Cool Yule is a first holiday album by American singer Bette Midler. It was released on October 10, 2006, through Columbia Records. The album features many standard Christmas tunes as well as a reworking edition of her Grammy-winning hit "From a Distance". In 2008, Cool Yule was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category.
| Cool Yule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 10, 2006 | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 37:23 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Bette Midler chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Cool Yule | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
AllMusic editor Marisa Brown found that "the Divine Miss M shows off her stuff (including a very able backing band/orchestra) on all the tracks [...] and sounds good the whole time. Because she doesn't add much to the songs that hasn't already been done before, Cool Yule may not replace anyone's [duet partner] Johnny Mathis holiday albums yet, but it's still a pretty strong collection of well-done Christmas standards from a well-known and popular artist."[1]
Chart performance
editCool Yule failed to chart upon its October 10, 2006 release.[2] It was not until November 25, 2006, the album made its debut on the US Billboard 200.[3] It peaked in the week of December 6, 2006, rising from number 35 to number 33 on sales of 47,000 copies.[4] By July 2007, Cool Yule had sold 271,000 copies in United States according to Nielsen Soundscan.[5]
Track listing
editAll tracks produced by Robbie Buchanan.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Merry Christmas" | 3:13 | |
| 2. | "Cool Yule" |
| 2:28 |
| 3. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | 3:35 | |
| 4. | "Winter Wonderland"/"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (duet with Johnny Mathis) | 2:46 | |
| 5. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | 3:21 | |
| 6. | "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" | Frank Loesser | 3:58 |
| 7. | "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" | Irving Berlin | 3:25 |
| 8. | "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day[a]" | 2:47 | |
| 9. | "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Veni, Veni Emmanuel)" | Traditional | 3:12 |
| 10. | "Mele Kalikimaka" | Robert Alexander Anderson | 2:34 |
| 11. | "From a Distance" |
| 5:11 |
| 12. | "White Christmas" | Berlin | 3:20 |
Notes
- ^[a] "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" served as a bonus track on CD albums released at Target.
Personnel
edit- Christopher Autopchuk – art direction
- Rick Babtist – trumpet
- William Baker – copyist
- Russell Bartmus – copyist
- Leanne Becknell – woodwind
- Steve Becknell – French horn
- Tom Bender – mixing assistant
- Gordon Berg – copyist
- Wayne Bergeron – trumpet
- Charles Bisharat – violin
- David Blumberg – conductor, orchestral arrangements, copyist
- Chandler Bridges – engineer
- Robbie Buchanan – piano, arranger, conductor, keyboards, producer, orchestration, orchestral arrangements, track arrangement
- Caroline Campbell – violin
- Darius Campo – violin
- Dave Carpenter – upright bass
- Lily Chen – violin
- Paul Cohen – cello
- Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
- Dennis Collins – background vocals
- Larry Corbett – cello
- Rose Corrigan – woodwind
- Datz Pyle, Debbi – contractor
- Brian Dembow – viola
- Joel Derouin – violin
- Andrew Duckles – viola
- Bruce Dukov – concert master
- Katharine Edmonds – copyist
- Bill Edwards – copyist
- Johnson Enos – background vocals, vocal arrangement
- Tabitha Fair – background vocals
- Alma Fernandez – viola
- Gary Foster – woodwind
- Matt Funes – viola
- Steve Genewick – digital editing
- Mark Graham – copyist
- Alan Grunfeld – violin
- Mick Guzauski – mixing
- Al Hershberger – violin
- Dan Higgins – woodwind
- Sean Holt – background vocals
- Stephen Holtman – trombone
- Greg Huckins – woodwind
- Alexander Iles – trombone
- Bob Jackson – mastering assistant
- Sharon Jerry-Collins – background vocals
- Bashiri Johnson – percussion
- JoAnn Kane – copyist
- Ana Landauer – violin
- Jay Landers – liner notes, executive producer
- Natalie Leggett – violin
- Gayle Levant – harp
- Bill Liston – woodwind
- Dane Little – cello
- Doug Livingston – steel guitar
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Warren Luening – trumpet
- Larry Lunetta – trumpet
- Barry Manilow – producer
- Arif Mardin – orchestral arrangements
- Andy Martin – trombone
- Liane Mautner – violin
- Joe Meyer – French horn
- Jaclyn Morse – production coordination
- Helen Nightengale – violin
- Robin Olson – violin
- Michael O'Neill – photography
- Charles Paakkari – assistant engineer
- Sid Page – violin
- Alyssa Park – violin
- Searmi Park – violin
- Sara Parkins – violin
- Dean Parks – guitar
- Danny Perito – copyist
- Victor Pesavento – copyist
- Joel Peskin – woodwind
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone
- John A. Reynolds – French horn
- Eric Rigler – Uilleann pipes, Irish whistle
- Dennis Rivadeneira – mixing assistant
- William Ross – arranger, conductor, orchestration, orchestral arrangements, track arrangement
- Aaron J. Sala – background vocals, vocal arrangement
- Chris Soper – assistant engineer
- Ken Stacey – background vocals
- Tereza Stanislav – violin
- Beverley Staunton – background vocals
- Bette Sussman – background vocals, associate producer, vocal arrangement, track arrangement
- Phil Teele – trombone
- Fonzi Thornton – background vocals
- Cecilia Tsan – cello
- Jonathan Tunick – arranger, conductor, orchestration
- Karen Van Sant – viola
- Josephina Vergara – violin
- Shalini Vijayan – violin
- Windy Wagner – background vocals
- Randy Waldman – Piano, keyboards
- Helen Barbara Werling – copyist
- Patrick Williams – arranger, conductor, orchestration, vocal arrangement, orchestral arrangements, track arrangement
- Frank Wolf – track engineer
- Terry Woodson – librarian, copyist
- Phil Yao – French horn
- Gina Zimmitti – contractor
Charts
edit| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[6] | 6 |
| US Digital Albums (Billboard)[7] | 13 |
| US Billboard 200[3] | 33 |
References
edit- ^ a b AllMusic Review
- ^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard.com. October 27, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (December 6, 2006). "'Grenades' rockets the charts". Variety.com. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ "Holiday Hits". Billboard. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Bette Midler Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ "Bette Midler Chart History (Digital Albums)".[dead link] Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2018.