Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the United Kingdom. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time as well as his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible – which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and several European charts. Bublé's 2009 album Crazy Love debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 after three days of sales, and remained there for two weeks. It was also his fourth number one album on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart. His 2011 holiday album, Christmas, was in first place on the Billboard 200 for the final four weeks of 2011 and the first week of 2012, totalling five weeks atop the chart, it also made the top 5 in the United Kingdom. With this, Christmas became his third-consecutive number-one album on the chart. To Be Loved was released in April 2013. Bublé has sold over 40 million records worldwide, and won numerous awards, including four Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. Bublé is a dual citizen of Canada and Italy.
"The Little Drummer Boy" is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family Singers, the song was further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale; the Simeone version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since. In the lyrics, the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the Nativity of Jesus. Without a gift for the Infant, the little drummer boy played his drum with approval from Jesus's mother, Mary, recalling, "I played my best for him" and "He smiled at me".
A Very Special Christmas is the title of an ongoing series of Christmas music compilation albums that benefit the Special Olympics. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as U2, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi, Madonna, The Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, Whitney Houston, Run–D.M.C., Jason Mraz, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with one of the most famous covers being attributed to The Ronettes in 1963.
"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.
A Very Special Christmas 2 is the second in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 20, 1992, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine, Vicki Iovine and Robert Sargent Shriver for A&M Records. Tupac Shakur was supposed to be featured on the album, but due to legal trouble his song was dropped.
"Back Door Santa" is a song written by Clarence Carter and Marcus Daniel, and originally performed by Carter. It was released as single in 1968 and included on the compilation album Soul Christmas that same year. The track is in a 12-bar blues format. The lyrics are sexually suggestive, not having much to do with Christmas as a holiday.
A Very Special Christmas 5 is the fifth in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. Several of the album's tracks were recorded live in Washington, D.C. in December 2000 at a benefit concert hosted by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. The album was released on 30 October 2001, with production supervision by Bobby Shriver, Jon Bon Jovi, and Joel Gallen for A&M Records.
A Very Special Christmas Live is the fourth in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas music-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was recorded live in Washington, D.C. in December 1998 at a benefit party held by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Special Olympics. It was released on 19 October 1999, and production was overseen by Bobby Shriver for A&M Records.
A Very Special Acoustic Christmas is the sixth in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas music-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released in 2003 by Lost Highway Records. As opposed to earlier editions that contained a wide variety of musical styles, this edition of A Very Special Christmas featured primarily country and bluegrass artists. It also uses cover art unique to the series, minimizing the Keith Haring artwork that serves as the series trademark.
A Very Special Christmas is the first in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 12, 1987, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine for A&M Records. A Very Special Christmas has raised millions of dollars for the Special Olympics. The cover artwork was designed by Keith Haring.
A Very Special Season is the twentieth studio album and first holiday album by American singer Diana Ross. It was released by EMI on November 14, 1994 in the United States. Produced by Nick Martinelli, whom Ross worked with several times around the early nineties, it is a lush, soulful pop album, consisting mostly of traditional Christmas standards as well as takes on more contemporary songs by Burt Bacharach, John Lennon, and Stevie Wonder. The set was only released for the international market where it peaked at number 37 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Merry Christmas Baby" is an R&B Christmas standard credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore and originally recorded in 1947 by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, featuring the singer and pianist Charles Brown. It has been covered by many artists, including Chuck Berry, Ike & Tina Turner, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, and Melissa Etheridge.
Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces, visual effects, and highly choreographed staging.
Home for Christmas is a Christmas album and the seventh studio album by American singer Sheryl Crow, first released in 2008 exclusively at Hallmark stores. The album was re-released in 2010 exclusively at Target stores with new artwork. In 2011, it finally received a major release worldwide, on CD and as a digital download. As of December 2011, it has sold 40,000 copies in the US.
"Christmas in Hollis" is a single by Run-DMC that was included on two 1987 Christmas compilation albums featuring various artists: A Very Special Christmas and Christmas Rap. When Bill Adler first asked Run-DMC to contribute to "A Very Special Christmas"—the first in a series of various artists compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics—they refused. After Bill—who was then the director of publicity for Rush Productions, which managed Run-DMC—gave the band the idea for "Christmas in Hollis," they changed their minds and agreed to be on the album. The track was produced by the group along with Rick Rubin and was originally released as a single in 1987 by A&M. In 2000, thirteen years after it was first released, it reached number 78 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
A Very Special Christmas 7 is a collection of Christmas songs covered by current artists. The compilation album is the seventh in the A Very Special Christmas series of albums. The album was released on November 23, 2009 and proceeds from the sales benefited the Special Olympics.
A Very Gaga Holiday is a live EP released by Lady Gaga, containing songs performed on the ABC holiday television special A Very Gaga Thanksgiving. It was made available for purchase in the United States on November 22, 2011, exclusively on the iTunes Store and Amazon, and on November 26 in the rest of the world. The EP is made up of jazz covers of the songs "Orange Colored Sky" and "White Christmas", the latter featuring an extra verse added by Gaga herself, and acoustic versions of "You and I" and "The Edge of Glory", both songs originally from the singer's second studio album, Born This Way (2011). A recurring theme on the EP is Gaga stopping midway through singing to talk about background information on the songs with her listeners.
A Very Special Christmas: 25 Years Bringing Joy to the World is the eighth in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas music-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 16, 2012.
