''Jackson 5 Christmas Album'' is the first

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, and fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

family quintet

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

, released on October 15, 1970. Included on the ''Christmas Album'' is the Jacksons' hit single version of "

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 ...

". The Jacksons' versions of " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" remain frequent radio requests during the Christmas season. The album spent four weeks at the number one position on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine's special Christmas Albums chart that the magazine published in December 1970, making it the best-selling Christmas album of that year and also of the year 1972 in the United States. This album was a top seller and had the potential to chart high on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs ranking, but from 1963 to 1973, holiday albums were not allowed to chart in it. The album has been praised by music critics. In the US, the album was released on CD in 1986. In 2003, Universal Motown re-released the album as part of their ''20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection'' series. This version of the album was remastered and included the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

solo song "Little Christmas Tree" as a bonus track (from the various artists compilation '' A Motown Christmas'', originally released in 1973). In 2009, the album was once again re-released as ''Ultimate Christmas Collection'', with Christmas greetings from four of the band members, remixes, and a medley of songs from the album.

Release

The release of ''Jackson 5 Christmas Album'' in October 1970 marked the end of a successful year for the band. Three albums were released by the group, with '' ABC'' in May and ''

Third Album ''Third Album'' is the third studio album released by the Jackson 5 on Motown Records, and the group's second LP released in 1970, on September 18. ''Third Album'' featured the group's fourth consecutive No. 1 single on the US pop charts, " I' ...

'' in September, with a tour running from May to December. The group recreated a similar feat the following year, with '' Maybe Tomorrow'' hitting record stores in April, the ''

Goin' Back to Indiana ''Goin' Back to Indiana'' is a live/soundtrack album by the Jackson 5 for Motown Records, taken from their September 16, 1971 ABC TV special of the same name. It is the Jackson 5's sixth album overall, and was released on September 29, 1971. Th ...

'' soundtrack in September, and a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

collection in December, with a tour which ran from January to August. In addition,

's solo debut single "

Got to Be There ''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's ''Greatest Hits'' (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released ...

", also hit the music stands in October, with the complete album of the same name coming out in January 1972.

Reception

''Jackson 5 Christmas Album'' has been hailed by many as one of the best holiday albums.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

's Lindsay Planer rated ''Jackson 5 Christmas Album'' four and a half out of five stars. She stated that "they carefully crafted and significantly modernized familiar seasonal selections." She also praised all of the tracks. Joshua Alston of '' The A.V. Club'' also praised the album and said "the original songs are among its finest moments". He also said "''Jackson 5 Christmas'' is tough to compete with because it isn't—as Christmas records so often are—an inessential brand extension or bait for discography completists. It's a potent distillation of the spirit of Christmas, an album joyful enough to make me feel like it's the most wonderful time of the year rather than merely telling me so." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' also praised the album, calling it a "gem".

Track listing

Source:

Personnel

Production *

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Moto ...

– producer * The Corporation - producers *

James Anthony Carmichael James Anthony Carmichael (born September 14, 1941) is an American Grammy-winning musician, arranger, and record producer. At first he started off in Los Angeles as an arranger and producer for Motown acts like The Temptations and the Jackson 5. ...

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

– arrangements Technical * Adam Abrams – production coordinator * Harry Weinger – supervisor * Vartan – art direction * Alana Coghlan, Katherine Marking – design

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson 5 Christmas Album, The 1970 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists The Jackson 5 albums Motown albums Albums arranged by Gene Page Albums produced by Berry Gordy Albums produced by Alphonzo Mizell Albums produced by Deke Richards Albums produced by Freddie Perren Albums produced by the Corporation (record production team) Pop Christmas albums Rhythm and blues Christmas albums