OH! LITTLE TOWN OF                          BETHLEHEM
ELVIS PRESLEY
SONGWRITER: PHILLIPS BROOKS & LEWIS REDNER
COUNTRY: U. S. A,
ALBUM: ELVIS’ CHRISTMAS ALBUM
LABEL: RCA VICTOR
GENRE: CHRISTMAS SONG
YEAR: 1957
 
             Elvis' Christmas Album (also reissued as It's Christmas Time) is the third studio album and first Christmas album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley on RCA Victor, LOC -1035, a deluxe limited edition, released October 15, 1957, and recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It has been reissued in numerous different formats since its first release. It spent four weeks at Nº. 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and was the first of two Christmas-themed albums Presley would record, the other being Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, released in 1971. The publication Music Vendor listed Elvis' Christmas Album on their singles charts for two weeks in December 1957 – January 1958, with a peak position of Nº. 49.
         According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Elvis' Christmas Album along with its reissues has shipped at least 17 million copies in the United States. It is the first Presley title to attain Diamond certification by the RIAA, and is also the best-selling Christmas album of all time in the United States. With total sales of more 20 million copies worldwide, it remains the world's best-selling Christmas album and one of the best-selling albums of all time.
             "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a Christmas carol. Based on an 1868 text written by Phillips Brooks, the carol is popular on both sides of the Atlantic, but to different tunes: in North America to "St. Louis" by Brooks' collaborator, Lewis Redner; and in the United Kingdom and Ireland to "Forest Green", a tune collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams and first published in the 1906 English Hymnal.
               The text was written by Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), an Episcopal priest, then rector of Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia and later of Trinity Church, Boston. He was inspired by visiting the village of Bethlehem in the Sanjak of Jerusalem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church, and his organista Lewis Redner (1831-1908) added the music.

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
 
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above
While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love
Oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth.
And praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.
 
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

AVE MARIA

FRANK SINATRA
SONGWRITER: JÖRGEN ELOFSSON
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: CHRISTMAS SONG BY SINATRA/CD
LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS
GENRE: CHRISTMAS SONG
YEAR: 1994
 
          Francis Albert Sinatra, noto come Frank Sinatra (/fræŋk sᵻ'nɑːtrə/) (Hoboken, 12 dicembre 1915 – West Hollywood, 14 maggio 1998), è stato un cantante, attore, comico e conduttore televisivo statunitense di origine italiana.
            Considerato da molti critici musicali la più grande voce del XX secolo, è noto in Italia soprattutto come The Voice, mentre negli Stati Uniti d'America e in altri Paesi era conosciuto anche con soprannomi come Ol' Blue Eyes, Frankie, Swoonatra (derivato dal verbo swoon, "svenire", riferito all'effetto che produceva sulle sue ammiratrici) e molti altri. Fu un personaggio importante e carismatico dell'intrattenimento statunitense e mondiale, ed è entrato nella leggenda per l'eterna giovinezza delle sue canzoni e della sua voce, riuscendo ad imporsi nel panorama musicale mondiale dal periodo della grande depressione americana fino ai giorni nostri, grazie ad un'intensa attività durata oltre 60 anni, dai primi anni Trenta fino al 1995, anno in cui tenne il suo ultimo concerto dal vivo.
          Con centinaia di milioni di dischi venduti è considerato uno dei più prolifici artisti musicali. Nella sua lunghissima carriera, che ha coperto ben sette decenni, si è aggiudicato complessivamente due premi Oscar (uno per meriti cinematografici e l'altro è il Premio umanitario Jean Hersholt), due Golden Globe, ventuno Grammy Awards, un Emmy Award, il Cecil B. De Mille Award, un Peabody Award, il Kennedy Center Honors nel 1983.
           Nel 1985 ricevette dal presidente Ronald Reagan la Presidential Medal of freedom (Medaglia presidenziale della libertà) e nel 1997 gli Stati Uniti lo onorarono con la Congressional Gold Medal (Medaglia d'oro del Congresso), la più alta onorificenza assegnata dagli USA. Oltre 2200 brani e più di 60 album di canzoni inedite pubblicati (esclusi i postumi e le raccolte) ne fanno uno dei cantanti con la maggior produzione discografica della storia.
          Christmas Songs by Sinatra è un álbum natalizio del crooner statunitense Frank Sinatra, pubblicato nel 1948 dalla Columbia Records.
              Christmas Songs contiene standard musicali di Natale cantate con la voce rassicurante del Sinatra giovanile e con grandi cori. Le canzoni sono state registrate tra il 1944 e il 1948, e sono state arrangiate da Axel Stordahl. L'album raggiunse la seconda posizione nella classifica Billboard 200.
           Nelle edizioni successive vennero aggiunte sette tracce addizionali, tutte registrate tra il 1948 e il 1950, e l'ordine dei brani venne cambiato.

Gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulierbus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tue, Jesus.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribut
Ora pro nobis
Ora, ora pro nobis peccatoribut
Nunc et in hora mortis
Et in hora mortis nostres
Et in hora mortis nostres
Et in hora mortis nostres
Ave Maria.

SILENT NIGHT

DINAH WASHINGTON
SONGWRITHER: FRANZ XAVER GRUBER & JOSEPH MOHR
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: SILENT NIGHT
LABEL: MERCURY RECORDS
GENRE: CHRISTMAS SONG
YEAR: 1953
 
              Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
          Ruth Lee Jones was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Alice and Ollie Jones, and moved to Chicago as a child. She became deeply involved in gospel and played piano for the choir in St. Luke's Baptist Church while still in elementary school. She sang gospel music in church and played piano, directing her church choir in her teens and being a member of the Sallie Martin Gospel Singers. When she joined the Sallie Martin group, she dropped out of Wendell Phillips High School. She sang lead with the first female gospel singers formed by Sallie Martin, who was co-founder of the Gospel Singers Convention. Her involvement with the gospel choir occurred after she won an amateur contest at Chicago's Regal Theater where she sang "I Can't Face the Music".
                  After winning a talent contest at the age of 15, she began performing in clubs. By 1941–42 she was performing in such Chicago clubs as Dave's Café and the Downbeat Room of the Sherman Hotel (with Fats Waller). She was playing at the Three Deuces, a jazz club, when a friend took her to hear Billie Holiday at the Garrick Stage Bar. Club owner Joe Sherman was so impressed with her singing of "I Understand", backed by the Cats and the Fiddle, who were appearing in the Garrick's upstairs room, that he hired her. During her year at the Garrick – she sang upstairs while Holiday performed in the downstairs room – she acquired the name by which she became known. She credited Joe Sherman with suggesting the change from Ruth Jones, made before Lionel Hampton came to hear Dinah at the Garrick. Hampton's visit brought an offer, and Washington worked as his female band vocalist after she had sung with the band for its opening at the Chicago Regal Theatre.
              She made her recording debut for the Keynote label that December with "Evil Gal Blues", written by Leonard Feather and backed by Hampton and musicians from his band, including Joe Morris (trumpet) and Milt Buckner (piano). Both that record and its follow-up, "Salty Papa Blues", made the Billboard "Harlem Hit Parade" in 1944. In December 1945 she made a series of twelve recordings for Apollo Records, 10 of which were issued, featuring the "Lucky Thompson All Stars.
            "Silent Night" (German: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by many singers across many music genres. The version sung by Bing Crosby in 1935 is the fourth best-selling single of all-time.

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
 
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
 
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born. 

O HOLY NIGHT

PERRY COMO
SONGWRITERS: ADOLPHE ADAM & JOHN SULLIVAN DWIGHT
COUNTRY: ITALYXU. S. A.
ALBUM: THE PERRY COMO CHRISTMAS ALBUM
LABEL: RCA VICTOR
GENRE: CRHISTMAS SONG
YEAR: 1968
 
                Pierino Ronald "Perry"Como (/ˈkoʊmoʊ/; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing with the label in 1943.
        He recorded primarily vocal pop and was renowned for recordings in the intimate, easy-listening genre pioneered by multi-media star Bing Crosby.
              "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world. In the official RCA Records Billboard magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all."
              Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.
            The Perry Como Christmas Album is Perry Como's 15th RCA Victor 12" long-play album.
             Como is accompanied on the album by the Ray Charles Singers and an orchestra arranged and conducted by Nick Perito. On two songs, "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", boy choristers from the Little Church Around the Corner and from Saint Thomas Church (Manhattan) also participated.
 

O holy night
the stars are brightly shining
It is the night
of the dear Saviour's birth!
 
Long lay the world
in sin and error pining
'till He appeared
and the soul felt it's worth!
 
A thrill of hope
the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks
a new an' glorious morn!
 
Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night, when Christ was born
 
O night divine O night,
O night divine!
 
Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night, when Christ was born
 
O night divine O night,
O night divine!
O holy night
O night divine.