In the Swing of Christmas explained

In the Swing of Christmas
Type:Cover
Artist:Barry Manilow
Cover:Barry_in_the_swing_of_christmas.jpg
Released:November 1, 2007 / October 13, 2009 (re-release)
Recorded:2007
Studio:
  • Studio At The Palms and Pepper Tree Studios (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  • Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California)
  • Pepper Tree Studios (Palm Springs, California)
  • Firehouse Studios (Pasadena, California)
  • SongLee Studios (La Cañada, California)
Genre:Christmas
Length:34:10 / 39:31 (re-release)
Label:Hallmark / Arista
Producer:
Prev Title:The Greatest Songs of the Seventies
Prev Year:2007
Next Title:Beautiful Ballads & Love Songs
Next Year:2008

In the Swing of Christmas is the third Christmas-themed album by Barry Manilow. Released on November 1, 2007, it was available exclusively at Hallmark Gold Crown stores.[1] The album was certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA in 2008,[2] and was nominated for a Grammy in the 'Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album' category at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.[3]

Produced and arranged by Manilow and co-produced by Scott Erickson, the album features more of a swing jazz style than his previous Christmas releases.[4] The jazz ensemble MaD Fusion (Matt Herskowitz—piano, Mat Fieldes—bass, and David Rozenblatt—drums) accompanied Manilow on four tracks, and The Randy Kerber Trio (Randy Kerber—piano, Mike Valerio—bass, and Joe LaBarbera—drums) was featured on five tracks, along with various other musicians. The first track, "Silver Bells", was performed a capella, with Manilow overdubbing all of the vocals himself. The album included instructions for downloading a bonus track, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear".[5]

On October 13, 2009,[6] the album was re-released on Arista Records with two bonus tracks: "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Christmas Is Just Around the Corner", an original song from the 2008 animated television special Cranberry Christmas.[5] [7] The downloadable bonus track from the Hallmark release was not included. The re-release appeared on the Billboard 200 chart for four non-consecutive weeks in late 2009, peaking at #127 during the week ending December 19.[8]

Track listing

2007 release

  1. "Silver Bells" – 2:37
  2. "Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells" – 2:45
  3. "Joy to the World / It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – 3:07
  4. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – 4:06
  5. "Violets for Your Furs" – 3:22
  6. "O Tannenbaum" / "Winter Wonderland" – 2:57
  7. "Christmas Time Is Here" – 4:35
  8. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)" – 3:18
  9. "Toyland" (Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough) – 3:23
  10. "Count Your Blessings" – 3:48

downloadable bonus track

  1. "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"

2009 re-release

  1. "Silver Bells" – 2:37
  2. "Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells" – 2:45
  3. "Joy to the World / It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – 3:07
  4. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – 4:06
  5. "Violets for Your Furs" – 3:22
  6. "O Tannenbaum" / "Winter Wonderland" – 2:57
  7. "Christmas Time Is Here" – 4:35
  8. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)" – 3:18
  9. "Toyland" (Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough) – 3:23
  10. "Count Your Blessings" – 3:48
  11. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" – 2:26
  12. "Christmas Is Just Around the Corner" (Barry Manilow, Bruce Sussman) – 2:54

Personnel

Production

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Barry Manilow . 2007-10-30 . Barry Manilow . STILETTO Entertainment . 2023-11-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080304130653/http://www.barrymanilow.com:80/ . 2008-03-04 . Tuesday, October 30, 2007 Two more days left until the new Christmas album, IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS, is available in Hallmark Gold Crown stores on November 1!.
  2. Web site: Gold & Platinum . . 2023-11-27.
  3. Web site: 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards . . . 2023-11-27.
  4. Web site: Barry Manilow - In the Swing of Christmas Album Reviews, Songs & More . Widran . Jonathan . . 2023-11-27 . True to its title, his engaging third Christmas CD is more swinging and jazzy than his other two, which had an interesting musical variety but were definitely more pop..
  5. In the Swing of Christmas . Arista Records.
  6. Web site: Barry Manilow Official Merchandise Store . Starz.bz . Hastings, Clayton & Tucker, Inc. . 2023-11-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100122162102/http://www.starz.bz/barrymanilow/product.cfm?product=3218 . 2010-01-22.
  7. Web site: Ocean Spray special features Manilow music . 2008-11-10 . . 2023-11-27.
  8. Web site: Billboard 200 . 2010-01-02 . . . 2023-11-30.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "In the Swing of Christmas".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.