''The Spirit of Christmas 2003'' is the tenth compilation album of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

-associated tracks in the annual

Spirit of Christmas ''The Spirit of Christmas'' may refer to: Film and television * ''The Spirit of Christmas'' (short films), two versions of an animated short film created by ''South Park'' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 1992 and 1995 * ''The Spirit of Chr ...

series. It was released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in mid-November 2003 with proceeds going to

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

's Red Shield Appeal, which supports at-risk children and youth throughout the country. The compilation has contributions from various Australian artists and was produced by Lindsay Field (also compiler) and

Glenn Wheatley Glenn Dawson Wheatley (23 January 1948 – 1 February 2022) was an Australian musician, talent manager and tour promoter. Career Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s he became known national ...

. It was issued on CD by Myer Grace Bros. and distributed by

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

Background

The Spirit of Christmas series started in 1993 when Myer, an Australian

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

, wished to continue their philanthropic support in the community, "whilst at the same time providing something special for everyone to enjoy". They choose

's Red Shield Appeal for at-risk children and youth throughout the country as the recipients in 2003. Since 1993 the series had raised more than 4 million for the charity. Session and touring musician, Lindsay Field was the executive producer and compiler. Field contacted various fellow Australian musicians – including those he had worked with personally – to donate a track for the compilation, most commonly a new rendition of a standard

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

. Together with

(former member of The Masters Apprentices and manager of Little River Band), Field produced the recording for Myer Grace Bros. own label which was distributed by

Track listing

# "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" –

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive week ...

# "Mary's Boy Child" –

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...

# "O Holy Night" –

Mercury4 Mercury4 were an Australian boy band vocal quartet formed in 2002 with Rien Low, Brad Johnston, Javier Perez and Cole Rintoul. In early 2004 Perez was replaced by Kevin Layton. They issued a self-titled studio album, '' Mercury4'' (May 2004) wh ...

# "Love's in Need of Love Today" –

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

# "The Man with the Bag" – The Rudolphs featuring

Dannielle Gaha Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea, sometimes styled as Danni'elle, is an Australian singer and songwriter. She has toured and recorded with fellow Australian John Farnham; their 1989 duet, "Communication", peaked at number 13 on the Australian Record ...

# "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" – Bachelor Girl # "Wish You Were Here" –

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter and radio host. Schneider has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, the renowned yodelling country artist Mar ...

# "Silver Bells" –

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

featuring the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

# "I'll Be Home for Christmas" – Kate Ceberano # "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" – David Campbell # "Christmas Medley" – Stuart Fraser and

Brett Garsed Brett Edward Garsed (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian musician and songwriter, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the American band Nelson. Garsed was feature ...

# "And the World Is One on a Christmas Morning" –

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Ca ...

# "The Spirit of Christmas" – Ross Wilson # "The Twelve Days of Christmas" –

Australian Girls Choir Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

# "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" –

Judith Durham Judith Durham (born Judith Mavis Cock; 3 July 1943 – 5 August 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1963. The group became the first Australian p ...

and

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit of Christmas 2003 2003 Christmas albums 2003 compilation albums Christmas albums by Australian artists The Spirit of Christmas albums

Background

Track listing

See also

References