Import from Japan with OBI Strip. Vinyl plays nicely (play-graded). Cover looks great; a few creases near edges; light-scuffing and surface impressions (front/back). Inner-sleeve is plastic. Spine is easy-to-read with mild-wear. Minor shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge and corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and a few divots. 1976 pressing.
Merry Christmas includes Bing Crosby's signature song White Christmas, the best-selling single ever, with sales of over 50 million copies worldwide. The album itself has sold over 15 million copies, and is the second best-selling Christmas album of all-time. The original album consisted of ten songs on five 78 records, all of which had been previously released. Decca issued a second edition in this format in 1947, consisting of four 78s, omitting recordings of Danny Boy and Let's Start the New Year Right from the previous release, and including new recordings of White Christmas and Silent Night. This recording of White Christmas, heard on every subsequent pressing, is actually a re-recording of the song as, in an unprecedented occurrence, the 1942 master had actually worn out and was no longer usable. Decca and Crosby undertook the remake with the same orchestra and chorus, in an attempt to re-create the original recording as closely as possible. The Andrews Sisters, often Crosby's recording partners in the 1940s, are featured on several tracks. Merry Christmas has been continually in-print longer than any other album in the history of the United States. In 1955 Decca created a 12-inch LP version of Merry Christmas, with four additional songs and the now familiar cover with Crosby in his Santa Claus stocking cap. The new songs were Silver Bells and Mele Kalikimaka, both recorded in September 1950, and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and Christmas in Killarney, both recorded on October 1, 1951. The album's track listing was also adjusted slightly, with Faith of Our Fathers now preceding I'll Be Home for Christmas. This issue has remained unchanged to present.