Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Happy Holiday
2. Silent Night [First Version][#]
3. Adeste Fideles [First Version]
4. Silent Night
5. White Christmas [1942]
6. Adeste Fideles
7. Silent Night
8. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
9. I'll Be Home for Christmas
10. Ave Maria
11. White Christmas [1947]
12. Silent Night
13. Christmas Song
14. O Fir Tree Dark
15. First Noel
16. You're All I Want for Christmas
17. Christmas Carols: Deck the Halls/Away in a Manger/I Saw Three Ships
18. Christmas Carols: Good King Wenceslas/We Three Kings of Orient Are
19. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
20. That Christmas Feeling
21. Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter
22. Marshmallow World

Disc 2:

1. Christmas in Killarney
2. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Sleigh Bell Serenade
5. Christmas Is A-Comin'
6. First Snowfall
7. Is Christmas Only a Tree
8. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
9. Jingle Bells - The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby
10. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby
11. Twelve Days of Christmas - The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby
12. Here Comes Santa Claus - The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby
13. Crosby Christmas, Pt. 1: That Christmas Feeling/I'd Like to Hitch ...
14. Crosby Christmas, Pt. 2: The Snowman/That Christmas Feeling/I'd ...
15. Poppa Santa Claus - The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby
16. Mele Kalikimaka - The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby
17. Silver Bells
18. Little Jack Frost, Get Lost - Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee
19. White Christmas - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee,
20. Snow - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee,
21. White Christmas [1942 Alternate][#]
22. Let's Start the New Year Right

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2742 in Music
• Brand: MCA
• Released on: 1998-10-06
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.com
Bing Crosby is the father of the Christmas album. He sired the whole shooting match in 1942 when he recorded Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" for the Decca soundtrack of Holiday Inn, and the season has never been the same since. "White Christmas" isn't just Crosby's signature tune, it's also that of Christmas, selling millions around the world and inspiring countless recording artists to create their own holiday versions every year. This long overdue two-disc package features the original recording of "White Christmas" (often replaced by a later version on reissues) as well as all the seasonal songs Crosby cut over three decades. And with extensive liner notes and guest artists such as the Andrews Sisters, The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook is a slam-dunk gift buy for the whole family. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews

Bing Crosby really is the voice of Christmas
I just wanted an album with a lot of Bing Crosby Christmas songs on it,and I really didn't pay all that much attention to the track listings. "Silent Night" and "White Christmas" are each presented 4 times, "Adeste Fideles" twice, and so forth. This really is more for the collector than for a person like myself that just wanted some traditional holiday music. I put the CD player on "shuffle" to try and mix the music up a little bit better,but ended up with "Silent Night" twice in a row. I think Bing Crosby is truly the musical voice of Christmas,but the average person would be better served by buying one of his other Christmas albums. Merry Christmas.

*THE ULTIMATE CROSBY CHRISTMAS COLLECTION.*
There is no finer collection of Bing Crosby's Christmas music than this one. Collected over the course of two discs (one red, one green) are ALL of Bing's holiday recordings, both secular and religious, which were commercially released by the Decca label. The tracks span the years 1935 to 1956, from Bing's glowing vocal peak on tunes such as Silent Night and Adeste Fideles (1935) to the mellow, burnished voice of Silver Bells (1950) and Snow (1954 - w/ Peggy Lee, Danny Kaye, and Truely Stevens).

Bing's well known affiliation with Christmas music began in 1935 when Decca Records chief Jack Kapp suggested that Bing record Silent Night and Adeste Fideles for commercial release. Bing insisted that he did not want to profit financially from religious music, but the issue was resolved when it was arranged for profits to go to charity. Featured here are these gorgeous versions of Silent Night and Adeste Fideles, plus later versions, all excellent and with interesting differences. White Christmas, Irving Berlin's famous composition, first recorded by Bing in 1942 (for the Crosby/Astaire film Holiday Inn), is the biggest selling single of ALL TIME, and is also here in several different incarnations.

Aside from the classics I've already mentioned, this set provides many other fantastic treasures including Bing's moving 1956 reading of I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day, his spirited 1949 medley of Deck The Halls/Away In A Manger/I Saw Three Ships, and refreshingly lesser-known treats such as 1955's The First Snowfall. Also worth mentioning are the several Christmas tunes that Bing recorded with The Andrews Sisters, all of which are present here, including their hip, swingin' take on Jingle Bells. Another winning combination of vocals takes place when Miss Peggy Lee joins Bing for a jazzy duet on 1952's Little Jack Frost Get Lost. Add in Bing's fine renditions of evergreens such as I'll Be Home For Christmas and The First Noel, as well as his sprightly readings of children's favorites like Here Comes Santa Claus and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, and you've got yourself an absolute treasure trove of Yuletide cheer.

No one accustomed to recordings of this vintage will be disappointed with the sound quality here, which is really quite good. With beautiful packaging, including a fold out insert with extensive liner notes, pictures of original record sleeves, and session information for all 44 tracks, The Voice Of Christmas is, without a doubt, the ultimate holiday collection of the most celebrated Christmas crooner of all time.

P.S. - For those who would like a fine companion disc dealing with Bing's later Christmas recordings, including his 1977 duet with David Bowie, the best bet is Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics.

This album is for the die hard fan
This complete 2 cd set of Bing's Christmas songs are dated from the 30's to the mid 50's. The sound quality on most is good but there is just no way to make those old recordings sound perfect, although this is probably the best it's going to get. This album is meant for the collector of Christmas music rather than the listener, some listeners might get turned-off with Silent Night and White Christmas appearing so often. All are different slightly and it gives the listener a sample of Crosby's work. I loved this album because I liked the sample of old recordings and the newer 1950's collaborations. The 1950's version of White Christmas with Danny Kaye is of excellent quality, as is most of this cd that has been remastered. If you love Christmas music this set is a must, if you just want a Christmas cd with Bing singing, would might want to pass on this one.