The most wonderful time of the year is officially underway at Second Disc HQ as we’ve just released our first two holiday collections of 2019 with Real Gone Music: Chet Atkins’ The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings and Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s The Complete Columbia Christmas Albums.

It’s for good reason that Chet Atkins remains one of the most revered names not only in country music but in American music itself. A producer, A&R man, songwriter, sometimes-vocalist, and above all, a guitarist who influenced generations that followed him, Atkins defined the sound of the genre with his championing of RCA’s lush Nashville Sound. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and a 14-time Grammy winner (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), Atkins recorded two albums of Christmas music throughout his singular career.

The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings is packed with almost 50 vintage holiday tunes from the man known as Mr. Guitar, originally released between 1953 and 1996 on both of those labels. These joyous and virtuosic recordings encompass rare singles, the complete albums Christmas with Chet Atkins (in both its original, long out-of-print 1961 version and re-recorded and remixed 1976 iteration) and East Tennessee Christmas, and numerous one-offs from various albums over the years. Best of all, every track has been freshly remastered by Vic Anesini at Sony’s Battery Studios!  Producer/compiler Joe Marchese has penned the new liner notes, and John Sellards has designed the deluxe 28-page booklet featuring numerous rare photos of Chet in and out of the studio.

Chet brought his singular guitar style to recordings of both pop and country hits (“Jingle Bell Rock,” “Blue Christmas”) and classic carols (“Away in a Manger,” “Ave Maria”) plus favorites like “Winter Walkin'” and his own “East Tennessee Christmas.” It all adds up to a warm, nostalgic Christmas treat from a musical titan. You don’t have to be from Tennessee to enjoy the classic country sound of Chet Atkins, C.G.P. (that’s “Certified Guitar Player,” naturally!) on this definitive Christmas anthology.

It’s joined by a two-for-one release of beloved carols in symphonic splendor.  Eugene Ormandy’s 44-year tenure as music director of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra remains the single longest affiliation of conductor and orchestra. Under the direction of Maestro Ormandy, the orchestra earned two Grammy Awards and three Gold records. Now, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are thrilled to bring to CD both of Ormandy’s original Columbia Records Christmas albums in one deluxe package. The Complete Columbia Christmas Albums presents The Glorious Sound of Christmas (1962) and A Christmas Festival (1964) complete on one CD.

On The Glorious Sound of Christmas, Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra welcomed The Temple University Concert Choir under the direction of Robert Page for a stirring set of traditional carols including “Joy to the World,” “The First Noel,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” and “Silent Night.” Two years later, Ormandy was back in the studio with the Orchestra and Choir, adding The St. Francis de Sales Boychoir led by Peter La Manna. A Christmas Festival picked up where its predecessor left off, with the same lush grandeur in celebration of the season. It featured “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Jingle Bells” alongside stirring renditions of classics such as “Here We Go A-Caroling” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Both albums were produced by Thomas Frost with arrangements by Arthur Harris. This new edition has been remastered by Mike Piacentini at Battery Studios and features new liner notes by Joe Marchese. The Complete Columbia Albums captures some of the most magnificent Christmas music ever released.

Both of these yuletide titles are out now, and can be ordered at the links below!

Chet Atkins, The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music RGM-0945, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. The Bells of St. Mary’s (RCA single 47-5300, 1953)
2. Jingle Bells (RCA single 47-6314, 1955)
3. Christmas Carols (RCA single 47-6314, 1955)
4. Sleigh Bells, Reindeer and Snow (rec. 1955, rel. 2004 on Bear Family BCD 16539, 2004)
5. Greensleeves (from Chet Atkins in Hollywood, RCA Victor LSP 1993, 1959)

Christmas with Chet Atkins (RCA Victor LSP 2423, 1961)

6. Jingle Bell Rock
7. Winter Wonderland
8. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
9. White Christmas
10. Blue Christmas
11. Jingle Bells
12. Silver Bells
13. Little Drummer Boy
14. The Coventry Carol/God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
15. The First Noel
16. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
17. O Come All Ye Faithful
18. Deck the Halls
19. Silent Night
20. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (from Nashville Christmas Party, RCA Victor LSP 2579, 1962)
21. Winter Walkin’ (from Guitar Country, RCA Victor LSP 2783, 1964)
22. Ave Maria (from Class Guitar, RCA Victor LSP 3885, 1967)

CD 2

1. Greensleeves (1961 Version) (from reissue of Chet Atkins in Hollywood, LSP 1993, 1961)
2. Bells of Saint Mary’s (from Superpickers, RCA APL1-0329, 1973)

Christmas with Chet Atkins [1976 Remixed and Re-Recorded Versions] (RCA ANL1-1935, 1976)

3. Winter Wonderland
4. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
5. White Christmas
6. Blue Christmas
7. Jingle Bells
8. Silver Bells
9. Little Drummer Boy
10. The First Noel
11. Silent Night

East Tennessee Christmas (Columbia FC 39003, 1983)

12. Jingle Bell Rock
13. White Christmas
14. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
15. Winter Wonderland
16. The Christmas Song
17. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
18. East Tennessee Christmas
19. Do You Hear What I Hear?
20. The Little Drummer Boy
21. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
22. Silent Night
23. Away in a Manger
24. Ave Maria (1996 Version) (from Almost Alone, Columbia CK 67497, 1996)

Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Complete Columbia Christmas Albums (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. O Little Town of Bethlehem
3. Joy to the World
4. O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel)
5. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
6. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
7. Ave Maria
8. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
9. The First Noel
10. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
11. O Sanctissima (O Du Fröhliche)
12. The Worship of God
13. O Come, Little Children
14. Silent Night, Holy Night
15. O Tannenbaum
16. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
17. Little Drummer Boy
18. I Wonder as I Wander
19. For Unto Us a Child Is Born
20. Here We Go A-Caroling
21. Good King Wenceslas
22. Away in a Manger
23. Jingle Bells
24. We Three Kings of Orient Are
25. Hallelujah Chorus
26. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Tracks 1-14 from The Glorious Sound of Christmas, Columbia Masterworks MS 6369, 1962
Tracks 15-26 from A Christmas Festival, Columbia Masterworks MS 6639, 1964