Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (soundtrack)

This article is about the soundtrack to the TV special. For the TV special, see Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special). For other uses, see Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (disambiguation).

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a soundtrack album to the 1964 Rankin/Bass television special of the same name. The original cast recordings from the TV special (side "A" of the original LP release) are supplemented with instrumental versions recorded by the Decca Concert Orchestra (on side "B") on the Compact Disc version. All songs used in the television special were written by Johnny Marks.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Original LP cover art (1964 Decca)
Soundtrack album by cast
Released	December 13, 1964 (LP) June 1, 1995 (CD)
Recorded	1964
Genre	Soundtrack, Christmas music, Traditional pop
Length	35:22
Label	Decca Records (LP) MCA Records (CD)
Alternative cover
CD re-issue cover art (1995 MCA)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic^[1]

The original LP album was first released in 1964, however didn't become hugely successful until years later when it was reissued as a CD in 1995.^[2] The CD was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 30, 2004.^[3] The album has sold 1,411,200 copies in the United States since 1991 when SoundScan began tracking sales.^[4]

Track listing

LP side A:

1. Overture and "A Holly Jolly Christmas"^{[note 1]} – 2:23
2. "Jingle Jingle Jingle" – 1:13
3. "We Are Santa's Elves" – 1:31
4. "There's Always Tomorrow" – 1:42
5. "We're a Couple of Misfits" – 1:18
6. "Silver and Gold" – 1:42
7. "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" – 2:18
8. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" – 1:18
9. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Finale – 1:19

LP side B (instrumental versions):

1. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – 1:50
2. "There's Always Tomorrow" – 2:22
3. "Jingle Jingle Jingle" – 2:14
4. "We're a Couple of Misfits" – 1:50
5. "Silver and Gold" – 2:21
6. "We Are Santa's Elves" – 1:09
7. "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" – 2:22
8. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" – 1:32
9. Christmas Medley: "The Night Before Christmas Song" / "A Merry Merry Christmas" / "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" / "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" – 3:17
10. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" – 1:41

• On the re-issue on CD, contents / track order are the same except the "Christmas Medley" is placed in the middle, at track 10 (between A9 and B1 - the Burl Ives' sung and instrumental versions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer").
• The brand-new song "Fame and Fortune", which replaced "We're a Couple of Misfits" in airings of the television special from 1965 through until the special was restored in 1998,^[5] does not appear on the soundtrack album.

Voices and personnel

• Burl Ives – voice of Sam the Snowman ("A Holly Jolly Christmas," "Silver and Gold," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer")
• Stan Francis – voice of Santa Claus ("Jingle, Jingle, Jingle")
• Janis Orenstein – voice of Clarice ("There's Always Tomorrow")
• Billie Mae Richards – voice of Rudolph ("We're A Couple Of Misfits")
• Paul Soles – voice of Hermey ("We're A Couple Of Misfits")
• Maury Laws – musical director of the Videocraft TV Musical
• Decca Concert Orchestra (side B instrumentals)
• Herbert Rehbein – conductor, Decca Concert Orchestra

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)^[6] 4 US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)^[7] 5 Chart (2020) Peak position US Billboard 200^[8] 16 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[9] 1 Chart (2022–2023) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[10] 20

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[11] 76 Chart (2019) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[12] 50 Chart (2020) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[13] 51

Notes

1. The recordings of "A Holly Jolly Christmas" featured on this album and heard in the TV special, were never released as singles, and none of them became the one commonly heard during the holiday season. That version—featuring Burl Ives with an acoustic guitar intro and a slower tempo—was a different recording; first released as a single in November of 1964 (B-side track, "Snow for Johnny"), and then featured the following year on Ives' 1965 Christmas album Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

References

1. Dave Connolly review at allmusic.com
2. Connolly, Dave. "Burl Ives: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". AllMusic.
3. "American album certifications – Burl Ives – Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". Recording Industry Association of America.
4. Bjorke, Matt (November 26, 2017). "Top Country Catalog Sales Chart: November 26, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
5. Explanation of alternate versions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at imdb.com and at cbspressexpress.com
6. "Burl Ives Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
7. "Burl Ives Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
8. "Burl Ives Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
9. "Burl Ives Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
10. "Burl Ives Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
11. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
12. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
13. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2021.

External links

• Decca DL 34327 (original LP) at discogs.com
• MCA 15003 (1980 LP re-issue) at discogs.com
• MCAD 22177 (1995 CD re-issue) at amazon.com
• Soundtrack at internet movie database (imdb.com)