The Magic of Christmas (Nat King Cole album)

The Magic of Christmas is a 1960 album by Nat King Cole, arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael.^[4]

The Magic of Christmas
Studio album by Nat King Cole
Released	1960
Recorded	July 5–7, 1960
Studio	Capitol (Hollywood)[1]
Genre	Christmas music
Length	31:00
Label	Capitol
Producer	Lee Gillette
Nat King Cole chronology
Wild Is Love (1960) The Magic of Christmas (1960) The Nat King Cole Story (1961)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]

This was Cole's only complete album of Christmas songs, although he had recorded several holiday singles earlier in his career. One of these, "The Christmas Song", originally recorded in 1946, was re-recorded for the 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story.

It is the best-selling Christmas album released in the 1960s, and was certified by the RIAA for shipments of 6 million copies in the U.S.^[5] The 1963 version reached number 1 on Billboard's Christmas Albums chart and remained for two weeks.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Deck the Halls" (Traditional)
2. "Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)" (John Francis Wade)
3. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (Traditional)
4. "O Tannenbaum" (Traditional)
5. "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillip Brooks, Lewis Redner)
6. "I Saw Three Ships" (Traditional)
7. "O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight)

Side two

1. "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley)
2. "A Cradle in Bethlehem" (Alfred Bryan, Larry Stock)
3. "Away in a Manger" (Traditional)
4. "Joy to the World" (Lowell Mason, Isaac Watts)
5. "The First Noel" (William B. Sandys)
6. "Caroling, Caroling" (Alfred Burt, Wihla Hutson)
7. "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr)

• All tracks, save for "A Cradle in Bethlehem" and "Caroling, Caroling", are credited on the LP label as being adapted by Nat King Cole and Edith Bergdahl.^[6]
• The album was reissued in 1963 as The Christmas Song, with the title track added as the leadoff to Side 1 and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" omitted.^[7]
• An alternate, all-English performance of "O, Come All Ye Faithful" was recorded during the album sessions and first released in 1990 on the compilation album Cole, Christmas, & Kids.^[8]

Personnel

• Nat King Cole – lead vocals
• The Ralph Carmichael Chorus – background vocals^[8]
• Ralph Carmichael – arranger, conductor

Orchestra members^[1]

• Piano: Milton Raskin
• Guitar: John Collins
• Bass played by: Lloyd Lunham
• Arco Bass: Bob Stone
• Drums: Lee Young
• Percussion: John Cyr (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Ralph Hansell (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Dale Anderson
• Harp: Kathryn Thompson
• Violins: Harold Dicterow (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Dave Frisina (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Nate Kaproff (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Joe Livoti (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Emanuel Moss (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Lou Raderman (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Isadore Roman (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Victor Arno, Emil Briano, James Getzoff, Alex Murray, Erno Neufield, Ralph Schaeffer, Joseph Stepansky, Jerry Vinci, Israel Baker
• Violas: Milt Thomas (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Alvin Dinkin (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Ray Menhennick (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Gary Nuttycombe (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Al Harshman, Lou Kievman
• Cellos: Dave Filerman (A3, A5, A7, B2, B6), Armand Kaproff (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Ed Lustgarten (A1-A2, A4, B1, B4), Emmett Sargeant, Joseph Saxon

On A1-A2, A4, B1, B4:

• Trumpet: Ray Linn, Joe Triscari, George Werth
• Trombone: Jim Henderson, Tommy Shepard, Lloyd Ullate
• Reeds: Lloyd W. Hildebrand, Jules Jacob, Harry Klee, Arthur Smith

Tracks 1, 2, 4, 8, 11,

06-July-1960 (Wednesday) - Hollywood. Capitol Tower Studio A

The Ralph Carmichael Chorus (Vocalists); Ray Linn, Joe Triscari, George Werth (tpt); James Henderson, Tom Shepard, Lloyd Ulyate (tbn); Jules Jacob, Lloyd Hildebrand, Harry Klee, Arthur Smith (wwd); Victor Arno, Israel Baker, Emil Briano, James Getzoff, Nathan Kaproff, Joseph Livoti, Emanuel Moss, Alex Murray, Erno Neufeld, Isadore Roman, Ralph Schaeffer, Joe Stepansky, Gerald Vinci (vln); Allan Harshman, Lou Kievman, Ray Menhennick, Milton Thomas (via); Armand Kaproff, Edgar Lustgarten, Emmet Sargeant, Joseph Saxon (vlc); Milt Raskin (p); John Collins (g); Lloyd Lunham (b); Lee Young (d); Dale Anderson, Ralph Hansell (perc); Ralph Carmichael (arr/cond).

Tracks 3, 5, 7, 9, 13,

07-July-1960 (Thursday) - Hollywood. Capitol Tower Studio A

The Ralph Carmichael Chorus (Vocalists); Victor Arno, Israel Baker, Emil Briano, Harold Dicterow, Dave Frisina, James Getzoff, Alex Murray, Erno Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Ralph Schaeffer, Joe Stepansky, Gerald Vinci (vln); Alvin Dinkin, Allan Harshman, Lou Kievman, Gary Nuttycombe (via); Dave Filerman, Emmet Sargeant, Joseph Saxon (vlc); Bob Stone (arco); Kathryn Thompson (harp); Milt Raskin (p); John Collins (g); Lloyd Lunham (b); Lee Young (d); Dale Anderson, John Cyr (perc); Ralph Carmichael (arr/cond).

Tracks 6, 10, 12, 14,

05-July-1960 (Tuesday) - Hollywood. Capitol Tower Studio A

The Ralph Carmichael Chorus (Vocalists); Ralph Carmichael (arr/cond).

The Christmas Song reissue

The Christmas Song cover of a 2009 reissue

In 1999 The Magic of Christmas was reissued under the title The Christmas Song, with several added tracks including an alternate version of "The Christmas Song" with Cole's daughter, and with new cover art.^[9] This version of the album was placed at number 38 on Rolling Stone's top 65 greatest Christmas albums of all time.^[10]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nat's Christmas Wishes"	0:16
2.	"The Christmas Song"	3:14
3.	"Deck The Hall"	1:08
4.	"Adeste Fideles"	2:24
5.	"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"	1:32
6.	"O Tannenbaum"	3:03
7.	"O Little Town of Bethlehem"	2:21
8.	"I Saw Three Ships"	1:28
9.	"O Holy Night"	3:02
10.	"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"	1:51
11.	"A Cradle in Bethlehem"	3:27
12.	"Away in a Manger"	2:01
13.	"Joy to the World"	1:28
14.	"The First Noel"	2:01
15.	"Caroling, Caroling"	2:03
16.	"Silent Night"	2:11
17.	"Buon Natale (Means Merry Christmas to You)" (featuring Anthony Hamilton)	1:36
18.	"All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)"	2:31
19.	"The Happiest Christmas Tree"	1:45
20.	"The Christmas Song" (featuring Natalie Cole)	3:44
Total length:		43:00

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Christmas Song Chart (1960–2024) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 19 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 13 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 23 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] 3 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[15] 8 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 9 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 30 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 14 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[19] 15 Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)[20] 23 Irish Albums (OCC)[21] 5 Italian Albums (FIMI)[22] 26 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[23] 11 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] 11 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[25] 75 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 9 UK Albums (OCC)[27] 22 US Billboard 200[28] 4 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Christmas Song Chart (2019) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[30] 79 Chart (2020) Position US Billboard 200[31] 187 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[32] 71 Chart (2021) Position US Billboard 200[33] 177 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[34] 64 Chart (2022) Position US Billboard 200[35] 179 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[36] 60 Chart (2023) Position US Billboard 200[37] 179 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[38] 57 Chart (2024) Position US Billboard 200[39] 179 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[40] 51

Certifications

Certifications and sales for The Christmas Song

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[41]	Gold	10,000‡
United States (RIAA)[42]	6× Platinum	6,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.