''Christmas Greetings'' is a studio album of
phonograph records by
Bing Crosby released in
1949 featuring popular Christmas songs.
Background
Crosby had recorded Christmas songs for the first time in 1935 and he had a huge hit with "
Silent Night
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...
" that year. In 1942, he recorded "
White Christmas" with the
John Scott Trotter
John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader.
Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...
Orchestra and the
Ken Darby Singers
Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...
for
Decca Records in just 18 minutes on May 29, 1942, and it was released on July 30 as part of
an album of six 78-rpm discs from the film
''Holiday Inn''. In 1943, he recorded three more songs with a holiday theme – "
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...
", "
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was the ...
", and "
I'll Be Home for Christmas
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song. Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longe ...
". All of these songs were huge hits and the issue of a 78rpm set called ''
Merry Christmas'' in 1945 firmly cemented Crosby’s association with the Christmas season.
The ''Merry Christmas'' album has been available in one form or another ever since 1945 and in 1949 Decca decided to issue the ''Christmas Greetings'' album to complement this.
Reception
''
Billboard'' reviewed the album saying: "Crosby single-handed has something of a corner on the Christmas market with his 'Merry Christmas' album and 'White Christmas'. This new album should widen that corner even more, for Bing is at his best and has the benefit of some top-notch support in the disposition of this collection of a couple of new seasonal pops and a group of familiar carols. A top-notch seasonal package which should stand out head-and-shoulders in sales over most any other new Christmas entry."
The album peaked at No. 4 in ''Billboards best-selling albums chart for the week ending December 30, 1949. His ''Merry Christmas'' album was in first place.
Track listing
The songs were featured on a 3-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album A-715.
Disc 1: (24658)
Disc 2: (24659)
Disc 3: (24670)
LP track listing
The 1949 10" LP album issue Decca DL 5020 consisted of Decca A-715 (details above) plus two additional songs "The Christmas Song" and "O Fir Tree Dark".
45 rpm releases
The album was also issued as catalog number 9-66 in the form of three 45rpm vinyl discs in 1950 with identical tracks to the 78rpm release A-715. Subsequently, it was issued on two
EP records numbered ED 561
which included the two extra songs on the 10" LP.
References
{{Authority control
Bing Crosby albums
1949 albums
Christmas albums by American artists
Decca Records Christmas albums