The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released November 9, 1964 on Capitol Records. It contains five original songs and seven standards on a Christmas theme. The album proved to be a long-running success during subsequent Christmas seasons, initially reaching No. 6 on Billboard's Christmas LP's chart in its initial release and eventually going gold. Music historian James Perone wrote that it is "regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era". While leader Brian Wilson produced and arranged the rock songs, he left it to Read Full BioThe Beach Boys' Christmas Album is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released November 9, 1964 on Capitol Records. It contains five original songs and seven standards on a Christmas theme. The album proved to be a long-running success during subsequent Christmas seasons, initially reaching No. 6 on Billboard's Christmas LP's chart in its initial release and eventually going gold. Music historian James Perone wrote that it is "regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era".
While leader Brian Wilson produced and arranged the rock songs, he left it to Dick Reynolds (an arranger for the Four Freshmen, a group Wilson idolized) to arrange the 41-piece orchestral backings on the traditional songs to which the Beach Boys would apply their vocals. One single was released from the album, the original song "The Man with All the Toys" backed with the group's rendition of "Blue Christmas". "Little Saint Nick", a single which had already been released the previous year, was included on the album.
In 1977, the Beach Boys attempted to follow the album with Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys, but it was rejected by their label. The entire Christmas Album plus selections from the Merry Christmas sessions were later assembled for the 1998 compilation Ultimate Christmas.
Background
The album was devised as a response to Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963), an album Brian had attended recording sessions for. He played piano on the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" but was dismissed by Spector due to his substandard piano playing. Original album cover photo by George Jerman for Capitol Photo Studio. The a-side consists mostly of original Christmas-themed rock songs penned by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, while the b-side features both secular and religious Christmas standards with orchestral accompaniment directed by Dick Reynolds.
Recording
With the exception of "Little Saint Nick", sessions for the album spanned June 18–30, 1964, one month after the All Summer Long album was completed. "Christmas Day" is the first Beach Boys song to feature a lead vocal from Al Jardine.
The album was released in mono and stereo; the stereo mix, prepared by engineer Chuck Britz, would be the last true stereo mix for a Beach Boys album until 1968's Friends.
In addition to orchestral renditions of "Jingle Bells" and the original Wilson composition "Christmas Eve" which never received vocal overdubs, outtakes of the All Summer Long track "Little Honda" and The Beach Boys Today! single "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" were recorded in between June sessions.
Reception
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Jason Ankeny stated: "Brian Wilson's pop genius is well suited to classic Yuletide fare, and the group delivers lush performances of standards ranging from 'Frosty the Snowman' to 'White Christmas' as well as more contemporary material like 'The Man With All the Toys' and 'Blue Christmas.'"
While interviewing Wilson for a promotional radio special in 1964, Jack Wagner remarked that Wilson's decision to sing solo on a version of "Blue Christmas" could be "the start of a whole new career," to which Wilson responded "I don’t know. It could and it couldn't. I really don’t know." Referring to the standards which he believed "proved that the Beach Boys' vocal power was bigger and more agile than the surf and hot rod records and staking a claim for wider musical terrain," author Luis Sanchez reflected: "The Beach Boys' Christmas Album music shows a quality of aesthetic selectivity that none of the group's records that came before it do, aspiring not just to assimilate one of pop's stock ideas, but also enabling Brian to make one of his biggest artistic advances."
On April 6, 1982, the album was certified gold by the RIAA, selling more than 500,000 units.
Ultimate Christmas
Released in 1998, Ultimate Christmas is a compilation containing all of the twelve tracks from the original Christmas LP in stereo. Many bonus tracks were added, including the 1974 single "Child of Winter" and several previously unreleased tracks from the aborted 1977 album Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys.
Personnel
Partial credits courtesy of session archivist Craig Slowinski.
The Beach Boys:
Al Jardine
Mike Love
Brian Wilson
Carl Wilson
Dennis Wilson
Additional musicians and technical staff:
Al Viola – guitar
David Marks - guitar (Little Saint Nick) (possibly)
Cliff Hils – double bass
Jimmy Rowles – grand piano
Jack Sperling – drums
Eddie Rosa – flute and/or alto saxophone and/or tenor saxophone
Chuck Gentry – soprano clarinet, alto clarinet, tenor clarinet, and/or bass clarinet and/or baritone saxophone
William Hinshaw, Richard Perissi, Arthur Briegleb – French horns
Henry Laubach, John Audino, Conrad Gozzo, Raymond Triscari – trumpets
Harry Betts, Francis Howard, George Roberts – trombones
George “Red” Callender – tuba
Edgar Lustgarten, Jesse Ehrlich, Nathan Gershman, Alfred Wohl, Margaret Aue – violins, violas, cellos, and/or double basses
Benjamin Barrett – orchestra master
Dick Reynolds – orchestra conductor
Mainerd Baker, George Yocum – copyists
Bill Putnam – engineer
While leader Brian Wilson produced and arranged the rock songs, he left it to Dick Reynolds (an arranger for the Four Freshmen, a group Wilson idolized) to arrange the 41-piece orchestral backings on the traditional songs to which the Beach Boys would apply their vocals. One single was released from the album, the original song "The Man with All the Toys" backed with the group's rendition of "Blue Christmas". "Little Saint Nick", a single which had already been released the previous year, was included on the album.
In 1977, the Beach Boys attempted to follow the album with Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys, but it was rejected by their label. The entire Christmas Album plus selections from the Merry Christmas sessions were later assembled for the 1998 compilation Ultimate Christmas.
Background
The album was devised as a response to Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963), an album Brian had attended recording sessions for. He played piano on the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" but was dismissed by Spector due to his substandard piano playing. Original album cover photo by George Jerman for Capitol Photo Studio. The a-side consists mostly of original Christmas-themed rock songs penned by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, while the b-side features both secular and religious Christmas standards with orchestral accompaniment directed by Dick Reynolds.
Recording
With the exception of "Little Saint Nick", sessions for the album spanned June 18–30, 1964, one month after the All Summer Long album was completed. "Christmas Day" is the first Beach Boys song to feature a lead vocal from Al Jardine.
The album was released in mono and stereo; the stereo mix, prepared by engineer Chuck Britz, would be the last true stereo mix for a Beach Boys album until 1968's Friends.
In addition to orchestral renditions of "Jingle Bells" and the original Wilson composition "Christmas Eve" which never received vocal overdubs, outtakes of the All Summer Long track "Little Honda" and The Beach Boys Today! single "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" were recorded in between June sessions.
Reception
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Jason Ankeny stated: "Brian Wilson's pop genius is well suited to classic Yuletide fare, and the group delivers lush performances of standards ranging from 'Frosty the Snowman' to 'White Christmas' as well as more contemporary material like 'The Man With All the Toys' and 'Blue Christmas.'"
While interviewing Wilson for a promotional radio special in 1964, Jack Wagner remarked that Wilson's decision to sing solo on a version of "Blue Christmas" could be "the start of a whole new career," to which Wilson responded "I don’t know. It could and it couldn't. I really don’t know." Referring to the standards which he believed "proved that the Beach Boys' vocal power was bigger and more agile than the surf and hot rod records and staking a claim for wider musical terrain," author Luis Sanchez reflected: "The Beach Boys' Christmas Album music shows a quality of aesthetic selectivity that none of the group's records that came before it do, aspiring not just to assimilate one of pop's stock ideas, but also enabling Brian to make one of his biggest artistic advances."
On April 6, 1982, the album was certified gold by the RIAA, selling more than 500,000 units.
Ultimate Christmas
Released in 1998, Ultimate Christmas is a compilation containing all of the twelve tracks from the original Christmas LP in stereo. Many bonus tracks were added, including the 1974 single "Child of Winter" and several previously unreleased tracks from the aborted 1977 album Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys.
Personnel
Partial credits courtesy of session archivist Craig Slowinski.
The Beach Boys:
Al Jardine
Mike Love
Brian Wilson
Carl Wilson
Dennis Wilson
Additional musicians and technical staff:
Al Viola – guitar
David Marks - guitar (Little Saint Nick) (possibly)
Cliff Hils – double bass
Jimmy Rowles – grand piano
Jack Sperling – drums
Eddie Rosa – flute and/or alto saxophone and/or tenor saxophone
Chuck Gentry – soprano clarinet, alto clarinet, tenor clarinet, and/or bass clarinet and/or baritone saxophone
William Hinshaw, Richard Perissi, Arthur Briegleb – French horns
Henry Laubach, John Audino, Conrad Gozzo, Raymond Triscari – trumpets
Harry Betts, Francis Howard, George Roberts – trombones
George “Red” Callender – tuba
Edgar Lustgarten, Jesse Ehrlich, Nathan Gershman, Alfred Wohl, Margaret Aue – violins, violas, cellos, and/or double basses
Benjamin Barrett – orchestra master
Dick Reynolds – orchestra conductor
Mainerd Baker, George Yocum – copyists
Bill Putnam – engineer
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Little Saint Nick
The Beach Boys Lyrics
Ooh
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
Christmas comes this time each year
Ooh, ooh
Well way up North where the air gets cold
There's a tale about Christmas
That you've all been told
And a real famous cat all dressed up in red
And he spends the whole year workin' out on his sled
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
Just a little bobsled we call the old Saint Nick
But she'll walk a toboggan with a four speed stick
She's candy apple red with a ski for a wheel
And when Santa hits the gas, man, just watch her peel
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
Run run reindeer
Run run reindeer (whoa)
Run run reindeer
Run run reindeer (he don't miss no one)
And haulin' through the snow at a frightening speed
With a half a dozen deer with Rudy to lead
He's got to wear his goggles 'cause the snow really flies
And he's cruisin' every path with a little surprise
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
Ooh
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
(Christmas comes this time each year)
Ooh
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
(Christmas comes this time each year)
Ooh
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
(Christmas comes this time each year)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Michael Love, Brian Wilson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
alexandra blomqvist
Beach Boys references:
0:02 - Brother Records logo (man on horse) near the shore
0:06 - Yellow pickup truck featured on the Surfin' Safari album cover
0:10 - Sign for Paradise Cove (the place where the album covers for Surfin' Safari and Surfer Girl were taken)
0:13 - The blue hot rod from the Little Deuce Coupe album cover on the lower right
0:17 - Smile and Feel Flows on the wooden sign and surfboard
0:19 - Movie poster for Almost Famous (Girl with sunglasses) - Feel Flows was part of the film's soundtrack
0:20 - Various Beach Boys songs and album title labels on many of the items
0:25 - Surf's Up art framed on the wall
0:26 - Friends album cover on the box
0:27 - "To Bruce J." written on the blue box (Bruce Johnston)
0:45 - Marcella (BB song from 1972) on the tiki bar sign
1:27 - Surf's Up sand sculpture and Friends album cover in the sky
1:32 - Plane with Wild Honey banner
1:39 - Pose from their Christmas album front cover
1:53 - Pet Sounds goat and surfboard
1:57 - Art style resembling the Love You album cover
Bate Mann
You can tell a real Beach Boys fan animated this. Lots of little details and references.
Music for Life Channel
Beautiful video!
Tim Howe
Feel Flows surfboard!
J R
Santa has no shirt
J R
Boy
Kelly Riley
their actual channel aka their brand and likeness made this video so I would hope they truly knew them lol
Juan Davila
I am 20. The beach boys have had such a positive influence in my life. I love Brian and the rest of the gang. Merry Christmas! RIP Dennis and Carl
Scott Macdonald
I taught my son all the BB classics. He is now 17 and will be first to turn up volume when he hears BB songs.Young dads and moms print out lyrics and teach your kids the songs! You don't have to worry about bad words in a BB song!
riley bobbert
congratulations for being young and into the beach boys. youre very special and you deserve attention
805 Livin
@Tommy L. Day and the Runaways I mean the fact that he tried taking credit for most of the songs that Brian and Dennis wrote is Enough to dislike him but him and Brian’s dad being the reason Brian had a mental breakdown is enough to hate him especially for what he’s recently pulled off