Columbia Records to Release The Christmas Album, A New Collection Of Holiday Music From the Legendary Johnny Mathis
In Stores Tuesday, October 22
PRNewswire
NEW YORK
10/09/2002
Columbia Records is releasing The Christmas Album, a newly-recorded collection of seasonal music from the legendary Johnny Mathis, on Tuesday, October 22. The Christmas Album is Mathis' first holiday collection featuring new music since Christmas Eve With Johnny Mathis was released in 1986.
Few recording artists are more associated with the sound and spirit of the Christmas season than Johnny Mathis. On The Christmas Album, Mathis lends his incomparable vocal stylings to a rich selection of Christmas standards and future yuletide classics.
"In 1958, I recorded a collection of songs called Merry Christmas," says Johnny Mathis. "With this, my 6th Christmas collection, I want to share even more of this seasonal music with you. Because my family has been an inspiration to me all my life, I have included pictures of some of them for you to see on my new album. Whenever I dream of them, I dream of them at this age."
Among the album's highlights are swinging renditions of "Frosty The Snowman" (arrangement inspired by Ella Fitzgerald's classic recording); Irving Berlin's "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm"; "Have A Holly Jolly Christmas" (from Burl Ives' much loved TV special "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer"); "Christmas Time Is Here" (from the perennial "A Charlie Brown Christmas" TV special, the modern jazz standard was composed by Vince Guaraldi, who played piano for Johnny when he auditioned for Columbia Records in 1956); "Merry Christmas" (originally recorded by Judy Garland) and a heart stirring arrangement of "Joy To The World."
The Christmas Album also includes "Heavenly Peace," which was specially written for this record by noted pop composers Dean Pitchford ("Fame", "Footloose") and Tom Snow ("He's So Shy", "Don't Know Much", "After All").
The Christmas Album was produced by Robbie Buchanan (Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson, Bette Midler). Executive producer Jay Landers (Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson).
Johnny Mathis' platinum-selling previous five holiday albums have included Merry Christmas (1958), The Sounds of Christmas (1963), Give Me Your Love For Christmas (1969), Johnny Mathis For Christmas (1984), and Christmas Eve With Johnny Mathis (1986). A sixth holiday collection, The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis, compiled tracks from his previous seasonal records and was released in 1993.
For press material online, please visit: http://www.sonymusic.com/b2b http://www.johnnymathis.com/ http://www.columbiarecords.com/
SOURCE: Columbia Records
CONTACT: Yvette Noel-Schure, Columbia Records, Media, +1-212-833-4483,
or yvette_noel-chure@sonymusic.com, or Online press - Lisa Linder, Columbia
Records, Online & Emerging Technologies, +1-212-833-6666 or
lisa_linder@sonymusic.com
Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/
http://www.sonymusic.com/b2b
http://www.johnnymathis.com/