The Magic of Christmas (Nat King Cole album)

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The Magic of Christmas
Natmagic.jpg
Studio album by
Nat King Cole
Released1960
Recorded5–7 July 1960 at Capitol Studios, Hollywood[1]
GenreChristmas music
Length31 minutes
LabelCapitol
ProducerLee Gillette
Nat King Cole chronology
Wild Is Love
(1960) 		The Magic of Christmas
(1960) 		The Nat King Cole Story
(1961)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4.5/5 stars[2]

The Magic of Christmas is a 1960 album by Nat King Cole, arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael.[3]

This was Cole's only complete album of Christmas songs, although he had recorded several holiday singles earlier in his career. One of these, "The Christmas Song", originally recorded in 1946, was re-recorded for the 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story. In 1963 The Magic of Christmas was reissued under the title The Christmas Song, with that recording added to the track list in place of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and with new cover art.[4]

It is the best-selling Christmas album released in the 1960s, and was certified by the RIAA for shipments of 6 million copies in the U.S.[5] The 1963 version reached number 1 on Billboard's Christmas Albums chart and remained for two weeks.

Track listing[]

Side One
  1. "Deck the Halls" (Traditional)
  2. "Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)" (John Francis Wade)
  3. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (Traditional)
  4. "O Tannenbaum" (Traditional)
  5. "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillip Brooks, Lewis Redner)
  6. "I Saw Three Ships" (Traditional)
  7. "O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight)
Side Two
  1. "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley)
  2. "A Cradle in Bethlehem" (Alfred Bryan, Larry Stock)
  3. "Away in a Manger" (Traditional)
  4. "Joy to the World" (Lowell Mason, Isaac Watts)
  5. "The First Noel" (William B. Sandys)
  6. "Caroling, Caroling" (Alfred Burt, Wilha Hutson)
  7. "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr)
  • All tracks, save for "A Cradle in Bethlehem" and "Caroling, Caroling", are credited on the LP label as being adapted by Nat King Cole and Edith Bergdahl.[6]
  • The album was reissued in 1963 as The Christmas Song, with the title track added as the leadoff to Side 1 and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" omitted.[7]
  • An alternate, all-English performance of "O, Come All Ye Faithful" was recorded during the album sessions and first released in 1990 on the compilation album Cole, Christmas, & Kids.[8]

Personnel[]

Orchestra Members[1]
  • Piano: Milton Raskin
  • Guitar: John Collins
  • Bass played by: Lloyd Lunham
  • Arco Bass: Bob Stone
  • Drums: Lee Young
  • Percussion: John Cyr (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Ralph Hansell (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Dale Anderson
  • Harp: Kathryn Thompson
  • Violins: Harold Dicterow (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Dave Frisina (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Nate Kaproff (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Joe Livoti (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Emanuel Moss (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Lou Raderman (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Isadore Roman (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Victor Arno, Emil Briano, James Getzoff, Alex Murray, Erno Neufield, Ralph Schaeffer, Joseph Stepansky, Jerry Vinci, Israel Baker
  • Violas: Milt Thomas (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Alvin Dinkin (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Ray Menhennick (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Gary Nuttycombe (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Al Harshman, Lou Kievman
  • Cellos: Dave Filerman (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Armand Kaproff (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Ed Lustgarten (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Emmett Sargeant, Joseph Saxon

On A1-A2, A4, B1, B4:

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Weekly chart performance for The Christmas Song
Chart (1960–2021) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[9] 9
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[10] 19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 33
US Billboard 200[12] 6

Year-end charts[]

Year-end chart performance for The Christmas Song
Chart (2020) Position
US Billboard 200[13] 187

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Nat King Cole with Ralph Carmichael Orchestra. "Capitol Tower, Los Angeles, CA: July 5-7, 1960". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ The Magic of Christmas at AllMusic
  4. ^ "A Pile o' Cole's Nat King Cole website – The Magic of Christmas". Apileocole.alongthehall.com. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  5. ^ Grein, Paul (December 19, 2012). "Chart Watch Extra: Christmas Albums, From Bing to Buble". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Cole, Nat King (1960). The Magic of Christmas (Liner Notes). Capitol Records.
  7. ^ Cole, Nat King (1963). The Christmas Song (Album Notes). Capitol Records.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Cole, Nat King (1990). Cole, Christmas and Kids (Liner Notes). Capitol Records.
  9. ^ "Nat King Cole Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "Nat King Cole Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  13. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2020.

External links[]

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