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A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)

Where the lyrics of A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra take you, and where it was really made.

This Christmas album was retitled in 1965, and its original title came back only in 1990.

Key places

Capitol Studio A in Hollywood (1957)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The album was recorded at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood. The studio is listed as Capitol Studios (Hollywood). Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra: Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra
• Originally released by Capitol Records in 1957
• Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album
• Side One: secular holiday tunes; Side Two: religious Christmas carols
• Reissued many times, with changes to title and cover art

Background

• Features the Ralph Brewster Singers
• Orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins
• Side One and Side Two have distinct programs of holiday material
• CD bonus tracks were originally issued on a 1954 Capitol 45 rpm single, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle

Recording

• Recorded at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood, listed as Capitol Studios (Hollywood)
• Orchestral arrangements led by Gordon Jenkins

Cover

• Original 1957 cover and title used the album's first release
• 1965 reissue: different cover art and new title, The Sinatra Christmas Album
• 2001: album art altered from the 1957 version
• 2007: '50th Anniversary' banner added atop the 2001 art

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants.
• Began singing professionally as a teenager with the Hoboken Four, winning Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
• Joined Harry James's band in 1939, then Tommy Dorsey's band, before going solo in 1942.

Career

• Signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and became a major star of the bobby-soxer era.
• Signed with Capitol Records in 1953; collaborated with arranger Nelson Riddle on albums such as In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin' Lovers!.
• Founded Reprise Records in 1960, releasing albums including September of My Years and the hit single "My Way".
• Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity (1953).
• Estimated to have sold around 150 million records worldwide.
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.
• Died May 14, 1998 in Los Angeles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released by Capitol Records in 1957
• Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album
• Features the Ralph Brewster Singers
• Orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins
• Side One: secular holiday tunes; Side Two: religious Christmas carols

Reappraisal

• 1965: Capitol reissued with different cover art and a new title, The Sinatra Christmas Album
• 1987: the first CD pressing carried both the 1965 title and cover
• 1990 and 1999: CD pressings restored the original title and cover
• 2001: album art altered from the 1957 version
• 2007: reissued with a '50th Anniversary' banner atop the 2001 cover art and an added bonus track
• 2010: vinyl reissue, the first since the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissue c. 1986, sold exclusively to independent record stores

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The CD bonus tracks came from a 1954 Capitol 45 rpm single, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.
• The 2007 reissue added a vintage radio PSA Sinatra recorded for the American Lung Association's Christmas Seals campaign.
• The first CD pressing in 1987 used the 1965 title and cover art.
• The 2010 vinyl reissue was sold exclusively to independent record stores.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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