| To Wish You a Merry Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The 1962 reissue LP cover. | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1958 | |||
| Recorded | 1958 | |||
| Genre | Vocal, Christmas | |||
| Length | 45:56 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Ed Welker | |||
| Harry Belafonte chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
To Wish You a Merry Christmas is an album by Harry Belafonte Recorded May 27, 31, June 1, 3 and 8 of 1958 in Hollywood. Conducted by Bob Corman. Millard Thomas and Laurindo Almeida, guitarists. Produced and directed by Ed Welker.
To Wish You a Merry Christmas was originally released in 1958 as RCA Victor catalog number LPM/LSP-1887. The original LP cover featured an illustration of the Three Wise Men and a listing of the songs in front.
Side 1:
Side 2:
The album was repackaged in 1962 as RCA Victor catalog number LPM/LSP-2626, with a different cover (with Belafonte's picture this time) and adding the song "Mary's Boy Child" (from An Evening with Belafonte ) to Side 2. The credits are also slightly different, listing conductor Bob Corman as Robert De Cormier.
Side 1: identical to the 1958 release.
Side 2:
In 1976, the songs were repackaged again, under the title Belafonte's Christmas, from RCA Records Canada, catalog number KNLI-0166 . The tracks are identical to the 1962 release, except that sides 1 and 2 have been switched (i.e. the first song of the album is now "Mary's Boy Child"). A completely different picture of Belafonte is used on the cover.
In 2001, RCA reissued the album on CD as Harry Belafonte Christmas, with five bonus tracks added:
"Mary's Boy Child" is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. It is widely performed as a Christmas carol. The tune used in "Hark now hear the angels sing, a new king born today", comes from the folk song "Bingo".
Calypso is the third studio album by recording artist Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor (LPM-1248) in 1956. The album became his second consecutive number-one album on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, where it peaked for 31 weeks. Calypso was the first Long Play record album to sell over one million copies.
Robert Romeo De Cormier Jr. sometimes known as Bob Corman, was an American musical conductor, arranger, and director. He arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, Paul and Mary, and worked with Milt Okun.
Belafonte at Carnegie Hall is a live double album by Harry Belafonte issued by RCA Victor. It is the first of two Belafonte Carnegie Hall albums, and was recorded on April 19 and April 20, 1959. The concerts were benefits for The New Lincoln School and Wiltwyck School, respectively. The album stayed on the charts for over three years.
Jump Up Calypso is an album by Harry Belafonte, originally released by RCA Victor in 1961. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.
Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall is a live double album by Harry Belafonte. It is the second of two Belafonte Carnegie Hall albums, and was recorded May 2, 1960. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Pop albums charts.
Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor (LPM-1505) in 1957.
Swing Dat Hammer is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor (LPM/LSP-2194) in 1960. It is a collection of chain gang work songs. The last cut is a collection of workmen conversations.
In My Quiet Room is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1966. The orchestra was conducted by Howard A. Roberts and arranged by Hugo Montenegro, with musical coordination by Bill Eaton.
Calypso in Brass is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1966. The album contains new arrangements of previously recorded songs, notably from Calypso and Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean, with a brass ensemble accompaniment. The orchestra was conducted by Howard A. Roberts and arranged by Bob Freedman.
The Christmas Sessions is the first Christmas album by American Christian rock band MercyMe. The album, produced by Brown Bannister, was released on September 27, 2005. The band, who greatly enjoy Christmas, had previously recorded Christmas songs and enjoyed the process so much that they wanted to produce a full-length album. After releasing a studio album in early 2004, they decided to take time off; they realized they could record a Christmas album over that period and began work in December 2004. The band, aiming to produce a rock-oriented album, recruited Bannister, a noted rock producer, to produce it. In addition to one original song, "Joseph's Lullaby", the album consists of covers of both modern and traditional Christmas songs that the band members had listened to when growing up.
The Many Moods of Belafonte is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor (LSP-2574) in 1962. The album features performances by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and vocalist Miriam Makeba.
An Evening with Belafonte is a studio album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1957.
The Essential Harry Belafonte is a two-disc compilation recording by Harry Belafonte, released in 2005 on the Legacy label. The 37 tracks span Belafonte's career from 1952 to 1977, including his RCA Victor and Columbia Records releases. All selections for inclusion were made by Belafonte himself.
The Three Suns was an American pop group, most popular during the 1940s and 1950s.
An Evening With Belafonte/Mouskouri is an album by Harry Belafonte and Nana Mouskouri, released by RCA Victor (LPM/LSP-3415) in 1966.
Twelve Songs of Christmas is an album by Jim Reeves released in the US in 1963. It was Reeves' first and only Christmas-themed release. The album was released by RCA Victor in stereo (LSP-2758) and mono (LPM-2758) respectively. The album was first released in South Africa as Merry Christmas from Jim Reeves as an eleven-track album. "Silver Bells" was recorded in July 1963 to create the twelve track US album released in 1963.
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.
Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music was Perry Como's first Christmas album, originally issued by RCA Victor as a 78 RPM album set in 1946. The original release included "O Little Town of Bethlehem" which was replaced in 1947 by Irving Berlin's famous song "White Christmas". This album, along with Como's later stereophonic Christmas albums, Season's Greetings from Perry Como and The Perry Como Christmas Album, from 1959 and 1968 respectively, are among the best-selling Christmas albums of all time. RCA has reissued Merry Christmas Music on LP, tape and compact disc several times.
Christmas Jollies is the third album released by Vincent Montana Jr. and his first Christmas album. It was recorded and released on Salsoul Records in November 1976. The album includes a few new Christmas tunes, co-written by Vincent Montana Jr. himself, entitled, "There's Someone Who's Knocking" with the children's chorus singing, "Merry Christmas All" with his daughter, Denise Montana, singing the lead and "Christmas Time" with the sweet honeyed-voices of the session girl-group, The Sweethearts of Sigma, that features group members Barbara Ingram, Evette Benton and Carla Benson. This highly successful album also includes disco renditions of "The Little Drummer Boy", "Sleigh Ride" and so on, plus the orchestrated instrumental version of "Silent Night". Side two is semi-instrumental with two different medleys, such as "Christmas Medley" with the family chorus singing and "New Year's Medley" with The Salsoul Singers singing in the background. Christmas Jollies went on to become the best-selling holiday albums of 1976 and 1977.
