A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector

A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (later renamed A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, also known as Phil Spector's Christmas Album) is an album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, originally released by Philles in November 1963. Spector treated a series of mostly secular Christmas standards to his "Wall of Sound" production style, and the selections feature the vocal performances of Spector's regular artists during this period. One month after its release, the album peaked at No. 13 on Billboard magazine's special, year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart.^[4]

A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records
Studio album by various artists
Released	November 22, 1963
Studio	Gold Star, Hollywood
Genre	Christmas,[1] pop[2]
Length	34:12
Label	Philles
Producer	Phil Spector
Phil Spector production chronology
Philles Records Presents Today's Hits (1963) A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963) Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica (1964)
Singles from A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" Released: December 1963[3]

In 2003, the album was voted No. 142 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,^[5] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.^[6] In 2017, it was ranked the 130th greatest album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.^[7] In 2019, it was ranked the greatest Christmas album of all time by Rolling Stone.^[5] Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has cited this album as his favorite of all time.^[8] The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[9]

Recording and production

Further information: Wall of Sound

Beginning in August 1963, sessions for the album ran for six weeks at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles.^[10] Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys attempted to contribute piano to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", but Spector rejected him for poor playing.^[11]

Release history

The album has been released several times on different labels, starting with Apple Records in 1972, with different cover art: a photograph of Spector dressed as a heavily bearded Santa Claus, wearing a "Back to Mono" button. Additional reissues on Warner-Spector in 1974 (for the first time in stereo), Pavilion (a short-lived imprint of CBS) in 1981, and Passport in 1984 would also use this cover, sometimes with the "Back to Mono" button airbrushed out.

The original cover was restored in time for the album's first CD issue by Phil Spector International through Rhino. It was mastered by Bill Inglot and Ken Perry and it restored the album's original mono mix. The second CD issue was in 1987 as well, on Chrysalis (CCD 1625) in monophonic for the UK market. This one is co-credited "Spector Records International" and features the slightly different international artwork, it features the same mastering as the Rhino CD. The more common third CD issue came in 1989, a remastered release on ABKCO which restored the original title, artwork, and mono mix, this edition was remastered by Phil Spector and Larry Levine. The album also appeared as the fourth disc of ABKCO's 1991 Spector box set, Back to Mono, and as the second disc of the 2006 UK-only ABKCO compilation The Phil Spector Collection.

Sony Music took over distribution rights to the Philles Records catalog in 2009 and re-released the mono album, remastered by Bob Ludwig, on its Legacy Recordings imprint on October 27 of that year.^[12] (The Sundazed label also reissued the album on vinyl in 2009.) In 2012, Legacy Recordings released a two-disc set in the UK only, containing a new remastering of the mono album by Vic Anesini on the first disc and a selection of non-Christmas Spector hits and rarities on the second disc.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[14]
Record Mirror	[15]

The album, released in the United States on November 22, 1963—the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated—was a relative failure at the time.^[16] Original pressings are scarce and collectable, now selling for $400–$500 in excellent condition.^[17]

In subsequent years, especially after its reissue on Apple, the album grew in popularity and is considered now to be a holiday classic. Several of its tracks became iconic Christmas songs for generations, such as the original single "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," and the well-known "Ring-a-ling-a-ling Ding-dong-ding" background vocals in the Ronettes' "Sleigh Ride". The arrangement of Bruce Springsteen's version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is based in part on the Crystals' version of the song, and U2's late-1980s remake of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" that appeared on the first A Very Special Christmas album is patterned after the Darlene Love original that appeared on the Spector LP. The Ronettes' versions of "Frosty The Snowman" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" also usually get some radio airplay during the holiday season.

Commercial performance

On its initial release, the album held the No. 13 spot on Billboard's Christmas Albums chart for two consecutive weeks.^[18][19] An Apple reissue of the album went to No. 6 on the same chart in December 1972, which was its highest chart ranking.^[4] The album made its debut on the UK Albums Chart in 1972; it would re-chart in 1983, peaking at No. 19.^{[citation needed]}

On the week ending December 15, 2018, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector entered the main Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time (at position No. 48),^[20] eventually peaking at No. 12 three weeks later.^[21] At the same time, the Ronettes' recording of "Sleigh Ride", though never released as a single, charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, initially reaching as high as No. 26 on the week ending January 5, 2019; it then re-charted during the 2019 and 2020 holiday seasons and attained an overall peak position of No. 13 on the week ending January 2, 2021,^[22] before rising to No. 10 during the following holiday season. The album itself returned to No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart on the chart dated January 2, 2021,^[23] and rose to No. 10 one year later (on the chart dated January 8, 2022).^[24] On the chart dated January 6, 2024, the album achieved an overall peak position of No. 7.^[25]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"White Christmas"	Irving Berlin	Darlene Love	2:52
2.	"Frosty the Snowman"	Steve Nelson, Walter Rollins	The Ronettes	2:16
3.	"The Bells of St. Mary's"	A. Emmett Adams, Douglas Furber	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:54
4.	"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"	J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie	The Crystals	3:24
5.	"Sleigh Ride"	Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish	The Ronettes	3:00
6.	"Marshmallow World"	Carl Sigman, Peter DeRose	Darlene Love	2:23
Total length:				16:49

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"	Tommie Connor	The Ronettes	2:37
2.	"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"	Johnny Marks	The Crystals	2:30
3.	"Winter Wonderland"	Felix Bernard, Dick Smith	Darlene Love	2:25
4.	"Parade of the Wooden Soldiers"	Leon Jessel	The Crystals	2:55
5.	"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector	Darlene Love	2:45
6.	"Here Comes Santa Claus"	Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:03
7.	"Silent Night"	Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber	Phil Spector and Artists	2:08
Total length:				17:23

Personnel

According to Jim Bessman's 2009 liner notes, except where noted:^[26]

Session musicians

• Hal Blaine – drums
• Lou Blackburn – horns
• Jimmy Bond – bass
• Sonny Bono – percussion
• Frank Capp – percussion
• Roy Caton – trumpet
• Steve Douglas – baritone saxophone
• Al De Lory – piano
• Barney Kessel – guitar
• Jay Migliori – saxophone
• Jack Nitzsche – arrangements, percussion
• Bill Pitman – guitar
• Ray Pohlman – bass
• Don Randi – piano
• Irv Rubins – guitar
• Leon Russell – piano
• Tommy Tedesco – guitar
• Nino Tempo – guitar
• Johnny Vidor – strings

Production

• Phil Spector – producer
• Larry Levine – engineer
• Mastering (1987 CDs) – Bill Inglot, Ken Perry at K-Disc Mastering^[27]
• Remastering (1989) – Phil Spector, Larry Levine^[28]
• Remastering (2009) – Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering^[29]
• Remastering (2012) – Vic Anesini^[30]

Charts

Weekly charts Original release Chart (1963) Peak position US Christmas Albums (Billboard)[18] 13 Reissues Chart (2018–2024) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[31] 8 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 34 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[33] 28 Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)[34] 34 Italian Albums (FIMI)[35] 50 Latvian Albums (LaIPA)[36] 78 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[37] 9 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[38] 35 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 21 UK Albums (OCC)[40] 69 US Billboard 200[41] 7 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[42] 5

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector Year Chart Position 2019 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[43] 96 2020 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[44] 83 2021 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[45] 72 2022 US Billboard 200[46] 196 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[47] 66 2023 US Billboard 200[48] 200 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[49] 62 2024 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[50] 55

Certifications

Certifications for A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[51]	Platinum	300,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.