Christmas with Chet Atkins

Christmas with Chet Atkins is the sixteenth studio album recorded by Chet Atkins. It is his first Christmas album.

Christmas with Chet Atkins
Studio album by
Chet Atkins
ReleasedNovember 1961
RecordedNashville, TN
GenreChristmas music
Length31:11
LabelRCA Victor LSP-2423 (Stereo)
ProducerChet Atkins
Chet Atkins chronology
The Most Popular Guitar
(1961)		 Christmas with Chet Atkins
(1961)		 Chet Atkins Plays Back Home Hymns
(1962)
Alternative Cover

"White Christmas" contains Atkins' first recorded use of chordal harmonics.[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [2]
Country Standard Time(no rating) [3]

Writing for Allmusic, critic Matthew Greenwald wrote "His version of "Silver Bells" is, quite simply, one of the best versions of the standard ever, and possibly one of Atkins' most arresting performances of all time. The album is overall, criminally underrated... Gorgeous."[2] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time wrote "This is the perfect background music for sipping hot chocolate in front of the fireplace and falling asleep in the warm glow of the Christmas tree lights while the snow falls outside."[3]

The album charted for 11 weeks on Billboard's Best Bets For Christmas albums chart, peaking at No. 12 on the week ending December 20, 1969.[4]

Reissues
  • In 1997, Christmas with Chet Atkins was reissued on CD by Razor & Tie. It differs from the original vinyl pressing by substituting alternate takes for several tracks and has an alternate cover.
  • In 2004, RCA reissued Christmas with Chet Atkins on CD.
  • In 2019, Real Gone Music released The Complete RCA & Columbia Christmas Recordings, a 2-CD set gathering all the material from Christmas with Chet Atkins as well as Atkins' 1983 release East Tennessee Christmas.

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Jingle Bell Rock" (Joe Beal, Jim Boothe) – 1:51
  2. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2:49
  3. "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" (Traditional) – 2:13 (Emily Huntington Miller)
  4. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 2:20
  5. "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes, Jay Johnson) – 2:53
  6. "Jingle Bells" (James Lord Pierpont) – 1:50
  7. "Silver Bells" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans) – 2:09

Side two
  1. "The Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) – 2:29
  2. "Medley: The Coventry Carol/God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" (Traditional) – 3:25
  3. "The First Noel" (William B. Sandys) – 1:46
  4. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley) – 1:55
  5. "O Come All Ye Faithful" (Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade) – 2:19
  6. "Deck the Halls" (Traditional) – 1:11 (John Ceiriog Hughes)
  7. "Silent Night" (Josef Mohr, Franz Xaver Gruber) – 2:01

Personnel

References
  1. Forbes-Robert, Ron. (2006). "One Long Tune: the life and music of Lenny Breau". Denton, TX. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 1-57441-210-8.
  2. Greenwald, Matthew. "Christmas with Chet Atkins > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  3. Wahlert, Brian. "Christmas with Chet Atkins > Review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. "Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 81, no. 52, December 20, 1969, p. 10. worldradiohistory.com
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