''Wild Christmas'' is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

album released in 1966 by film star

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

Overview

The record features only eight songs, an unusually short album for the period when most long-playing records had eleven or twelve songs on them. Among the tracks are Christmas songs made famous by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Santa Claus Is Back in Town "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" is a Christmas song written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and first recorded that year by Elvis Presley as the opening track on ''Elvis' Christmas Album'', the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of al ...

", "

Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" is a 1957 Christmas song by Aaron Schroeder and Claude Demetrius, recorded by Elvis Presley. The song was released on the RCA Victor ''Elvis' Christmas Album'' in 1957. Background The song, written by Aaron Sc ...

"), "

Santa Baby "Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt ...

", popularised by Eartha Kitt as well as a not specifically Christmas tune "

From Me to You "From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official U ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. West inserted her own catchphrases into the songs' lyrics for parody effect, for example: "If I have to choose between two evils, I'm gonna pick the one I never tried before" or "A man under the mistletoe is worth two under the tree". The record was produced by David Mallet who also created her quintessential rock album '' Way Out West'' in the same year. The LP was recorded and released not long after West's surprisingly successful rock and roll debut ''Way Out West'' for

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

. 'Wild West', however, was released by the small label Dagonet Records and did not enter the charts. It was re-released as ''Mae in December'' in 1980 with a re-arranged track listing and different artwork. In 2009, it re-appeared as ''Christmas Classics'' in digital format, retaining the 1980 track listing but again sporting a different cover image. ''Wild Christmas'' never received individual CD re-issue, but in 2013, it was bundled on a single CD with '' The Fabulous Mae West''. In 2015, the album was eventually released onto digital music platforms retaining the original track listing and cover image.

Track listing

Original release

; Side A #"

Merry Christmas Baby "Merry Christmas Baby" is an R&B Christmas standard credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. In 1947, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers recorded the tune, featuring vocals and piano by Charles Brown. Subsequently, many performers have recorded rend ...

" (Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore) – 1:54 #"

" (Joan Javits, Philip Springer) – 3:06 #"Santa Come Up to See Me" (David Allen, Dennis Trerotola) – 2:28 #"Put the Loot in the Boot Santa" (Quint Benedetti) – 2:12 ; Side B #"

" (

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

) – 2:46 #"My New Year's Resolution" (David Mallet, Mae West) – 2:45 #" Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me" ( Aaron Schroeder,

Claude Demetrius Claude Demetrius (August 3, 1916 – May 1, 1988) was an American songwriter. He was known for his rockabilly songs, some of which were made famous by singers such as Elvis Presley. Biography Demetrius was born in Bath, Maine, United States. By ...

) – 2:34 #" With Love from Me to You" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

) – 2:19

''Mae in December'' / ''Christmas Classics''

; Side A #"Santa Come Up to See Me" – 2:29 #"Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me" – 2:36 #"Merry Christmas, Baby" – 1:57 #"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" – 2:48 ; Side B #"Put the Loot in the Boot, Santa" – 2:14 #"With Love from Me to You" – 2:21 #"Santa Baby" – 3:09 #"My New Year's Resolution" – 2:47

References

{{Mae West 1966 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Mae West albums