Because It's Christmas
Encyclopedia
Because It's Christmas is the first of three Christmas
albums released by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow
. The album was released in 1990 and was a huge success, becoming Manilow's first platinum album since 1984's 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe
. It also began a period in Manilow's career in which he recorded cover albums. Each album would focus on a particular style of music. He continued this pattern until the release of Here at the Mayflower
in 2001.
The version of "Jingle Bells
" on the album is patterned after the 1943 Bing Crosby
/Andrews Sisters version with the girl group Exposé
taking The Andrews Sisters
' part.
Because It's Christmas was the best-selling Christmas album of 1990 in the U.S.
The album peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200
album sales chart, and spent five weeks at number 1 on Billboard
magazine's special, year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart in December 1990 and January 1991.
On July 19, 2002, Because It's Christmas was certified Platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America
for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
albums released by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
. The album was released in 1990 and was a huge success, becoming Manilow's first platinum album since 1984's 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe
2:00 AM Paradise Cafe
-Side Two:-Personnel:*Barry Manilow – vocals, keyboards, piano*Mel Tormé – vocals*Sarah Vaughan – vocals*Bill Mays – piano, Fender Rhodes*Gerry Mulligan – baritone Saxophone*Mundell Lowe – electric guitar, acoustic guitar...
. It also began a period in Manilow's career in which he recorded cover albums. Each album would focus on a particular style of music. He continued this pattern until the release of Here at the Mayflower
Here at the Mayflower
Here at the Mayflower is an album released by Barry Manilow in 2001. The album is a concept album based on an apartment complex. The album marked the first album to include all original material since 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe in 1984....
in 2001.
The version of "Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
" on the album is patterned after the 1943 Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
/Andrews Sisters version with the girl group Exposé
Exposé (band)
Exposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...
taking The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
' part.
Because It's Christmas was the best-selling Christmas album of 1990 in the U.S.
Best-selling Christmas/Holiday albums in the United States
This page shows the best-selling Christmas albums in the United States. It includes artists from all over the world, but it only includes sales in the United States of America....
The album peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album sales chart, and spent five weeks at number 1 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine's special, year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart in December 1990 and January 1991.
On July 19, 2002, Because It's Christmas was certified Platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.
Side 1
- "The Christmas SongThe Christmas Song"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" - 3:54 - "Jingle BellsJingle Bells"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
" (Duet with ExposéExposé (band)Exposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...
) - 2:39 - "Silent NightSilent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
/I Guess There Ain't No Santa Claus" - 5:19 - "The First NoelThe First NoëlThe First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
/When The Meadow Was Bloomin'" - 5:01 - "Excerpt from Handel's Messiah/Because It's Christmas" - 5:28
Side 2
- "Baby, It's Cold OutsideBaby, It's Cold OutsideBaby, It's Cold Outside may refer to:*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1948 song by Frank Loesser*"Cold Outside", a song by country music band Big House from their self-titled debut album*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1991 short story by Isaac Asimov...
" (Duet with K.T. Oslin) - 5:19 - "White ChristmasWhite Christmas (song)"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...
" - 1:32 - "Carol Of The BellsCarol of the Bells"Carol of the Bells" is the common English language title of a Christmas carol of Ukrainian origin, which has in recent years grown in popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries. The work was originally a choral miniature composition by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych based on...
/The Bells Of Christmas" - 4:48 - "Joy To The WorldJoy to the World"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
/Have Yourself A Merry Little ChristmasHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...
" - 3:46 - "We Wish You A Merry ChristmasWe Wish You a Merry Christmas"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is a popular secular sixteenth-century English carol from the West Country of England. The origin of this Christmas carol lies in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy...
/It's Just Another New Year's EveIt's Just Another New Year's Eve"It's Just Another New Year's Eve" is a song by Barry Manilow. It is based on a melody from Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations....
" - 4:47