Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas etc., mainly because this bizarre situation was caused by my naive and atrocious lack of business acumen." Judy Garland's 1944 version of the song reached No. 27 on the "Billboard" charts. The lyrics Garland sang in "Meet Me in St. Louis" have been recorded with only slight variations by a number of artists, including Sinatra (in 1950 and 1963 single recordings), Bing Crosby (in "I Wish You a Merry Christmas"), Doris Day (in "The Doris Day Christmas Album"), Ella Fitzgerald (in "Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas"), The Pretenders (in the first "A Very Special Christmas" compilation), James Taylor (in
The Classic Christmas Album (Johnny Mathis album) and "My Kind of Christmas") can be counted among the rarities here. The collection also includes a selection or two from several of Mathis's Christmas studio albums—"Sleigh Ride" from "Merry Christmas", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from "Sounds of Christmas", "Calypso Noel" from "Give Me Your Love for Christmas", "The Christmas Waltz" and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" from "Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis", and "Home for the Holidays" from "Sending You a Little Christmas"—as well as his duet with Bette Midler from her 2006 holiday album "Cool Yule", which was a medley of "Winter Wonderland"