A Christmas Album
Barbra Streisand
Release Date: Friday, October 4
“A Christmas Album” was first released in October 1967. Barbra Streisand recorded four Christmas songs in London on June 25, 1966, while performing Funny Girl at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Producer Ettore Stratta noted that Barbra insisted on unconventional interpretations, avoiding traditional arrangements for these songs. Streisand completed the rest of the album in September 1966 while in Hollywood filming the Funny Girl movie.
The album features a mix of secular and religious songs, with the standout track being Barbra’s unique rendition of “Jingle Bells?”—the question mark added by Barbra herself!
This track showcases her playful, jazz-infused vocal style. Upon its release, the album topped the Billboard Christmas chart for five weeks and has since been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, with over five million copies sold in the U.S.
Long out of print on vinyl, “A Christmas Album” is now available again, including a bonus track: “Gounod’s Ave Maria” (English), originally part of a limited-edition holiday Starbucks sampler that is no longer in circulation.
Track Listings
Disc: 1
| 1 | Jingle Bells? |
| 2 | Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas |
| 3 | The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) |
| 4 | White Christmas |
| 5 | My Favorite Things |
| 6 | The Best Gift |
Disc: 2
| 1 | Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Silent Night) |
| 2 | Gounod’s Ave Maria |
| 3 | O Little Town of Bethlehem |
| 4 | I Wonder as I Wander |
| 5 | The Lord’s Prayer |
| 6 | Gounod’s Ave Maria (English Version) |
