Type: Christmas, Lyrics are included with the album
Genre: Rock
Review
The Beatles never quite made a commercially released Christmas album, though they put together special singles for their fan club every year from 1963 to 1969, then compiled them as The Beatles Christmas Album, also just for the fan club, in 1970. These recordings were more spoken-word than musical, though there was a song, "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)," heard in excerpts on the 1967 record. It has been left to Ringo Starr to release the first full-length Christmas album from a Beatle, and I Wanna Be a Santa Claus is very much in the group's spirit. Since he returned to recording in 1992, Starr has made a point of making music reminiscent of the Beatles, hooking up in 1998 with a group led by Mark Hudson dubbed the Roundheads. Hudson is everywhere on I Wanna Be a Santa Claus, co-writing the half-dozen originals with Starr and others, co-producing with Starr, and handling a variety of instruments. He and keyboard player/arranger Jim Cox clearly are steeped in the Beatles, and they have effectively recreated a Beatles sound on the record, in some cases aping specific songs. The Roundheads are also good at showcasing Starr's drumming, which is always high in the mix. If none of the new songs are likely to become classics, they are respectable efforts that Starr handles well. On the standards, Starr is his usual good-natured self, and the standout track is the cover of "Christmas Time Is Here Again." There are precious few lyrics besides the title, but it deserves to be added to the ranks of Christmas standards. So, Ringo Starr is well-served by his supporting musicians on I Wanna Be Santa Claus, and his typically cheery manner is so well-suited to the holiday spirit that it's only a shame he waited so long to make his seasonal recording. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Kiley Oliver (Vocals (Background)), Ringo Starr (Producer), Christina Rasch (Percussion), Mark Hudson (Percussion), Susanne Edgren (Associate Producer), Jim Cox (Piano), Greg Calbi (Mastering), Jesse Gorman (Engineer), Jim Cox (Synthesizer), Oliver Hug (Engineer), Scott Gordon (Percussion), Eric Greedy (Engineer), Jim Cox (Keyboards), JayDee Mannes (Pedal Steel), Mark Hudson (Vocals (Background)), Marc Fantini (Vocals (Background)), Steve Dudas (Guitar (Electric)), Ondine Bue (Artwork), Stephen Alexander Sullivan (Engineer), Bill Hudson (Vocals (Background)), Mark Hudson (Engineer), Scott Gordon (Harmonica), Chris Clark (Engineer), Alex Gibson (Engineer), Timothy B. Schmit (Vocals (Background)), Dave Reed (Engineer), Bob Murphy (Bagpipes), Sarah Hudson (Vocals (Background)), Jim Cox (Horn Arrangements), Scott Gordon (Mixing), Mark Hudson (Synthesizer), Mark Hudson (Guitar (Electric)), Steve Dudas (Guitar (Acoustic)), Mark Hudson (Bass), Tess Whiteheart (Vocals (Background)), Brett Hudson (Vocals (Background)), Ringo Starr (Artwork), Dick Monda (Vocals (Background)), Mark Hudson (Keyboards), Marc Fantini (Guitar (Electric)), Mark Hudson (Producer), Allyson Spellacy (Artwork), Steve Dudas (Percussion), Andy Wright (Engineer), Jim Cox (Organ (Hammond)), Jim Cox (String Arrangements), Jim Cox (Wurlitzer), Paul Caruso (Engineer), Xmas Files Singers (Vocals (Background)), Mark Hudson (Horn Arrangements), Dan Higgins (Recorder), Mark Hudson (Recorder), John Titta (Vocals (Background)), Sonia Ives (Artwork), Teisha Helgerson (Vocals (Background)), Jim Cox (Accordion), Jim Cox (Bass), Joe Perry (Soloist), Steffan Fantini (Vocals (Background)), Mark Hudson (Mellotron), Jim Cox (Guitar (Acoustic)), Mark Hudson (Artwork), Alex Scannell (Engineer), Ringo Starr (Pipe), Bill Hudson (Guitar (Electric)), Scott Gordon (Synthesizer), Pat Zicari (Saxophone), Ringo Starr (Synthesizer), Willie Cochrane (Bagpipes), Jim Cox (Percussion), Ringo Starr (Drums), Armand Sabal-Lecco (Bass), Those Darn Scotsmen (Bagpipes), Rupert Coulson (Engineer), Gary Burr (Vocals (Background)), Dan Higgins (Saxophone), Steffan Fantini (Guitar (Electric)), Scott Gordon (Engineer), Kuljit Bhamra (Tabla), Large Elf Choir (Vocals (Background)), Ringo Starr (Percussion), Joe Perry (Guitar), Joe Perry (Guitar (Electric)), Christina Rasch (Vocals (Background)), Mark Hudson (Guitar (Acoustic)), Evelyn Lee-Jones (Bass), Mark Hudson (Mixing), Ringo Starr (Mellotron), Scott Gordon (Keyboards)
I Wanna Be Santa Claus is a Christmas album by Ringo Starr, issued in 1999. Not only is it Starr's first long-play holiday release, it is the first by an ex-Beatle, although John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison had each released a seasonal single in the 1970s.
Recorded throughout 1999 with Starr's musical partner Mark Hudson and many of his collaborators on 1998's Vertical Man, I Wanna Be Santa Claus—which is composed of well-known traditional songs and some new originals—was made in several studios in the US and UK, with their families joining in and including two notable celebrity guests, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and former Eagles member Timothy B. Schmit.
Released in October ahead of the Christmas season, I Wanna Be Santa Claus was not a commercial success, despite its strong reviews. It was deleted shortly thereafter and re-released in 2003 as a discounted collection entitled 20th Century Masters: The Best Of Ringo Starr/The Christmas Collection with the exact same tracklisting. After three albums in a row that failed to reach consumers in a significant way, Mercury Records dropped Starr from their roster.
