''Christmas Is... Johnny Farnham'' (later re-released twice as ''Memories of Christmas'' by Johnny Farnham, with different cover art, at the time of the album's release, he was now recording under John Farnham) is a studio album of Christmas songs recorded by Australian pop singer John Farnham (then billed as Johnny Farnham) and released on EMI Records in December 1970. The single, "Christmas Happy", was also released in December. It would be Farnham's only Christmas album until some 46 years later, when in 2016 he would release Friends for Christmas, a duet seasonal album with
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 ...
.
Re-releases
The album was re-released under the new title of ''Memories of Christmas'', on 13 November 1995 and again on 6 December 1997 with different covers and an altered track list each time.
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
"
Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
"Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The novelty song was released in November 1967 and was No. 1 on the ''Go-Set'' National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 NOTE: ''Go-Set'' publis ...
" released in 1967. Selling 180 000 copies in Australia, "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. His first Christmas song was a non-album single, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", in November 1968. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until
ARIA
In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
created their own
charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...
in mid-1988. A
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...
" was released in November 1969 and peaked at No. 1 for seven weeks in January–March 1970. After his third album, '' Looking Through a Tear'' was released in July 1970, a non-album single, "Comic Conversation" was released in October and peaked at No. 10 on the ''Go-Set'' National Top 60 Singles Chart. NOTE: Farnham's single is listed as "Cosmic Conversations" at #52, over its 18-week run it had a peak position of #10. Farnham recorded his fourth album as ''Christmas Is... Johnny Farnham'', it was released in December and contained Christmas songs but did not chart on the ''Go-Set'' National Top 20 Albums Chart. One of the songs, "Good Time Christmas", was written by Farnham. The single, "Christmas Happy", was also released in December.
Track listing
# "
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then ...
" (
J. Fred Coots
John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for t ...
,
Haven Gillespie
James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", " Breezi ...
) – 3:14
# "Christmas Is" (
Percy Faith
Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listeni ...
Little Drummer Boy
"The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 195 ...
" (
Katherine Kennicott Davis
Katherine Kennicott Davis (June 25, 1892 – April 20, 1980) was an American composer, pianist, arranger, and teacher, whose most well-known composition is the Christmas song "Carol of the Drum," later known as "The Little Drummer Boy".
Life and ...
, Henry Onorati,
Harry Simeone
Harry Moses Simeone (May 9, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was an American music arranger, conductor and composer who popularized the Christmas song " The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit.
Early years
Simeone was born ...
) – 3:42
# "
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...
" ( James Pierpont) – 2:49
# "Good Time Christmas" (John Farnham) – 2:28
# "
Everything Is Beautiful
"Everything Is Beautiful" is a song written, composed, and performed by Ray Stevens. It has appeared on many of Stevens's albums, including one named after the song, and has become a pop standard and common in religious performances. The childre ...
" (
Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
) – 3:55
# "
The First Noel
"The First Nowell", also known as "The First Noel (or Noël)", is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins, most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.(Traditional; arranged by
Davies Gilbert
Davies Gilbert (born Davies Giddy, 6 March 1767 – 24 December 1839) was an English engineer, author, and politician. He was elected to the Royal Society on 17 November 1791 and served as President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830. He ...
) – 3:08
# "
Silent Night
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...
" (
Josef Mohr
Josephus Franciscus Mohr, sometimes spelled Josef (11 December 1792 – 4 December 1848) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and writer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night."
Early life and education
Mohr was born in S ...
John Howard Payne
John Howard Payne (June 9, 1791 – April 10, 1852) was an American actor, poet, playwright, and author who had nearly two decades of a theatrical career and success in London. He is today most remembered as the creator of "Home! Sweet Home ...
) – 3:11
# "Little Boy Dear" (François Vaz) – 3:38
# "It Must Be Getting Close to Christmas" (
Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...