The Christmas Spirit

Summary

The Christmas Spirit is the first Christmas album and seventeenth album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in November 1963. It contains four original Christmas songs written by Cash and eight tracks originally written by other artists, including "Blue Christmas" (at this point best known through the version recorded by Cash's former Sun Records labelmate Elvis Presley), "Silent Night" and "Little Drummer Boy".

The Christmas Spirit
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 11, 1963
RecordedAugust 14, 1959 - September 17, 1963
Genre
Length38:20
LabelColumbia
Producer
Johnny Cash chronology
Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash
(1963)
The Christmas Spirit
(1963)
I Walk the Line
(1964)
Singles from The Christmas Spirit
  1. "The Little Drummer Boy"
    Released: October 1959
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link

Track listing edit

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Christmas Spirit" (incorporates "O Little Town of Bethlehem")Cash5:03
2."I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jean Baptiste Calkin2:30
3."Blue Christmas"Bill Hayes, Jay Johnston2:25
4."The Gifts They Gave"Cash3:34
5."Here Was a Man"Johnny Bond, Tex Ritter2:44
6."Christmas as I Knew It"Cash, June Carter, Jan Howard3:41
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Silent Night"Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr3:29
8."The Little Drummer Boy"Katherine Davis, Henri Onerati, Harry Simeone2:34
9."Ringing the Bells for Jim"Carter, Howard2:47
10."We Are the Shepherds"Cash3:13
11."Who Kept the Sheep"Cash, Carter1:58
12."Ballad of the Harp Weaver"Edna St. Vincent Millay4:22

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1963 Holiday Albums 7

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1959 "The Little Drummer Boy" Country Singles 24
1959 "The Little Drummer Boy" Country Singles 63

External links edit

  • Luma Electronic entry on The Christmas Spirit