Maps of Music

What I Really Want for Christmas (2005)

Where the lyrics of What I Really Want for Christmas take you, and where it was really made.

Fans wanted a rock 'n' roll album, but Wilson's advisers picked a Christmas record, and it peaked at only number 200 on the Billboard 200.

Place unknown

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Sixth studio album by Brian Wilson
His first solo seasonal release
Released by Arista Records in October 2005
Mostly traditional Christmas songs, with some Wilson originals
Includes remakes of the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" and "The Man with All the Toys"
Fifteen tracks in the listing; tracks 13 to 15 are bonus tracks
Tracks 13 and 15 first appeared on Wilson's website in 2000 and 2001
Track 14 was co-produced by an uncredited Joe Thomas

Followed Smile (2004), which sold over one million copies
Wilson announced four projects for 2005, one of them a Christmas album
Fans had been waiting for a rock 'n' roll album and protested when the Christmas record was chosen

Work began in May 2005 with the band that had played on Smile
Recorded live in a studio, not piece by piece
Title track co-written with Bernie Taupin, the lyricist known for his work with Elton John
"Christmasey" written by Jimmy Webb for Wilson

1	The Man With All the Toys	2:59
2	What I Really Want for Christmas	3:51
3	God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen	3:28
4	O Holy Night	4:30
5	We Wish You a Merry Christmas	2:29
6	Hark the Herald Angels Sing	3:35
7	It Came Upon a Midnight Clear	3:10
8	First Noel	4:48
9	Christmasey	4:09
10	Little Saint Nick	2:13
11	Deck the Halls	2:38
12	Auld Lang Syne	1:35
13	On Christmas Day	3:24
14	Joy to the World	2:09
15	Silent Night	0:49

Brian Douglas Wilson (1942–2025) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys.
In 1961 he began his professional career as a member of the Beach Boys, serving as songwriter, producer, co-lead vocalist, bassist, keyboardist and de facto leader.
After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, he became the first pop musician credited for writing, arranging, producing and performing his own material.
He wrote or co-wrote over three dozen U.S. Top 40 hits, including the number-ones "I Get Around", "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Good Vibrations".
In 1966 he produced Pet Sounds and his first solo credited release "Caroline, No", and began the unfinished album Smile.
Struggles with mental illness led to withdrawal from regular touring from late 1964 and a long period of reclusion.
A psychologist-led program with Eugene Landy in the 1980s preceded the solo album Brian Wilson (1988).
He completed Smile in 2004 as Brian Wilson Presents Smile, earning his greatest acclaim as a solo artist.
His influence spans the California sound, art pop, psychedelia, chamber pop, progressive pop, punk and indie music.
Honors include two Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988) and Songwriters Hall of Fame (2000).
The 2014 biopic Love & Mercy dramatized his life.
He died on June 11, 2025 at age 82.

Critical reaction was mixed
The Guardian (Alexis Petridis): one star out of five, calling it the least fascinating album of Wilson's career
AllMusic (John Bush): three out of five, praising the arrangements and sound processing
The Washington Post (Richard Harrington): named among the ten best Christmas albums of 2005

Track 14 was co-produced by an uncredited Joe Thomas and first released in October 1997 on an obscure Christmas compilation.
Tracks 13 and 15 first appeared on Wilson's website in 2000 and 2001.
Wilson or his advisers chose the Christmas album over the rock 'n' roll record fans were expecting, which triggered fan protests.
The album was recorded live in one studio, unlike the piece-by-piece method common today.
Smile, released in 2004, sold over one million copies.