''To Wish You a Merry Christmas'' is an album by

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

Recorded May 27, 31, June 1, 3 and 8 of 1958 in Hollywood. Conducted by

Bob Corman Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

. Millard Thomas and

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

, guitarists. Produced and directed by Ed Welker.

Track listing

Original LP

''To Wish You a Merry Christmas'' was originally released in 1958 as RCA Victor catalog number LPM/LSP-1887. The original LP cover featured an illustration of the

Three Wise Men 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 190 ...

and a listing of the songs in front.
Side 1: #"A Star in the East" - 4:15 #" The Gifts They Gave" - 3:58 #" The Son of Mary" - 3:21 #"

The Twelve Days of Christmas The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days a ...

" - 3:49 #"Where the Little Jesus Sleeps" - 2:05 #"Medley: The Joys of Christmas; Oh Little Town of Bethlehem;

Deck the Halls "Deck the Hall” is a traditional Christmas carol. The melody is Welsh, dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862. ...

;

The First Noël "The First Nowell", also known as "The First Noel (or Noël)", is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins, most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.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 ...

" - 3:35 #"

Christmas Is Coming "Christmas Is Coming" is a traditional nursery rhyme and Christmas song frequently sung as a round. It is listed as number 12817 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The most famous version goes as follows: :Christmas is coming, the geese are getti ...

" - 1:38 #"Medley:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is an English Christmas carol, listed as numbers 230 and 9681 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The famous version of the carol is from the English West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is ...

;

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" is an English traditional Christmas carol. It is in the Roxburghe Collection (iii. 452), and is listed as no. 394 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It is also known as "Tidings of Comfort and Joy", and by other varian ...

;

O Come All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (composer and organist), John Reading (1645–1692), John IV ...

;

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the carol is usua ...

" - 4:29 #"

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...

" - 3:03

Re-release 1

The album was repackaged in 1962 as RCA Victor catalog number LPM/LSP-2626, with a different cover (with Belafonte's picture this time) and adding the song " Mary's Boy Child" (from '' An Evening with Belafonte'') to Side 2. The credits are also slightly different, listing conductor

Robert De Cormier Robert Romeo De Cormier Jr. (January 7, 1922 – November 7, 2017), sometimes known as Robert Corman, was an American musical conductor, arranger, and director. He arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, P ...

.
Side 1: identical to the 1958 release.
Side 2: #" Mary's Boy Child" - 4:20 #"

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 ...

" - 3:35 #"

" - 2:56 #"Mary, Mary" - 3:34 #"Jehova the Lord Will Provide" - 2:57 #"Medley:

;

" - 4:26 #"

" - 3:01

Re-release 2

In 1976, the songs were repackaged again, under the title ''Belafonte's Christmas'', from RCA Records Canada, catalog number KNLI-016

The tracks are identical to the 1962 release, except that sides 1 and 2 have been switched (i.e. the first song of the album is now "Mary's Boy Child"). A completely different picture of Belafonte is used on the cover.

Re-release 3

In 2001, RCA reissued the album on CD as ''Harry Belafonte Christmas'', with five

bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s added: # "Goin' Down Jordan" - 3:53 # "

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...

" - 3:06 # "Glory Manger" - 4:39 # "The Baby Boy" - 3:25 # "

Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) "Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)" is a popular folk style ballad. The music was written by Evelyn Danzig and the lyrics by Jack Segal. The song has become a standard with many recorded versions and has appeared on several Christmas albums. Back ...

" - 2:45

Personnel

Guitar * Dick Baxter Digital Engineer, Engineer *

Primary Artist, Vocals * C.C. Carter Composer *

Frantz Casseus Frantz Casseus (14 December 1915 – 3 June 1993) was a Haitian-American guitarist and composer. Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he spent most of his adult life in the United States where he immigrated in 1946 hoping to meet pia ...

Guitar * Corman Adaptation *

Gene Corman Eugene Harold "Gene" Corman (September 24, 1927 – September 28, 2020) was an American film producer and agent. He and his older brother, Roger, co-founded New World Pictures. Biography Corman entered the film industry before his brother, wo ...

Composer * Chick Crumpacker Digital Producer *

Robert DeCormier Robert Romeo De Cormier Jr. (January 7, 1922 – November 7, 2017), sometimes known as Robert Corman, was an American musical conductor, arranger, and director. He arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, P ...

Adaptation, Choir Director, Composer, Conductor * Dennis Farnon Producer * Franz Gruber Composer *

Jester Hairston Jester Joseph Hairston (July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on black spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include " ...

Composer *

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

Composer *

Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...

Adaptation, Composer *

Milton Okun Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Fre ...

Composer * The Orchestra Unknown Contributor Role *

Henri René Henri René (born Harold Manfred Kirchstein; December 29, 1906 – April 25, 1993), was an American musician who had an international career in the recording industry as a producer, composer, conductor and arranger. Early years Born in New York ...

Producer * Millard Thomas Guitar * Traditional Composer * Don Wardell Digital Series Coordination * Ed Welker Producer * Watson Wylie Liner Notes

References

{{Authority control 1958 Christmas albums Harry Belafonte albums Christmas albums by American artists RCA Records Christmas albums Covers albums Albums conducted by Robert De Cormier Albums conducted by Laurindo Almeida Folk Christmas albums