Merry Christmas (Andy Williams album)

Allmusic's Aaron Latham described this holiday outing as "another well-rounded set of traditional favorites that became a perfect companion to The Andy Williams Christmas Album." They had their own favorites: "'Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow' is given a fine, easy go ballad reading, while the new 'Christmas Holiday' is a bright jazz waltz winner." == Track listing ==

Side one • "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish) – 2:11 • "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 3:27 • "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2:14 • "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) – 2:29 • "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:20 • "Christmas Holiday" (Craig Vincent Smith) – 1:56 Side two • "Some Children See Him" (Alfred Burt, Wihla Hutson) – 3:26 • "Do You Hear What I Hear?" (Gloria Shayne Baker, Noël Regney) – 2:55 • "Little Altar Boy" (Howlett Peter Smith) – 4:59 • "Silver Bells" from The Lemon Drop Kid (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 3:12 • "Mary's Little Boy Child" (Jester Hairston) – 3:57 • "The Bells of St. Mary's" (A. Emmett Adams, Douglas Furber) – 2:38 ==Song information==

"The Bells of St. Mary's" first charted as a number seven hit for Frances Alda in 1920. The Lombardo Trio provided vocals for Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians on their number two hit, "Winter Wonderland", in 1934. Judy Garland reached number 27 with "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" upon the release of the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis, in which she performs it. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra spent five weeks at number one that began in December 1945. And Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra took "Sleigh Ride" to number 24 on the Best Selling Pop Singles chart in 1949. The recording of "Silver Bells" by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards was first released in 1950 but did not chart until 1952. "Some Children See Him" was written in 1951, and its composer's website summarizes its message: "With the U.S. engaged in the Korean War--following so closely after the Second World War with Germany and Japan--the simple but moving lyric of this carol affirmed that children of any nationality could imagine Jesus to be like them, with the underlying message that love is more important than any claim of race or nationality." "Mary's Little Boy Child" was a number 12 hit for Harry Belafonte in 1956 under the title "Mary's Boy Child". "My Favorite Things" was first performed by Mary Martin and other members of the original Broadway cast of the 1959 musical The Sound of Music. Vic Dana first charted with "Little Altar Boy" in 1961 on the Billboard Hot 100, where he reached number 45, and Bing Crosby reached number two on the Christmas Singles chart in 1963 with "Do You Hear What I Hear?". "Christmas Holiday" was composed by Craig Vincent Smith, a member of The Good Time Singers folk group that regularly appeared on The Andy Williams Show . Smith also composed "Salesman", recorded by The Monkees for their 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. ==Billboard Christmas Albums chart positions==

From the liner notes for the original album: • Andy Williams – vocals • Robert Mersey - arranger (except as noted), conductor, producer • Bob Florence - arranger ("Christmas Holiday") • Glenn Adams - cover photo ==References==