| Merry Christmas | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Johnny Mathis |
| Cover: | Album_Johnny_Mathis_-_Merry_Christmas_cover.jpeg |
| Caption: | Original LP cover |
| Released: | October 6, 1958[1] |
| Recorded: | June 16, 18, and 20, 1958[2] |
| Studio: | CBS 30th Street Studio New York City |
| Genre: | Christmas |
| Length: | 44:08 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | Mitch Miller Al Ham |
| Prev Title: | Swing Softly |
| Prev Year: | 1958 |
| Next Title: | Open Fire, Two Guitars |
| Next Year: | 1959 |
Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis and was released by Columbia Records on October 6, 1958.[1] The selections are a mix of traditional Christmas carols ("Silent Night", "O Holy Night", "The First Noel") and holiday hits ("The Christmas Song", "White Christmas", "Silver Bells").
The album debuted on Billboard magazine's list of the 25 Best-Selling Pop LPs in the US in its December 15, 1958, issue and got as high as number three during its initial four-week run.[3] It made additional appearances there each holiday season from 1959 to 1962 and on the magazine's Christmas Albums and Pop Catalog Albums charts in subsequent years.[1] It received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies in the US in December 1960[4] and in 2013 ranked as one of the top selling Christmas albums of all time with five million copies sold.[5]
Four songs from the album – "Winter Wonderland", "Blue Christmas", "White Christmas", and "Sleigh Ride" – were also released on the EP Merry Christmas, Vol. 1, which reached number two during the 1958 holiday season and number seven the following year on the magazine's Best-Selling Pop EPs chart.[3] "Winter Wonderland" also spent three weeks on the UK singles chart, where his recording peaked at number 17 over the course of three weeks that began on Christmas Day 1958.[6]
The album was initially released only in the monaural format but became available in stereo in 1959.[7] It was issued in the UK by Fontana Records and was later reissued in 1962 with a different cover both there and in the US.[7] The original cover was used for compact disc pressings, the first of which was in 1984,[8] and an edition featuring two bonus tracks was released on September 16, 2003.[9] The 2015 Mathis compilation The Complete Christmas Collection 1958–2010, a 3-CD set on the Real Gone Music label, also includes the album in its track list.
From the liner notes for the 2003 CD release:[2]
From the liner notes for The Complete Christmas Collection 1958-2010:[10]
| Debut date | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Best-Selling Pop LPs | Christmas Albums | Top Pop Catalog Albums | |
| 12/15/58 | 3 | — | — |
| 12/21/59 | 10 | — | — |
| 12/26/60 | 10 | — | — |
| 12/18/61 | 31 | — | — |
| 12/8/62 | 12 | — | — |
| 11/30/63 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/5/64 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/11/65 | — | 7 | — |
| 12/3/66 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/2/67 | — | 2 | — |
| 12/7/68 | — | 5 | — |
| 12/27/69 | — | 15 | — |
| 12/1/73 | — | 3 | — |
| 12/24/88 | — | 18 | — |
| 12/23/89 | — | 20 | — |
| 12/22/90 | — | 16 | — |
| 12/7/91 | — | 17 | — |
| 12/14/91 | — | — | 24 |
| 11/28/92 | — | — | 10 |
| 12/5/92 | — | 12 | — |
| 12/4/93 | — | 21 | 14 |
| 12/3/94 | — | 35 | — |
| 12/10/94 | — | — | 29 |
| 12/16/95 | — | — | 37 |
| 12/21/96 | — | — | 33 |
| 12/28/96 | — | 39 | — |
| 12/19/98 | — | — | 48 |
| 12/18/99 | — | — | 49 |