The Christmas Spirit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 11, 1963 | |||
Recorded | August 14, 1959–September 17, 1963 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:20 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer |
| |||
Johnny Cash chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from The Christmas Spirit | ||||
|
The Christmas Spirit is the first Christmas album and seventeenth album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in November 1963. It contains four original Christmas songs written by Cash and eight tracks originally written by other artists, including "Blue Christmas" (at this point best known through the version recorded by Cash's former Sun Records labelmate Elvis Presley), "Silent Night" and "Little Drummer Boy".
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Christmas Spirit" (incorporates "O Little Town of Bethlehem") | Cash | 5:03 |
2. | "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jean Baptiste Calkin | 2:30 |
3. | "Blue Christmas" | Bill Hayes, Jay Johnston | 2:25 |
4. | "The Gifts They Gave" | Cash | 3:34 |
5. | "Here Was a Man" | Johnny Bond, Tex Ritter | 2:44 |
6. | "Christmas as I Knew It" | Cash, June Carter, Jan Howard | 3:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Silent Night" | Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr | 3:29 |
8. | "The Little Drummer Boy" | Katherine Davis, Henri Onerati, Harry Simeone | 2:34 |
9. | "Ringing the Bells for Jim" | Carter, Howard | 2:47 |
10. | "We Are the Shepherds" | Cash | 3:13 |
11. | "Who Kept the Sheep" | Cash, Carter | 1:58 |
12. | "Ballad of the Harp Weaver" | Edna St. Vincent Millay | 4:22 |
Album - Billboard (United States)
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1963 | Holiday Albums | 7 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1959 | "The Little Drummer Boy" | Country Singles | 24 |
1959 | "The Little Drummer Boy" | Country Singles | 63 |
The Fabulous Johnny Cash is the second studio album by American country singer Johnny Cash and his first to be released by Columbia Records. The album was released on November 3, 1958, not long after Cash's departure from Sun Records.
American IV: The Man Comes Around is the sixty-seventh and final non-posthumous studio album by Johnny Cash. It was released on November 5, 2002, by American Recordings and Universal Records. It is the fourth in Cash's "American" series of albums, and the last album released during his lifetime, and is considered some of his finest work towards the end of his life. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Unchained, also known as American II: Unchained is the second album in Johnny Cash's American Recordings series. It was released on November 5, 1996, by American Recordings. Like all of Cash's albums for American Recordings, Unchained was produced by Rick Rubin. The album received a Grammy for Best Country Album and Cash was nominated for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his version of "Rusty Cage."
American III: Solitary Man is the sixty-sixth studio album by Johnny Cash. It was released on October 17, 2000, by American Recordings. It is the third album in Cash's American series, and the penultimate studio album to be released during his lifetime.
American V: A Hundred Highways is a posthumously released studio album by Johnny Cash. It was released on July 4, 2006, by American Recordings. As the title implies, it is the fifth entry in Cash's American series. Like its predecessors, the album is produced by Rick Rubin. It was Cash's first No. 1 album in 37 years. It was certified Gold on August 18, 2006, by the RIAA.
I Walk the Line is the nineteenth studio album by singer and songwriter Johnny Cash, featuring a handful of recent songs alongside new recordings of previous hits from his previous tenure at Sun Records. It was released on Columbia Records in 1964. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1967.
Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian is a 1964 concept album, the twentieth album released by singer Johnny Cash on Columbia Records. It is one of several Americana records by Cash. This one focuses on the history of Native Americans in the United States and their problems. Cash believed that his ancestry included Cherokee, which partly inspired his work on this recording. The songs in this album address the harsh and unfair treatment of the indigenous peoples of North America by Europeans in the United States. Two deal with 20th-century issues affecting the Seneca and Pima peoples. It was considered controversial and was rejected by some radio stations and fans.
I Walk the Line is a soundtrack album to a 1970 film of the same name starring Gregory Peck. Released that same year on Columbia Records, it is, in essence, a country album by Johnny Cash, as the entire soundtrack is composed solely of Cash songs, including a rearranged version of the famous title song. Also included is "Flesh and Blood", a ballad written by Cash which reached the top of the Country charts. The album was released on CD in 1999 backed with the soundtrack Little Fauss and Big Halsy [Bear Family Records 4000127161307]. The Bear Family release features an alternate longer version of the title song.
Little Fauss and Big Halsy is a soundtrack album to the 1970 film of the same name. Released on Columbia Records the same year, it features primarily songs by country singer Johnny Cash. The album includes tracks written by Cash, Carl Perkins and Bob Dylan, as well as several tracks performed by Perkins, but did not chart.
The Holy Land is a concept album, the third gospel album and 30th overall album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1969. He recorded the album inspired by a visit to Israel with his wife, June Carter Cash and in fact most of the album consists of on-site recordings made by Cash using a portable tape recorder during a visit describing what he sees as he visits holy sites in and around Jerusalem. The remainder of the album consists of gospel songs. The album was completed at Columbia Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, where overdubs were added to some of the on-site recordings and remaining songs were recorded. This album features the final Cash recordings made with original Tennessee Two lead guitarist Luther Perkins before Perkins' death.
The Mystery of Life is the 77th album by country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1991, and his last for Mercury Records. The songs featured are culled from both recent sessions and from leftovers from Cash's first Mercury session in 1986 for the album Johnny Cash is Coming to Town.
Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town is the 73rd album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1987, and his first for Mercury Records. It was re-released in 2003, paired with Boom Chicka Boom on a single CD. "Sixteen Tons" was previously a hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford, "The Big Light" is an Elvis Costello song from his album King of America, released the previous year and "Let Him Roll" is from Guy Clark's debut, Old No. 1. The album reached #36 on the country charts, while the only released single, "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town", peaked at #43.
America: A 200-Year Salute in Story and Song is a concept album and the 40th overall album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1972. As its title suggests, it comprises a number of tracks dedicated to the topic of American history, like several of Cash's other Americana albums. The record is a mix of songs and narration, in which Cash attempts to describe elements of the country's past, including famous personalities like Paul Revere or Big Foot. America also includes re-recordings of "Mr. Garfield", "The Road to Kaintuck", "Lorena," "Remember the Alamo" and "The Big Battle, songs previously released as singles or on albums dating back to 1959. Most of the tracks on the album were written by Cash, with some exceptions, including a rendition of the well-known song "The Battle of New Orleans" and a reading of Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address. The album was included on the Bear Family box set Come Along and Ride This Train.
The Rambler is an album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1977 on Columbia Records. A concept album about travelling, its songs, in between, include dialogue between Cash and hitchhikers picked up or other people he meets during the album's cross-country trip. It is the last, and one of the few Johnny Cash albums to only feature songs written by Cash himself. It is also his last non-religious concept album, and was included on the Bear Family box set Come Along and Ride This Train. The Rambler reached #31 on the country album charts; the two singles, "Lady" and "After the Ball", had minor chart success.
Ragged Old Flag is the 47th album by American country music singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1974. The album addresses several political as well as ethical issues, like many of Cash's other releases. The title track, and the only single from the album, is a spoken word tribute to patriotism amid the Watergate scandal. "Don't Go Near the Water" addresses another hot political issue of the time, the environment. All of the songs on the album were composed by Cash, save "I'm a Worried Man" by himself and June Carter Cash.
The Johnny Cash Family Christmas is the 41st overall and second Christmas album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1972. It is his second Christmas album, the first one being the 1963 release entitled The Christmas Spirit. The album includes less original Cash material than its predecessor and contains narrations and dialogue featuring his family and friends, between tracks. In all, three songs were written or co-written by Cash, while two, "Christmas as I Knew It" and "Silent Night", had been featured on The Christmas Spirit. June Carter Cash, Marshall Grant, Tommy Cash, Harold Reid, Larry Butler, Maybelle Carter, Anita Carter, Carl Perkins and Lew DeWitt are among those featured on the album.
One Piece at a Time is the 54th album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1976 on Columbia Records. "One Piece at a Time," which was a #1 hit, is a humorous tale of an auto worker on the Detroit assembly line who puts together a car out of parts he swipes from the plant. "Sold Out of Flag Poles" also charted as a single, reaching #29 on the country singles charts. "Committed to Parkview", a Cash original, would be re-recorded in 1985 by Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, collectively known as The Highwaymen, on their first album, Highwayman; it is one of the few country songs sung from the perspective of a patient at a mental hospital.
Carryin' On with Johnny Cash & June Carter is an album by Johnny Cash and June Carter released in 1967, on Columbia Records. The album consists exclusively of duets by Cash and Carter, including "Jackson"; "Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man" was also released as a single. One track, a cover of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me, Babe", dated back to 1964 and had previously been released on Cash's 1965 album, Orange Blossom Special.
American VI: Ain't No Grave is an album by Johnny Cash released posthumously on February 23, 2010 on American Recordings and Lost Highway Records. Its release was three days before Cash's 78th birthday. The tracks were recorded during the same sessions as American V: A Hundred Highways (2006), which took place during the final months of Cash's life. The album debuted at #3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 54,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, American VI: Ain't No Grave received generally positive reviews from music critics.
Today Is Christmas is the fourteenth studio album and second Christmas album by American singer LeAnn Rimes. Released in 2015, it features holiday classics and two original songs co-written by Rimes. The album has sold 35,700 copies in the United States as of January 2016.