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Christmas Songs by Sinatra

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Christmas Songs by Sinatra
Studio album by
Frank Sinatra
Released1948 (78 rpm and 10" LP)
RecordedNovember 14, 1944 – November 5, 1950
Genre
Length23:53
LabelColumbia
Frank Sinatra chronology
Songs by Sinatra
(1947) 		Christmas Songs by Sinatra
(1948) 		Frankly Sentimental
(1949)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Christmas Songs by Sinatra is the third studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. It was released on October 4, 1948 as a 78 rpm album set of four 78 rpm records in an actual album and as a 10" LP record (CL 6019) featuring a collection of eight holiday songs. It included four songs previously released as singles, one recorded four years earlier in 1944, and four songs not released as singles, one recorded July 3, 1947 (“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas") and three recorded on December 28, 1947 for the album.

Columbia reissued the album several times in later years with alternate track listings and different artwork. 1957 saw the first 12" release as Christmas Dreaming (CL 1032) with the addition of "Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year)" (recorded July 3, 1947) and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (recorded November 5, 1950), though the latter was dropped from later releases when the album was reissued and retitled as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Harmony HS 11200) in October 1966. This version peaked at #42 on Billboard's Best Bets For Christmas album chart on December 21, 1968.[2]

A compilation album was released in 1994 including the eight songs released on the 1948 album (three original takes; five previously unreleased alternate takes) along with the two other Christmas songs he recorded at Columbia. It also includes an introduction by a general and four recording from rehearsals or broadcasts of songs performed on radio shows and issued only as V-Discs to American military during WW II.[3]

A stylized paper craft version of the LP album with its original 1948 Christmas tree cover art is prominently featured in the official music video for Sinatra's "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!".[4] However, the 1948 version of the album did not contain the track.

Track listing

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1948 78rpm 4-disc

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Source:[5]

Disc 1 (Columbia)

  • A. "Silent Night" (8/27/45)
  • B. "Adeste Fideles" "(All Ye Faithful)" (8/8/46)

Disc 2 (Columbia)

  • A. "White Christmas" (11/14/44)
  • B. "Jingle Bells" (8/8/46)

Disc 3 (Columbia)

  • A. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (12/28/47)
  • B. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (12/28/47)

Disc 4 (Columbia)

  • A. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (7/3/47)
  • B. "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (12/28/47)

1948 10" LP record (Columbia)

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Side A

  1. "White Christmas"
  2. "Jingle Bells"
  3. "Silent Night"
  4. "Adeste Fideles"

Side B

  1. "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
  2. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
  3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
  4. "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"

1994 compilation album: CD / Track listing

[edit]
  1. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 3:29+
  2. "Silent Night" (Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber) – 3:16+
  3. "Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)" (Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade) – 2:36
  4. "Jingle Bells" (James Pierpont) – 2:35+
  5. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 2:33
  6. "Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year)" (Irving Gordon, Lester Lee) – 2:57
  7. "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (Edmund Sears, Richard Storrs Willis) – 3:31+
  8. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillips Brooks, Lewis Redner) – 3:03
  9. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) – 2:33+
  10. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:35
  11. Introduction by General Reynolds, Chief of Special Services – 0:59
  12. Medley: "O, Little Town of Bethlehem"/"Joy to the World"/"White Christmas" (Brooks, Redner)/(Isaac Watts, Lowell Mason)/(Berlin) – 5:15
  13. "Ave Maria" (Franz Schubert) – 3:28^
  14. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2:03^
  15. "The Lord's Prayer" (Albert Hay Malotte) – 3:34^

+ previously unreleased alternate take

^ previously unreleased

Charts

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Chart performance for Christmas Songs by Sinatra
Chart (1948–2023) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 12
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 58
Italian Albums (FIMI)[9] 64
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[10] 37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] 20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 28
US Billboard 200[13] 71

References

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  1. ^ Christmas Songs by Sinatra at AllMusic
  2. ^ "Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 80, no. 51, December 21, 1968, p. 69. worldradiohistory.com
  3. ^ "(Liner notes)”, ‘’Christmas Songs by Sinatra, Columbia Records, 1994, CK 66413
  4. ^ "Frank Sinatra - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Frank Sinatra Vevo. November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Albin, Steve (14 November 2021). "Frank Sinatra - The Columbia Years — 1942 - 1946". www.jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  6. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Sinatra – Christmas Songs by Sinatra" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "Frank Sinatra: Christmas Songs by Sinatra" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Sinatra – Christmas Songs by Sinatra" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Frank Sinatra – Christmas Songs by Sinatra". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "2023 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  11. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Frank Sinatra – Christmas Songs by Sinatra". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Frank Sinatra – Christmas Songs by Sinatra". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "Frank Sinatra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
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