, features standards arranged mostly by pianist Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
and solos by Walton, George Bohanon on trombone and Red Holloway
Red Holloway
James W. "Red" Holloway is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Holloway started playing banjo and harmonica, switching to tenor sax when he was twelve years old...
on tenor saxophone. Critical reception of the album was positive overall. Following its release, 12 Songs reached a peak position of number five on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Blues Albums chart.
Composition
12 Songs of Christmas consists of twelve standard holiday songs with arrangements mostly by pianist Cedar WaltonCedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
and solos by Walton, George Bohanon on trombone and Red Holloway
Red Holloway
James W. "Red" Holloway is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Holloway started playing banjo and harmonica, switching to tenor sax when he was twelve years old...
on tenor saxophone. The album combines James' blues style with a jazz sound. 12 Songs, recorded during May and June 1998, was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by John Snyder with Lupe DeLeon serving as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
.
The album opens with "Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland
"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
", originally by Felix Bernard
Felix Bernard
Felix Bernard was an American conductor, pianist and a composer of popular music. His writing credits include the popular songs Winter Wonderland and Dardanella.-Biography:...
and Richard B. Smith
Richard B. Smith
Richard B. Smith wrote the lyrics to the popular song Winter Wonderland, which was composed by Felix Bernard. Smith was born in Pennsylvania, and was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1931. He succumbed to the disease on September 28, 1935....
, followed by James Pierpont
James Pierpont (musician)
James Lord Pierpont was an American songwriter, arranger, organist, and composer, best known for writing and composing Jingle Bells in 1857, originally entitled "The One Horse Open Sleigh". He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Winter Haven, Florida...
's "Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
". A "bluesy" rendition of Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore
Johnny Moore (musician)
Johnny Moore was an American rhythm and blues singer with The Drifters.Born John Alfred Moore in Selma, Alabama, United States, he began as lead of the Cleveland based group, The Hornets, before being discovered by The Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist, in New York in 1955, at age 21...
's "Merry Christmas, Baby
Merry Christmas Baby
"Merry Christmas Baby" is an R & B Christmas standard written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. It has been covered by many artists including Otis Redding, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Hanson. The original 1947 version by Johnny Moore's Three Trailblazers "Merry Christmas Baby" is an R...
" trails "This Time of Year" (Hollis, Owens). Other holiday standards appearing on the album include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...
" (Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
, Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
), John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie
Haven Gillespie
James Lamont "Haven" Gillespie was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as well as "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Breezin' Along With The Breeze", "Right or Wrong," "Beautiful Love",...
's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....
", and "White Christmas
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...
", originally by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" , originally by Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
and Robert Wells
Robert Wells (songwriter)
Robert Wells was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945...
, "The Little Drummer Boy (Carol of the Drum)" (Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone
Harry Simeone
Harry Moses Simeone was a distinguished music arranger, conductor and composer, best known for arranging the famous Christmas song "The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit.-Early years:Harry grew up listening to stars performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City,...
), Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr's "Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
", and "Joy to the World
Joy to the World
"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
" (George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...
, Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
) follow. The album closes with a rendition of Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
and John Sullivan Dwight
John Sullivan Dwight
John Sullivan Dwight was a Unitarian minister, transcendentalist and America's first influential classical music critic.-Biography:...
's "O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
".
Reception
Critical reception of the album was positive overall. Jon ParelesJon Pareles
Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s an associate...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote a positive review for the album, claiming that James turned standards into "suave after-hours jazz arrangements" that seemed "cozy and intimate". He wrote that James was "surprisingly reverent" and sounded "downright devout" on "Joy to the World". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Matt Diehl felt that James' performances brought both "sass and class" and "ooze[d] passionately with old-school soul". David Hinckley of New York City's Daily News awarded 12 Songs "two-and-a-half bells" out of four. Rolling Stone called 12 Songs a "tour de force of interpretive rethinking" with "scintillating, bluesy spins on Yuletide evergreens". The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
Spartanburg Herald-Journal
The Spartanburg Herald-Journal is a daily newspaper, and the primary newspaper for Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States.It is part of the New York Times Regional Media Group.- History :...
Dan DeLuca also complimented the set.
The album received some negative criticism. Larry Nager of The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky. The...
awarded the album two out of four stars and wrote that James had the ability to make "the ultimate blue Christmas disc" but failed to do so. Nager complimented "Merry Christmas, Baby" but considered the performance to be a "rare bit of juke joint" among "supper club sounds" that left him "wanting more".
Track listing
- "Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
" (Felix BernardFelix BernardFelix Bernard was an American conductor, pianist and a composer of popular music. His writing credits include the popular songs Winter Wonderland and Dardanella.-Biography:...
, Richard B. SmithRichard B. SmithRichard B. Smith wrote the lyrics to the popular song Winter Wonderland, which was composed by Felix Bernard. Smith was born in Pennsylvania, and was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1931. He succumbed to the disease on September 28, 1935....
) – 4:26 - "Jingle BellsJingle Bells"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
" (James PierpontJames Pierpont (musician)James Lord Pierpont was an American songwriter, arranger, organist, and composer, best known for writing and composing Jingle Bells in 1857, originally entitled "The One Horse Open Sleigh". He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Winter Haven, Florida...
, traditionalTraditional musicTraditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
) – 5:26 - "This Time of Year" (Jesse Hollis, Cliff Owens) – 5:47
- "Merry Christmas, BabyMerry Christmas Baby"Merry Christmas Baby" is an R & B Christmas standard written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. It has been covered by many artists including Otis Redding, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Hanson. The original 1947 version by Johnny Moore's Three Trailblazers "Merry Christmas Baby" is an R...
" (Lou Baxter, Johnny MooreJohnny Moore (musician)Johnny Moore was an American rhythm and blues singer with The Drifters.Born John Alfred Moore in Selma, Alabama, United States, he began as lead of the Cleveland based group, The Hornets, before being discovered by The Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist, in New York in 1955, at age 21...
) – 6:10 - "Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...
" (Ralph BlaneRalph BlaneRalph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
, Hugh MartinHugh MartinHugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
) – 4:45 - "Santa Claus Is Coming to TownSanta Claus Is Coming to Town"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....
" (John Frederick Coots, Haven GillespieHaven GillespieJames Lamont "Haven" Gillespie was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as well as "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Breezin' Along With The Breeze", "Right or Wrong," "Beautiful Love",...
) – 6:22 - "White ChristmasWhite Christmas (song)"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...
" (Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) – 5:52 - "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)The Christmas Song"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" (Mel TorméMel TorméMelvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
, Robert WellsRobert Wells (songwriter)Robert Wells was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945...
) – 4:23 - "The Little Drummer Boy (Carol of the Drum)" (Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry SimeoneHarry SimeoneHarry Moses Simeone was a distinguished music arranger, conductor and composer, best known for arranging the famous Christmas song "The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit.-Early years:Harry grew up listening to stars performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City,...
) – 4:59 - "Silent NightSilent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr, traditional) – 4:49 - "Joy to the WorldJoy to the World"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
" (George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, Lowell MasonLowell MasonLowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...
, traditional, Isaac WattsIsaac WattsIsaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
) – 5:30 - "O Holy NightO Holy Night"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
" (Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
, John Sullivan DwightJohn Sullivan DwightJohn Sullivan Dwight was a Unitarian minister, transcendentalist and America's first influential classical music critic.-Biography:...
) – 4:50
Personnel
Charts
Following its release, 12 Songs of Christmas reached a peak position of number five on BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Blues Albums chart. In 1999, James had five albums chart in the United States: Life, Love & the Blues
Life, Love & the Blues
Life, Love & the Blues is an album by Etta James, released in 1998 through the record label Private Music. The album reached a peak position of number three on Billboard Top Blues Albums chart....
, 12 Songs of Christmas, Heart of a Woman
Heart of a Woman
Heart of a Woman is an album by Etta James, released in June 1999 through RCA Records. The album consists of eleven love songs from James' favorite female singers as well as a recording of her most popular song "At Last". Recorded in March 1999, Heart of a Woman was produced by James and John...
(1999), as well as two compilation albums Best of Etta James and Her Best (1997).
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Blues Albums |
5 |