Country Christmas (Loretta Lynn album)
Country Christmas is the eighth solo studio album and first Christmas album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on October 17, 1966 by Decca Records.[1] Lynn would not release another Christmas album until 2016's White Christmas Blue, fifty years later.
| Country Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 17, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | July 7–15, 1966 | |||
| Studio | Bradley's Barn (Mount Juliet) | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 26:39 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Producer | Owen Bradley | |||
| Loretta Lynn chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Country Christmas | ||||
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The album includes four original compositions by Lynn, along with popular holiday songs, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "White Christmas", and "Frosty the Snowman".
In 2005, MCA Records reissued the album on CD as a part of their 20th Century Masters series, under the title The Christmas Collection: The Best of Loretta Lynn, with modified cover art.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
In the issue dated October 29, 1966, Billboard published a review of the album, which said, "The album's beautiful songs include "Country Christmas", "Away in a Manger" — all great programming material for country music stations, and this will create high sales. The "Manger" tune deserves a single. Possibly her best effort to date."[3]
Commercial performance
The album did not appear on any music charts.
The only single, "To Heck with Ole Santa Claus", was released in November 1966[4] and did not chart.
Recording
Recording sessions for the album took place on July 7, 13, and 15, 1966, at Bradley's Barn in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Country Christmas" | Loretta Lynn | July 7, 1966 | 2:06 |
| 2. | "Away In a Manger" | Traditional | July 15, 1966 | 2:20 |
| 3. | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | July 7, 1966 | 2:08 | |
| 4. | "Silver Bells" | July 7, 1966 | 2:00 | |
| 5. | "Blue Christmas" |
| July 15, 1966 | 2:27 |
| 6. | "It Won't Seem Like Christmas" | Lynn | July 7, 1966 | 2:09 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "To Heck with Ole Santa Claus" | Lynn | July 13, 1966 | 2:01 |
| 2. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | July 13, 1966 | 2:02 |
| 3. | "Frosty the Snowman" |
| July 13, 1966 | 2:58 |
| 4. | "Christmas Without Daddy" | Jackie Webb | July 13, 1966 | 2:07 |
| 5. | "I Won't Decorate Your Christmas Tree" |
| July 15, 1966 | 2:05 |
| 6. | "Gift of the Blues" | Hank Cochran | July 15, 1966 | 2:19 |
Personnel
Adapted from the Decca recording session records.[5]
- Harold Bradley – electric bass guitar
- Owen Bradley – producer
- Fred Carter Jr. – guitar, electric guitar
- Jon Corneal – drums
- Floyd Cramer – piano
- Buddy Harman – drums
- Junior Huskey – bass
- The Jordanaires – background vocals
- Loretta Lynn – lead vocals
- Grady Martin – guitar, lead electric guitar
- Hal Rugg – steel guitar
References
- "Loretta Lynn – Country Christmas". Discogs.
- Allmusic
- "Billboard Magazine - October 29, 1966" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- "Loretta Lynn - To Heck With Ole Santa Claus". Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- "Loretta's Recording Sess". LORETTA LYNN FAN WEBSITE. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
