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Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album (1968)

Where the lyrics of Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album take you, and where it was really made.

Tony Bennett and Robert Farnon had been friends since the early 1950s, yet this album was the first time they recorded together.

Key places

New York City session at Columbia's studios (1968)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Six tracks for the album were recorded at Columbia's recording studios in New York City. The point is placed at city-centre level, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

London session for four tracks (1968)

Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — Four tracks for the album were recorded in London, and CTS Bayswater is listed as the recording location. The point is placed at city-centre level, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album is Tony Bennett's 27th studio album and his first Christmas album
• Arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon
• Jack Gold is credited as producer
• Recorded in two sessions: six tracks in New York City, four in London

Background

• Bennett and Farnon had been friends since the early 1950s
• They had not recorded together before this album
• Bennett revered Farnon's work so much that he felt not ready to record with him
• Farnon normally recorded in London and came to New York City for one of the two sessions

Recording

• Six tracks were recorded at Columbia's recording studios in New York City
• Four tracks were recorded in London
• In his autobiography, Bennett recalls that arrangers Don Costa, Marion Evans and Torrie Zito attended the New York session, curious to see how Farnon worked

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
• Grew up in poverty after his father, a grocer, became unable to work and died when Tony was ten.
• Sang for money from age 13 as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants in Queens.
• Attended New York's School of Industrial Art but dropped out at 16 to help support his family.

Military service

• Drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1944 and fought as an infantryman in the final stages of World War II.
• Stayed in Germany with the occupying force and sang with an Army Special Services band under the name Joe Bari.

Career

• Studied bel canto at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill; Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope helped launch him, and Hope shortened his name to Tony Bennett.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1950; first number-one hit "Because of You" in 1951.
• Shifted toward jazz singing in the late 1950s; "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (1962) became his signature song.
• Declined commercially during the rock era and struggled with addiction and debt until a comeback in the late 1980s, managed by his son Danny.
• The 1994 MTV Unplugged album won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Later career

• Collaborated with Lady Gaga from Cheek to Cheek (2014) through Love for Sale (2021).
• Won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
• Received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens with Susan Crow.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard: Tony Bennett weaves a holiday spirit through favorites such as 'White Christmas', 'My Favorite Things', 'Silent Night' and 'Snowfall'
• Cash Box: highlights Bennett's distinctive readings of 'My Favorite Things', 'The Christmas Song' and 'White Christmas'
• Record World: calls the album smooth and enticing

Reappraisal

• William Ruhlmann of AllMusic describes the album as a swinging affair
• Ruhlmann notes that Bennett's warm style was especially winning on this kind of material

Records

• Debuted on Billboard's Christmas Albums sales chart in the issue dated December 14, 1968
• Peaked at number 10 on that chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bennett and Farnon had not recorded together before this album, despite their friendship since the early 1950s
• Quincy Jones threw a party for Farnon in New York City, and so many famous musicians attended that Jones joked that a bomb would end record making
• The album was reissued on CD in 1994 with new cover art and a bonus track, 'I'll Be Home for Christmas', recorded during a live appearance on The Jon Stewart Show
• The 2007 reissue came with new cover art and a bonus DVD of excerpts from Bennett's 1992 television special Tony Bennett: A Family Christmas

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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