The Joy of Christmas Music
Top Christmas albums
A Very Special Christmas is the first album in the series of Christmas-themed compilation albums to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was certified 4x Platinum. It includes songs like “Winter Wonderland” sung by the American synth-pop band the Eurythmics.
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra came out in 1957. It was the American singer and actor’s first full-length Christmas album and features the Ralph Brewster Singers with an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins. The first side includes popular holiday songs, and the second side Christmas carols. You can enjoy Sinatra singing the ever-popular “Jingle Bells.”
Elvis’ Christmas Album was the first Christmas album for the King of Rock and Roll in 1957. The album rose to number one on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. The album got Diamond certification and became one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album included six popular Christmas songs, two traditional Christmas carols, and four gospel songs. Among the songs on the album is “Santa Claus Is Back in Town.”
The Best of Louis Armstrong & Friends: The Christmas Collection features a collection of timeless Christmas classics performed by Armstrong and jazz legends, among them Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, Eartha Kitt, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, and more. Among the holiday favorites are White Christmas, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Santa Baby, and Winter Wonderland.
The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album came out in 1964 and includes five original songs and seven holiday standards. It charted on the Billboard Christmas LP chart and is regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era. Among the tracks on the album is the well-known holiday standard “Frosty the Snowman.”
Christmas in the Heart is the first Christmas album by American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan and came out in 2009. The album is a mix of hymns, carols, and popular Christmas songs. Dylan’s royalties from the album benefit the charities Feeding America, Crisis in the UK, and the World Food Programme. The album went to number one on the Billboard Holiday Album chart and also charted on the Rock Album chart. The album includes such holiday standards as “The Little Drummer Boy.”
Classic Christmas is a Christmas album that came out in 1980 by the American country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash. The album included traditional Christmas songs like “Joy to the World.”
Christmas Party is the final album recorded by the American pop-rock band the Monkees and focuses on Christmas themes. The album features the three surviving Monkees, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Mike Nesmith, as well as two posthumous contributions by Davy Jones. It has a mix of covers of earlier Christmas songs and new holiday tunes written specifically for the album. Among them is “Silver Bells,” sung by Davy Jones.
The first Christmas recording from the English rock band the Beatles featured several renditions of the traditional carol “Good King Wnceslas” and individual messages from the Fab Four and an ending closing chorus of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Ringo”.
Feliz Navidad is a Christmas album by the Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Jose Feliciano and came out in 1970. It features Christmas classics and three original songs. The ASCAP awarded this album as one of the top 25 Christmas songs most played and recorded around the world.
Pretty Paper is the first Christmas album by the American country singer and songwriter Willie Nelson. The self-composed title track became a hit Christmas song in 1963 and was recorded by Nelson in 1964.
Soul Christmas is a 1968 Christmas album that charted on the Billboard Best Bets for Christmas chart and charted on the Top R&B Albums chart. It includes songs like “Merry Christmas Baby,” sung by the American singer and songwriter Otis Redding.
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Rasma Raisters
My passions are writing and creating poetry. I write for several sites online and have four themed blogs on Wordpress. Please follow me on Twitter.
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