In 1963,
Phil Spector released his first and only Christmas album, A Christmas Gift for
You from Phil Spector. The album, in which he incorporated his legendary Wall
of Sound into Christmas standards using his roster of popular artists from his
Philles label, marks its 50th anniversary this month. The album has become a
Christmas classic. In fact, it is often cited as Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s
favorite album of all time. The album features vocal performances from The
Crystals, The Ronettes, Darlene Love, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans.
First
released on November 22, 1963, the same day that President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated, the album did not fare well and peaked at No.13 on Billboard
magazine’s special year-end, Christmas Albums sales chart. Its low ranking was
in part due to a moratorium placed on rock music during this time of national
mourning. Spector adored President Kennedy and had even visited the Kennedy
White House. With the whole world in mourning, Spector himself concluded that
this was no time to promote a merry Christmas album, and pulled his masterpiece
from the marketplace. Original pressings are scarce and collectible today.
However,
the album eventually became a seasonal radio favourite especially after its
reissue on Apple records in 1972, peaking at No. 6 on Billboard magazine’s
special year-end Christmas Albums sales chart, its highest chart ranking ever.
It grew in popularity and eventually, 50 years later, it is considered to be a
seasonal favourite. Several of its tracks have become iconic Christmas songs
for generations, most notably, Darlene Love’s "Christmas (Baby Please Come
Home)," which ironically was the first single released in 1963.
A
Christmas Gift for You also occupies a special place in rock history because it
marked the first time that teenagers were able to study the names of the
players who worked on many of Spector’s productions at Gold Star Studios. Known
behind the scenes as “The Wrecking Crew,” many of these names became
established artists in their own right within a few years. Credit went to Jack
Nitzsche as arranger, Larry Levine as the Gold Star studio engineer, and the
Johnny Vidor Strings.
The horn
section comprised “Teenage” Steve Douglas (saxophone), Jay Migliori
(saxophone), Roy Caton (trumpet), and Louis Blackburn. On guitars were Tommy
“Arbuckle” Tedesco, Bill Pitman, Irv Rubins, and Nino Tempo. Ray Pohlman and
Jimmy Bond played bass. Keyboards were listed as Leon Russell, Don Randi, and
Al Delory. Sonny Bono, Frank Kapp and Jack Nitzsche were the percussionists. On
drums was the legendary Hal Blaine, a charter member of “The Wrecking Crew.”
The
release history in the U.S. of A Christmas Gift for You is part of the album’s
mystique. After the original Philles issue in 1963, the Beatles’ Apple edition
in 1972 actually hit the Top 10 in Billboard. The first stereo mastered LP was
issued in 1974, on the Warner/Spector imprint. CBS Records even released the
album once, via its Pavilion associated label in 1981. Rhino went back to the
mono mastering when it issued the record on CD for the first time in 1987. Two
years later, a new mono version of the CD appeared on Allen Klein’s ABKCO
Records, which kept the title in print until 2007, when EMI Music Publishing
took control of the Philles catalog, as the next – and most eagerly anticipated
– phase of the Philles story began to take shape in partnership with Sony
Music, which reissued the album in 2009.
A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU FROM PHIL
SPECTOR
(Phil Spector Records/Legacy 88697
59214 2)
1. White
Christmas - Darlene Love
2.
Frosty the Snowman - The Ronettes
3. The
Bells of St. Mary - Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
4. Santa
Claus Is Coming to Town - The Crystals
5.
Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes
6.
Marshmallow World - Darlene Love
7. I Saw
Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes
8.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - The Crystals
9.
Winter Wonderland - Darlene Love
10.
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - The Crystals
11.
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
12. Here
Comes Santa Claus - Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
13.
Silent Night - Phil Spector and Artists
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