Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis

1986 studio album by Johnny Mathis

Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis

Studio album by

Johnny Mathis

Released| September 23, 1986[1]
Recorded| July 1986[2]
Studio| One on One Studios,
North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California,
Conway Studios,
Hollywood, California,
Ocean Way Recording,
Hollywood, California [3]
Genre|

* Vocal
* holiday[4]

Length| 33:28
Label| Columbia
Producer| Denny Diante[3]
Johnny Mathis chronology
| 16 Most Requested Songs
(1986)  | Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis
(1986)  | The Hollywood Musicals
(1986)

|
|

Alternate cover
Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [4]
People| negative[5]

Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis is the fourth Christmas album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 23, 1986,[1] by Columbia Records. This was Mathis's fourth holiday-themed LP and focused exclusively on secular material.

The album spent a week on Billboard magazine's Christmas Albums chart in the issue dated December 12, 1992,[6] (no such chart was published in 1986)[7] and two weeks on its Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in December 1994.[6]

The recording of "Jingle Bells" on this release is subtitled "(Let's Take a Sleigh Ride)" on the front and back covers of the album jacket.[3] (The CD booklet does not include song titles on the cover.) The track opens with background vocalists singing, "Let's take a sleigh ride, a merry sleigh ride," and the subtitle is inserted into each refrain of the chorus. Although no credit for additional lyrics is cited, the credit for the arranger of this rendition, Ray Ellis, is listed with the songwriter's name on the LP label.[3]

The album's opener, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", was featured in the 1992 holiday release Home Alone 2: Lost in New York[8] and included on its original soundtrack album.[9] In the issue of Billboard dated November 28, 2009, the list of the "Top 10 Holiday Songs (Since 2001)" places the Mathis recording at number 10.[10]

## Reception

[edit]

People magazine's reviewer, Ralph Novak, describes Mathis's singing on the album as "characteristically smooth, yet never very engaged", and feels that the arrangements "tend to big stringy orchestrations that are too much for intimacy and not passionate enough for majesty."[5]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks recorded in July 1986.[2] Personnel information taken from the liner notes for the original album:[3]

1. "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (Meredith Willson) – 2:14
* Jeremy Lubbock – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Jules Chaikin – contractor
2. "Toyland" from Babes in Toyland (Glen MacDonough, Victor Herbert) – 3:41
* Ray Ellis – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Joe Soldo – contractor
3. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Edward Pola, George Wyle) – 2:45
* Jeremy Lubbock – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Jules Chaikin – contractor
4. "Jingle Bells" (James Pierpont) – 2:54
* Ray Ellis – arranger, conductor
* Daren Klein – recording engineer
* Erno Neufeld – concertmaster
* Marion Klein – contractor
5. Medley – 5:09
a. "Christmas Is for Everyone" (Richard Loring, Dorothy Wayne)
b. "Where Can I Find Christmas?" from The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (Doug Goodwin)
* Ray Ellis – arranger, conductor
* Daren Klein – recording engineer
* Erno Neufeld – concertmaster
* Marion Klein – contractor
* International Children's Choir (Irene Bayless, director) – backing vocals
* The kids from St. Michael's School, North Hollywood – backing vocals
6. Medley from Santa Claus: The Movie – 4:03
a. "Every Christmas Eve" (Leslie Bricusse, Henry Mancini)
b. "Giving (Santa's Theme)" (Bricusse, Mancini)
* Henry Mancini – arranger, conductor
* Henry Mancini Orchestra & Chorus – performers
* Mick Guzauski – recording engineer
* Erno Neufeld – concertmaster
* Marion Klein – contractor
7. "The Christmas Waltz" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:36
* Ray Ellis – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Joe Soldo – contractor
8. "We Need a Little Christmas" from Mame (Jerry Herman) – 1:54
* Ray Ellis – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Joe Soldo – contractor
9. Medley – 3:44
a. "Caroling, Caroling" (Alfred Burt, Wilha Hutson)
b. "Happy Holiday" from Holiday Inn (Irving Berlin)
* Jeremy Lubbock – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Jules Chaikin – contractor
10. "It's Christmas Time Again" (Sonny Burke, John Elliot, James K. Harwood) – 4:28
* Jeremy Lubbock – arranger, conductor
* John Arrias – recording engineer
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Jules Chaikin – contractor

## Song information

[edit]

"Jingle Bells" is the oldest of the songs that Mathis covers here and was published under the name "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857.[11] "Toyland" originated in the 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland,[12] and "Happy Holiday" was first performed in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.[13] Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters reached number 19 on Billboard magazine's Records Most Played by Disc Jockeys chart and number 23 on its list of the Best-Selling Pop Singles of the week in 1951 with the first recording of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas".[14] Peggy Lee's rendition of "It's Christmas Time Again" was released in 1953,[15] and "Caroling, Caroling" first appeared on the 1954 LP The Christmas Mood by The Columbia Choir.[16]

"The Christmas Waltz" was written for Frank Sinatra[17] and debuted as the flipside to his 1954 cover of "White Christmas".[18] "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was written for The Andy Williams Show[19] and first appeared on The Andy Williams Christmas Album in 1963.[20] "We Need a Little Christmas" was first performed in the 1966 Broadway musical Mame.[21] "Where Can I Find Christmas?" comes from the 1973 TV special The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas,[3] and the medley of "Every Christmas Eve" and "Giving (Santa's Theme)" was part of the soundtrack of the 1985 film Santa Claus: The Movie.[22]

## Personnel

[edit]

From the liner notes for the original album:[3]

* Johnny Mathis – vocals
* Denny Diante – producer
* Richard Loring – musical consultant
* Monica Mancini – vocal contractor
* John Arrias – mixing engineer
* Chris Bellman – mastering engineer
* Jo-Anne McGettrick – production coordinator
* Nancy Donald – art direction
* Tony Lane – art direction
* Peter Greco – lettering
* David Vance – photographer
* 24 Collection – wardrobe

* Jeff Bennett (One on One Studios) – assistant engineer
* Greg Dennen (One on One Studios) – assistant engineer
* Michael Dubois (One on One Studios) – assistant engineer
* Daren Klein (Conway Studios) – assistant engineer
* Richard McKernan (Conway Studios) – assistant engineer
* Joe Schiff (Ocean Way) – assistant engineer
* Toby Wright (One on One Studios) – assistant engineer
* Jessie Peck – Conway Studios assistant
* Joe Gastwirt (Digital Magnetics Studio) – compact disc preparation
* Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, California
* Mixed at Conway Studios, Hollywood, California

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## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b (2014) The Classic Christmas Album by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records 88843091032.
2. ^ a b (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
3. ^ a b c d e f g (1986) Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records FC 40447.
4. ^ a b "Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
5. ^ a b "Picks and Pans Review: Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis". People. December 8, 1986.
6. ^ a b Whitburn 2004, p. 167.
7. ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 106.
8. ^ "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - Soundtracks". imdb.com. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
9. ^ (1992) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York by various artists [CD booklet]. New York: Fox Records 07822 11000-2
10. ^ "Holiday Cheer". Billboard. 2009-11-28. p. 38.
11. ^ "The Story of Jingle Bells". American Music Preservation.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
12. ^ "Babes in Toyland". ibdb.com. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
13. ^ "Holiday Inn (1942) - Soundtracks". imdb.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
14. ^ Whitburn 1994, p. 35.
15. ^ (1953) "It's Christmas Time Again/Ring Those Christmas Bells" by Peggy Lee [7-inch single]. New York: Decca Records 9-28939.
16. ^ (1954) The Christmas Mood by The Columbia Choir [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CL 6336
17. ^ Cahn 1974, p. 138.
18. ^ (1954) "White Christmas/The Christmas Waltz" by Frank Sinatra [78 RPM disc label]. Los Angeles: Capitol Records CL 14174.
19. ^ Williams, Andy. Interviewed by Karen Herman. Archive of American Television, A Program of the Television Academy Foundation. emmytvlegends.org, 19 September 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
20. ^ (1963) The Andy Williams Christmas Album by Andy Williams [album label]. New York: Columbia Records CS 8887.
21. ^ "Mame". ibdb.com. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
22. ^ (1985) Santa Claus: The Movie – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by various artists [album jacket]. Los Angeles: EMI America Records SJ-17177

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Cahn, Sammy (1974). I Should Care: The Sammy Cahn Story. New York: Arbor House. ISBN 0-87795-090-3.
* Whitburn, Joel (1994), Joel Whitburn's Pop Hits, 1940-1954, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0898201063
* Whitburn, Joel (2004), Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004), Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-161-6

* v
* t
* e

Johnny Mathis

Studio albums|

* Johnny Mathis
* Wonderful, Wonderful
* Warm
* Good Night, Dear Lord
* Swing Softly
* Merry Christmas
* Open Fire, Two Guitars
* Heavenly
* Faithfully
* Johnny's Mood
* The Rhythms and Ballads of Broadway
* I'll Buy You a Star
* Live It Up!
* Rapture
* Johnny
* Sounds of Christmas
* Romantically
* Tender Is the Night
* The Wonderful World of Make Believe
* This Is Love
* Olé
* Broadway
* Love Is Everything
* The Sweetheart Tree
* The Shadow of Your Smile
* So Nice
* Johnny Mathis Sings
* Up, Up and Away
* Love Is Blue
* Those Were the Days
* Love Theme from "Romeo And Juliet" (A Time for Us)
* Give Me Your Love for Christmas
* Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
* Close to You
* Sings the Music of Bacharach & Kaempfert
* Love Story
* You've Got a Friend
* The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)
* Song Sung Blue
* Me and Mrs. Jones
* Killing Me Softly with Her Song
* I'm Coming Home
* The Heart of a Woman
* When Will I See You Again
* Feelings
* I Only Have Eyes for You
* Mathis Is...
* Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
* You Light Up My Life
* That's What Friends Are For
* The Best Days of My Life
* Mathis Magic
* Different Kinda Different
* I Love My Lady
* Friends in Love
* A Special Part of Me
* Right from the Heart
* Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis
* The Hollywood Musicals
* Once in a While
* In the Still of the Night
* In a Sentimental Mood: Mathis Sings Ellington
* How Do You Keep the Music Playing?
* All About Love
* Because You Loved Me: The Songs of Diane Warren
* Mathis on Broadway
* The Christmas Album
* Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album
* A Night to Remember
* Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville
* Sending You a Little Christmas
* Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook

Compilation albums|

* Johnny's Greatest Hits
* More Johnny's Greatest Hits
* Portrait of Johnny
* Johnny's Newest Hits
* I'll Search My Heart and Other Great Hits
* The Great Years
* People
* The Impossible Dream
* Johnny Mathis' All-Time Greatest Hits
* Johnny Mathis Sings the Great Songs
* The Johnny Mathis Collection
* The Mathis Collection
* Tears and Laughter
* The Best of Johnny Mathis 1975–1980
* The First 25 Years – The Silver Anniversary Album
* Celebration – The Anniversary Album
* 16 Most Requested Songs
* Better Together: The Duet Album
* The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection
* The Hits of Johnny Mathis
* The Ultimate Hits Collection
* The Essential Johnny Mathis
* The Very Best of Johnny Mathis
* Gold: A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration
* Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration
* The Ultimate Collection
* The Classic Christmas Album

Live albums|

* Johnny Mathis in Person: Recorded Live at Las Vegas
* Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole
* Live

Box sets|

* The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection
* The Complete Global Albums Collection
* The Singles
* The Complete Christmas Collection 1958–2010
* The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection

Singles|

* "Wonderful! Wonderful!"
* "It's Not for Me to Say"
* "Chances Are"
* "The Twelfth of Never"
* "Wild Is the Wind"
* "A Certain Smile"
* "Sleigh Ride"
* "Misty"
* "Gina
* "What Will Mary Say"
* "Beyond the Blue Horizon"
* "Remember When (We Made These Memories)"
* "Love Me Tonight"
* "Odds and Ends"
* "I'm Coming Home"
* "Life Is a Song Worth Singing"
* "When a Child Is Born"
* "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"
* "You're All I Need to Get By"

Other Songs|

* "Love Never Felt So Good"

Videos|

* Live by Request: Johnny Mathis
* Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful!

Related articles|

* Discography
* Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
* Family Ties
* Deniece Williams

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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