Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer

Chip Davis Louis F. "Chip" Davis Jr. (born September 5, 1947) is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller. Davis composed the music for several C. W. McCall albums, including the hit 1975 song "Convoy". He has also written and made o ...

in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with elements of

new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

and rock, and for its modern recordings of

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.

History

Beginnings

Mannheim Steamroller began as an alias for

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. The name "Mannheim Steamroller" comes from an 18th-century German musical technique, '' Mannheim roller'' ( German: ''Mannheimer Walze''), a crescendo passage having a rising melodic line over an

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

bass line Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played (in jazz and ...

, popularized by the

Mannheim school Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of the Elector Palatine in Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century and the group of composers of the early classical period, who composed for the or ...

of composition. Before the fame of Steamroller, Davis had been best known for collaborating with his friend Bill Fries on the songs of the country music character " C. W. McCall", of "

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

" fame. The song was based on the character created by Fries and music composed by Davis for a series of

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

winning ads for Metz Baking Company for their Old Home Bread product. Davis was named 1976's Country Music Writer of the Year, a genre he is not fond of. Even before the height of McCall's popularity, Davis produced an unusual album of classical music performed entirely by Davis and musical collaborator and keyboardist Jackson Berkey, using electric bass (played by Eric Hansen) and synthesizers.

Fresh Aire and American Gramaphone

Since no major label would handle the distribution of '' Fresh Aire'', Davis founded his own music label, American Gramaphone (a play on the German classical record label

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

), to release the album, which was published in 1975 under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Mannheim Steamroller. '' Fresh Aire II'' was subsequently released in 1977, and '' Fresh Aire III'' was released in 1979. The first four ''Fresh Aire'' albums constituted an exploration of the four seasons, with ''Fresh Aire'' being spring, ''Fresh Aire II'' being fall, ''Fresh Aire III'' being summer, and '' Fresh Aire IV'' being winter. All four of these albums maintained the blend of baroque classical music, light jazz, and rock and featured Jackson Berkey's virtuosic keyboard work. Davis and Berkey used whatever instrument seemed appropriate to the piece, using a

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ( in German), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress recognizes the toy pia ...

on one piece and a full pipe organ on another, with copious interleaving of piano and harpsichord. In 1981 Davis released ''Fresh Aire Interludes'', an album that compiled Berkey's ten piano interludes from the first four ''Fresh Aire'' albums. Davis then moved into exploring some other themes, with '' Fresh Aire V'' subtitled "To the Moon", '' Fresh Aire VI'' exploring Greek mythology, '' Fresh Aire 7'' based on the number 7, and '' Fresh Aire 8'' based on the theme of infinity. A live tour of the early albums featured a prominent light show and multimedia components, along with spoken poetry by Almeda Berkey. While the music was slightly different from the album versions, it was played in lockstep at each show, as it had to coordinate the live musicians with recorded tracks of strings and other orchestral parts. In 1986, Mannheim Steamroller released music composed for a PBS special called '' Saving the Wildlife'', which featured one track from ''Fresh Aire VI'' and twelve new tracks. In 1987, Davis collaborated with guitarist/composer

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental " Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

for the album '' Classical Gas''. The music was composed entirely by Williams but produced and arranged by Davis. The album opens with a remake of Williams' 1968 instrumental " Classical Gas", which used the original arrangement.

Christmas music success

Steamroller found its greatest fame beginning in 1984 when Davis released his first holiday album, '' Mannheim Steamroller Christmas'', featuring modern contemporary interpretations of Yuletide favorites. This was followed by '' A Fresh Aire Christmas'' in 1988. Steamroller's Christmas music caught the ear of American

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

host

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

when it was used as bumper music for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

games toward the end of the NFL season around the holidays. In turn, he began using it as bumper music on his radio show during the holiday season. As a result, Manheim Steamroller found a whole new audience among conservatives, and became one of the most requested Christmas music artists of all time. Steamroller released '' Christmas in the Aire'' in 1995. Like its two predecessors, it showcased creative approaches to old carols, as well as some new carol-like compositions. At the end of 1997, they released a live album of Christmas music, '' Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live''. Their fourth all-new Christmas album, '' Christmas Extraordinaire'', was released in 2001. While Steamroller's third and fourth Christmas releases sold well, they fell short of the sales of ''Christmas'' and ''A Fresh Aire Christmas''. '' Christmas Celebration'', a compilation of favorite tracks from the previous studio albums (with one new song), was released in 2004. The studio album ''

Christmas Song Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

'' was released in late 2007 and features guest vocals by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

(on a remake of "Christmas Lullaby" from their third Christmas album). Steamroller co-founder Jackson Berkey is absent from the lineup. The CD ''Christmasville'' was released in 2008. Their next release was a 25th anniversary Christmas box set consisting of previously released material, and in 2011 they released '' Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony'' with members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Manheim Steamroller's top nine best selling albums are all Christmas albums.

Other work

Musically, as the 1990s progressed, Davis moved into the mainstream of "progressive rock" music with a heavier reliance on synthesized instruments and less humor. Titles like "Small Wooden Bach'ses" from Fresh Aire III were not seen, nor mechanisms like the creative use of a cricket on the same album or the Gregorian chant on Fresh Aire II. Davis's music became closer to the "light jazz" style that gained prominence in the 1990s, especially with the Day Parts albums. Steamroller developed a full-length theatrical motion picture based on their Christmas albums, but the plans for production fell through. Instead, the following year, they collaborated with

for yet another Christmas album called '' The Christmas Angel: A Family Story'', a mostly spoken-word recording scored with previously released material. The story was then turned into a figure skating production titled The Christmas Angel: A Story on Ice, starring Dorothy Hamill as the mother, Daniel Cloonan as the son,

Elvis Stojko Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002). Persona ...

as the Gargon, and Tonia Kwiatkowski in the title role of the Angel. In 2003 they released a CD titled ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

''. In addition to their ''Fresh Aire'' and Christmas collections, Steamroller has released: an album of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

music (1999's '' Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse''); an album celebrating American heritage, (2003's '' American Spirit'', which reunited Davis with C.W. McCall and featured a remake of "Convoy"); and an album Yellowstone: The Music of Nature, for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special of the same name, mixing prior Davis compositions and a series of classical pieces by Ottorino Respighi and others. During some holiday seasons, fans can listen to Chip narrate two special radio programs, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “An American Christmas” on Kim Komando's WestStar network. “12 Days” airs in the days leading up to Christmas and, on some stations, Christmas Eve. “An American Christmas” airs on Christmas Eve on most stations. In 2024, this expanded to a full

Internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

channel on

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...

's online apps.! In 2008, Davis underwent surgery, which prevented him from touring or performing with the band. Rather than ultimately force the tour to stop while he recovered, Davis opted to hire additional musicians to replace him. He also decided to create two different lineups of the band, nicknamed the "red" and "green" touring companies which allows the band to reach more cities on their annual Christmas tour.2008 Tour
Mannheim Steamroller, The group appeared in the 2011 and 2013

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

, playing their version of "

Deck the Halls "Deck the Halls" 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. ...

." A new album composed and performed in the design of the Fresh Aire series, '' Exotic Spaces'', was set for release in March 2018. The album features songs that were inspired by famous – and exotic – sites, such as Egypt's pyramids and the Taj Mahal. Instrumentation comes from exotic and ethnic instruments mixed with the

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

, and

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. The album was officially released in September 2019, prior to the 2019 Christmas tour.

Discography

Fresh Aire series albums

Christmas albums

Chip Davis – Christmas albums

Halloween albums

Ambience series albums

Chip Davis – Day Parts series and solo albums

Other albums

¹ ''Billboard''s Top New Age Albums chart became the New Age Albums chart in June 2009. ² ''Billboard''s Top Holiday Albums chart became the Holiday Albums chart in June 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control American classical music groups Musical groups from Omaha, Nebraska Musical groups established in 1974 Christmas music