Released September 19, 2006 Length 49:23 Release date 19 September 2006 Genre Pop rock | Recorded 1958–2006 | |
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Gold A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration(2006) Gold A 50th Anniversary Celebration(2006) Similar Johnny Mathis Gold: A 5, How Do You Keep the Music, The Christmas Music of J, Better Together: The Duet, In the Still of the Night | ||
Gold: A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 19, 2006, by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. It includes selections from four of the first five Christmas albums that he had recorded: Merry Christmas, Sounds of Christmas, Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis, and The Christmas Album. Two tracks that were recorded with other artists are also included: "O Tannenbaum", which comes from Mannheim Steamroller's 2001 album Christmas Extraordinaire, and a medley duet of "Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" with Bette Midler from her 2006 holiday album Cool Yule.
Contents
This first of his two 50th anniversary compilations reached number 191 during its one week on Billboard magazine's album chart in the issue dated December 30, 2006. The second of the two, Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (which was released two months after this one, on November 21), also charted for one week in that same issue but positioned slightly higher, at 171.
Reception
John Bush of AllMusic describes the compilation as "a solid collection" and Mathis as "a wonderful holiday singer, easily able to summon the congenial warmth and energetic cheerfulness that made his version of "Sleigh Ride" a perennial hit."
Track listing
- "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish) – 2:57
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 4:17
- "Silver Bells" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 3:32
- "Silent Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr) – 3:49
- "O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight) – 4:33
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 3:28
- "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (Meredith Willson) – 2:14
- "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Edward Pola, George Wyle) – 2:45
- "Toyland" (Glen MacDonough, Victor Herbert) – 3:41
- Medley – 3:44
a. "Caroling, Caroling" (Alfred Burt, Wilha Hutson)
b. "Happy Holiday" (Irving Berlin) - "The Christmas Waltz" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:36
- "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" (Johnny Marks) – 2:00
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (Irving Berlin) – 3:34
- "O Tannenbaum" performed with Mannheim Steamroller (Ernst Anschütz) – 2:57
- Medley performed with Bette Midler – 2:47
a. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith)
b. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)
Personnel
Songs
1Sleigh Ride2:58
2The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)4:17
3Silver Bells3:32