Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch explained

Christmas Sing Along with Mitch
Type:studio
Artist:Mitch Miller & The Gang
Cover:Christmas Sing Along with Mitch.png
Released:1958
Genre:Easy listening, Christmas music
Label:Columbia
Prev Title:Sing Along with Mitch
Prev Year:1958
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Christmas Sing Along with Mitch is an album by Mitch Miller & The Gang. It was released in 1958 on the Columbia label (catalog nos. CL-1205 and CS-8027).[1] [2]

The album entered Billboard magazine's popular albums chart on December 29, 1958, and was No. 1 for two weeks. It returned to the chart in 1959 (No. 8), 1960 (No. 6), 1961 (No. 9) and 1962 (No. 37). It was certified as a gold record by the RIAA.[3]

AllMusic later gave the album a rating of four-and-a-half stars. The reviewer David A. Milberg wrote that it "documents the MOR sound of the '50s".[2]

Charlotte Greig, in her book 100 Best Selling Albums of the 50s, writes, "There's no Jingle Bells here. Instead, this is an entirely religious selection, one devoted to Christmas rather than Xmas. Miller would make up for that a couple of years later by recording Holiday Sing Along, with Santa songs in abundance"[4] The latter holiday record consisted of modern vernacular carols, while this one focused on traditional songs, several of a religious nature.

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Joy to the World"
  2. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
  3. "What Child Is This"
  4. "We Three Kings of Orient Are"
  5. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
  6. "Silent Night, Holy Night"

Side 2

  1. "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly"
  2. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
  3. "O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis)"
  4. "The First Noel"
  5. "The Coventry Carol"
  6. "Away in the Manger (Luther's Carol)"
  7. "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mitch Miller & The Gang – Christmas Sing-Along With Mitch. Discogs. December 29, 2020.
  2. Web site: Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch. AllMusic. December 29, 2020.
  3. Book: The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums. Billboard Books. Joel Whitburn. 1995. 72. 0823076318.
    - News: Albums. The Billboard. March 27, 1961. 209. Google Books.
  4. ISBN 1-904687-14-8, page 160