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Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album

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Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
Original LP cover art
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1968[1]
RecordedJune 1967 (#2–3, 6–7)
CTS Bayswater, London
October 1, 1968 (#1, 4–5, 8–10)
30th Street Studios, New York City
GenreChristmas
Length29:07 original LP
LabelColumbia
CS 9739
ProducerJack Gold
Tony Bennett chronology
Yesterday I Heard the Rain
(1968)
Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
(1968)
I've Gotta Be Me
(1969)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album is a 1968 studio album by Tony Bennett, his first Christmas album.[3] It was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon.

Even though they had been friends since the early 1950s, Bennett and Farnon had not recorded together before, Bennett having such reverence for Farnon's work that he felt he "wasn't ready...(and) not developed enough as an artist to record with him".[4] Farnon, who normally recorded in London, came to New York City for one of the two sessions that produced this album. Six tracks were recorded at Columbia's recording studios in New York City, and four in London.

In Bennett's autobiography, he recalls that the New York session was attended by such notable American arrangers as Don Costa, Marion Evans and Torrie Zito, all curious to see how Farnon worked. Quincy Jones subsequently threw a party for Farnon in New York City, and at the party there were so many famous musicians that Jones joked, "If a bomb goes off in this apartment, there won't be any more records made!"[5]

The album was reissued on CD in 1994, with new cover art and a bonus track, "I'll Be Home for Christmas", recorded during a live appearance by Bennett on The Jon Stewart Show. It was reissued once more in 2007, again with different cover art and including a bonus DVD containing excerpts from Bennett's 1992 television special Tony Bennett: A Family Christmas.

Bennett later recorded two additional Christmas albums, Hallmark presents Christmas with Tony Bennett and the London Symphony Orchestra (2002) and A Swingin' Christmas (Featuring The Count Basie Big Band) (2008).

Sony Music Distribution included this CD in a box set entitled The Complete Collection, which contains fifty-eight of his studio albums, 4 compilation, three DVDs, six volumes of Bennett’s non-album singles, a previously unreleased CD of his Las Vegas debut from 1964, and two discs of rarities, including Bennett’s first recording, an Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues, and was released on November 8, 2011.[6]

Reception

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William Ruhlmann of Allmusic described the album as "a swinging affair" and noted from the version of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (how did this song become associated with Christmas?) to seasonal standards like "White Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."[2]

Track listing

[edit]
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Christmasland"Dennis Farnon, Brian Farnon2:23
7."I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"Ticker Freeman, Earl Brown/Irving Berlin2:11
8."White Christmas"Berlin2:05
9."Winter Wonderland"Felix Bernard, Dick Smith2:15
10."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin3:03
Total length:29:08

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
Chart (2016–2023) Peak
position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[7] 26
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 72
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[9] 62
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 24

Certifications

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Certifications for Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Billboard November 30, 1968
  2. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Tony Bennett - Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  3. ^ Ibid.
  4. ^ Bennett, The Good Life, p. 198.
  5. ^ Ibid.
  6. ^ "The Complete Collection - Tony Bennett". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Tony Bennett – Snowfall - The Christmas Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tony Bennett – Snowfall - The Christmas Album" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "2023 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  10. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Tony Bennett – Snowfall - The Christmas Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  11. ^ "American album certifications – Tony Bennett – Snowfall: The Christmas Album". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 17, 2021.