A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
Encyclopedia
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra is a Christmas album
by American
singer Frank Sinatra
, originally released by Capitol Records
in 1957.
This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album. It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along with an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins
.
Capitol reissued the album in 1963 with different cover art and a new title, The Sinatra Christmas Album, a title which also featured on the album's initial 1987 compact disc pressing. The original title and cover were eventually restored for subsequent CD pressings in 1990 and 1999. In 2001, the album art was altered from its 1957 version. The CD bonus tracks were originally issued on a 1954 Capitol 45 rpm single, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle
.
In 2007 the album was reissued yet again, with a "50th Anniversary" banner placed atop the 2001 cover art and an additional bonus track (a vintage radio PSA
that Sinatra did for the American Lung Association
's "Christmas Seals" campaign) added.
In 2010, the album was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 40 years, exclusively to independent record stores.
Christmas Album
Christmas Album may refer to:* Christmas Album , a 1968 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass* Christmas Album Christmas Album may refer to:* Christmas Album (Herb Alpert album), a 1968 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass* Christmas Album Christmas Album may refer to:* Christmas Album (Herb...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, originally released by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 1957.
This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album. It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along with an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
.
Capitol reissued the album in 1963 with different cover art and a new title, The Sinatra Christmas Album, a title which also featured on the album's initial 1987 compact disc pressing. The original title and cover were eventually restored for subsequent CD pressings in 1990 and 1999. In 2001, the album art was altered from its 1957 version. The CD bonus tracks were originally issued on a 1954 Capitol 45 rpm single, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
.
In 2007 the album was reissued yet again, with a "50th Anniversary" banner placed atop the 2001 cover art and an additional bonus track (a vintage radio PSA
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
that Sinatra did for the American Lung Association
American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.-History:...
's "Christmas Seals" campaign) added.
In 2010, the album was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 40 years, exclusively to independent record stores.
Track listing
- "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...
) – 2:00 - "The Christmas SongThe 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...
) – 3:28 - "Mistletoe and Holly" (Hank Sanicola, Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Doc Stanford) – 2:18 - "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Kim GannonKim GannonJames Kimball "Kim" Gannon was an American songwriter, more commonly a lyricist than a composer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in New Jersey where he attended Montclair High School and was a member of The Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated from St...
, Walter KentWalter KentWalter Kent was a Jewish American composer who wrote the music for songs including the Christmas standard "I'll Be Home for Christmas", and the wartime hit " The White Cliffs of Dover", co-written with fellow American Nat Burton. He died at the age of 82-External links:...
, Buck RamBuck RamBuck Ram was an American songwriter, and popular music producer and arranger.-Biography:...
) – 3:11 - "The Christmas Waltz" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) – 3:03 - "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...
" (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...
, 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...
) – 3:29 - "The First NoelThe First NoëlThe First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
" (William B. SandysWilliam B. SandysWilliam B. Sandys , was an English solicitor, member of the Percy Society, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and remembered for his publication Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern , a collection of seasonal carols that Sandys had gathered and also apparently improvised...
) – 2:44 - "Hark! The Herald Angels SingHark! The Herald Angels Sing“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, having been written by Charles Wesley. This is not the version widely known today. A sombre man, Wesley had requested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the...
" (Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Charles WesleyCharles WesleyCharles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
) – 2:24 - "O Little Town of BethlehemO Little Town of Bethlehem"O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks , an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his...
" (Lewis H. Redner, Phillip Brooks) – 2:06 - "Adeste FidelesAdeste Fideles"Adeste Fideles" is a hymn tune attributed to English hymnist John Francis Wade . The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that Wade was probably the author.The original four verses of the hymn were...
" ("O, Come All Ye Faithful") (John Francis WadeJohn Francis WadeJohn Francis Wade was an English hymnist who is credited with writing and composing the hymn "Adeste Fideles" ....
) – 2:34 - "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (Edmund SearsEdmund SearsEdmund Hamilton Sears was an American Unitarian parish minister and author who wrote a number of theological works influencing 19th century liberal Protestants. Sears is known today primarily as the man who penned the words to "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" in 1849...
, Richard Storrs Willis) – 2:51 - "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Josef MohrJosef MohrJoseph Mohr, sometimes spelt Josef was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and composer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night".-Biography:...
) – 2:31
Compact disc reissue bonus tracks
- "White ChristmasWhite ChristmasA white Christmas refers to the presence of snow on Christmas Day. This phenomenon is most common in the northern countries of the Northern Hemisphere...
" (1954 single version) (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...
) – 2:37 - "The Christmas Waltz" (1954 single version) (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) – 3:01
Personnel
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
– Vocals - The Ralph Brewer Singers – Vocals
- Gordon JenkinsGordon JenkinsGordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
– Arranger, Conductor - Nelson RiddleNelson RiddleNelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
– Arranger, Conductor (CD bonus tracks)