Harry for the Holidays | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 28, 2003 | |||
Recorded | May 13–22, 2003 | |||
Studio | Capitol, Hollywood, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 1:04:18 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Tracey Freeman | |||
Harry Connick Jr. chronology | ||||
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Harry Connick Jr. Christmas albums chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
Entertainment Weekly | B− 2/13/04 |
Harry for the Holidays is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s second Christmas album, released in 2003. The album features Connick and his 16 piece Big Band and a full section of chordophones.
Harry for the Holidays was the best-selling holiday album in the United States of 2003 according to sales figures from Nielsen/SoundScan, with 687,000 copies sold in the U.S. that year. [1]
A Harry For The Holidays television special, aired on NBC December 23, 2003. The TV special was released on DVD October 19, 2004. The special features Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Marc Anthony and Kim Burrell.
Among Harry Connick Jr.'s own compositions is a duet with country singer George Jones on "Nothing New for New Year". This was one of the highlights of the album for Connick: "George Jones is my favorite singer and I was quite surprised and honored that he said yes", Connick said in 2003. "I think he's the most soulful country singer probably of all time."
An animated TV Christmas special "The Happy Elf", aired December 2, 2005 on NBC, and was released on DVD. The special is based on Connick's original song, "The Happy Elf". When asked about the song in 2003, Connick said, "'The Happy Elf' is another kid's song that came from thinking about how cool it would be to work in Santa's [work]shop."
On November 4, 2004, Harry for the Holidays was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the U.S. [2]
The album was also released as a DualDisc, with the DVD side containing both Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound mixes and high quality LPCM (better than CD) versions of the album's 16 tracks. Also included are excerpts from the above-mentioned network special; with performances of six songs, including his own "It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus" as well as a version of "Blue Christmas" (made famous, as Connick notes before the performance, by Elvis Presley during his 1968 comeback special). An interview with Connick and a trailer for The Happy Elf are also included.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Frosty the Snowman" | Steve Nelson, Jack Rollins | 3:34 |
2. | "Blue Christmas" | Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson | 3:23 |
3. | "The Christmas Waltz" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | 3:18 |
4. | "I Wonder As I Wander" | traditional | 3:07 |
5. | "Silver Bells" | Ray Evans, Jay Livingston | 3:58 |
6. | "Mary's Boy Child" | Jester Hairston | 5:10 |
7. | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie | 3:56 |
8. | "The Happy Elf" | Connick | 3:42 |
9. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram | 5:57 |
10. | "I Come With Love" | Connick | 4:43 |
11. | "Nature Boy" | eden ahbez | 3:49 |
12. | "O Little Town of Bethlehem" | Lewis H. Redner, Phillips Brooks | 3:25 |
13. | "I'm Gonna Be The First One" | Connick | 3:27 |
14. | "This Christmas" | Donny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor | 3:47 |
15. | "Nothin' New For New Year" (with George Jones) | Connick | 4:08 |
16. | "Silent Night" | Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr | 4:54 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [3] | Platinum | 1,100,000 [4] |
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20 U.S. albums, and ten number-one U.S. jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in U.S. jazz chart history as of 2009.
When My Heart Finds Christmas is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s first Christmas album. Released in 1993, it is among the most popular holiday collections of the past three decades in the United States. Connick Jr composed four songs for the album: "When My Heart Finds Christmas", "(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus", "The Blessed Dawn Of Christmas Day" and "I Pray On Christmas". The other songs are traditional Christmas songs and carols.
Lucien Barbarin was an American trombone player. Barbarin toured internationally with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and with Harry Connick Jr.
Other Hours: Connick On Piano Volume 1 is a jazz instrumental album, by Harry Connick Jr., released in 2003. The album features Connick on piano in the context of a small jazz group. Other Hours is his first quartet album, and it was also his first instrumental album in 13 years.
Blue Light, Red Light, a big band album by American artist Harry Connick Jr., released in 1991. The multi-platinum album features Connick's vocals and piano, accompanied by his 14-piece big band.
Star Turtle is an album by Harry Connick Jr., released in 1996, receiving a Gold Album Certification July 8, 2004. It is primarily a funk album but also features pop, Mardi Gras rhythms, ballads and rock.
"The Happy Elf" is a holiday song with music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr.
Oh, My NOLA is an album from Harry Connick Jr. with his big band. The album was released in 2007, and contains well-known songs associated with New Orleans, as well as 4 new songs composed by Connick, who sings and plays the piano, conducts, arranges and orchestrates the album.
Chanson du Vieux Carré: Connick On Piano, Volume 3 (2007) is Harry Connick Jr.'s 3rd album from Marsalis Music. It is recorded with his big band, and features mostly instrumental tracks except for two vocal tracks by band members Leroy Jones on "Bourbon Street Parade" and Lucien Barbarin on "Luscious".
Roomful of Blues is an American jump blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision". Since 1967, the group’s blend of swing, rock and roll, jump blues, boogie-woogie and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and many other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards. Billboard called the band "a tour de force of horn-fried blues…Roomful is so tight and so right." The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band.
Daryl Lynn Coley was an American Christian singer. At 14, Coley was a member of the ensemble "Helen Stephens and the Voices of Christ". He began performing with Edwin Hawkins in the Edwin Hawkins Singers and then worked with James Cleveland, Tramaine Hawkins, Sylvester, Pete Escovedo and others. Albums of his include Just Daryl, He's Right On Time: Live From Los Angeles, When The Music Stops and others.
It's Not Big It's Large is an album by Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, released in 2007. The recording was made live in studio.
What a Night! A Christmas Album, by American singer, pianist and bandleader Harry Connick Jr., was released on November 4, 2008., being his third Christmas album, since 1993's When My Heart Finds Christmas and 2003's Harry for the Holidays. The album consists of new recordings of Christmas classics, and new songs written by Connick.
A Swingin' Christmas is a Christmas album by Tony Bennett, released in 2008, that features the Count Basie Big Band. Bennett's daughter Antonia duets with him on one track.
Roger O'Neal Ingram is a jazz trumpeter, educator, author, and instrument designer. He played trumpet for the orchestras of Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Charles, and Harry Connick Jr.
"All Alone on Christmas" is a song written and arranged by Steve Van Zandt, and recorded by Darlene Love with members of both The E Street Band and The Miami Horns. It was originally featured on the soundtrack of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. It was also released as a 7-inch single and a CD single which included an instrumental version.
Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding is a 1993 four compact disc compilation album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding. The first three discs focus on studio material recorded for Stax records. These recordings are all original mono single or LP mixes. Three pre-Stax recordings and a demo recorded at Muscle Shoals are also included. The fourth disc, labeled "The Ultimate Live Otis Redding Show" was compiled from various live sources in an attempt to gather "the best version" of every song Otis ever recorded live and is mixed in stereo. The 100-page booklet includes testimonials from musicians and individuals from Redding's life, essays, a photo album, track listings, discographies, personnel and recording information.
Christmas Jazz Jam is a Christmas album by Wynton Marsalis that was released in 2009 by Compass Productions. Musicians on the album include Wessell Anderson on alto saxophone, Vincent Gardner and Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Victor Goines on tenor & soprano saxophone and clarinet, and Herlin Riley on drums.
Holiday for Swing is the second studio album and first Christmas album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane, released by Republic Records on September 30, 2014. It is available on CD, vinyl and as a digital download. The album is a collection of Christmas songs and contains collaborations with artists including Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles. It also features Frank Sinatra's bassist Chuck Berghofer as well as a 65-piece orchestra. The album is the follow-up to MacFarlane's Grammy-nominated 2011 debut album Music Is Better Than Words. Like Music Is Better Than Words, Holiday for Swing was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely.
No One Ever Tells You is the third studio album by American actor Seth MacFarlane. The album was released on September 30, 2015 through Republic Records. The album features Frank Sinatra's bassist Chuck Berghofer as well as a 65-piece orchestra. The album is the follow-up to MacFarlane's 2014 Christmas album Holiday for Swing. Like his two previous albums, No One Ever Tells You was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely. The album earned MacFarlane a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.