"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema.
Snowflakes is the fourth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on October 23, 2001, by Arista Records. Her first Christmas album, it is a follow-up to her 2000 studio album The Heat. Snowflakes consists of 11 tracks, featuring five R&B-led original songs co-penned with her former husband Keri Lewis and longtime collaborator Babyface, as well as several remixes and cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, one of which is a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy. Throughout the creation process, Braxton also collaborated with L.A. Reid, Poke & Tone, Daryl Simmons and her younger sister Tamar Braxton.
Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, and her first Christmas album. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling Christmas ringtone in the United States.
Miracles: The Holiday Album is the first holiday album and seventh studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on November 22, 1994, and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200, Contemporary Jazz Albums and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It was the overall best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States for both 1994 and 1996. It sold 2,987,000 copies in 1994 and 888,000 copies in 1996.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of Christmas. It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.
Merry Christmas is the seventh studio album recorded by Motown girl group The Supremes, and released on Motown Records in November 1965. The LP, produced by Harvey Fuqua, includes recordings of familiar Christmas songs such as "White Christmas", "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "My Favorite Things", and "Joy to the World". Two originals, "Children's Christmas Song" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me", were issued as a single.
"Merry Christmas, Darling" is a Christmas song by the Carpenters, and originally recorded in 1970. It was first available on a 7-inch single that year, and was later re-issued in 1974 and again in 1977. The single went to number one on Billboard's Christmas singles chart in 1970 and peaked at number 41 on Cashbox.
This Is Christmas is the first Christmas album by American singer Luther Vandross. It was released on October 18, 1995, by Epic Records. Produced by Vandross along with Nat Adderley Jr. and Marcus Miller, the album received mixed to negative reviews from music critics and peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard 200 and number 4 at both Billboard's Top Holiday Albums and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. A steady seller throughout the Christmas season, it was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), exceeding physical sales of 1,000,000 copies in 2002.
Star Bright is the fourth studio album and first Christmas album by Vanessa Williams, released on November 5, 1996, on Mercury Records. It achieved success as one of the best-selling holiday albums of 1996 and '97. It peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200, #24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #5 on the Top Holiday Albums. The album went on to be nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album and was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies.
Everlasting Love is the seventh studio album by Vanessa Williams, released in the United States on January 25, 2005 by Lava Records. Produced entirely by Rob Mathes, the album contains cover versions of 1970s soul love songs except for the final track, which is an original song. Covers include notably "You Are Everything" released as a single and also "Show and Tell" and the title track "Everlasting Love".
Vanessa Williams is an American actress and singer. In 1988, Williams released her debut album, The Right Stuff. The first single, "The Right Stuff", found success on the R&B chart, while the second single, "He's Got the Look", found similar success on the same chart. The third single, "Dreamin'", was a pop hit, becoming Williams's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 8, and her first number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album reached gold status in the US and earned her an NAACP Image Award and three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.
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.
Merry Christmas is the second Christmas album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released by Columbia Records in 1965, and his seventeenth studio album overall. This seasonal LP is focused exclusively on 20th century compositions, unlike 1963's The Andy Williams Christmas Album, which, of its 12 tracks, had six with origins predating the turn of the century.
Merry Christmas II You is the thirteenth studio album and second Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Island Records on November 2, 2010. Recording began in April 2010 and continued while Carey became pregnant. She was the executive producer of Merry Christmas II You and worked with various record producers, including Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Randy Jackson, James Poyser, Marc Shaiman, James "Big Jim" Wright and Johnny "Sev" Severin of RedOne. The album features Carey's mother Patricia Carey as a guest vocalist on "O Come All Ye Faithful" / "Hallelujah Chorus". The album serves as a sequel to her fourth studio album Merry Christmas (1994). It is composed of original songs and covers, ballads and uptempo tracks, incorporating R&B, soul, and house music in its composition.
A Mary Christmas is the eleventh studio album and first Christmas album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was released on October 15, 2013, by Matriarch, Interscope and Verve Records. The album was primarily produced by David Foster, and features guest appearances from Barbra Streisand, Chris Botti, Jessie J, The Clark Sisters, and Marc Anthony.
Winter Loversland is the first Christmas album, and third studio album overall, by American recording artist Tamar Braxton. The album was released on November 11, 2013, by Epic Records and Streamline Records.
Johnny Mathis has recorded 73 studio albums, 10 of which achieved sales of 500,000 units and were awarded Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Six of his compilation albums also accomplished this, and of these 16 Gold albums, six eventually went Platinum by reaching sales of one million copies. In 1999, sales figures totaled five million for his first holiday LP, Merry Christmas, and three million for Johnny's Greatest Hits, a 1958 collection that has been described as the "original greatest-hits package" and once held the record for most weeks on Billboard magazine's album chart with a total of 490. His second longest album chart run was the 295 weeks belonging to his Platinum 1959 album Heavenly, which gave him five weeks in the top spot. In a ranking of the top album artists of the last half of the 1950s in terms of Billboard chart performance, he comes in at number two, for the 1960s, number 10, and for the period from 1955 to 2009 he is at number six.
My Gift is the first Christmas album and seventh studio album by American country music singer Carrie Underwood. It was released on September 25, 2020, through Capitol Records Nashville. Produced by Greg Wells, My Gift features guest appearances from John Legend and Underwood's oldest son Isaiah.
Billboard magazine only charted Christmas singles and albums along with the other popular non-holiday records until the 1958 holiday season when they published their first section that surveys only Christmas music.
link 