Christmas (Mannheim Steamroller album)

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
Studio album by Mannheim Steamroller
Released	1984
Genre	Christmas music, New age, Synthpop
Length	33:01
Label	American Gramaphone
Producer	Chip Davis
Mannheim Steamroller chronology
Fresh Aire V (1983) Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (1984) Fresh Aire VI (1986)
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums chronology
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (1984) A Fresh Aire Christmas (1988)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (also known as Christmas 1984) was the first Christmas music album released by new age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The group has released five subsequent Christmas studio albums, most recently Christmasville in October 2008. It was the band's first album to crack the Billboard album chart, peaking at #50.

On June 21, 2004, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of six million copies in the United States since its 1984 release, making it one of the best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the U.S.^[2]

As of October 16, 2011, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas was the seventh best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the U.S. during the Nielsen/SoundScan era of music sales (March 1991-present), having sold a total of 3,480,000 copies according to SoundScan.^[3]

Track listing

• Songs are traditional except where noted

1. "Deck the Halls" – 3:43
2. "We Three Kings" (Hopkins) – 3:45
3. "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" – 2:32
4. "Coventry Carol" – 2:38
5. "Good King Wenceslas" – 3:29
6. "Christmas Sweet: Wassail, Wassail" – 2:20
7. "Christmas Sweet: Carol Of the Birds" (Bas-Quercy) – 2:03
8. "Christmas Sweet: I Saw Three Ships" – 1:28
9. "Christmas Sweet: "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" – 1:37
10. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" – 4:19
11. "Stille Nacht" (Gruber) – 5:26

Personnel

• Louis Davis, Jr. - drums, percussion (including camel bells), recorder
• Eric Hansen - bass
• Jackson Berkey - piano, harpsichord, synthesizer, camel bells
• Ron Cooley - 6 and 12-string guitars
• Willis Ann Ross - flute
• David "High D" Kappy - French horn
• Mary Walter - harp
• String section includes Steve Shipps (concertmaster), Richard Lohmann, Richard Altenbach, Grace Granata, Deborah Fuller, Scott Shoemaker (violins), Michelle Brill, Michael Strauss, Roxanne Adams (violas), David Low, Kim Rockshaw, Greg Clinton (celli), Wayne Anderson, and Bill Ritchie (bass violins)
• Ron Dabbs - camel bells, sound effects engineer
• Louis Davis, Sr. - keyboard technician

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. http://riaa.org/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Mannheim_Steamroller_Christmas&artist=Mannheim_Steamroller&format=ALBUM&debutLP=&awardDescription=Multi_Platinum&catalogNo=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2010-11-29. 
3. ^ "Ask Billboard: What Are The Best-Selling Holiday Albums?". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2011-10-16. http://www.billboard.com/#/column/chartbeat/ask-billboard-what-are-the-best-selling-1005413232.story. Retrieved 2011-11-04.