A: with Mitchell Ayres and his Orchestra
B: with Russ Case and his Orchestra
A1: with String Ensemble dire. by Ayres
A2, A3, A5, A6, A7, B5: and Chorus
B3, B4: with Organ and Choir
B6: Mixed Chorus, Lloyd Shaffer and his Orchestra
B7, B8: with The Satisfiers
Perry Como
with Mitchell Aires' Orchestra
and Chorus
3:58
(Traditional)
English
Modern popular
melody by
Frederic Austin
RCA Victor
"His Master's Voice"
High Fidelity
RCA Victor Records
LPM 1243
(G2PP-4127)
Side 1
PERRY COMO SINGS
MERRY CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Long 33⅓ Play
Trade Marks ® Registered
Marcas Registradas
Radio Corporation of America--
Camden, N.J.--
Made in U.S.A.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LPM
1243
PERRY COMO SINGS
MERRY CHRISTMAS MUSIC
LPM
1243
The moods of the Christmas Season are many and wondrous. They speak of joy and of hope, of laughter and love, of warmth, and of peace-on-earth, good-will to all men. These moods, and the other emotions of the Christmas holiday, are familiar to all of us, each mood is beautifully expressed through music and each one is touched with a special magic of the Season.
There was magic, remember, in that week before Christmas when the snow fell thickly, leaving the ground a spotless carpet of white. You had stopped at the store, you had bought a couple of gifts, and as you walked home that quiet night, you walked in a veritable wonderland of winter. The air was cold and crisp. The stars shone brightly. There was joy and wonder in your heart. And it was all because of Christmas.
There is magic, too, in the legend of jolly Old Saint Nick. In all homes a bright fire must be kept and food displayed in plain sight on the kitchen table or on a window ledge the night before Christmas. Santa Claus, being the plump man that he is, and with all the work he has to do, will find a moment to stop and eat. He always has; he always will. So be it. Let no man tell you differently.
The first sleigh ride and the singing of the Carols . . . Silent Night, surely the most beautiful song ever written . . . and Jingle Bells, the most popular. Chestnuts roasting over an open fire. . . . Hundreds of cookies baked and put away for safe keeping until the week of Christmas. . . . Children laughing as they build the Christmas snow man. . . . The pleasure mom and dad derive when they ask to help and are permitted to do so. . . . The holly and the mistletoe. . . . The hiding of the gifts. . . . The trying to find them, and sometimes succeeding. . . . The silver and gold, red and green of the wrappings. . . . The buying of the tree. . . . The tree trimming. . . . The tinsel, the old ornaments, the new ones, and the star at the top. We know these moods well, for these are the lighter moods of Christmas. The other moods of the holiday are just as familiar, but they bring with them a closer look at the real meaning of Christmas.
Home for Christmas! Those three words mean more to more people perhaps than any other words in the English language. And why shouldn't they? Home to family and to friends, to warmth and to love, to peace and to quiet. This feeling is so much a part of Christmas.
The better part of Christmas is, of course, the reason for Christmas. At church or at home, to piano accompaniment or to pipe-organ background, it is the familiar and beloved Christmas Carols that express so simply and so eloquently the true meaning of Christmas. No matter how often we sing them during the days of Christmas, the Carols never fail to inspire. Songs of faith for people of faith, they offer the most blessed mood of the Season.
Surely there is something for everyone in these moods and melodies of the Christmas Season. A memory of another Christmas, perhaps. . . . The warmth of a fire. . . . The smile of friends. . . . The white winter's landscape. . . . The happy shouts of children on a sleigh ride. . . . The holiday dinner and all the good things to eat. . . . The church, the Carols, and the service of worship.
What better artist to present these moods of Christmas time than Perry Como. Above all, the songs he sings in this album are songs of sincerity. And Perry Como has proved time and time again that he is uniquely gifted when it comes to expressing sincerity and understanding. Perhaps this is because Perry Como himself is a sincere, warm-hearted person.
For a Merrier Christmas, then, here is some Merry, Merry Christmas Music . . . beautifully interpreted by a man who has the honesty and the feeling, the ease, the naturalness and the integrity, to present the Spirit of Christmas in the Music of Christmas. . . .