''What a Night! A Christmas Album'', by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer, pianist and bandleader Harry Connick Jr., was released on November 4, 2008., being his third Christmas album, since 1993's ''

When My Heart Finds Christmas ''When My Heart Finds Christmas'' is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s first Christmas album. Released in 1993, it is among the most popular holiday collections of the past three decades in the United States. Connick Jr composed four songs ...

'' and 2003's ''

Harry for the Holidays ''Harry for the Holidays'' is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s second Christmas album, released in 2003. The album features Connick and his 16 piece Big Band and a full section of chordophones. ''Harry for the Holidays'' was the best-selli ...

''. The album consists of new recordings of Christmas classics, and new songs written by Connick. The first public mentioning of recording the album, came in an interview in

The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

in June 2008. The album was first called ''Christmas Day'', but the title was changed in September 2008, to ''What a Night! A Christmas Album''. The track "Song for the Hopeful", is a duet with

Kim Burrell Kimberly Jean Burrell (born August 27, 1972) is an American, Grammy–nominated, gospel singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor from Houston, Texas, United States. Biography Early life Born Kimberly Jean Burrell on August 27, 1972 in Houston, Te ...

. The song was written by Connick for the 2008 television film '' Living Proof''.What a Night! A Christmas Album

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

Burell is also featured on "Let There Be Peace On Earth". Connick has three daughters with his wife

Jill Goodacre Jill Goodacre Connick (born March 29, 1964) is an American actress and former model. She was one of Victoria's Secret's main models in the 1980s and early 1990s. She is married to singer Harry Connick Jr. Career Victoria's Secret Goodacre was a ...

, and their middle daughter Sarah Kate, sings a duet with him on the track "

Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, ...

".Harry Connick Jr. Celebrates the Holidays With Seasonal Favorites and New Songs on 'What A Night! – A Christmas Album'
The Earth Times, October 6, 2008 When the track list was first announced, the songs "Christmas Time is Here" and "Trinity", was part of the album. In early October, those two tracks were replaced with two new tracks: "

Christmas Day 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, ...

", and an instrumental version of Tchaikovsky's "

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

Track listing

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, ''The Andy Williams Christm ...

" (

Edward Pola Edward Pola (June 23, 1907 – November 3, 1995)Passenger list, S.S. ''Transylvania'', port of New York, 20 August 1931. was an actor, radio producer, radio/television producer, and songwriter. Pola was born Sidney Edward Pollacsek in New York City ...

George Wyle George Wyle (born Bernard Weissman; March 22, 1916 – May 2, 2003) was an American orchestra leader and composer best known for having written the theme song to 1960s television sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. He is the grandfather of musici ...

) – 3:28 #"What a Night!" ( Harry Connick Jr.) – 3:24 #"

" ( Connick) – 3:24 #"

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas ''Have a Holly Jolly Christmas'' is a Christmas album by American folk singer Burl Ives, first released by Decca Records in October 1965 (recorded in November 1964). It peaked at #32 on '' Billboards Best Bets For Christmas album chart on Decem ...

" (

Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...

) – 4:05 #"

Please Come Home for Christmas "Please Come Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written in 1960 and released the same year by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown. Hitting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with G ...

" ( Charles Brown, Gene Redd) – 4:26 #"

O Come All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...

" (traditional) – 4:15 #" Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairies" (

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

) – 2:46 #"Let There Be Peace On Earth" (Sy Miller, Jill Jackson) – 3:30 – feat.

" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 3:50 – feat. Kate Connick #"

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas". The song has been recorded by many artists, but was a hit for Perry Co ...

" (

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 195 ...

) – 3:30 #"Santariffic" ( Connick) – 3:58 – feat.

Lucien Barbarin Lucien Barbarin (July 17, 1956 – January 30, 2020) was an American trombone player. Barbarin toured internationally with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and with Harry Connick Jr. He made his debut at the age of six, playing drums in the On ...

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 th ...

" (

James Lord Pierpont James Lord Pierpont (April 25, 1822 – August 5, 1893)Lewis, DaveJames Pierpont Biography, AllMusic, retrieved December 16, 2011 was an American songwriter , arranger, organist, Confederate States of America, Confederate States soldier, and co ...

) – 5:28 #"Zat You Santa Claus" (Jack Fox) – 3:40 #"

We Three Kings "We Three Kings", original title "Three Kings of Orient", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol that was written by John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857. At the time of composing the carol, Hopki ...

" (Reverend John Henry Hopkins Jr.) – 4:45 #"Song for the Hopeful" ( Connick) – 4:35 – feat.

iTunes bonus track

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" (: note "s" rather than "z") is a popular song, particularly in the English-speaking world. Traditionally, it is sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. By extension, it is also often ...

" (traditional) – 2:16 (album only) #Digital Booklet (album only)

Barnes & Noble Exclusive Version

Deck the Halls "Deck the Hall” is a traditional Christmas carol. The melody is Welsh, dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862. ...

" (traditional) – 2:57 #"Christmas Time is Here" (

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

Lee Mendelson Leland Maurice Mendelson (March 24, 1933 – December 25, 2019) was an American animation producer and the executive producer of the many ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Biography Mendelson was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo gra ...

) – 5:06 #"

O Christmas Tree "" (; "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 ...

" (traditional) – 3:22 :Disc 2 (DVD) #Holiday interview with Harry #Photo gallery #" (It Must Have Been) Ol’ Santa Claus" #" I Pray on Christmas" #"

The Happy Elf ''The Happy Elf'' is a 2005 computer-animated Christmas television special based on Harry Connick, Jr.’s song of the same name. The special is narrated by Connick and stars the voices of Rob Paulsen, Carol Kane, Lewis Black, Kevin Michael Ric ...

" * ''*also found on the ''

'' DVD

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

Arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

by Harry Connick Jr. *Harry Connick Jr. –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

–

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

– vocals, piano, keyboards *Kate Connick – vocals *James Hall & Worship & Praise –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

Jonathan Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music ( Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, ...

– vocals, keyboards, piano *Neal Caine – bass *Jonathan DuBose Jr. – vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Charles "Ned" Goold –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

*Jerry Weldon –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

*Dave Schumacher –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

*Roger Ingram –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Tony Kadlek – flugelhorn *

Joe Magnarelli Joseph Anthony Magnarelli (born January 19, 1960) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. Early life and education Magnarelli was born in Syracuse, New York. He received a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Fr ...

– trumpet *Jeff Bush – trombone *Dion Tucker – trombone *Joe Barati –

bass trombone The bass trombone (german: Bassposaune, it, trombone basso) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to ...

*Arthur Latin II –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*The Honolulu Heartbreakers – vocals

Tour

A Holiday Celebration Tour 2008, is a concert tour with his

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

to support the album. The tour was confirmed by the official Harry Connick Jr. website in September 2008. One of their stops included the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

Tour dates

References

External links

Harry Connick Jr.'s official websiteHarry Connick Jr.'s official Sony BMG Music page
{{DEFAULTSORT:What A Night! A Christmas Album Harry Connick Jr. albums 2008 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Jazz Christmas albums Columbia Records Christmas albums