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1960 studio album by Nat King Cole
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AllMusic
[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 .
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.
[4] The 1963 version reached number 1 on
Billboard 's Christmas Albums chart and remained for two weeks.
Track listing
Side one
"
Deck the Halls " (Traditional)
"
Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful) " (
John Francis Wade )
"
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen " (Traditional)
"
O Tannenbaum " (Traditional)
"
O, Little Town of Bethlehem " (
Phillip Brooks ,
Lewis Redner )
"
I Saw Three Ships " (Traditional)
"
O Holy Night " (
Adolphe Adam ,
John Sullivan Dwight )
Side two
"
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing " (
Felix Mendelssohn ,
Charles Wesley )
"A Cradle in
Bethlehem " (
Alfred Bryan , Larry Stock)
"
Away in a Manger " (Traditional)
"
Joy to the World " (
Lowell Mason ,
Isaac Watts )
"
The First Noel " (
William B. Sandys )
"
Caroling, Caroling " (
Alfred Burt , Wihla Hutson)
"
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.
[5]
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.
[6]
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 .
[7]
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:
The Christmas Song reissue
The Christmas Song cover of a 2009 reissue
In 1999 The Magic of Christmas was reissued under the title The Christmas Song , with several added tracks including an alternate version of "The Christmas Song" with Cole's daughter, and with new cover art.
[8] This version of the album was placed at number 38 on Rolling Stone ' s top 65 greatest Christmas albums of all time.
[9]
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
^
a
b Nat King Cole with Ralph Carmichael Orchestra.
"Capitol Tower, Los Angeles, CA: July 5-7, 1960" . Jazz Disco. Retrieved May 30, 2021 .
^
Allmusic review
^
The Magic of Christmas at
AllMusic
^ Grein, Paul (December 19, 2012).
"Chart Watch Extra: Christmas Albums, From Bing to Buble" .
Yahoo! Music . Retrieved December 19, 2012 .
^ Cole, Nat King (1960). The Magic of Christmas (Liner Notes) . Capitol Records.
^ Cole, Nat King (1963). The Christmas Song (Album Notes) . Capitol Records.
^
a
b Cole, Nat King (1990). Cole, Christmas and Kids (Liner Notes) . Capitol Records.
^
"A Pile o' Cole's Nat King Cole website – The Magic of Christmas" . Apileocole.alongthehall.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012 .
^ Edwards, Gavin (November 30, 2019).
"40 Essential Christmas Albums" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved December 24, 2021 .
^
"Austriancharts.at – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
^
"Ultratop.be – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
^
"Ultratop.be – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
^
"Nat King Cole Chart History (Canadian Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
^
"Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 1, 2024" .
Hitlisten . Retrieved January 3, 2024 .
^
"Dutchcharts.nl – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
^
"Albumit 52/2022" (in Finnish).
Musiikkituottajat . Retrieved January 1, 2023 .
^
"Offiziellecharts.de – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" (in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
^
"Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 52. hét" (in Hungarian).
MAHASZ . Retrieved January 4, 2024.
^
"Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 52 – 2023" [The Music – Albums – Week 52 – 2023] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi.
Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023 .
^
"Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
^
"Album – Classifica settimanale WK 52 (dal 22.12.2023 al 28.12.2023)" (in Italian).
Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved December 30, 2023 .
^
"2022 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian).
AGATA . December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022 .
^
"Album 2022 uke 52" .
VG-lista . Retrieved December 31, 2022 .
^
"OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish).
OLiS .
Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . Note: Change the date to 22.12.2023–28.12.2023 under "zmień zakres od–do:" . Retrieved January 4, 2024.
^
"Swisscharts.com – Nat %22King%22 Cole – The Christmas Song" . Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
^
"Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version) Tops Billboard 200 for Fifth Week" .
Billboard . Retrieved January 1, 2024 .
^
"Nat King Cole Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019" . Billboard . Retrieved October 2, 2021 .
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020" . Billboard . Retrieved December 5, 2020 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020" . Billboard . Retrieved October 2, 2021 .
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021" . Billboard . Retrieved December 3, 2021 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021" . Billboard . Retrieved December 3, 2021 .
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2022" . Billboard . Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2022" . Billboard . Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023" . Billboard . Retrieved November 23, 2023 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2023" . Billboard . Retrieved November 23, 2023 .
^
"Danish album certifications – Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song" .
IFPI Danmark . Retrieved December 29, 2022 .
^
"American album certifications – Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song" .
Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 24, 2022 .
External links
Studio albums Compilation albums Tribute albums Songs Family