Everyone from toddlers to grandparents will enjoy singing and dancing to these new arrangements that feature a host of extraordinary musicians and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Country, Caribbean, Stride, and R&B rhythms put a new face on the old classics.
1. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
2. Feliz Navidad
3. Silver Bells
4. It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas
5. Jingle Bells
6. What A Great Christmas It Was
7. The Christmas Song
8. The Twelve Days of Christmas
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Frosty the Snowman
11. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
12. Must Be Santa
13. White Christmas
14. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
15. Keep Christmas With You
“We are thrilled that Bob has made this album because it has all the songs we love, children sing on it, and the musicians are extraordinary. He even has Lou Marini from the Blues Brothers Band! We will definitely be making it part of our annual tradition for years to come. Thanks Bob!” – Margaret
“I have fond recollections of Bob and his “people in the neighborhood” (and other melodies) on the show. Hearing this CD brings back such joy and memories. He has great rhythms and lyrics to songs that have been holiday traditions for years.” -Kristine Junik
It’s hard to believe that one of my family’s favorite Christmas albums is Holiday Sing Along With Mitch. I recorded the album with Mitch Miller and the Gang in 1961! Still, every year that album is carefully removed from its sleeve and placed on the turntable. The grandchildren pull out the lyric sheets and everyone starts singing the classics. The other family favorite is…you guessed it, Bob’s Christmas Sing Along CD, a new classic that has already become a tradition in many households, including ours.
About 7 or 8 years ago, I asked Mike Renzi, Music Director on Sesame Street, if he would help me put a bunch of my favorite holiday songs together. I wanted to keep it simple, just like Mitch, so anyone could sing along, young or old. Together we chose 13 classics, as well as an original by Ken Baron, who also wrote Your Face from Sing Me a Story. The last song on the recording, Keep Christmas With You, has been a favorite of mine ever since we filmed the Christmas special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. I sang it to Linda Bove and the children. Her Christmas present to me was to teach the kids the song in sign language. That show is still one of my two most favorite specials we have ever made in 45 years.
For this CD, I wanted to expose children to a variety of musical styles: Country, Caribbean, Stride, Pop, R&B, and more. Mike helped us put a new face on old classics. We worked with musicians from the Sesame Street band who are some of New York’s finest studio musicians: Mike Renzi, Sesame Street’s musical director, pianist, and arranger (Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, and Woody Allen); Lou Marini, saxophone and flute (Blues Brothers and Saturday Night Live); James Saporito, drummer and percussionist (NY Pops, Broadway music composer, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, N.Y. Philharmonic, and Gladys Knight); Bobby Cranshaw, Jazz bassist (Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson); Jack Cavari, guitar (Alicia Keys, Frank Sinatra, and Aretha Franklin); and Buddy Williams, drums (Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder). My good friend Francisco Nunez was also kind enough to bring a few singers from his very talented Young People’s Chorus of New York City to the session.
I hope that everyone in your family, from toddlers to grandparents, will enjoy these fun new arrangements as much as my family has over the years.
