December (George Winston album)

December
Studio album by George Winston
Released	1982
Recorded	September/October 1982
Studio	Different Fur, San Francisco, California
Genre	Folk, Christmas music
Length	38:54; 45:25 (20th Anniversary Edition)
Label	Windham Hill, Dancing Cat (rerelease)
Producer	William Ackerman; George Winston
George Winston chronology
Alternate cover
	2013 CD Digipak reissue

December is the fourth solo piano album from George Winston. It was recorded during the fall of 1982 and was released at the end of the year. It is a Christmas album, and more generally a tribute to the winter season. The album is a follow up to Autumn.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

December is Winston's highest-selling album, having been certified triple Platinum by the RIAA, signifying 3 million copies in shipment.[2] The success of the album, along with several of Winston's other albums from the early 1980s, enabled the record label, Windham Hill, to get international distribution and a higher profile.[3] The album also spent 136 weeks on the Billboard 200, reaching a peak of No. 54 in January 1984, over a year after its original release.[4] In 1987, five years after its release, it reached No. 2 on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart.[5]

A 20th Anniversary Edition of the album, with two bonus tracks, was released in 2001. The album was again reissued in 2013 by Valley Entertainment with Dancing Cat Records, Winston's own label. This reissue was packaged in a Digipak and features revised cover art.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by George Winston, except where noted.

Side One
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Liner notes by Winston	Length
1.	"Thanksgiving"		Inspired by friends and places of Miles City, Montana	4:04
2.	"Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head"	John Jacob Niles	Originally an Appalachian carol of the late 1800s	2:40
3.	"Joy"	J. S. Bach, arr. by David Qualey	Inspired by an arrangement by guitarist David Qualey	3:13
4.	"Prelude"		Inspired by American Peanuts jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi	1:16
5.	"Carol of the Bells"	M. D. Leontovych; arr. by George Winston		3:56
6.	"Night, Part One: Snow"			1:51
7.	"Night, Part Two: Midnight"			1:56
8.	"Night, Part Three: Minstrels"	Malcolm Dalglish	Inspired by St. Basil's Hymn, a traditional Greek children's New Year's carol based upon a rendition by American hammered dulcimer player Malcolm Dalglish, from his album Thunderhead (1982)	2:00

Side Two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Liner notes by Winston	Length
9.	"Variations on the Kanon by Johann Pachelbel"	Johann Pachelbel; arr. by George Winston		5:21
10.	"The Holly and the Ivy"	Traditional; arr. by George Winston		4:52
11.	"Some Children See Him"	Alfred S. Burt	One of 15 carols Winston wrote as gifts for friends. The piece was originally a song with lyrics by Wilha Hutson"	3:43
12.	"Peace"			4:02
Total length:				38:54

20th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"A Christmas Song"	John Barry	2:25
14.	"Sleep Baby Mine"	Albert S. Burt	4:06
Total length:			45:25

Personnel

Credits adapted from 1982 vinyl liner notes.

George Winston — piano

Additional

Anne Ackerman, William Ackerman — cover design
Karen Kirsch, Steven Miller — sound engineers
Jack Hunt — mastering
Greg Edmonds — photography

Chart

Chart (1984–87)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[7]	49
US Billboard 200[8]	54
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[9]	2
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[10]	5

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)[12]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^{^}
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

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References

Ruhlmann, William. December at AllMusic
Moser, John J. (April 9, 2015). "Pianist George Winston, playing in Bethlehem, finds inspiration in illness, recovery". The Morning Call.
Will's Biography, Will Ackerman homepage
http://www.billboard.com/music/george-winston/chart-history/billboard-200/song/310280
http://www.billboard.com/music/george-winston/chart-history/holiday-albums/song/172143
"December". Valley Entertainment. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
"Charts.nz – George Winston – December". Hung Medien.
"George Winston Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
"George Winston Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard.
"December – Jazz Albums".
"Canadian album certifications – George Winston – December". Music Canada.
"American album certifications – George Winston – December". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Ruhlmann, William. December at AllMusic

[2] Moser, John J. (April 9, 2015). "Pianist George Winston, playing in Bethlehem, finds inspiration in illness, recovery". The Morning Call.

[3] Will's Biography, Will Ackerman homepage

[4] ttp://www.billboard.com/music/george-winston/chart-history/billboard-200/song/310280

[5] ttp://www.billboard.com/music/george-winston/chart-history/holiday-albums/song/172143

[6] "December". Valley Entertainment. Retrieved 7 November 2013.

[ac_New_Zealand_George_Winston-7] "Charts.nz – George Winston – December". Hung Medien.

[ac_Billboard200_George_Winston-8] "George Winston Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.

[ac_BillboardHoliday_George_Winston-9] "George Winston Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard.

[10] "December – Jazz Albums".

[CanadaGeorge_WinstonDecemberalbumCertRef-11] "Canadian album certifications – George Winston – December". Music Canada.

[United_StatesGeorge_WinstonDecemberalbumCertRef-12] "American album certifications – George Winston – December". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.