What a Night! A Christmas Album

What a Night!
A Christmas Album
Studio album by
Harry Connick Jr.
ReleasedUnited States November 4, 2008
RecordedAugust 21–30, 2008
GenreJazz, Christmas
LabelSony/Columbia (U.S.)
ProducerTracey Freeman
Harry Connick Jr. chronology
Oh, My NOLA
(2007) 		What a Night!
A Christmas Album
(2008) 		Your Songs
(2009)
Harry Connick Jr.
Christmas albums chronology
Harry for the Holidays
(2003) 		What a Night! A Christmas Album
(2008)
Singles from What a Night! A Christmas Album
  1. "Song for the Hopeful"
    Released: October 7, 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Metromix[2]
Windsor Star[3]
Mercury News(Favorable)[4]
Eye Weekly[5]

What a Night! A Christmas Album, by American singer, pianist and bandleader Harry Connick Jr., was released on November 4, 2008.,[6] being his third Christmas album, since 1993's When My Heart Finds Christmas and 2003's Harry for the Holidays. The album consists of new recordings of Christmas classics, and new songs written by Connick.[7]

The first public mentioning of recording the album, came in an interview in The Times-Picayune in June 2008.[8]

The album was first called Christmas Day, but the title was changed in September 2008, to What a Night! A Christmas Album.

The track "Song for the Hopeful", is a duet with Kim Burrell. The song was written by Connick for the 2008 television film Living Proof.[9] Burell is also featured on "Let There Be Peace On Earth".

Connick has three daughters with his wife Jill Goodacre, and their middle daughter Sarah Kate, sings a duet with him on the track "Winter Wonderland".[10]

When the track list was first announced, the songs "Christmas Time is Here" and "Trinity", was part of the album. In early October, those two tracks were replaced with two new tracks: "Christmas Day", and an instrumental version of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".[10]

Track listing

  1. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Edward Pola, George Wyle) – 3:28
  2. "What a Night!" (Harry Connick Jr.) – 3:24
  3. "Christmas Day" (Connick) – 3:24
  4. "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" (Johnny Marks) – 4:05
  5. "Please Come Home for Christmas" (Charles Brown, Gene Redd) – 4:26
  6. "O Come All Ye Faithful" (traditional) – 4:15
  7. "Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairies" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) – 2:46
  8. "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (Sy Miller, Jill Jackson) – 3:30 – feat. Kim Burrell
  9. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 3:50 – feat. Kate Connick
  10. "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (Meredith Willson) – 3:30
  11. "Santariffic" (Connick) – 3:58 – feat. Lucien Barbarin
  12. "Jingle Bells" (James Lord Pierpont) – 5:28
  13. "Zat You Santa Claus" (Jack Fox) – 3:40
  14. "We Three Kings" (Reverend John Henry Hopkins Jr.) – 4:45
  15. "Song for the Hopeful" (Connick) – 4:35 – feat. Kim Burrell

iTunes bonus track

  2. "Auld Lang Syne" (traditional) – 2:16 (album only)
  3. Digital Booklet (album only)

Barnes & Noble Exclusive Version

  2. "Deck the Halls" (traditional) – 2:57
  3. "Christmas Time is Here" (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson) – 5:06
  4. "O Christmas Tree" (traditional) – 3:22
Disc 2 (DVD)
  1. Holiday interview with Harry
  2. Photo gallery
  3. "(It Must Have Been) Ol’ Santa Claus" [*]
  4. "I Pray on Christmas" [*]
  5. "The Happy Elf" * [*]

^ [*] also found on the Harry for the Holidays DVD

Charts

Personnel

Arrangement by Harry Connick Jr.

Tour

A Holiday Celebration Tour
Tour by Harry Connick Jr.
Harry Connick Jr. concert chronology

A Holiday Celebration Tour 2008, is a concert tour with his big band to support the album. The tour was confirmed by the official Harry Connick Jr. website in September 2008.

One of their stops included the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
North America
November 18, 2008 Louisville, Kentucky United States Palace Theatre[16]
November 19, 2008 Cincinnati, Ohio United States Taft Theatre[16]
November 20, 2008 Columbus, Ohio United States Ohio Theatre[16]
November 21, 2008 Charleston, West Virginia United States Clay Center[16]
November 22, 2008 Cleveland, Ohio United States State Theatre[16]
November 28, 2008 New York, New York United States City Center Theatre[16]
November 29, 2008
December 4, 2008 Newark, New Jersey United States New Jersey Performing Arts Center[16]
December 5, 2008 Atlantic City, New Jersey United States Borgata Event Center[16]
December 7, 2008 St. Louis, Missouri United States Fox Theatre[16]
December 9, 2008 Minneapolis, Minnesota United States Orpheum Theatre[16]
December 10, 2008 Chicago, Illinois United States Chicago Theatre[16]
December 11, 2008
December 12, 2008 Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States Riverside Theater[16]
December 14, 2008 Nashville, Tennessee United States Ryman Auditorium[16]
December 16, 2008 Atlanta, Georgia United States Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre[16]
December 17, 2008 Durham, North Carolina United States Durham Performing Arts Center[16]
December 19, 2008 Boston, Massachusetts United States Colonial Theatre[16]
December 20, 2008
December 21, 2008

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Metromix review
  3. ^ Windsor Star review
  4. ^ Mercury News review
  5. ^ Eye Weekly review
  6. ^ What a Night! A Christmas Album, Amazon.com
  7. ^ Harry Connick, Jr/What a Night! A Christmas Album, elusivedisc.com
  8. ^ Harry Connick Jr.'s new Lifetime movie raises money for breast cancer research, The Times-Picayune, June 22, 2008
  9. ^ What a Night! A Christmas Album, Barnes & Noble
  10. ^ a b Harry Connick Jr. Celebrates the Holidays With Seasonal Favorites and New Songs on 'What A Night! – A Christmas Album', The Earth Times, October 6, 2008
  11. ^ "Harry Connick, Jr., TLP". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "Harry Connick, Jr., XML". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "Harry Connick, Jr., JLS". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  14. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  15. ^ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Harry Connick Jr. – Tour Dates & Info". A Holiday Celebration Tour 2008. harryconnickjr.com. Retrieved October 26, 2008.