Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its Fresh Aire series of albums, which blend classical music with elements of new age and rock, and for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.[3][4]
Before the fame of Steamroller, Davis had been best known for collaborating with his friend Bill Fries on the songs of the country music character "C. W. McCall", of "Convoy" fame. The song was based on the character created by Fries and music composed by Davis for a series of Clio winning ads for Metz Baking Company for their Old Home Bread product.[6] Davis was named 1976's Country Music Writer of the Year, a genre he is not fond of.[7]
Even before the height of McCall's popularity, Davis produced an unusual album of classical music performed entirely by Davis and musical collaborator and keyboardist Jackson Berkey, using electric bass (played by Eric Hansen) and synthesizers.
Fresh Aire and American Gramaphone
Since no major label would handle the distribution of Fresh Aire, Davis founded his own music label, American Gramaphone[8] (a play on the German classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), to release the album, which was published in 1975 under the pseudonym Mannheim Steamroller. Fresh Aire II was subsequently released in 1977, and Fresh Aire III was released in 1979. The first four Fresh Aire albums constituted an exploration of the four seasons, with Fresh Aire being spring, Fresh Aire II being fall, Fresh Aire III being summer, and Fresh Aire IV being winter. All four of these albums maintained the blend of baroque classical music, light jazz, and rock and featured Jackson Berkey's virtuosic keyboard work. Davis and Berkey used whatever instrument seemed appropriate to the piece, using a toy piano on one piece and a full pipe organ on another, with copious interleaving of piano and harpsichord. In 1981 Davis released Fresh Aire Interludes, an album that compiled Berkey's ten piano interludes from the first four Fresh Aire albums.
Davis then moved into exploring some other themes, with Fresh Aire V subtitled "To the Moon", Fresh Aire VI exploring Greek mythology, Fresh Aire 7 based on the number 7, and Fresh Aire 8 based on the theme of infinity. A live tour of the early albums featured a prominent light show and multimedia components, along with spoken poetry by Almeda Berkey. While the music was slightly different from the album versions, it was played in lockstep at each show, as it had to coordinate the live musicians with recorded tracks of strings and other orchestral parts.
In 1986, Mannheim Steamroller released music composed for a PBS special called Saving the Wildlife, which featured one track from Fresh Aire VI and twelve new tracks.[9][10] In 1987, Davis collaborated with guitarist/composer Mason Williams for the album Classical Gas. The music was composed entirely by Williams but produced and arranged by Davis. The album opens with a remake of Williams' 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas", which used the original arrangement.
Christmas music success
Steamroller found its greatest fame beginning in 1984 when Davis released his first holiday album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, featuring modern contemporary interpretations of Yuletide favorites. This was followed by A Fresh Aire Christmas in 1988.
Steamroller's Christmas music caught the ear of conservativetalk radio host Rush Limbaugh when it was used as bumper music for football games toward the end of the NFL season around the holidays.[11] In turn, he began using it as bumper music on his radio show during the holiday season.[12] As a result, Manheim Steamroller found a whole new audience among conservatives, and became one of the most requested Christmas music artists of all time.[13]
Steamroller released Christmas in the Aire in 1995. Like its two predecessors, it showcased creative approaches to old carols, as well as some new carol-like compositions. At the end of 1997, they released a live album of Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live. Their fourth all-new Christmas album, Christmas Extraordinaire, was released in 2001. While Steamroller's third and fourth Christmas releases sold well, they fell short of the sales of Christmas and A Fresh Aire Christmas. Christmas Celebration, a compilation of favorite tracks from the previous studio albums (with one new song), was released in 2004.
The studio album Christmas Song was released in late 2007 and features guest vocals by Johnny Mathis and Olivia Newton-John (on a remake of "Christmas Lullaby" from their third Christmas album). Steamroller co-founder Jackson Berkey is absent from the lineup. The CD Christmasville was released in 2008. Their next release was a 25th anniversary Christmas box set consisting of previously released material, and in 2011 they released Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony with members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.[14]
Manheim Steamroller's top nine best selling albums are all Christmas albums.[15]
Other work
Musically, as the 1990s progressed, Davis moved into the mainstream of "progressive rock" music with a heavier reliance on synthesized instruments and less humor. Titles like "Small Wooden Bach'ses" from Fresh Aire III were not seen, nor mechanisms like the creative use of a cricket on the same album or the Gregorian chant on Fresh Aire II. Davis's music became closer to the "light jazz" style that gained prominence in the 1990s, especially with the Day Parts albums.[citation needed]
Steamroller developed a full-length theatrical motion picture based on their Christmas albums, but the plans for production fell through. Instead, the following year, they collaborated with Olivia Newton-John for yet another Christmas album called The Christmas Angel: A Family Story, a mostly spoken-word recording scored with previously released material. The story was then turned into a figure skating production titled The Christmas Angel: A Story on Ice, starring Dorothy Hamill as the mother, Daniel Cloonan as the son, Elvis Stojko as the Gargon, and Tonia Kwiatkowski in the title role of the Angel. In 2003 they released a CD titled Halloween.
In addition to their Fresh Aire and Christmas collections, Steamroller has released: an album of Disney music (1999's Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse); an album celebrating American heritage, (2003's American Spirit, which reunited Davis with C.W. McCall and featured a remake of "Convoy"); and an album Yellowstone: The Music of Nature, for the PBS special of the same name, mixing prior Davis compositions and a series of classical pieces by Ottorino Respighi and others.[16]
During some holiday seasons, fans can listen to Chip narrate two special radio programs, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “An American Christmas” on Kim Komando's WestStar network. “12 Days” airs in the days leading up to Christmas and, on some stations, Christmas Eve. “An American Christmas” airs on Christmas Eve on most stations. In 2024, this expanded to a full Internet radio channel on Sirius XM Radio's online apps.[17]
Each segment of the programs is a mix of heartwarming Christmas stories accompanied by holiday music including Mannheim Steamroller’s signature Christmas sounds. You’ll learn the origin of our many Christmas traditions and other holiday stories.
The programs air coast to coast on WestStar affiliated radio stations as shown on the attached grid. Note that some times may change due to revised radio scheduling. So join Chip as he brings holiday cheer to the radio![18]
In 2008, Davis underwent surgery, which prevented him from touring or performing with the band. Rather than ultimately force the tour to stop while he recovered, Davis opted to hire additional musicians to replace him. He also decided to create two different lineups of the band, nicknamed the "red" and "green" touring companies which allows the band to reach more cities on their annual Christmas tour. [19]
A new album composed and performed in the design of the Fresh Aire series, Exotic Spaces, was set for release in March 2018.[20] The album features songs that were inspired by famous – and exotic – sites, such as Egypt's pyramids and the Taj Mahal.[20] Instrumentation comes from exotic and ethnic instruments mixed with the drums, harpsichord, and synthesizers. The album was officially released in September 2019, prior to the 2019 Christmas tour.
Mentioned in the existing CD liner notes are Ambience Ocean Song, Ambience Night Song and Ambience Desert Song; this series was apparently abandoned before their release.
The Music of the Spheres (re-release, added five tracks, removed one)
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2015
Live (live performance compilation)
85
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2019
Exotic Spaces (featuring 12 new tracks)
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1Billboard's Top New Age Albums chart became the New Age Albums chart in June 2009. 2Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart became the Holiday Albums chart in June 2009.
↑ Mannheim Steamroller also enlists a rolling roster of touring musicians who change every year. The musicians listed above are recording artists of Mannheim Steamroller who are also touring with the ensemble.
Louis F. "Chip" Davis Jr. is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller. Davis composed the music for several C. W. McCall albums, including the hit 1975 song "Convoy". He has also written and made other albums, such as Day Parts, and has written several books.
Christmas Celebration is a compilation album by Mannheim Steamroller. It is the group's seventh Christmas album overall. The album was released in 2004 on CD and DVD-Audio by American Gramaphone to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's first Christmas album.
American Gramaphone is an American record company based in Omaha, Nebraska. It is best known for releasing Chip Davis' new age solo and Mannheim Steamroller albums.
Christmas is the first Christmas album and sixth studio album released by American musical group Mannheim Steamroller. It was the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at No. 50.
Christmas in the Aire is the third Christmas album and twenty-first studio album released by American musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The album was originally released in 1995, and was the biggest-selling holiday album in the United States that year with sales of 1,844,000 according to Nielsen/SoundScan.
A Fresh Aire Christmas is the tenth studio album and second Christmas album by American musical group Mannheim Steamroller, released in 1988.
American Spirit is an album released on American Gramaphone in 2003 as a collaboration between Mannheim Steamroller and country musician C. W. McCall. The album focuses on American patriotic songs, hence the title. McCall contributed to a number of spoken word songs on the album and rerecorded his 1976 hit song "Convoy" for it; this was also the case with another song of his, "Wolf Creek Pass," which can be found on the album. McCall is a persona created by Bill Fries and Manheim Steamroller leader Chip Davis; Fries provides the vocals as McCall. This was the last album to feature C. W. McCall.
Fresh Aire is the first album by new-age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. It was originally released in 1975.
Fresh Aire II is the second album that new-age musical group Mannheim Steamroller originally released in 1977. Each of the first four Fresh Aire albums is based on a season; Fresh Aire II's theme is fall.
Fresh Aire III is the third album by the new-age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. It was originally released in 1979 on American Gramaphone. Each of the first four Fresh Aire albums is based on a season; Fresh Aire III's theme is summer. The opening track, Toccata, was played behind station IDs for OEPBS until 1986.
Fresh Aire 4 is the fourth album in new age musical group Mannheim Steamroller's Fresh Aire series. The album was originally released in 1981. Each of the first four Fresh Aire albums is based on a season; Fresh Aire 4's theme is Winter. The entire album was mixed and recorded digitally and was also one of the first CDs released.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live is Mannheim Steamroller's fourth Christmas album overall and was first released in time for the 1997 holiday season. It is a recorded live performance which includes variations on the arranged tracks featured in previous Steamroller albums.
Fresh Aire VI is Mannheim Steamroller's sixth album in the Fresh Aire series, and seventh overall. Fresh Aire VI was released in 1986, and is inspired by Greek mythology. It was Manheim Steamroller's first album to appear on the Billboard album chart, reaching #155 in January 1987.
Fresh Aire 8 is an album by Mannheim Steamroller, released in 2000. It is the final album in the Fresh Aire series and is based on the topic of infinity, with each track or suite representing a different "aspect of infinity." The tracks' topics include ancient Greek philosophy, Leonardo da Vinci, M. C. Escher's Waterfall, Mannheim Steamroller's mascot, and the Judgment of Anubis. A visual album was also released on DVD.
To Russia with Love is a 1994 album by Mannheim Steamroller, composed for the 1994 Goodwill Games. The album was recorded in St. Petersburg Philharmonia Hall.
Christmas Song is Mannheim Steamroller's fifth Christmas studio album and eighth overall. It was released in 2007 on CD by American Gramaphone, and features twelve Christmas songs. Steamroller co-founder Jackson Berkey does not appear on the album.
Jackson Berkey is an American composer, pianist and singer, best known for his work with Mannheim Steamroller, which he co-founded with Chip Davis in 1974.
Bird Song is part one of Mannheim Steamroller's three part Ambience collection. It was released in 2001 on CD & DVD by American Gramaphone and features eight bird song tracks.
Christmas Symphony is the twelfth Christmas music album released by American musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The album was originally released in 2011. Recorded in Prague, the album features the Czech Philharmonic, performing new recordings of previously released Mannheim Steamroller arrangements.
Visual Musik was a record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. It specialized in new age music. It was founded in 1987 by Carol Davis, ex-wife of Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller fame. Carol Davis had previously contributed photography and visuals to several early Mannheim Steamroller albums in the Fresh Aire series, as well as other albums released under Chip Davis' American Gramaphone label.
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