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The Magic Of Christmas (Natalie Cole Album)
''The Magic of Christmas'' is a collaborative Christmas album by American recording artist Natalie Cole and London Symphony Orchestra, released on September 21, 1999, by Elektra Records. The album is a follow-up to ''Snowfall on the Sahara''. It reached peak positions of number 157 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number 84 on ''Billboard''s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A number of the tracks on ''The Magic of Christmas'' were first released on the 1998 album ''Christmas With You'', which was produced exclusively for Hallmark Cards. Critical reception AllMusic's Heather Phares awarded the album 2.5 out of 5 stars and described the collection of songs as "traditional yet sophisticated". She also highlighted "O Tannenbaum", "The 12 Days of Christmas", and "The Christmas Song". Track listing All tracks producer by Fred Salem.Cole, Natalie. “The Magic of Christmas” (Album Notes). Elektra Records. 1999. ;Note *"The Christmas Song" uses samples from a recording of "T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the hits "This Will Be", " Inseparable" (1975), and " Our Love" (1977). She returned as a pop singer on the 1987 album ''Everlasting'' and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's " Pink Cadillac". In the 1990s, she sang traditional pop by her father, resulting in her biggest success, '' Unforgettable... with Love'', which sold over seven million copies and won her seven Grammy Awards. She sold over 30 million records worldwide. Early life Natalie Cole was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, to American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Hawkins Ellington, and raised in the affluent Hancock Park district of Los Angeles. Regarding her childhood, Cole referred to her family ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wells (songwriter)
Robert Wells (born Robert Levinson, October 15, 1922 – September 23, 1998) was an American songwriter, composer, screenwriter, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945. Later, he became a prolific writer and producer for television, for such shows as ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', as well as for numerous variety specials, such as ''If They Could See Me Now'', starring Shirley MacLaine. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won six Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Peabody Award. Early life and career Robert Wells was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in 1922 in Raymond, Washington, the son of Edna Irene (Bradford) and Nathan Levinson. He attended a local business college and later the University of Southern California, where he majored in speech and drama. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Christmas Waltz
"The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of " White Christmas", in 1957 for his album ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'', and in 1968 for ''The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas''. Cahn recalls, "One day during a very hot spell in Los Angeles the phone rang and it was Jule Styne to say, 'Frank wants a Christmas song.'". Cahn resisted. "Jule, we're not going to write any Christmas song. After Irving Berlin's ' White Christmas'? The idea's just ridiculous." Styne was emphatic, however. "'Frank ''wants'' a Christmas song.'" The two met in Styne's apartment to begin work on the project, and Cahn asked the composer, "'Hey, Jule, has there ever been a Christmas waltz?' He said no. I said, 'Play that waltz of yours.' He did so," and Cahn began work on the lyrics of "The Christmas Waltz", which many other artists have also recorded. Referring to the line that go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Thompson (actress)
Linda Diane Thompson (born 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfriend of Elvis Presley, before marrying Olympic decathlon champion Caitlyn Jenner, and then music producer David Foster. Early life Thompson was born in 1950 and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Margie (née White) and Sanford Abel Thompson. Her older brother, Sam, was one of Elvis Presley's bodyguards. Career Pageants Thompson was Miss Shelby County (1969) In September 1970, she was named "Miss Mid-South Fair" in Memphis. In 1970, Thompson was named "Miss Memphis State University" and was third runner-up in the 1970 Miss Tennessee pageant (which is the state preliminary to the Miss America pageant). Thompson was Miss Tennessee Universe in 1972, which is also known as Miss Tennessee USA and under the Miss USA and Miss Universe umbrella ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans more than five decades, mainly beginning in the early 1970s as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark. Early life and career Foster was born in Victoria, British Columbia, the son of Maurice "Maury" Foster, an office worker, and Eleanor May Foster (née Vantreight), a homemaker. In 1963, at the age of 13, he enrolled in the University of Washington music program.Encyclopedia.com: "Foster, David" Contemporary Musicians , 1995 , Shelton, Sonya In 1965, he auditioned to lead the band in an Edmonton nightclub owned by jazz musician |
Grown-Up Christmas List
"Grown-Up Christmas List" (sometimes titled "My Grown-Up Christmas List") is a Christmas song composed by David Foster (music) and Linda Thompson-Jenner (lyrics). It was originally recorded by Foster, with Natalie Cole on vocals, for his 1990 non-holiday album ''River of Love'' and a similar second version on his 1993 holiday album ''The Christmas Album''. Though it was also released as a single, the song was not a hit upon its first appearance. In 1992, Amy Grant recorded a version for her second Christmas album, '' Home for Christmas''. Grant's version featured an additional verse that Grant penned herself. Her record label at the time, A&M Records, promoted the song as the second single from the album, and it received substantial radio airplay. In 2003, original ''American Idol'' winner Kelly Clarkson performed "Grown-Up Christmas List" on the show's Christmas special, and the song was released on the album ''American Idol: Great Holiday Classics'', which resulted in renew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitchell Parish
Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 1900 His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901, aboard the '' SS Dresden'' when he was less than a year old. They settled first in Louisiana where his paternal grandmother had relatives, but later moved to New York City, where he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and received his education in the public schools. He attended Columbia University and N.Y.U. and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He eventually abandoned the notion of practicing law to become a songwriter. He served his apprenticeship as a writer of special material for vaudeville acts, and later established himself as a writer of songs for stage, screen and numerous musical revues. By the late 1920s, Parish was a well-regarded Tin Pan Alley ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leroy Anderson
Leroy Anderson ( ) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music." Early life Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Swedish parents, Anderson was given his first piano lessons by his mother, who was a church organist. He continued studying piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1925, Anderson entered Harvard College, where he studied musical harmony with Walter Spalding, counterpoint with Edward Ballantine, canon and fugue with William C. Heilman, orchestration with Edward B. Hill and Walter Piston, composition, also with Piston, and double bass with Gaston Dufresne. He also studied organ with Henry Gideon. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude in 1929 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."Syncopated Clock, Indeed"; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleigh Ride
"Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. The original recordings were instrumental versions. The lyrics, about riding in a sleigh and other fun wintertime activities, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. Anderson also made arrangements for wind band and piano. The orchestral version was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra. "Sleigh Ride" was a hit record on RCA Victor Red Seal, and has become one of the orchestra's signature songs. The 45 rpm version was originally issued on red vinyl. The Pops have also recorded the song with John Williams, their conductor from 1979 to 1995, and Keith Lockhart, their current conductor. The Ronettes recorded a cover of "Sleigh Ride" in 1963 for Phil Spector's ''A Christmas Gift for You'', which was commercially successful in the United States and f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert MacGimsey
Robert Hunter MacGimsey (1898 – 1979) was an American composer. His most famous song was "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (1934), a well-known Christmas carol written in the style of an African-American spiritual. Early years Born Robert Hunter MacGimsey in Pineville, Louisiana, of white parents, MacGimsey spent most of his formative years in the company of blacks who lived with and worked for and with his family. Due to their influence he wrote in an "African American" style,. and he is often mistakenly assumed to be a black composer. When he was young, MacGimsey sang in the church choir that his mother directed. She ensured that he received training in music, eventually studying under Frank Damrosch at the Institute of Musical Art in New York. Law and politics Before he became known for his musical accomplishments, MacGimsey was an attorney in Lake Providence, Louisiana, in addition to being an adviser to United States Senator Joseph E. Ransdell from Louisiana. In 1960, MacGimse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweet Little Jesus Boy
"Sweet Little Jesus Boy" is a spiritual Christmas song composed by Robert MacGimsey and published in 1934 by Carl Fischer Music. Baritone Lawrence Tibbett was the first to record it. Robert Merrill recorded his version in 1947 (Victor 10-1303). See also * List of Christmas carols This list of Christmas carols is organized by country, language or culture of origin. Originally, a "Christmas carol" referred to a piece of vocal music in carol form whose lyrics centre on the theme of Christmas or the Christmas season. The d ... References American Christmas songs Songs about children Songs about Jesus 1934 songs Songs written by Robert MacGimsey {{1930s-song-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
O Tannenbaum
"" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütz. A '' Tannenbaum'' is a fir tree. The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas, or describe a decorated Christmas tree. Instead, they refer to the fir's evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness. Anschütz based his text on a 16th-century Silesian folk song by Melchior Franck, "". August Zarnack in 1819 wrote a tragic love song inspired by this folk song, taking the evergreen, "faithful" fir tree as contrasting with a faithless lover. The folk song first became associated with Christmas with Anschütz, who added two verses of his own to the first, traditional verse. The custom of the Christmas tree developed in the course of the 19th century, and the song c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
