A Very Special Christmas (album)

A Very Special Christmas
Cover art by Keith Haring
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedOctober 12, 1987[1]
GenreChristmas music, Children's music
Length50:57 (Original version)
51:11 (Revised version)
LabelA&M
Producer
Various artists chronology
A Very Special Christmas
(1987) 		A Very Special Christmas 2
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
New Musical Express9/10[3]

A Very Special Christmas is the first in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 12, 1987, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine for A&M Records. A Very Special Christmas has raised millions of dollars for the Special Olympics.[4] The cover artwork was designed by Keith Haring.

On January 16, 1998, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of four million copies in the United States.[5]

As of November 2014, A Very Special Christmas is the 19th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present), having sold 2,520,000 copies according to SoundScan.[6]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"John Frederick Coots and Haven GillespieThe Pointer Sisters3:22
2."Winter Wonderland"Felix Bernard and Richard B. SmithEurythmics3:36
3."Do You Hear What I Hear?"Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne BakerWhitney Houston3:33
4."Merry Christmas Baby"Lou Baxter and Johnny MooreBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band4:53
5."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Hugh Martin and Ralph BlaneThe Pretenders4:42
6."I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"Tommie ConnorJohn Cougar Mellencamp2:39
7."Gabriel's Message"Charles Bordes and Sabine Baring-GouldSting2:14
8."Christmas in Hollis"Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jason MizellRun-D.M.C.3:00
9."Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and Phil SpectorU22:21
10."Santa Baby"Joan Javits, Philip Springer and Tony SpringerMadonna2:35
11."The Little Drummer Boy"Katherine Kennicott Davis, Harry Simeone and Henry OnoratiBob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band3:32
12."Run Rudolph Run"Johnny Marks and Marvin BrodieBryan Adams2:43
13."Back Door Santa"Clarence Carter and Marcus DanielBon Jovi3:54
14."The Coventry Carol"TraditionalAlison Moyet3:25
15."Silent Night"Josef Mohr and Franz X. GruberStevie Nicks4:37
  • First pressings of the album contain a spoken introduction on The Pretenders' "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", presumably by a child. This introduction was later omitted, shortening the track by about 13 seconds.
  • Starting in 1992, "Back Door Santa" was replaced by another Bon Jovi song, "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas", which originally appeared as a B-side on their single "Keep the Faith".

Personnel

According to the liner notes:[7]

Musicians

Technical personnel

  • Tom Banghart – assistant engineer (2)
  • Jon Bon Jovi – arranger (13)
  • Steve Boyer – assistant engineer (5)
  • Joe Chiccarelli – mixing (11)
  • Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1, 3-6, 9, 12, 13)
  • Mark DeSisto – assistant engineer (11), additional engineering
  • Peter Droll – assistant engineer (10)
  • Steve Ett – engineer and mixing (8)
  • Richard Feldman – engineer (2)
  • John Fryer – engineer (14)
  • Humberto Gatica – mixing (2, 15)
  • Danny Grisgby – additional engineering
  • Rob Jacobs – assistant engineer (1, 10), additional engineering
  • Bruce Lampcov – engineer (5), mixing (5)
  • David Leonard – engineer (6)
  • Scott Litt – engineer (3, 5, 9)
  • Jeremy Lubbock – arranger (10)
  • Bob Ludwig – original mastering (4)
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Kooster McAllister – engineer (13)
  • Mark McKenna – assistant engineer (1, 3, 11), additional engineering
  • Michael Morongell – assistant engineer (1)
  • Alison Moyet – arranger and mixing (14)
  • Dan Nash – assistant engineer (1, 15), additional engineering
  • Peter Oxendale – arranger and mixing (14)
  • Thom Panunzio – engineer (3, 9, 15)
  • Toby Scott – engineer (4)
  • Don Smith – engineer (1, 11)
  • Pete Smith – engineer and mixing (7)
  • Smudger – engineer (12)
  • Roger Talkov – engineer (13)
  • Richard Warren – arranger (15)
  • Shelly Yakus – engineer (1, 10, 11, 15), mixing (10)
  • Michael Young – engineer (13)

Sales

Sales for "A Very Special Christmas"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada — 210,000[8]
United States — 2,520,000[6]

References

  1. ^ A Very Special Christmas Vol. 1 | A Very Special Christmas
  2. ^ A Very Special Christmas at AllMusic
  3. ^ Quantick, David (14 November 1987). "33". New Musical Express. p. 34. ISSN 0028-6362.
  4. ^ McGee, Matt (2008). U2: A Diary. Omnibus Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-84772-108-2.
  5. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 2014-08-30. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  6. ^ a b Billboard Staff (2014-12-01). "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  7. ^ A Very Special Christmas (CD booklet). Various Artists. Europe: A&M Records. 1987. 393 911-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Mackie, John (December 8, 1987). "Pick of the Christmas albums". The Vancouver Sun. p. D10. ProQuest 243718319. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via ProQuest. The Christmas record this year belongs to A&M records, who have sold some 210,000 copies in Canada


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