Sounds of Christmas

Sounds of Christmas
Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released	1963
Genre	Christmas music
Label	Mercury Records
Producer	Don Costa
Johnny Mathis chronology
Romantically (1963) Sounds Of Christmas (1963) I'll Search My Heart and Other Great Hits (1964)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	Review

Sounds of Christmas is the 21st album released by the vocalist Johnny Mathis. It was his 17th 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.

Overview

After a highly successful career as a recording artist with Columbia Records from 1956 to 1963, Mathis moved to Mercury Records for which he recorded exclusively from 1963 to 1967, releasing ten studio albums and thirteen singles. The change was motivated by a desire for 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' 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 its budget Harmony Records imprint, with different cover art and omitting two songs ("The Little Drummer Boy" and "Have Reindeer, Will Travel") from the original track list. This incarnation of the album was later reissued on compact disc.

Track listing

1. "The Sounds of Christmas" - 2:35
2. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - 2:53
3. "A Marshmallow World" - 2:37
4. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - 3:19
5. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" - 4:12
6. "The Little Drummer Boy" - 3:32
7. "Have Reindeer, Will Travel" - 3:31
8. "The Secret of Christmas" - 4:12
9. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - 2:20
10. "Carol of the Bells" - 1:22
11. "Christmas Is a Feeling in Your Heart" - 3:03
12. "Hallelujah Chorus" - 4:02

Billboard album chart

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]

Johnny Mathis Christmas albums

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. In 2013, Mathis released his sixth original Christmas album. The six are:^[2]

References

1. ↑ All Music Billboard Album Chart position
2. ↑ Johnny Mathis Official Website Johnny Mathis Christmas albums listed on Discography page

External links

• All Music review