''The Magic of Christmas'' is a 1960

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

, arranged and conducted by

Ralph Carmichael Ralph Carmichael (May 27, 1927 – October 18, 2021) was an American composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. Early life and career C ...

. This was Cole's only complete album of

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 ...

s, although he had recorded several holiday singles earlier in his career. One of these, "

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells (songwriter), Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat K ...

", originally recorded in 1946, was re-recorded for the 1961 album ''

The Nat King Cole Story ''The Nat King Cole Story'' is a 1961 album by Nat King Cole. The album was a retrospective of Cole's recording career, designed to present many of his earlier hits in new recordings featuring stereo sound. Cole is accompanied on the re-recordin ...

''. It is the best-selling Christmas album released in the 1960s, and was certified by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for shipments of 6 million copies in the U.S. The 1963 version reached number 1 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Christmas Albums chart and remained for two weeks.

Track listing

Side one # "

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. ...

" (Traditional) # " Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)" (

John Francis Wade John Francis Wade (1 January 1711 – 16 August 1786) was an English hymnist who is usually credited with writing and composing the hymn " Adeste Fideles" (which was translated as "O Come All Ye Faithful" in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley). The autho ...

) # "

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", also known as "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 "T ...

" (Traditional) # "

O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree"), known in English as "O Christmas Tree", is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song that was unrelated to the holiday, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were ...

" (Traditional) # " O, Little Town of Bethlehem" ( Phillip Brooks,

Lewis Redner Lewis Henry Redner (December 15, 1831, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – August 29, 1908, Hotel Marlborough, Atlantic City, New Jersey) was an American musician, best known as the composer of the popular Christmas carol "St. Louis", better known as "O ...

) # "

I Saw Three Ships "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" is an English Christmas carol, listed as number 700 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by ...

" (Traditional) # "

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a sacred song about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ, described in the first verse as "the dear Saviour", and frequently performed as a Christmas carol. Based on the French-language poem ''Minuit, ch ...

" (

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and ''Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas ''Le post ...

John Sullivan Dwight John Sullivan Dwight (May 13, 1813 – September 5, 1893) was an American classical music critic, transcendentalist, school director, and minister. He is considered America's first influential music critic. Biography Dwight was born in Boston ...

) Side two # " Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It ...

) # "A Cradle in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

" ( Alfred Bryan, Larry Stock) # "

Away in a Manger "Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols; a 1996 Gallup Poll ranked it joint second. Although i ...

" (Traditional) # "

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...

" (

Lowell Mason Lowell Mason (January 8, 1792 – August 11, 1872) was an American music director and banker who was a leading figure in 19th-century American church music. Lowell composed over 1,600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His best-know ...

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey th ...

) # "

The First Noel "The First Nowell" (or Nowel), modernised 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.. It is listed as number 682 in the Ro ...

" ( William B. Sandys) # " Caroling, Caroling" (

Alfred Burt Alfred Shaddick Burt (April 22, 1920 – February 7, 1954) was an American jazz musician who is best known for composing the music for fifteen Christmas carols between 1942 and 1954. Only one of the carols was performed in public outside his im ...

, Wihla Hutson) # "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

" (

Franz Gruber Franz Gruber may refer to: *Franz Xaver Gruber Franz Xaver Gruber (25 November 1787 – 7 June 1863) was an Austrian primary school teacher, church organist and composer in the village of Arnsdorf, who is best known for composing the music to ...

Josef Mohr Josephus Franciscus Mohr, sometimes spelled Josef (11 December 1792 – 4 December 1848) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and writer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night." Early life and education Mohr was born in S ...

) * All tracks, save for "A Cradle in Bethlehem" and "Caroling, Caroling", are credited on the LP label as being adapted by Nat King Cole and Edith Bergdahl. * The album was reissued in 1963 as ''The Christmas Song'', with the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

added as the leadoff to Side 1 and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" omitted. * An alternate, all-English performance of "O, Come All Ye Faithful" was recorded during the album sessions and first released in 1990 on the compilation album ''Cole, Christmas, & Kids''.

Personnel

– lead vocals * The Ralph Carmichael Chorus – background vocals *

– arranger,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Orchestra members * Piano: Milton Raskin * Guitar: John Collins * Bass played by: Lloyd Lunham * Arco Bass: Bob Stone * Drums:

Lee Young Leonidas Raymond Young (March 7, 1914 – July 31, 2008) was an American jazz drummer and singer. His musical family included his father Willis Young and his older brother, saxophonist Lester Young. In 1944 he played with Norman Granz's firs ...

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

: John Cyr (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Ralph Hansell (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Dale Anderson * Harp: Kathryn Thompson * Violins: Harold Dicterow (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Dave Frisina (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Nate Kaproff (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Joe Livoti (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Emanuel Moss (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Lou Raderman (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Isadore Roman (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Victor Arno, Emil Briano, James Getzoff, Alex Murray, Erno Neufield, Ralph Schaeffer, Joseph Stepansky, Jerry Vinci,

Israel Baker Israel Baker (February 11, 1919 – December 25, 2011) was an American violinist and concertmaster. Through a long and varied career, he played with many of the greatest figures in the worlds of classical music, jazz and pop. He appeared on hund ...

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

Milt Thomas Milt Thomas is a United States author and novelist. After 21 years in the music industry, Thomas began a writing career at age 50. His biography of Hugh B. Cave, '' Cave of a Thousand Tales'', was nominated for an International Horror Guild Awa ...

(A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Alvin Dinkin (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Ray Menhennick (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Gary Nuttycombe (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Al Harshman, Lou Kievman *

Cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

s: Dave Filerman (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Armand Kaproff (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Ed Lustgarten (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Emmett Sargeant, Joseph Saxon On A1-A2, A4, B1, B4: * Trumpet:

Ray Linn Ray Linn (October 20, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois – 4 November 1996 in Columbus, Ohio) was an American jazz trumpeter. Linn's first major engagements came in the late 1930s, playing with Tommy Dorsey (1938–41) and Woody Herman (1941-42). ...

, Joe Triscari, George Werth * Trombone: Jim Henderson,

Tommy Shepard Thomas M. Shepard (March 31, 1923 – February 23, 1993) was an American trombonist who worked extensively in both Chicago and Hollywood as a regular recording artist for the top recording, television, and film studios. He had a trombone sound th ...

, Lloyd Ullate *

Reeds Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

: Lloyd W. Hildebrand, Jules Jacob, Harry Klee, Arthur Smith

''The Christmas Song'' reissue

In 1999 ''The Magic of Christmas'' was reissued under the title ''The Christmas Song'', with several added tracks including an alternate version of "The Christmas Song" with Cole's daughter, and with new cover art. This version of the album was placed at number 38 on ''Rolling Stone''s top 65 greatest Christmas albums of all time.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Session details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic of Christmas, The Nat King Cole albums 1960 Christmas albums Albums arranged by Ralph Carmichael Albums conducted by Ralph Carmichael Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Christmas albums by American artists Capitol Records Christmas albums 1960s covers albums