| Sounds of Christmas | ||||
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| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | 1963 | |||
| Genre | Christmas music | |||
| Label | Mercury Records | |||
| Producer | Don Costa | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
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| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Sounds of Christmas is the twenty first album released by vocalist Johnny Mathis. It was his seventeenth original studio album with four compilations of hit singles having been released by the singer to this point. It was his second Christmas album, originally released on Mercury Records in 1963.
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After a highly successful career as a recording artist with Columbia Records from 1956 to 1963, Johnny Mathis changed affiliations and moved to Mercury Records for which he recorded exclusively from 1963 to 1967, releasing ten studio albums and 13 singles. The change was motivated by greater control over his recordings including owning the masters. This album was the first to be recorded and released by the singer for Mercury.
As with Mathis's final studio albums for Columbia, Don Costa provided the album's musical direction. The album works well as a sequel to his previous Christmas collection, Merry Christmas, as it also seamlessly blends traditional Christmas carols ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") with classical musical ("Hallelujah Chorus") and popular Christmas songs ("Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer").
In 1971, Columbia Records reissued the album as Christmas with Johnny Mathis on their budget Harmony Records imprint, with different cover art and omitting two songs ("The Little Drummer Boy" and "Have Reindeer, Will Travel") from the original lineup. This incarnation of the album was later reissued on compact disc.
Continuing his run of highly successful albums, on its original release this album peaked at #2 on the Billboard album chart, his twentieth consecutive album to chart.[1]
In the spoken patter at the outset of the Mathis/Bette Midler duet "Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" from Midler's 2006 holiday album "Cool Yule", Midler is heard describing Mathis as "the king of Christmas," a fitting title given his many holiday albums. To date, Mathis has recorded 5 holiday albums[2]:
| Album Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Merry Christmas | 1958 |
| Sounds Of Christmas | 1963 |
| Give Me Your Love For Christmas | 1969 |
| Christmas Eve With Johnny Mathis | 1986 |
| The Christmas Album | 2002 |