Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (soundtrack) explained

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Type:	soundtrack
Artist:	cast
Cover:	RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer_Soundtrack_LP.jpg
Caption:	Original LP cover art (1964 Decca)
Released:	December 13, 1964 (LP) June 1, 1995 (CD)
Recorded:	1964
Genre:	Soundtrack, Christmas music, Traditional pop
Length:	35:22
Label:	Decca Records (LP) MCA Records (CD)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a soundtrack album to the 1964 Rankin/Bass television special of the same name. The original cast recordings from the TV special (side "A" of the original LP release) are supplemented with instrumental versions recorded by the Decca Concert Orchestra (on side "B") on the Compact Disc version. All songs used in the television special were written by Johnny Marks.

The original LP album was first released in 1964, however didn't become hugely successful until years later when it was reissued as a CD in 1995.^[1] The CD was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 30, 2004. The album has sold 1,411,200 copies in the United States since 1991 when SoundScan began tracking sales.^[2]

Track listing

LP side A:

1. Overture and "A Holly Jolly Christmas" – 2:23
2. "Jingle Jingle Jingle" – 1:13
3. "We Are Santa's Elves" – 1:31
4. "There's Always Tomorrow" – 1:42
5. "We're a Couple of Misfits" – 1:18
6. "Silver and Gold" – 1:42
7. "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" – 2:18
8. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" – 1:18
9. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Finale – 1:19

LP side B (instrumental versions):

1. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – 1:50
2. "There's Always Tomorrow" – 2:22
3. "Jingle Jingle Jingle" – 2:14
4. "We're a Couple of Misfits" – 1:50
5. "Silver and Gold" – 2:21
6. "We Are Santa's Elves" – 1:09
7. "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" – 2:22
8. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" – 1:32
9. Christmas Medley: "The Night Before Christmas Song" / "A Merry Merry Christmas" / "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" / "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" – 3:17
10. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" – 1:41

• On the re-issue on CD, contents / track order are the same except the "Christmas Medley" is placed in the middle, at track 10 (between A9 and B1 - the Burl Ives' sung and instrumental versions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer").
• The brand-new song "Fame and Fortune", which replaced "We're a Couple of Misfits" in airings of the television special from 1965 through until the special was restored in 1998,^[3] does not appear on the soundtrack album.

Voices and personnel

• Burl Ives – voice of Sam the Snowman ("A Holly Jolly Christmas," "Silver and Gold," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer")
• Stan Francis – voice of Santa Claus ("Jingle, Jingle, Jingle")
• Janis Orenstein – voice of Clarice ("There's Always Tomorrow")
• Billie Mae Richards – voice of Rudolph ("We're A Couple Of Misfits")
• Paul Soles – voice of Hermey ("We're A Couple Of Misfits")
• Maury Laws – musical director of the Videocraft TV Musical
• Decca Concert Orchestra (side B instrumentals)
• Herbert Rehbein – conductor, Decca Concert Orchestra

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2018)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[4]	76
Chart (2019)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[5]	50
Chart (2020)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[6]	51

External links

• Decca DL 34327 (original LP) at discogs.com
• MCA 15003 (1980 LP re-issue) at discogs.com
• MCAD 22177 (1995 CD re-issue) at amazon.com
• Soundtrack at internet movie database (imdb.com)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Burl Ives: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer . AllMusic . Dave . Connolly.
2. News: Top Country Catalog Sales Chart: November 26, 2017 . Matt . Bjorke . November 26, 2017 . Roughstock . December 16, 2017 .
3. Explanation of alternate versions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at imdb.com and at cbspressexpress.com
4. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018. Billboard. December 6, 2021.
5. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. July 4, 2021.
6. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. July 4, 2021.