“Christmas Album” is the sixth studio album by Boney M .. It was recorded in the summer of 1981 and released on November 23, 1981. The album, which in some countries was called “Christmas with Boney M.,” was released just three weeks after the moderately successful album “ Boonoonoonoos ” and was originally planned as the first solo album by Liz Mitchell . However, after the warm welcome of the Boonoonoonoos, plans changed, and instead he was released under the name Boney M. to strengthen the group's weakened commercial position.
| Christmas album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| studio album Boney M. | ||||
| Date of issue | November 23, 1981 | |||
| Recorded by | 1978, 1981 | |||
| Genre | rhythm and blues , christmas, eurodisc | |||
| Duration | 44:11 | |||
| Producer | Frank Farian | |||
| Label | Atlantic (UK) Hansa Records (Germany) | |||
| Timeline of Boney M. | ||||
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Content
History
The album included songs from Mary’s Boy Child’s single sold for millions of copies - Oh My Lord . Also included was the song The Little Drummer Boy , which entered the top 20 in Germany. The second single, “The Daughter of Zion” (with a new member Reggie Cibo, pictured on the cover) was released on Christmas 1982, but was unable to hit the charts. Feliz Navidad was chosen as the single in Scandinavia, and Spain chose Jingle Bells . Spanish studio Ariola Records also released White Christmas in 1983. “Christmas Album” in 1983 became a platinum disc .
“Christmas Album”, dubbed in the UK “Mary's Boy Child: The Christmas Album”, was supposed to be the final release of the Boney M. album under the Atlantic Records label , although until 1986 the band will continue to work with this company in Canada and Japan .
One of the biggest commercial hits of 1981 was the Dutch album Stars on 45 , which became the first single in the USA and the second in the UK. To promote the Boonoonoonoos and Christmas Album albums, Frank Farian created a thirteen-minute Stars on 45 style mix called 6 Years of Boney M. Hits (Boney M. at 45), which was released as singles in some countries.
Later in the 1980s, the tracks for “Christmas Album”, with the exception of the instrumental track “Winter Fairy-Tale” and the final song “ I'll Be Home for Christmas ”, were to be remixed and re-released as “Die 20 schönsten Weihnachtslieder der Welt ”( German: 20 Greatest Christmas Songs ). In 1991, the 16-track album “Christmas Album” was released. The album contains all 12 songs from the 1981 album in the same order and four songs from the 1986 album.
List of Songs
Side A:
- Little Drummer Boy (Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeon) - 4:21
- White Christmas ( Irving Berlin ) - 4:19
- Feliz Navidad ( Jose Feliciano ) - 3:07
- Jingle Bells ( James Lord Pierpont , Frank Farian ) - 2:53
- Winter Fairy-Tale (instrumental) (Harald Byerle) - 2:58
- Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord ( Jester Highston, , Hela Loreen, Frank Farian , Fred Jay) - 5:10
Side B:
- Christmas Poppuri: Silent Night / Snow Falls Over The Ground / Hear Ye the Message ( Franz Gruber , Joseph More , Eduard Ebel, Frank Farian , Fred Jay) - 6:20
- Petit Papa Noël (Martinet, Vinci) - 1:41
- “ Zion's Daughter ” (folk, Handel , Frank Farian , Fred Jay, Helmut Rulofs) - 3:51
- “ When a Child Is Born ” (Fred Jay, Zachar) - 3:20
- Darkness Is Falling (Fred Jay, Helmut Rulofs) - 3:02
- “ I'll Be Home for Christmas ” (Katherine Carrage, Frank Farian , Helmut Roelofs) - 3:44
Notes
Links
- Detailed discography
- Christmas Album (Boney M.) . Allmusic.com . Date of appeal October 9, 2018.