A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
Studio album by
Frank Sinatra
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1957 (LP)
November 11, 1987 (CD)
RecordedMay 1 – July 10, 1957
StudioCapitol Studio A (Hollywood)
Genre
Length32:54
LabelCapitol
SM-894
ProducerVoyle Gilmore
Frank Sinatra chronology
Where Are You?
(1957) 		A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
(1957) 		Come Fly with Me
(1958)
Singles from A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
  1. "Mistletoe and Holly"
    Released: December 1957
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [2]

A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957.

This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album.[citation needed] It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along with an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins. Side One features secular holiday tunes, while Side Two has religious Christmas carols.

Capitol reissued the album in 1965 with different cover art and a new title, The Sinatra Christmas Album, both of which also featured on the album's initial 1987 compact disc pressing. The original title and cover were eventually restored for subsequent CD pressings in 1990 and 1999. In 2001, the album art was altered from its 1957 version. The CD bonus tracks were originally issued on a 1954 Capitol 45 rpm single, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.

In 2007 the album was reissued yet again, with a "50th Anniversary" banner placed atop the 2001 cover art and an additional bonus track (a vintage radio PSA that Sinatra did for the American Lung Association's "Christmas Seals" campaign) added.

In 2010, the album was reissued on vinyl for the first time since the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissue, #1-135, c. 1986 (separate from the 1983 16-LP box), exclusively to independent record stores.[citation needed]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jingle Bells"James Pierpont2:00
2."The Christmas Song"Mel Tormé, Robert Wells3:28
3."Mistletoe and Holly"Dok Stanford, Hank Sanicola, Frank Sinatra2:18
4."I'll Be Home for Christmas"Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram3:11
5."The Christmas Waltz"Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne3:03
6."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane3:29
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."The First Noel"Traditional, arranged by Gordon Jenkins2:44
8."Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley2:24
9."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Lewis H. Redner, Phillips Brooks2:06
10."Adeste Fideles"John Francis Wade2:34
11."It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"Edmund Sears, Richard Storrs Willis2:51
12."Silent Night"Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr2:31
Total length:32:39
CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."White Christmas (1954 single version)"Irving Berlin2:37
14."The Christmas Waltz (1954 single version)"Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne3:01
Total length:38:17

Personnel

Tracks 1, 5, 6, 7:

Frank Sinatra with The Ralph Brewster Singers and Orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins

Harry Bluestone, Joseph Livoti, Joseph Quadri, Lou Raderman, Marshall Sosson, Mischa Russell, Nicholas Pisani, Sol Kindler, Victor Amo, Walter Edelstein (vln); David Sterkin, Louis Kievman, Paul Robyn, William Baffa (via); Cy Bernard, Armand Kaproff (vie); Kathryn Thompson Vail (harp); Bill Miller (p); Allan Reuss (g); Jack Ryan, Nathaniel Gangursky (b); Nick Fatool (d); The Ralph Brewster Singers: Ralph Brewster, Barbara Ford, Betty Allan, Betty Noyes, Betty Wand, Beverly Jenkins, Bill Lee, Bill Thompson, Bob Wacker, Dorothy McCarty, Gene Lanham, Ginny Rees, Gloria Wood, Jimmy Joyce, John Mann, Lee Gotch, Loulie Jeanne Norman, Max Smith, Norma Zimmer, Peggy Clark, Ray Linn Jr., Robert Stevens, Sue Allen, Thora Mathiason, Thur Ravenscroft

16-July-1957 (Tuesday) - Hollywood. Capitol recording session no. E-33 - Capitol Tower (from 9 P.M. to 12 M.).

Tracks 2, 3, 4, 12

Frank Sinatra with The Ralph Brewster Singers and Orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins

David Frisina, Joseph Livoti, Joseph Quadri, Lou Raderman, Marshall Sosson, Mischa Russell, Nicholas Pisani, Sol Kindler, Victor Amo, Walter Edelstein (vln); David Sterkin, Louis Kievman, Paul Robyn, William Baffa (via); Cy Bernard, Armand Kaproff (vlc); Kathryn Thompson Vail (harp); Bill Miller (p); Allan Reuss (g); Jack Ryan, Nathaniel Gangursky (b); Ralph Hansell (d); The Ralph Brewster Singers: Ralph Brewster, Barbara Ford, Betty Allan, Betty Noyes, Betty Wand, Beverly Jenkins, Bill Lee, Bill Thompson, Bob Wacker, Dorothy McCarty, Gene Lanham, Ginny Rees, Gloria Wood, Jimmy Joyce, John Mann, Lee Gotch, Loulie Jeanne Norman, Max Smith, Norma Zimmer, Peggy Clark, Ray Linn Jr., Robert Stevens, Sue Allen, Thora Mathiason, Thurl Ravenscroft 17-July-1957 (Wednesday)- Hollywood. Capitol recording session no. E-34 - Capitol Tower.

Tracks 8, 9, 10, 11

Frank Sinatra with The Ralph Brewster Singers and Orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins

David Frisina, Harry Bluestone, Joseph Livoti, Joseph Quadri, Lou Raderman, Mischa Russell, Nicholas Pisani, Sol Kindler, Victor Arno, Walter Edelstein (vln); David Sterkin, Louis Kievman, Paul Robyn, William Baffa (via); Cy Bernard, Armand Kaproff (vie); Kathryn Thompson Vail (harp); Bill Miller (p); Allan Reuss (g); Jack Ryan, Nathaniel Gangursky (b); Nick Fatool (d); The Ralph Brewster Singers: Ralph Brewster, Barbara Ford, Betty Noyes, Gloria Wood, Loulie Jeanne Norman, Nonna Zimmer, Sue Allen, Thora Mathiason

Betty Allan, Betty Wand, Beverly Jenkins, Bill Lee, Bill Thompson, Bob Wacker, Dorothy McCarty, Gene Lanham, Ginny Rees, Jimmy Joyce, John Mann, Lee Gotch, Max Smith, Peggy Clark, Ray Linn Jr., Robert Stevens, Thurl Ravenscroft

10-July-1957 (Wednesday)- Hollywood. Capitol recording session no. E-32 - Capitol Tower (from 9 P.M. to 12 M.).

Tracks 13, 14

Frank Sinatra with Orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle

Si Zentner (tbn); George Roberts (b-tbn); Vincent DeRosa, John Cave (fr-h); James Williamson, Dominic Mumolo, Champ Webb, John Hacker (sax/wwd); Alex Beller, Felix Slatkin, Harry Bluestone, Henry Hill, Mischa Russell, Paul Shure, Victor Bay, Walter Edelstein (vln); David Sterkin, Stanley Harris (via); Cy Bernard, Eleanor Slatkin, Edgar Lustgarten (vlc); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p); Allan Reuss (g); Joe Comfort (b); Lou Singer, Alvin Stoller (d/perc ); Allan Davies, Betty Noyes, Betty Wand, Burton Dole, Charles Schrouder, Clark Yocum, Dorothy McCarty, Gil Mershon, Ginny Rees, Lee Gotch, Mack McLean, Marie Vernon, Norma Zimmer, Ray Linn Jr. (vocal on all sides).

23-August-1954 (Monday) - Hollywood. Capitol recording session no. 3507 - KHJ Studios (from 8 P.M. to 12 M.).

Charts

Chart performance for A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
Chart (2015–2024) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[3] 32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 54
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[6] 28
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 19
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 32
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 12
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[10] 31
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)[11] 27
Irish Albums (OCC)[12] 35
Italian Albums (FIMI)[13] 79
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[14] 20
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 14
US Billboard 200[18] 23

Certifications

Certifications for A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Balke, Jeff (November 28, 2019). "10 Old School Christmas Albums Worth a Listen". Houston Press. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  2. ^ A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra at AllMusic
  3. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Ultratop.be – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Album Top-40 Uge 1, 2024". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "Frank Sinatra: A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  10. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 52. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 52 (dal 22.12.2023 al 28.12.2023)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  14. ^ "2023 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Album 2022 uke 52". VG-lista. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  16. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 52, 2023". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  17. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  18. ^ "Frank Sinatra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – Frank Sinatra – A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra". Recording Industry Association of America.
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