'' is a seasonal offering by
The Beach Boys , released in the
1964 holiday period. Containing five original songs and seven standards, the album proved to be a long-running success for subsequent X-mas seasons, initially reaching #6 in the US Christmas album chart in its year of release and eventually going gold.
Of the original songs, "Little Saint Nick" was already famous, having been a hit single the year before, and is now considered to be very much a standard alongside most Christmas favorites. "The Man With All The Toys" was another hit during Christmastime
1964 . "Christmas Day" is noteworthy for being the first Beach Boys song to feature a lead vocal from
Al Jardine .
While leader
Brian Wilson produced and arranged the "rock" songs, he left it to Dick Reynolds, an arranger of
The Four Freshmen , a group Wilson idolized, to arrange the orchestral backings on the traditional songs to which The Beach Boys would apply their vocals. Of the many highlights, there are "We Three Kings Of Orient Are", "Blue Christmas" (with one of Brian Wilson's best-ever vocals) and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town".
''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' has gone down in history as one of the best-loved Christmas albums and, after releasing an incredible ''four'' albums in
1964 (in addition to the single hits they were having), The Beach Boys were able to put a very successful and exhausting year behind them.
#"
Little Saint Nick " (
Brian Wilson /
Mike Love ) - 2:00
- ''Features Mike Love on lead vocals''
- ''Album version is a different mix from the 1963 mono single''
#" The Man With All The Toys " (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) - 1:32
- ''Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals''
#" Santa's Beard " (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) - 2:00
- ''Features Mike Love on lead vocals''
#" Christmas Day " (Brian Wilson) - 1:47
- ''Features Al Jardine on lead vocals''
#" Frosty The Snowman " (Steve Nelson/Jack Rollins) - 1:54
- ''Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals''
#" Blue Christmas " (Billy Hayes/Jay W. Johnson) - 3:09
- ''Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals''
#" Auld Lang Syne " (Trad. Arr. Brian Wilson) - 1:19
- ''Features Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine on lead vocals''
- " Little Saint Nick " b/w "The Lord's Prayer" (Capitol 5096), 2 December 1963 (on X-mas chart)
- "The Man With All The Toys" b/w "Blue Christmas" (Capitol 5312), 16 November 1964 (on X-mas chart)
''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' (Capitol (S) T 2164) is now released on The Beach Boys'
1998 X-mas compilation ''
Ultimate Christmas ''.
''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' hit in the US X-mas album chart during a 13 week chart stay spread out from
1964 to
1968 .
- ''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' CD booklet notes, David Leaf, c.1990.
- ''Ultimate Christmas'' CD booklet notes, Brad Elliott, c.1998
- "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White , c. 1994.
- "Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story", Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
- "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
- "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
- All Music Guide.com
