Mistletoe and Holly

"Mistletoe and Holly"
"Mistletoe and Holly"
Single by Frank Sinatra
from the album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
A-side	"Mistletoe and Holly"
B-side	"The Christmas Waltz"
Released	1957
Recorded	Capitol Records, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; July 17, 1957
Genre	Christmas, traditional pop
Length	2:14
Label	Capitol; (US, 45")
Songwriter(s)	Dok Stanford, Hank Sanicola, Frank Sinatra
Producer(s)	Voyle Gilmore
Frank Sinatra singles chronology

"Mistletoe and Holly" is a 1957 Christmas song recorded and co-written by Frank Sinatra. The song was released as a single on Capitol Records.

Background

The song was written by Frank Sinatra, Dok Stanford and Hank Sanicola, and published by the Barton Music Corporation in New York.^[1] "Mistletoe and Holly" with Orchestra Conducted by Gordon Jenkins was released as a Capitol 7" 45 single in 1957 as F3900 and as a 10" 78 backed with "The Christmas Waltz" with The Ralph Brewster Singers. The single did not chart.^[2] The song was also released as a 7" 45 EP release: Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, Parts 1–3, Capitol EAP 1-3-894, in mono. Capitol also released the song as a special 7" 45 single release as "The Christmas Seal Song" with an introduction by Sinatra as PRO 1707 in 1960.

The song was selected as the theme song for the 1960 Christmas Seals appeal.

The song was remixed by Kaskade.^[3]

Album appearances

The song appeared on the 1957 Capitol Christmas album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, the Capitol LP The Sinatra Christmas Album in 1963, the Concepts collection on Capitol in 1992, the Capitol CD album The Complete Capitol Singles Collection in 1996, and the 2002 Christmas release Christmas with the Rat Pack.

Personnel

The song was recorded on July 17, 1957 in Los Angeles. The personnel on the session were: Frank Sinatra (leader), Gordon Jenkins (conductor), Phil Ramone (producer), Allan Reuss (guitar), Nat Gangursky, John Ryan (bass), Bill Miller (piano), Kathryn Thompson (harp), Ralph Hancoll (drums), Victor Arno, Walter Edelstein, David Frisina, Sol Kindler, Joseph Livoti, Nick Pisani, Joseph Quadri, Lou Raderman, Mischa Russell, Marshall Sosson (violin), Bill Baffa, Louis Kievman, Paul Robyn, Dave Sterkin (viola), Cy Bernard, Armond Kaproff (cello), Frank Sinatra (vocal), Betty Allen, Sue Allen, Ralph Brewster, The Ralph Brewster Singers, Peggy Clark, Barbara Ford, Lee Gotch, Beverly Jenkins, Jimmy Joyce, Gene Lanham (né Eugene Prentiss Lanham; 1915–1977), Bill Lee, Ray Linn, Jr., John Mann, Thora Mathiason, Dorothy McCarty (née Dorothy Dee McCarty; 1917–2015), Loulie Jean Norman, Betty Noyes, Thurl Ravenscroft, Ginny Roos, Max Smith, Bob Stevens, Bill Thompson, Robert Wacker, Betty Wand, and Gloria Wood (chorus or choir).^[4]

Charts

Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly"
Chart (2020–2023)	Peak position
Portugal (AFP)^[5]	172
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)^[6]	14

Other recordings

Jack Jones – The Jack Jones Christmas Album (1964)
The Gunter Kallmann Choir – Christmas Sing-In (1970) Medley with "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
Leigh Nash – Sounds of the Season NBC 2005 (2005)
Robert Davi – Salvation Army benefit single (2011)
Charlie Byrd – The Charlie Byrd Christmas Album (1982)
Faith Evans – A Faithful Christmas (2005)
Beegie Adair – Winter Romance (2009)
Joey DeFrancesco – Home for the Holidays (2014)
Kidz Bop Kids – Kidz Bop Christmas Wish List (2014)

References

^ "dbopm :: the database of popular music :: Songs written or co-written by Frank Sinatra". Dbopm.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Song artist 10 - Frank Sinatra". Tsort.info. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Throwback Thursday: Frank Sinatra - Mistletoe and Holly (Kaskade Mix)". EDM Identity. 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
^ "Frank Sinatra - The Capitol Years". Jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Frank Sinatra – Mistletoe and Holly". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 30, 2023.

Sources

Granata, Charles L. (1999). Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-509-5
Phasey, Chris (1995). Francis Albert Sinatra: Tracked Down (Discography). Buckland Publications. ISBN 0-7212-0935-1
Summers, Antony and Swan, Robbyn (2005). Sinatra: The Life. Doubleday. ISBN 0-552-15331-1

[1] "dbopm :: the database of popular music :: Songs written or co-written by Frank Sinatra". Dbopm.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[2] "Song artist 10 - Frank Sinatra". Tsort.info. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[3] "Throwback Thursday: Frank Sinatra - Mistletoe and Holly (Kaskade Mix)". EDM Identity. 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2019-06-26.

[4] "Frank Sinatra - The Capitol Years". Jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[sc_Portugal_Frank_Sinatra-5] "Frank Sinatra – Mistletoe and Holly". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved January 21, 2021.

[6] "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 30, 2023.

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v t e Frank Sinatra singles
Discography
Columbia singles (1939–1940)	"It's Funny to Everyone but Me" "On a Little Street in Singapore" "Ciribiribin" "All or Nothing at All"
RCA Victor singles (1940–1942)	"Imagination" "I'll Be Seeing You" "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" "I'll Never Smile Again" "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" "Our Love Affair" "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" "Stardust" "Dolores" "It's Always You" "Oh! Look at Me Now" "Without a Song" "Let's Get Away from It All" "This Love of Mine" "Blue Skies" "Pale Moon (An Indian Love Song)" "Embraceable You" "Just as Though You Were Here" "Take Me" "In the Blue of Evening" "How About You?" "There Are Such Things"
Bluebird singles (1942–1943)	"Night and Day" "The Night We Called It a Day" "The Song Is You"
Columbia singles (1943–1953)	"Close to You" "You'll Never Know" "Sunday, Monday, or Always" "People Will Say We're in Love" "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" "White Christmas" "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)" "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)" "Ol' Man River" "Stormy Weather" "When Your Lover Has Gone" "Dream" "If I Loved You" "You'll Never Walk Alone" "Mighty Lak' a Rose" "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" "America the Beautiful" "Day by Day" "Full Moon and Empty Arms" "Soliloquy (Part 1 & 2)" "Begin the Beguine" "Silent Night" "Adeste Fideles" "Jingle Bells" "Oh! What It Seemed to Be" "September Song" "Five Minutes More" "Sweet Lorraine" "Time after Time" "Mam'selle" "Almost Like Being in Love" "Tea for Two" "My Romance" "So Far" "A Fellow Needs a Girl" "But Beautiful" "I've Got a Crush on You" "All of Me" "Nature Boy" "Everybody Loves Somebody" "My Melancholy Baby" "Autumn in New York" "Why Can't You Behave?" "Some Enchanted Evening" "Bali Ha'i" "Let's Take an Old Fashioned Walk" "I Only Have Eyes for You" "The Old Master Painter" "Peachtree Street" "Goodnight, Irene" "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" "We Kiss in a Shadow" "April in Paris" "I Could Write a Book" "The Birth of the Blues"
Capitol singles (1953–1961)	"I'm Walking Behind You" "I've Got the World on a String" "My One and Only Love" "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" "I Love You" "Young at Heart" "Don't Worry 'bout Me" "Three Coins in the Fountain" "The Gal That Got Away" "Someone to Watch Over Me" "Melody of Love" "Learnin' the Blues" "Love and Marriage" "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" "You're Sensational" "True Love" "Well, Did You Evah!" "Mind If I Make Love to You?" "Hey! Jealous Lover" "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" "All the Way" "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" "Witchcraft" "Mistletoe and Holly" "French Foreign Legion" "High Hopes" "Old MacDonald" "My Blue Heaven" "I'll Remember April" "I Love Paris"
Reprise singles (1961–1983)	"Granada" "I'll Be Seeing You" "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" "Without a Song" "Stardust" "Come Rain or Come Shine" "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" "Me and My Shadow" "Call Me Irresponsible" "I Have Dreamed" "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" "My Kind of Town" "Softly, as I Leave You" "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" "The Little Drummer Boy" "It Was a Very Good Year" "Strangers in the Night" "Summer Wind" "You Make Me Feel So Young" "That's Life" "The September of My Years" "Somethin' Stupid" "The World We Knew (Over and Over)" "My Way of Life" "My Way" "Goin' Out of My Head" "Something" "Bein' Green" "Send In the Clowns" "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" "Theme from New York, New York" "Here's to the Band" "To Love a Child"
Qwest singles (1983–1984)	"Teach Me Tonight" "Mack the Knife" "It's All Right with Me" "Until the Real Thing Comes Along"
Compositions	"This Love of Mine" "Sheila" "Peachtree Street" "Take My Love" "I'm a Fool to Want You" "Mistletoe and Holly" "Mr. Success"
Category