Leroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."
Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.
"The Little Drummer Boy" is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale; the Simeone version was re-released successfully for several years, and the song has been recorded many times since. In the lyrics, the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the Nativity of Jesus. Without a gift for the Infant, the little drummer boy played his drum with approval from Jesus' mother, Mary, recalling, "I played my best for him" and "He smiled at me".
"O Holy Night" is a sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line "Minuit, Chrétien, c'est l'heure solennelle" that composer Adolphe Adam set to music in 1847. The English version is by John Sullivan Dwight. The carol reflects on the birth of Jesus as humanity's redemption.
"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol which is based on the Ukrainian song called "Shchedryk". The "Carol of the Bells" uses the original melody from "Shchedryk," written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914.
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.
"It's April Again" is a popular song that first appeared in the 1952 film Moulin Rouge. It became a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart when recorded by Mantovani. The music for the film was written by Georges Auric; the original French lyrics were by Jacques Larue, with the English words by William Engvick. The Auric-Engvick song was published in 1953.
"Charmaine" is a popular song written by Ernö Rapée and Lew Pollack. The song was written in 1926 and published in 1927. However, Desmond Carrington on his BBC Radio 2 programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913.
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 and holiday hits.
Eimear Mary Rose Quinn is an Irish singer and composer. She is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "The Voice". Since then she has toured and performed extensively internationally and has released four albums of her work, the most recent being Ériu, recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and released in 2020.
The Magic of Christmas is a 1960 album by Nat King Cole, arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael.
The Andy Williams Christmas Album is the first Christmas holiday album released by singer Andy Williams and his twelfth studio album overall. It was issued by Columbia Records in 1963, the first of eight Christmas albums released by Williams. Though it was also the album that introduced Williams's perennial holiday classic "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", Columbia instead released Williams's cover of "White Christmas" as the album's promotional single at the time.
Gold: A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 19, 2006, by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. It includes selections from four of the first five Christmas albums that he had recorded: Merry Christmas, Sounds of Christmas, Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis, and The Christmas Album. Two tracks that were recorded with other artists are also included: "O Tannenbaum", which comes from Mannheim Steamroller's 2001 album Christmas Extraordinaire, and a medley duet of "Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" with Bette Midler from her 2006 holiday album Cool Yule.
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.
Gems Forever is an album by Mantovani and His Orchestra. It was released in 1958 by London. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on May 19, 1958, peaked at the No. 5 spot, and remained on the chart for 56 weeks. It was an RIAA certified gold album. AllMusic later gave the album a rating of four-and-a-half stars.
Mantovani Plays Music from Exodus and Other Great Themes is an album by Mantovani and His Orchestra. It was released in 1960 by London. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on December 5, 1960, held the No. 2 spot for five weeks, and remained on the chart for 44 weeks. It was an RIAA certified gold album. AllMusic later gave the album a rating of four-and-a-half stars.
Strauss Waltzes is an album of music composed by Richard Strauss and performed by Mantovani and His Orchestra. It was released in 1958 by London. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on November 24, 1958, peaked at the No. 7 spot, and remained on the chart for 24 weeks. It was an RIAA certified gold album.
American Waltzes is an album by Mantovani and His Orchestra. It was released in 1962 by London Recordings. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on June 16, 1962, peaked at the No. 8 spot, and remained on the chart for 19 weeks. AllMusic later gave the album a rating of three stars.
An Album of Favourite Waltzes, also known as A Collection of Favorite Waltzes, is an album by Mantovani and His Orchestra. It was released in April 1952 by London Records in the United States and in October 1952 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom.
Christmas Sing Along with Mitch is an album by Mitch Miller & The Gang. It was released in 1958 on the Columbia label.
