Perry Como - Around The Christmas Tree

Perry Como

Around The Christmas Tree

With Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra & Chorus

and String Ensemble

Produced by Henri René

RCA VICTOR 45 EPA 496 ( E3PW-1482/3 )

MONAURAL

ASSEMBLED 1953

Side One

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Poem by Clement Clarke Moore with original music by Ray Charles

With String Ensemble directed by Mitchell Ayres

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Traditional Christmas Music

With Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra & Chorus

Side Two

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Traditional Christmas Music

With Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra & Chorus

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

Music by Eddy Arnold and lyrics by Jenny Lou Carson, 1949

With Mitchell Ayres and His Orchestra

Perry's 1953 album "All Around the Christmas Tree" was released simultaneously within two companion 45 RPM Extended Play albums each with four songs. One had the same title and the other was titled "Christmas Joy" with both of them released as a cut-out Christmas ornament which could be hung on the tree. In 1956 all of these songs were combined with "Merry Christmas Music" to form the larger version 12" LP format having a total of sixteen songs. This album was later re-released in 1961 within the budget RCA Camden Series. The Camden release deleted "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" lowering the song count to fifteen. With this deletion, there were now two songs missing from the original "Merry Christmas Music" Musical Smart Set, the other being "O Little Town of Bethlehem" which had been dropped in 1947 in favour of "White Christmas". The compact disc release in 1987 was an exact replication of the 1961 RCA Camden album.

All tracks in this compilation were monaural.