1971 studio album by Bing Crosby
A Time to Be Jolly is a long-playing vinyl album recorded by Bing Crosby for RCA imprint Daybreak Records (DR 2006) at Mercury Sound Studio West on Mission Street, San Francisco. Crosby was supported by Jack Halloran and the Voices of Christmas with the orchestra conducted by Les Brown .[ 1]
Four tracks were originally recorded on November 16, 1970 and the remainder were overdubbed by Crosby on September 7/8, 1971 using orchestral tracks recorded on August 31, 1971.[ 2] Several tracks have the Voices of Christmas singing a few lines from the Alfred Burt carols as an introduction and these are shown in the listing. Another song, "An Old-Fashioned Christmas", is thought to have been overdubbed by Crosby but it has never been released.[ 3]
The album was reissued on LP by 20th Century Fox Records (as A Holiday Toast ) in 1977, and on CD by PolyGram Records (as Christmas Album ) in 1994.
Billboard commented: "Crosby joins the new Daybreak label (handled by RCA), with his first Christmas package in many years! An exceptional one it is! With fresh material, Crosby is in top vocal form with the title tune as well as with 'Christmas Toast' and 'I Sing Noel.' Delightful package, it should prove a heavy seller for the season."[ 4]
Side two Title Writer(s) Introduction 1. "A Christmas Toast" Ken Lane , Irving Taylor 2:51 2. "And the Bells Rang" Leroy Hale, Joel Herron "Caroling, Caroling" 2:41 3. "Christmas Is" Percy Faith , Spence Maxwell"Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries" 3:11 4. "When You Trim Your Christmas Tree" Bill Carey , E. B. Powell, Sonny Burke "We'll Dress the House" 3:07 5. "Christmas Is Here to Stay" Alan Kohan , Bill Angelos 4:05
Albums Music of Hawaii (1939) Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939) Patriotic Songs for Children (1939) Cowboy Songs (Bing Crosby's first solo album) (1939) Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939) George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939) Ballad for Americans (Bing Crosby's first solo studio album)(1940) Favorite Hawaiian Songs (1940) Christmas Music (1940) Star Dust (1940) Hawaii Calls (1941) Small Fry (1941) Crosbyana (1941) Under Western Skies (1941) Song Hits from Holiday Inn (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1942) Merry Christmas (1945) Selections from Going My Way (1945) Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's (1946) Don't Fence Me In (w/ The Andrews Sisters ) (1946) The Happy Prince (1946) Selections from Road to Utopia (1946) Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster (1946) What We So Proudly Hail (1946) Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One (1946) Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two (1946) Blue Skies (w/ Fred Astaire and Irving Berlin ) (1946) Bing Crosby – Jerome Kern (1946) St. Patrick's Day (1947) Bing Crosby – Victor Herbert (1947) Cowboy Songs, Vol. One (1947) Selections from Welcome Stranger (1947) Our Common Heritage (1947) El Bingo (1947) The Small One (1947) The Man Without a Country (1947) Drifting and Dreaming (1947) Blue of the Night (1948) Selections from Showboat (1948) The Emperor Waltz (1948) St. Valentine's Day (1948) Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (1948) Selections from Road to Rio (1948) Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer (1948) Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan (1948) Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from Broadway Shows (1948) Cowboy Songs, Vol. Two (1948) Auld Lang Syne (1948) Bing Crosby Sings Cole Porter Songs (1949) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949) Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin (1949) South Pacific (1949) Christmas Greetings (1949) Ichabod – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949) Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz (1950) Songs from Mr. Music (w/ Dorothy Kirsten and The Andrews Sisters ) (1950) Go West Young Man (w/ The Andrews Sisters ) (1950) Collectors' Classics, Vols. 1–8 (1951) Way Back Home (1951) Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from... (1951) Bing and the Dixieland Bands (1951) Yours Is My Heart Alone (1951) Country Style (1951) Beloved Hymns (1951) Bing and Connee (w/ Connee Boswell ) (1952) When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1952) Themes and Songs from The Quiet Man (w/ Victor Young ) (1952) Selections from the Paramount Picture "Just for You" (w/ Jane Wyman and The Andrews Sisters ) (1952) Road to Bali (w/ Bob Hope and Peggy Lee ) (1952) Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953) Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954) Bing Sings the Hits (1954) Selections from White Christmas (w/ Peggy Lee and Danny Kaye ) (1954) Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954) The Country Girl / Little Boy Lost (1955) Merry Christmas (later version of 1945 78rpm album) (1955) Shillelaghs and Shamrocks (1956) Home on the Range (1956) Blue Hawaii (1956) High Tor (w/ Julie Andrews and Everett Sloane ) (1956) A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956) Anything Goes (w/ Donald O'Connor , Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire ) (1956) High Society (w/ Frank Sinatra , Grace Kelly , and Louis Armstrong ) (1956) Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around (1956) Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956) Bing with a Beat (1957) A Christmas Story (1957) Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1957) New Tricks (1957) The Bible Story of Christmas (1957) Never Be Afraid (1958) Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1958) Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1958) Around the World with Bing! (1958) Bing in Paris (1958) That Christmas Feeling (1958) In a Little Spanish Town (1958) Bing’s Buddies and Beaus (1959) Say One for Me (w/ Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner ) (1959) How the West Was Won (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1960) Join Bing and Sing Along (1960) Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong ) (1960) Songs of Christmas (1960) 101 Gang Songs (1961) El Señor Bing (1961) My Golden Favorites (1961) The Road to Hong Kong (1962) Bing's Hollywood (set of 15 albums) (1962) On the Happy Side (1962) I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962) Holiday in Europe (1962) Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963) Return to Paradise Islands (1964) America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964) Robin and the 7 Hoods (w/ Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , and Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1964) 12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964) Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1965) That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1965) The Summit (w/ Dean Martin , Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1966) Bing Crosby's Treasury – The Songs I Love (1966) Bing Crosby and The Columbus Boychoir Sing Family Christmas Favorites (w/ The Columbus Boychoir ) (1967) Thoroughly Modern Bing (1968) Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1968 version) (1968) Hey Jude/Hey Bing! (1969) Goldilocks (1970) A Time to Be Jolly (1971) Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie ) (1972) Rhythm on the Range (1972) I’ll Sing You a Song of the Islands (1972) A Southern Memoir (1975) That's What Life Is All About (1975) A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1975) Tom Sawyer (1976) At My Time of Life (1976) Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium (1976) Feels Good, Feels Right (1976) Beautiful Memories (1977) Bingo Viejo (1977) Seasons (Bing Crosby's last studio album released during his lifetime) (1977) A Little Bit of Irish (posthumous edition, recorded in 1966) (1993) Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998) On the Sentimental Side (posthumous edition, recorded in 1962; Bing Crosby's latest studio album) (2010) Family Related