The Magic of Christmas

Wild Is Love, is Nat King Cole's twenty-third studio album, released in late 1961.

The Magic of Christmas is not Cole's first time singing songs of the holidays. Nat King Cole recorded several Christmas and holiday-themed songs throughout his early career with the King Cole Trio. One such of these is his first rendition of the Mel Tormé and Robert Wells' song "The Christmas Song." This song was one of Cole's biggest hits, and by the time of release of this album, Cole had recorded this song four times.

This album is Cole's first recorded work featuring Ralph Carmichael as the arranger.

During the recording sessions of The Magic of Christmas, Cole recorded a second version of the song "Adeste Fideles." This rendition of the song was unreleased until 1990, when it was added to the track listing of the compilation album Cole, Christmas, and Kids.

Reissues
Thought this album didn't feature "The Christmas Song" in its original track listing, the album was reissued several times under the name The Christmas Song. The album has been released several times over the course of its fifty years in circulation. It's first reissue was in 1963, the first time it took form under the name The Christmas Song, featuring several new tracks; one such being the title track. The album was released again in 1986 featuring the same tracks as the 1963 release. The album was later reissued again in 1990, 2005, and 2009.

Track listing

 * 1) "Deck the Halls" (Traditional)
 * 2) "Adeste Fideles" ("O, Come All Ye Faithful") (John Francis Wade)
 * 3) "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (Traditional)
 * 4) "O Tannenbaum" (Traditional)
 * 5) "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillip Brooks, Lewis Redner)
 * 6) "I Saw Three Ships" (Traditional)
 * 7) "O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight)
 * 8) "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley)
 * 9) "A Cradle in Bethlehem" (Alfred Bryan, Larry Stock)
 * 10) "Away in a Manger" (Traditional)
 * 11) "Joy to the World" (Lowell Mason, Isaac Watts)
 * 12) "The First Noël" (William B. Sandys)
 * 13) "Caroling, Caroling" (Alfred Burt)
 * 14) "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Josef Mohr)