A HOLIDAY TUNES COUNTDOWN! 06 CHRISTMAS DAYS

—ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE—

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song’s 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee’s original version had sold over 25 million copies with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single. Because of her mature-sounding voice, Lee recorded this song when she was only thirteen years old. The recording features Hank Garland and Harold Bradley on guitar, Floyd Cramer on piano, Boots Randolph on sax, Bob Moore on bass, and veteran session player Buddy Harman on drums.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

BRENDA LEE * 05 * DECEMBER 21

A ’58 HOLIDAY MEMORY. THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS JOHNNY MATHIS (COMPLETE LP) * 1958

—MERRY CHRISTMAS JOHNNY MATHIS—

Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis and was released by Columbia Records on October 6, 1958. The selections are a mix of traditional Christmas carols (“Silent Night”, “O Holy Night”, “The First Noel”) and holiday hits (“The Christmas Song”, “White Christmas”, “Silver Bells”). The album debuted on Billboard magazine’s list of the 25 Best-Selling Pop LPs in the US in its December 15, 1958, issue and got as high as number three during its initial four-week run.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

Click on (COMPLETE LP) for the complete track listing on this album.

A HOLIDAY TUNES COUNTDOWN! 07 CHRISTMAS DAYS

—MY FAVORITE THINGS—

“My Favorite Things” is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass released a version in 1969 as a single from their 1968 album, Christmas Album. It reached No. 45 on the Billboard 100.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS * 06 * DECEMBER 20

A HOLIDAY TUNES COUNTDOWN! 07 CHRISTMAS DAYS

—IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR—

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is a popular Christmas song written in triple time in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album. However, the song was not released as a promotional single by Williams’ record label (Columbia Records) that year, as they instead opted to promote his cover of “White Christmas” as the official promo single from the album.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

ANDY WILLIAMS * 07 * DECEMBER 19

A ’63 HOLIDAY MEMORY: THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS!

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU (COMPLETE LP) * 1963

—A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU—

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (originally released as A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records) is an album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles 45 in 1963. Spector treated a series of mostly secular Christmas standards to his “Wall of Sound” treatment, and the selections feature the vocal performances of Spector’s regular artists during this period. The album peaked at No. 13 on Billboard magazine’s special, year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart in December 1963. The album, released in the United States on November 22, 1963—the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated—was an immediate relative failure (in reception) at that time.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

Click on (COMPLETE LP) for the complete track listing on this album

A HOLIDAY TUNES COUNTDOWN! 08 CHRISTMAS DAYS

—LITTLE SAINT NICK—

“Little Saint Nick” is a Christmas-themed hot rod song about Santa Claus and his sleigh, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of the American rock band the Beach Boys. The song was first released as a single on December 9, 1963, and peaked at number 3 on Billboard magazine’s special seasonal weekly Christmas Singles chart. Its B-side was an acappella version of “The Lord’s Prayer”. “Little Saint Nick” was recorded on October 20, 1963 at Western Studio in Hollywood. “Little Saint Nick” reappeared on The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album in 1964, with the stereo pressings of the album containing a new mix that removes the overdubbed sleigh bells and tuned percussion.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

THE BEACH BOYS * 08 * DECEMBER 18

A ’66 HOLIDAY MEMORY: THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS!

A MERRY MANCINI CHRISTMAS (COMPLETE LP) * 1966

—A MERRY MANCINI CHRISTMAS—

A Merry Mancini Christmas is a 1966 album by Henry Mancini of orchestral and choral arrangements of Christmas music. In addition to traditional Christmas songs, it also contains the original Mancini composition “Carol for Another Christmas”, the theme of the 1964 television film of the same name. The initial Billboard review from October 29, 1966 wrote that “It’s an important addition to the Christmas shelf because Mancini’s arrangements are as fresh and familiar as the material is familiar and lasting.” The album was reviewed by Stephen Thomas Erlewine at Allmusic who described it as an “ideal holiday record” and added that ” . . . the album is filled with the lush arrangements that are his aural signature, and they sound perfect when matched with these 11 Christmas medleys and carols.”

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

Click on (COMPLETE LP) for the complete track listing on this album.

THIS WEEK 50 YEARS AGO: THE HOTTEST HIT IN THE USA!

NUMBER 1 IN AMERICA * DECEMBER 14-DECEMBER 20, 1969

BILLBOARD HOT 100 TOP FIVE: WEEK-ENDING December 20, 1969

(Click on chart image 2x for detailed view)

— NUMBER ONE FOR 1969 —

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SEVENTEEN WEEKS on the singles chart, “Leaving On A Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul & Mary peaked this month at No. 01 (1 week) on the Billboard Hot 100. Week ending December 14 through December 20, 1969. (Source: Billboard)

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MCRFB Link: For the previous No. 1 record in the U.S.A. 1969 GO HERE.

A HOLIDAY TUNES COUNTDOWN! 09 CHRISTMAS DAYS

—RUN RUDOLPH RUN—

“Run Rudolph Run“is a Christmas song popularized by Chuck Berry, written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie and published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP). The song was first recorded by Berry in 1958 and released as a single on Chess Records. Berry’s 1958 45-rpm single, however, gives writing credits to “C. Berry Music – M. Brodie”.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

CHUCK BERRY * 09 * DECEMBER 17

A HOLIDAY TUNES COUNTDOWN! 10 CHRISTMAS DAYS

–-HAVE YOUR SELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS—

The Hollyridge Strings were an American studio orchestra that specialized in easy-listening music, and recorded for the Capitol Records label in the 1960s and 1970s. Stu Phillips, Mort Garson, and Perry Botkin, Jr. were among those who produced, arranged, and conducted the group’s recordings.

The group specialized in orchestral versions of songs by such then-contemporary pop-music artists as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons, Elvis Presley, and Simon & Garfunkel. Capitol Records released this Hollyridge Strings instrumental cover of this titled Christmas song classic as a single in December 1965.

(Source: WiKipedia)

— Christmas Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life —

THE HOLLYRIDGE STRINGS * 10 * DECEMBER 16