| Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Elvis Presley |
| Cover: | ElvisSingsTheWonderfulWorldOfChristmas.jpg |
| Recorded: | June 27, 1968 (live version of "Blue Christmas", on some re-releases); May 15–17, 1971 and June 10, 1971 (main sessions); May 24, 1971; June 21–22, 1971; July 26, 1971 (various overdub sessions) |
| Studio: | RCA Studio B, Nashville, TN |
| Genre: | Christmas, pop, rock and roll |
| Length: | 35:06 |
| Label: | RCA Victor |
| Producer: | Felton Jarvis |
| Prev Title: | I Got Lucky |
| Prev Year: | 1971 |
| Next Title: | Elvis Now |
| Next Year: | 1972 |
Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas is the fifteenth studio album by American singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Records in October, 1971. It was his first Christmas album with new recordings since Elvis' Christmas Album (1957). The album's single, "Merry Christmas Baby" / "O Come All Ye Faithful", was later released in November 1971. This album was a top seller and topped the Christmas LP's chart; it would have charted high on the Billboard Top LPs chart, but from 1963 to 1973, holiday albums were not allowed to chart. Though lacking the commercial appeal of Elvis' first Christmas album, it gradually become a perennial favorite. In 1976, the LP was reissued in the mid-priced RCA Pure Gold series with a revised catalog number (ANL1-1936). The album was certified Gold on November 4, 1977, Platinum on December 1, 1977, 2× Platinum on May 20, 1988, and 3× Platinum on July 15, 1999, by the RIAA.[1]
Several of the songs on the album were published by Elvis Presley's publishing company, such as "Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees", "I'll Be Home on Christmas Day", "If I Get Home on Christmas Day" and "On a Snowy Christmas Night". Presley is accompanied on most of the songs by The Imperials Quartet.
RCA reissued the album on compact disc in 1988. The CD release includes an extended version of "Merry Christmas Baby" and a bonus live track, "Blue Christmas", which was recorded on June 27, 1968, and had been previously released on the 1968 album, Elvis.
In 2017, a two-CD special edition of the album was released on Follow That Dream Records, with a significant number of unreleased takes and unedited versions of the songs that made up the original LP.
In 2021, RCA released Elvis Back in Nashville, a collection of recordings from the spring of 1971. These were the songs that made up various albums including Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas. The four-LP version of this release consists of the raw unedited versions of the songs that would eventually be released after various overdubbing. Of the 21 Christmas related tracks included in the package, the first 11 are presented in the same order as the 1971 release. The remaining tracks are unreleased takes and rehearsals. "Merry Christmas Baby" is presented in its entirety (over 8 minutes) with some short discussion by Elvis prior to the start of the song.
In 2023, RCA re-released the original LP on vinyl, with the track list the same as the original. The cover art for this LP is the same as the 1971 release; however, the rear cover art was altered to reflect then-current updated releases from Elvis' RCA catalog.
Credits from Keith Flynn and Ernst Jorgensen's examination of session tapes and RCA and AFM paperwork.[2] [3]