Johnny Mathis has continued to release new holiday music throughout the past 65 years. Starting with his debut, Merry Christmas, in 1958, Mathis went on to release several more holiday albums, including Sounds of Christmas (1963), Give Me Your Love for Christmas (1969), Christmas Eve With Johnny Mathis (1986), The Christmas Album (2002), and his Grammy-nominated Sending You a Little Christmas in 2013, featuring collaborations with Natalie Cole, Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, and more.
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A decade later, Mathis is releasing his seventh holiday album Christmas Time is Here, out October 13. Named after the Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson-composed song of the same name for the 1965 animated TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, the 10-track album features newly recorded holiday songs and expands on his 2022 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
The album was produced by the singer’s longtime collaborator Jay Landers (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Andrea Bocelli)—who worked on 13 albums with Mathis—along with Fred Mollin (Kristin Chenoweth, Jimmy Webb, Natalie Cole, Billy Joel), who collaborated with him on Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville (2010) and Sending You a Little Christmas.
Recorded at the Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood, California, and Nashville, Tennessee, Christmas Time is Here features Mathis’ renditions of holiday classics, including “Blue Christmas,” a remake of Johnny’s No. 1 U.K. single, and the title track from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Several holiday standards also fill out the album, including “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “When a Child is Born,” “Merry Christmas, Baby,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” featuring Kristin Chenoweth.
[RELATED: 5 Underrated Christmas Songs You Should Be Listening to This Holiday Season]
Mathis’ 2013 release Sending You a Little Christmas featured collaborations with Natalie Cole, Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, and more.
‘Christmas Time is Here’ Track List:
1. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
2. “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (with Kristin Chenoweth)
3. “Christmas Time Is Here”
4. “Merry Christmas, Baby”
5. “White Christmas”
6. “When a Child Is Born”
7. “Blue Christmas”
8. “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You”
9. “Little Town of Bethlehem”
10. “Auld Lang Syne”
Photo: Keith Castillo/Courtesy of Song Legacy Recordings
