| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
A Very Special Christmas is the first in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 12, 1987, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine for A&M Records. A Very Special Christmas has raised millions of dollars for the Special Olympics.[3] The cover artwork was designed by Keith Haring.
On January 16, 1998, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of four million copies in the United States.[4]
As of November 2014, A Very Special Christmas is the 19th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present), having sold 2,520,000 copies according to SoundScan.[5]
Track listing
| Track | Song Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie | The Pointer Sisters | 3:22 |
| 2. | "Winter Wonderland" | Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith | Eurythmics | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Do You Hear What I Hear?" | Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker | Whitney Houston | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Merry Christmas Baby" | Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band | 4:53 |
| 5. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane | The Pretenders | 4:42 |
| 6. | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | Tommie Connor | John Cougar Mellencamp | 2:39 |
| 7. | "Gabriel's Message" | Charles Bordes and Sabine Baring-Gould | Sting | 2:14 |
| 8. | "Christmas in Hollis" | Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jason Mizell | Run-D.M.C. | 3:00 |
| 9. | "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" | Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and Phil Spector | U2 | 2:21 |
| 10. | "Santa Baby" | Joan Javits, Philip Springer and Tony Springer | Madonna | 2:35 |
| 11. | "The Little Drummer Boy" | Katherine Kennicott Davis, Harry Simeone and Henry Onorati | Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band | 3:32 |
| 12. | "Run Rudolph Run" | Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie | Bryan Adams | 2:43 |
| 13. | "Back Door Santa" | Clarence Carter and Marcus Daniel | Bon Jovi | 3:54 |
| 14. | "The Coventry Carol" | Traditional | Alison Moyet | 3:25 |
| 15. | "Silent Night" | Josef Mohr and Franz X. Gruber | Stevie Nicks | 4:37 |
- On later pressings of the album, "Back Door Santa" was replaced with "I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas", also by Bon Jovi.
- Also, on later pressings of the album, a spoken introduction on The Pretenders' "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", presumably by a child, was omitted.
References
- ^ A Very Special Christmas Vol. 1 | A Very Special Christmas
- ^ A Very Special Christmas at AllMusic
- ^ McGee, Matt (2008). U2: A Diary. Omnibus Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-84772-108-2.
- ^ "RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 2014-08-30. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
- ^ Billboard Staff (2014-12-01). "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
External links