It is with great pride and joy that I announce to you that I have added a 4th hour to the Yule Log soundtrack. It will premiere here in New York at 12 noon on Christmas Day. This is the first substantive change to the program in 36 years and the biggest single change in its 43-year-old history, as it is the first time that an entirely new hour of classic Christmas music has been added to the broadcast. The Yule Log is now officially a 4-Hour program and the old practice of just repeating previously played music for a fourth broadcasted hour is now terminated.

As a result of its growing popularity, as well as several requests from WPIX over the last few years, I have decided to add a 4th hour of music to the Yule Log soundtrack. This is the first time in 36 years that additional songs have been added to the program.

I actually had total leeway to add a 4th hour of music to the program when we restored the audio soundtrack for WPIX in 2006, but I decided against it because I felt very strongly that my job back then was just to restore the audio soundtrack to its original 3-hour form with as little creative input from me as possible. However, since WPIX and many of the other Tribune affiliates now air the program for more than 3 hours (as a result of its great success in the Nielsen ratings) and are just repeating previously played music, I felt the time was now appropriate to add an additional 4th hour.

This will actually fulfill a lifelong dream of adding music that I've always felt should have been a part of the Yule Log soundtrack all along. There are a total of 23 great classic Christmas songs that comprise this spectacular new 4th hour of music and it boasts some very rare out-of-print gems. In fact, of the added hour’s 23 selections, 8 are currently out-of-print, and of those 8, a total of 6 have never been released on CD before (these 6 songs had to be taken from their original vinyl LPs and digitally remastered especially for this broadcast). The new hour also boasts 9 new artists to the soundtrack, and of those 9, a total of 7 have never appeared on the Yule Log before; they include Bert Kaempfert, Mitch Miller, Bing Crosby, Sammy Kaye, Vic Damone, Johnny Mathis and Mike Douglas. And by the way, for the record, the 2 new returning artists to the program are The New Christy Minstrels and The Living Voices -- both appearing on the Yule Log for the first time in over 40 years.

I just know everyone will absolutely love this new 4th hour of music. It has a good balance of instrumental and vocal tracks and it covers the gamut of emotions -- from reverent to sentimental to joyous, jolly and fun.

Here now is an overview of the newly added 4th hour:

The new 4th hour leads off with a great classic that used to air on the Yule Log in the late 1960’s; it is now restored back to the program to its rightful place: it’s Mantovani’s brilliant interpretation of Adeste Fideles. Songs #2, #13 and #17 are 3 great Ray Conniff classics that are now home to the Yule Log for the first time -- including his definitive version of The Little Drummer Boy. Songs #3, #12 and #22 are the 3 great Christmas originals by Bert Kaempfert -- songs that were absolutely tailor-made for the Yule Log: Holiday For Bells, Children’s Christmas Dream and Jingo Jango. Song #4 is a must for the kid in all of us: Mitch Miller’s Must Be Santa. In keeping with tradition, the reigning King of the Yule Log, Percy Faith, is awarded 4 appearances in the new 4th hour with 4 songs that I have always felt belonged on the program: songs #5, #9, #15 and #23 (by the way, it is also in keeping with tradition that Mr. Faith concludes the Yule Log broadcast). Back on the program for the first time since 1968 are The New Christy Minstrels, but this time with their 2 best songs: Sleigh Ride (song #6) and Here We Come A-Caroling (song #14). Songs #7 and #21 are the 2 greatest Christmas songs that the Harry Simeone Chorale ever recorded; they were recorded exclusively for Goodyear’s 1967 LP, The Great Songs Of Christmas, Vol. 7. One of the biggest omissions from the Yule Log soundtrack these last 43 years was Bing Crosby; however, with song #8 that has now been corrected as Bing makes his first appearance ever on the Yule Log with his great original, A Time To Be Jolly. Also new to the Yule Log is the great Sammy Kaye, and you will absolutely adore these 2 great originals: Santa, Santa, Santa Claus (song #10) and All Around The Christmas Tree (song #19). Another first-timer on the program is Vic Damone, and song #11 is his rousing rendition of Deck The Halls. For the first time in over 40 years The Living Voices return to the program, but this time with their great classic Be A Santa (song #16). Next is the other great omission from the Yule Log soundtrack all these years, Johnny Mathis; song #18 is his reverent and poignant version of O Holy Night. And finally, the wonderful Mike Douglas is awarded a deserved place in the new 4th hour with his jubilant and inspiring Touch Hands On Christmas Morning.

One last note: creating this new 4th hour was extremely difficult as I had a voluminous list of songs that I have had under consideration for several years now, in the event that I was to ever add an additional hour to the program. It took many hours of careful consideration, but I know that the 23 songs that I chose for the final cut were the most worthy of this great honor of now being a part this classic and legendary program. Adding this new 4th hour to the program in 2009, along with my role in the audio restoration of the original 3-hour soundtrack in 2006 and helping to get Mantovani's Christmas Carols LP released on CD this year are the 3 things that I have done in my life of which I am the most proud.

Please think of this new 4th hour of music as a love letter from me to all of you fans who have supported the program all these years. I wish you all very happy listening! Enjoy!!


  Track Listing for the New 4th Hour of the Yule Log Soundtrack:

Seq	Title	Artist		Original Album Cover Art
1	Adeste Fideles (Instr)	Mantovani		Christmas Carols  London 1953 *(Re-recorded in stereo in 1958)
2	Deck The Halls	The Ray Conniff Singers		We Wish You A Merry Christmas Columbia 1962
3	Holiday For Bells (Instr)	Bert Kaempfert		Christmas Wonderland Decca 1963
4	Must Be Santa	Mitch Miller		Holiday Sing Along With Mitch Columbia 1961
5	Good King Wenceslas (Instr)	Percy Faith		Music Of Christmas Columbia 1954 *(Re-recorded in stereo in 1959)
6	Sleigh Ride	The New Christy Minstrels		Christmas With The Christies Columbia 1966
7	Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer	The Harry Simeone Chorale		Goodyear: The Great Songs Of Christmas, Vol. 7 Columbia 1967
8	A Time To Be Jolly	Bing Crosby		A Time To Be Jolly Daybreak 1971
9	Away In A Manger (Instr)	Percy Faith		Hallelujah! Columbia 1958
10	Santa, Santa, Santa Claus	Sammy Kaye		I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas Columbia 1954
11	Deck The Halls	Vic Damone		Music To Trim Your Tree By RCA 1967
12	Children's Christmas Dream (Instr)	Bert Kaempfert		Christmas Wonderland Decca 1963
13	MEDLEY:  Jolly Old St. Nicholas / The Little Drummer Boy	The Ray Conniff Singers		We Wish You A Merry Christmas Columbia 1962
14	Here We Come A-Caroling	The New Christy Minstrels		Christmas With The Christies Columbia 1966
15	Angels We Have Heard On High (Instr)	Percy Faith		Hallelujah! Columbia 1958
16	Be A Santa	The Living Voices		The Little Drummer Boy RCA-Camden 1965
17	Joy To The World	The Ray Conniff Singers		Here We Come A-Caroling Columbia 1965
18	O Holy Night	Johnny Mathis		Merry Christmas Columbia 1958
19	All Around The Christmas Tree	Sammy Kaye		I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas Columbia 1954
20	Touch Hands On Christmas Morning	Mike Douglas		My Kind Of Christmas Columbia 1967
21	Christmas Is	The Harry Simeone Choral		Goodyear: The Great Songs Of Christmas, Vol. 7  Columbia 1967
22	Jingo Jango (Instr)	Bert Kaempfert		Christmas Wonderland Decca 1963
23	Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Instr)	Percy Faith		Music Of Christmas Columbia 1954 *(Re-recorded in stereo in 1959)

**For the complete song listing of the entire 4-hour program, Click here.

Posted below is the WPIX-TV station ID break from the 2009 presentation of the Yule Log. In the clip, station news anchors Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong announce the premiere of the new fourth hour of the Yule Log and pay homage to yours truly, Chip Arcuri.  Thanks Jim and Kaity for the nice shout-out and for your support and enthusiasm for our great Christmas tradition, The WPIX Yule Log!

I also included in this clip the first 5 songs of the new fourth hour, leading off with Mantovani's classic, legendary and sweeping interpretation of Adeste Fideles. Monty's impeccable arrangement of this song is extremely poignant, reverent and wistful and is a heart-wrenchingly quintessential example of his signature sound of cascading, soaring and tumbling violins. It brilliantly reflects something his father taught him when he was quite young: "Put feeling into your music, my boy -- music without feeling is little more than a noise."

The other 4 songs included are Deck The Halls by the incomparable Ray Conniff Singers, Holiday For Bells by the magnificent Bert Kaempfert, Must Be Santa by the wonderful Mitch Miller and Good King Wenceslas by the King of the Yule Log (and of all Christmas music for that matter), the great maestro, Percy Faith. Enjoy!

Click here to view the video on the main Yule Log.com website.