A Partridge Family Christmas Card is a Christmas album (and the fourth studio album) by the Partridge Family, released in November 1971. The album's case contains a reproduction of a Christmas card signed by the whole Partridge Family, the stars of a 1970s sitcom. The song "My Christmas Card to You" was original, but the remainder of the tracks were standards. Like most of the Partridge Family songs, the lead vocals are sung by David Cassidy, who played Keith Partridge in the show. The album also features one of the few Partridge Family recordings featuring Shirley Jones as the lead singer ("The Christmas Song").
| A Partridge Family Christmas Card | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Studio | United Western (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | Rock/Christmas | |||
| Length | 30:23 | |||
| Label | Bell | |||
| Producer | Wes Farrell | |||
| The Partridge Family chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 1992 CD reissue cover | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
A Partridge Family Christmas Card was the best-selling Christmas album in the United States during the Christmas season of 1971. It was the number 1 album on Billboard magazine's special Christmas Albums sales chart for all four weeks that the magazine published the chart that year.[2]
The album was reissued in 1992 on CD and is also available as mp3 downloads.
Lead guitarist for Metallica, Kirk Hammett, cited this record to be the first album he owned during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" [3]
Track listing
editOnly two tracks, "Winter Wonderland" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", were featured on the TV show (in the second-season episode "Don't Bring Your Guns to Town, Santa")
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Christmas Card to You" | Tony Romeo | 2:33 |
| 2. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | 2:28 | |
| 4. | "Blue Christmas" |
| 3:27 |
| 5. | "Jingle Bells" (arranged by Wes Farrell) | James Lord Pierpont | 2:54 |
| 6. | "The Christmas Song" | 2:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | Johnny Marks | 2:34 |
| 2. | "Winter Wonderland" | 2:19 | |
| 3. | "Frosty the Snowman" | 3:51 | |
| 4. | "Sleigh Ride" | 2:40 | |
| 5. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | 2:22 | |
| Total length: | 30:23 | ||
Personnel
edit- Dennis Budimir, Louie Shelton - guitar
- Max Bennett - bass
- Mike Melvoin - piano
- Hal Blaine - drums
- Jackie Ward, John Bahler, Ron Hicklin, Tom Bahler - background vocals
- Wes Farrell - arrangement of rhythm tracks
- John Bahler - arrangement of vocal background
Track list and credits verified from the album's liner notes.[4]
Recording dates
editAugust 25, 1971
- "White Christmas"
- "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
August 26, 1971
- "Blue Christmas"
- "Jingle Bells"
- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
- "Winter Wonderland"
- "Frosty the Snowman"
August 28, 1971
- "My Christmas Card to You"
- "The Christmas Song"
- "Sleigh Ride"
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
See recording dates for this and other Partridge Family albums at The Partridge Family Recording Sessions[5]
Charts
edit| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[6] | 45 |
References
edit- ^ Rating, AllMusic. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 179. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
- ^ Childers, Chad (2023-04-11). "Metallica Members Reveal the First Albums They Ever Owned". Loudwire. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ A Partridge Family Christmas Card (liner notes). The Partridge Family. Bell Records. 1971. M 86066.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "The Partridge Family Recording Sessions". cmongethappy. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ "Partridge Family | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.