Christmas Portrait

Christmas Portrait
Studio album by Carpenters
Released	October 13, 1978
Recorded	1977–1978
Genre	Christmas
Length	49:08
Label	A&M
Producer	Richard Carpenter/Associate Producer – Karen Carpenter
Carpenters chronology

Christmas Portrait is the first Christmas album and ninth studio album by the American popular music duo The Carpenters, released on October 13, 1978.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]

Background

The album includes a revised version of the duo's signature Christmas song, "Merry Christmas Darling", featuring re-recorded vocals by Karen Carpenter (done at her request).[3] It also includes one of two versions of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (a slower version, recorded in 1974, as well as other unused songs recorded during this album's sessions, were issued on the Carpenters' later Christmas album, An Old-Fashioned Christmas.

Album artwork

The original album cover by Robert Tanenbaum is modeled on Norman Rockwell's 1960 painting, "Triple Self-Portrait", done as a cover for The Saturday Evening Post.

CD reissues

The standard CD version of Christmas Portrait, first issued in 1984, is a "Special Edition" compendium of selected tracks from the Carpenters' two Christmas albums into one 70-minute program, with tracks from each interspersed in the running order; "Ave Maria" was remixed at this time in order to include a choral track that went missing in 1978 and was later found. (A CD of the original LP content was briefly issued exclusively in West Germany around the same time.)

In 1996, a two-CD set titled Christmas Collection was issued internationally, containing Christmas Portrait and An Old-Fashioned Christmas together in their original respective track lists.

Commercial performance

On April 16, 1998, Christmas Portrait was certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipment of one million copies in the United States since its 1978 release.[4]

In December 2011, Christmas Portrait: Special Edition (Note: the original Christmas Portrait has not been available on its own in the US since the late-90's when the cassette version was discontinued, so the chart action in the 2010s is from the 1984 compilation) re-entered the Billboard 200 album sales chart at No. 150 and eventually achieved a new chart peak position of No. 126. In December 2012 and then in December 2013, the album again re-entered the Billboard 200 album sales chart and attained a new chart peak position of No. 114. In January 2019, it reached a new peak position of No. 67 on the Billboard 200.[5] In January 2020, it reached another new peak position of No. 56 on the Billboard 200.

By the end of November 2014, Christmas Portrait was the twenty-third best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the U.S. during the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present), having sold 1,950,000 copies according to SoundScan.[6]

Track listing

All lead vocals by Karen Carpenter, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (lead vocals: Richard Carpenter)	Traditional R. Carpenter^[a]	0:28
2.	"Deck the Halls (With Boughs of Holly)"/"I Saw Three Ships"/"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"/"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"/"Away in a Manger (Luther's Cradle Hymn)"/"What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)"/"Carol of the Bells"/"O Come All Ye Faithful" (overture)	Traditional / Traditional David Overton / Ralph Blane Hugh Martin / Traditional / Traditional James R. Murray / William Chatterton Dix / Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych Peter Wilhousky Nick Perito^[a] Peter Knight^[a] / John Francis Wade Frederick Oakeley	4:38
3.	"Christmas Waltz"	Sammy Cahn Jule Styne	2:15
4.	"Sleigh Ride"	Leroy Anderson Mitchell Parish	2:39
5.	"It's Christmas Time"/"Sleep Well, Little Children"	Al Stillman Victor Young / Alan Bergman Leon Klatzkin	2:53
6.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Blane Martin	3:55
7.	"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town"	John Frederick Coots Haven Gillespie	1:05
8.	"Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"	Mel Tormé Robert Wells	3:39
9.	"Silent Night"	Franz Xaver Gruber Joseph Mohr John Freeman Young Knight^[a]	3:19

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Jingle Bells"	James Pierpont Knight^[a]	1:10
11.	"First Snowfall"/"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"	Sonny Burke Paul Francis Webster / Cahn Styne	3:35
12.	"Carol of the Bells"	Leontovych Wilhousky Perito^[a] Knight^[a]	1:39
13.	"Merry Christmas Darling"	Frank Pooler R. Carpenter	3:05
14.	"I'll Be Home for Christmas"	Kim Gannon Walter Kent Buck Ram	3:48
15.	"Christ Is Born"	Ray Charles Domenico Bartolucci	3:13
16.	"Winter Wonderland"/"Silver Bells"/"White Christmas"	Felix Bernard Richard B. Smith / Jay Livingston Ray Evans / Irving Berlin	5:31
17.	"Ave Maria"	Johann Sebastian Bach Charles Gounod Knight^[a]	2:35

1984 CD edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (lead vocals: R. Carpenter)	Edmund Sears Richard Storrs Willis	0:41
2.	"Happy Holiday"/"The First Noel"/"March of the Toys"/"Little Jesus"/"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"/"O Little Town of Bethlehem"/"In Dulce Jubilo"/"Gesu Bambino (The Infant Jesus)"/"Angels We Have Heard on High" (overture)	Berlin / Traditional R. Carpenter^[a] / Victor Herbert / Traditional R. Carpenter^[a] / Tommie Connor / Phillips Brooks Lewis Redner / Traditional R. Carpenter^[a] / Pietro Yon / Traditional R. Carpenter^[a]	8:16
3.	"An Old-Fashioned Christmas"	R.Carpenter John Bettis	2:11
4.	"The Christmas Waltz"	Cahn Styne	2:11
5.	"Sleigh Ride"	Anderson Parish	2:39
6.	"It's Christmas Time"/"Sleep Well, Little Children"	Stillman Young / Bergman Klatzkin	2:53
7.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Blane Martin	3:54
8.	"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"	Coots Gillespie	1:05
9.	"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"	Tormé Wells	3:39
10.	"Carol of the Bells"	Leontovych Wilhousky Perito^[a] Knight^[a]	1:39
11.	"Merry Christmas Darling"	Pooler R. Carpenter	3:07
12.	"Christ Is Born"	Charles Bartolucci	3:13
13.	"O Holy Night"	Adolphe Adam R. Carpenter^[a]	3:10
14.	"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"	Stillman Robert Allen	2:36
15.	"Here Comes Santa Claus"/"Frosty the Snowman"/"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"/"Good King Wenceslas" (medley)	Gene Autry Oakley Haldeman / Steve Nelson Jack Rollins / Johnny Marks / John Mason Neale R. Carpenter^[a]	3:42
16.	"Winter Wonderland"/"Silver Bells"/"White Christmas"	Bernard Smith / Livingston Evans / Berlin	5:28
17.	"Ave Maria"	Bach Gounod Knight^[a]	2:34
18.	"Overture Miniature"/"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"/"Valse des fleurs" (selections from Nutcracker)	Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky R. Carpenter^[a]	5:27
19.	"Little Altar Boy"	Howlett Peter Smith	3:43
20.	"I'll Be Home for Christmas"	Gannon Kent Ram	3:49
21.	"Silent Night"	Gruber Mohr Young Knight^[a]	3:20

Notes

^{^a} signifies adapted by

Singles

"Merry Christmas Darling"

US 7" single (1970) – A&M 1236

"Merry Christmas Darling"
"Mr. Guder"

UK 7" single (1971) – AME601

"Merry Christmas Darling"
"Ticket to Ride"
"Saturday"

UK 7" single (1990) – AM716

"Merry Christmas Darling"
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"

UK 7" single (1990) – AMS716

"Merry Christmas Darling"
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"

UK 12" single (1990) – AMY716

"Merry Christmas Darling"
"You're the One"
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"

UK CD single (1990) – AMCD716

"Merry Christmas Darling"
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"
"You're the One"

"Christmas Song"

US 7" single (1977) – A&M 1991

"Christmas Song"
"Merry Christmas Darling"

JP 7" single (1977) – CM-2083

"Christmas Song"
"Merry Christmas Darling"

JP CD single (1996) – PODM-1059

"Christmas Song"
"Winter Wonderland/Silver Bells/White Christmas"

"Silent Night"

JP 7" single (1978) – AMP 1012

"Silent Night"
"Jingle Bells"
"Ave Maria"

"Ave Maria"

JP CD single (1996) – PODM-1065

"Ave Maria"
"Merry Christmas Darling"

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[7]	56

References

AllMusic review
Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City: Simon and Schuster. p. 140. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
Garrett, Thad (19 December 2017). "The American Christmas Songbook: "Merry Christmas, Darling" (1970)". Lib.cua.edu. 620 Michigan Ave., N.E. Washington, DC 20064: The Catholic University of America. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019. In 1978, at Karen’s request, the vocals were re-recorded for the release of Christmas Portrait, their first Christmas album.CS1 maint: location (link)
"RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
"Carpenters Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
"The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
"Carpenters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 29, 2020.

External links

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[1] AllMusic review

[2] Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City: Simon and Schuster. p. 140. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.

[3] Garrett, Thad (19 December 2017). "The American Christmas Songbook: "Merry Christmas, Darling" (1970)". Lib.cua.edu. 620 Michigan Ave., N.E. Washington, DC 20064: The Catholic University of America. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019. In 1978, at Karen’s request, the vocals were re-recorded for the release of Christmas Portrait, their first Christmas album.CS1 maint: location (link)

[sales-4] "RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2014-12-02.

[5] "Carpenters Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

[6] "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2014-12-02.

[ac_Billboard200_Carpenters-7] "Carpenters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 29, 2020.

[a]

The Carpenters
Karen Carpenter Richard Carpenter
Studio albums	Offering (Ticket to Ride) (1969) Close to You (1970) Carpenters (1971) A Song for You (1972) Now & Then (1973) Horizon (1975) A Kind of Hush (1976) Passage (1977) Christmas Portrait (1978) Made in America (1981) Voice of the Heart (1983) An Old-Fashioned Christmas (1984) Lovelines (1989) As Time Goes By (2001)
Live albums	Live in Japan (1975) Live at the Palladium (1976)
Compilation albums	The Singles: 1969–1973 (1973) The Singles: 1974–1978 (1978) The Very Best of the Carpenters (1983) Yesterday Once More (1984) Only Yesterday (1990) From the Top (1991) Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration (1995) Love Songs (1997) Reflections (1998) The Singles: 1969–1981 (2000) The Essential Collection: 1965–1997 (2002) Carpenters Perform Carpenter (2003) Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition (2004) The Ultimate Collection (2006) 40/40 (2009) Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)
Solo albums	Time (1987) Karen Carpenter (1996) Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor (1998)
Singles	"Looking for Love" "Ticket to Ride" "(They Long to Be) Close to You" "We've Only Just Begun" "Merry Christmas, Darling" "For All We Know" "Rainy Days and Mondays" "Superstar" "Bless the Beasts and Children" "Hurting Each Other" "It's Going to Take Some Time" "Goodbye to Love" "Sing" "Yesterday Once More" "Top of the World" "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" "I Won't Last a Day Without You" "Please Mr. Postman" "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" "Only Yesterday" "Solitaire" "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" "I Need to Be in Love" "Goofus" "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" "Sweet, Sweet Smile" "I Believe You" "Touch Me When We're Dancing" "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" "Those Good Old Dreams" "Beechwood 4-5789" "Make Believe It's Your First Time" "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" "Now" "Little Altar Boy" "Honolulu City Lights" "Something in Your Eyes" "If I Had You" "Let Me Be the One" "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" "Ave Maria" "The Rainbow Connection"
Television series and specials	Make Your Own Kind of Music (1971) Live at the BBC (1971) Very First TV Special (1976) Space Encounters (1978) A Christmas Portrait (1978) Music, Music, Music (1980)
Music video releases	Gold: Greatest Hits (1991 VHS / 2002 DVD) Interpretations (1995 VHS / 2003 DVD)
Documentaries	Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters (1998) Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007)
Related	Discography Songs John Bettis Joe Osborn Tony Peluso If I Were a Carpenter Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story The Karen Carpenter Story Classic Carpenters (2016 Dami Im tribute album)
Book Category