Harry for the Holidays

Harry for the Holidays is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s second Christmas album, released in 2003. The album features Connick and his 16 piece Big Band and a full section of chordophones.

Harry for the Holidays
Studio album by
Harry Connick Jr.
ReleasedOctober 28, 2003
RecordedCapitol Studios,
Los Angeles, California,
May 13–22, 2003
Genre
Length1:04:18
Label
ProducerTracey Freeman
Harry Connick Jr. chronology
Other Hours : Connick on Piano, Volume 1
(2003)		 Harry for the Holidays
(2003)		 Only You
(2004)
Harry Connick Jr.
Christmas albums chronology
When My Heart Finds Christmas
(1993)		 Harry for the Holidays
(2003)		 What a Night! A Christmas Album
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
Entertainment WeeklyB- 2/13/04

Harry for the Holidays was the best-selling holiday album in the United States of 2003 according to sales figures from Nielsen/SoundScan, with 687,000 copies sold in the U.S. that year.[1]

A Harry For The Holidays television special, aired on NBC December 23, 2003. The TV special was released on DVD October 19, 2004. The special features Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Marc Anthony and Kim Burrell.

Among Harry Connick Jr.'s own compositions is a duet with country singer George Jones on "Nothing New for New Year." This was one of the highlights of the album for Connick: "George Jones is my favorite singer and I was quite surprised and honored that he said yes", Connick said in 2003. "I think he's the most soulful country singer probably of all time."

An animated TV Christmas special "The Happy Elf", aired December 2, 2005 on NBC, and was released on DVD. The special is based on Connick's original song, "The Happy Elf". When asked about the song in 2003, Connick said, "'The Happy Elf' is another kid's song that came from thinking about how cool it would be to work in Santa's [work]shop."

On November 4, 2004, Harry for the Holidays was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.[2]

DualDisc version

The album was also released as a DualDisc, with the DVD side containing both Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound mixes and high quality LPCM (better than CD) versions of the album's 16 tracks. Also included are excerpts from the above-mentioned network special; with performances of 6 songs, including his own "It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus" as well as a version of "Blue Christmas" (made famous, as Connick notes before the performance, by Elvis Presley during his 1968 comeback special). An interview with Connick and a trailer for The Happy Elf are also included.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Frosty the Snowman"Steve Nelson, Jack Rollins3:34
2."Blue Christmas"Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson3:23
3."The Christmas Waltz"Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne3:18
4."I Wonder As I Wander"traditional3:07
5."Silver Bells"Ray Evans, Jay Livingston3:58
6."Mary's Boy Child"Jester Hairston5:10
7."Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie3:56
8."The Happy Elf"Connick3:42
9."I'll Be Home for Christmas"Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram5:57
10."I Come With Love"Connick4:43
11."Nature Boy"eden ahbez3:49
12."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Lewis H. Redner, Phillip Brooks3:25
13."I'm Gonna Be The First One"Connick3:27
14."This Christmas"Donny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor3:47
15."Nothin' New For New Year" (with George Jones)Connick4:08
16."Silent Night"Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr4:54

Musicians
"Nothing New For New Year"

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[3] Platinum 1,100,000[4]

References
  1. "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  2. "RIAA Searchable Database – Gold & Platinum Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  3. "American album certifications – Harry Connick Jr – Harry For the Holidays". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  4. "Holiday Cheer". Billboard. November 3, 2007. p. 32. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
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