A Very Special Christmas is a successful series of Christmas albums created in support of Special Olympics. It brings together a number of artists from many genres performing Christmas Songs, many of which were recorded especially for these albums. Its cover art was drawn by Keith Haring.
As of 2015, a total of 10 albums have been released under the A Very Special Christmas name, with the most recent, a Greatest Hits Album called ICON: A Very Special Christmas, being released on October 15, 2013.
Its official website can be found here.
Albums in the series and songs featured
A Very Special Christmas (1987)
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Pointer Sisters
- Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
- Do You Hear What I Hear? - Whitney Houston
- Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Pretenders
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - John Cougar Mellencamp
- Gabriel's Message - Sting
- Christmas In Hollis - Run–D.M.C.
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
- Santa Baby - Madonna
- The Little Drummer Boy - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
- Run Rudolph Run - Bryan Adams
- Back-Door Santa - Bon Jovi (original release)/I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas - Jon Bon Jovi (later release)
- The Coventry Carol - Alison Moyet
- Silent Night - Stevie Nicks
A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)
- Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
- Jingle Bell Rock - Randy Travis
- The Christmas Song - Luther Vandross
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper
- The Birth Of Christ - Boyz II Men
- Please Come Home For Christmas - Jon Bon Jovi
- What Christmas Means To Me - Paul Young
- O Christmas Tree - Aretha Franklin
- Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Ronnie Spector and Darlene Love
- White Christmas - Michael Bolton
- Christmas Is - Run–D.M.C.
- Christmas Time Again - Extreme
- Merry Christmas Baby - Bonnie Raitt and Charles Brown
- O Holy Night - Tevin Campbell
- Sleigh Ride - Debbie Gibson
- What Child Is This - Vanessa Williams
- Blue Christmas - Ann & Nancy Wilson
- Silent Night - Wilson Phillips
- I Believe In You - Sinéad O'Connor
A Very Special Christmas 3 (1997)
- I Saw Three Ships - Sting
- Christmas Time - The Smashing Pumpkins
- Children Go Where I Send Thee - Natalie Merchant
- Santa Baby - Reverend Run and The Christmas All Stars
- Oi To The World - No Doubt
- Blue Christmas - Sheryl Crow
- Christmas - Blues Traveler
- Oíche Chiún (Silent Night) - Enya
- The Christmas Song - Hootie & the Blowfish
- Ave Maria - Chris Cornell and Eleven
- Christmas In The City - Mary J. Blige and Angie Martinez
- Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Johnny Lang
- Christmas Song - Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
- Christmas Is Now Drawing Near At Hand - Steve Winwood
- O Holy Night - Tracy Chapman
- We Three Kings - Patti Smith
A Very Special Christmas Live from Washington, D.C. (1999)
- Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Mary J. Blige and Sheryl Crow
- Christmas In Hollis - Run–D.M.C.
- Please Come Home For Christmas - Jon Bon Jovi
- Christmas Blues - John Popper and Eric Clapton
- What Child Is This? - Vanessa Williams
- Christmas Tears - Eric Clapton
- O Holy Night - Tracy Chapman
- Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman and Eric Clapton
- Merry Christmas Baby - Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Jon Bon Jovi
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - All artists
A Very Special Christmas 5 (2001)
- This Christmas - Macy Gray
- Little Drummer Boy/Hot Hot Hot - Wyclef Jean
- Noel! Noel! - Eve 6
- Blue Christmas - Jon Bon Jovi
- Merry Christmas Baby - Stevie Wonder and Wyclef Jean
- O Come All Ye Faithful - City High
- Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You - SR-71
- Christmas Day - Dido
- Run Rudolph Run - Sheryl Crow
- Back Door Santa - B.B. King and John Popper
- Little Red Rooster - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
- Christmas Don't Be Late (Chipmunk Song) - Powder
- Silent Night - Stevie Nicks
- I Love You More - Stevie Wonder and Kimberly Brewer
- White Christmas - Darlene Love
A Very Special Acoustic Christmas (2003)
- Silent Night - Reba McEntire
- Frosty The Snowman - Dan Tyminski
- Please Come Home For Christmas - Willie Nelson
- Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair - Alan Jackson
- Only You Can Bring Me Cheer (Gentleman's Lady) - Alison Krauss
- Even Santa Claus Gets The Blues - Marty Stuart
- Jingle Bells - Earl Scruggs
- Christmas Is Near - Ralph Stanley
- O Come All Ye Faithful - Patty Loveless
- O Holy Night - Wynonna
- Winter Wonderland - Pat Green
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Sam Bush
- Away In A Manger - Ricky Skaggs
- Christmas Time At Home - Rhonda Vincent
- I'll Be Home For Christmas - Tift Merritt
- Peace - Norah Jones
A Very Special Christmas 7 (2009)
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Colbie Caillat
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - The Carter Twins
- Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Miley Cyrus
- Winter Wonderland - Vanessa Hudgens
- The Little Drummer Boy - Sean Kingston
- The Christmas Song - Charice
- Do You Hear What I Hear? - Kristinia DeBarge
- Jingle Bell Rock - Mitchel Musso
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Leighton Meester
- Santa Baby - Kellie Pickler
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Carrie Underwood
- Last Christmas - Ashley Tisdale
- Silent Night - Gloriana
A Very Special Christmas: 25 Years Bringing Joy To The World (2012)
- Joy To The World - Train
- Something In The Air - Lauriana Mae, Jono, and Grayson Sanders
- Angels We Have Heard On High - Jewel
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Michael Bublé
- Do You Hear What I Hear - Jordin Sparks
- I Want You For Christmas - Cheap Trick
- Mary, Did You Know - Rascal Flatts
- Best Christmas Ever - Wonder Girls
- Tennessee Christmas - Amy Grant
- Christmas Without You - OneRepublic
- Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song) - Vince Gill
- Please Come Home For Christmas - Martina McBride
- Winter Wonderland - Jason Mraz
- December 25 - Francesca Battistelli
- The Christmas Song - Dave Matthews
- Oh Holy Night - Christina Aguilera
A Very Special Christmas: Today's Top Christian Artists Bringing Peace On Earth
- Because It's Christmas - Sidewalk Prophets
- Gloria (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Angels We Have Heard On High) - Jason Castro
- Baby Boy - For KING & COUNTRY
- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Francesca Battistelli
- O Holy Night - Group 1 Crew
- Bethlehem Skies - Dara Maclean and Dave Barnes
- Jesus, Savior - Chris August
- Christmas Together - Jamie Grace
- Go Tell It On A Mountain - NEEDTOBREATHE
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (He Has Come For Us) - Meredith Andrews
- O Come, All Ye Faithful - Big Daddy Weave
- I Believe - Natalie Grant
- For The Beauty Of The Earth (Nativity Version) - BarlowGirl
- We Three Kings - Building 429
- Labor Of Love - Point Of Grace
- When Love Was Born - Mark Schultz
ICON: A Very Special Christmas
- Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon and Yoko Ono
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Rod Stewart
- I Saw Three Ships - Sting
- Winter Wonderland - Aretha Franklin
- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Josh Groban
- Please Come Home For Christmas - Jon Bon Jovi
- Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
- Run Rudolph Run - Sheryl Crow
- Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Carrie Underwood
- Last Christmas - Wham
- Oh Holy Night (international and iTunes bonus track) - Nicole Scherzinger
Tropes found in these albums include:
-
All-Star Cast: They've gathered up a surprisingly diverse range of artists for the 10 albums (11 if you count The Story And The Music) released so far. - Capcom Sequel Stagnation: Happened to the first album in The New '10s, where it was reissued under the name A Very Special Christmas: The Story And The Music. It had the exact same track listing as the original but had a backstory for the album attached with the liner notes.
- Christian Rock: Bringing Peace On Earth is focused on this.
- Christmas Songs: Obviously.
- Greatest Hits Album: ICON is this with a few new tracks that were never on any VSC album, such as the original recordings of "Happy Xmas" and "Last Christmas", and the Rod Stewart version of "Let It Snow".
- Live Album: The fourth album was recorded live from Washington, D.C..
- Milestone Celebration:
- Joy To The World and to a lesser extent Bringing Peace On Earth commemorate the series' 25th anniversary.
- Though it wasn't explicitly stated, ICON was the tenth album in the Very Special Christmas series.
- Schedule Slip: New albums in the series tend to come out every four or five years.
- Stopped Numbering Sequels: Appears to be the case as of ICON.
- Word Sequel: Happened to the first four albums. There's A Very Special Christmas, A Very Special Christmas 2, A Very Special Christmas 3 and A Very Special Christmas Live.
- The acoustic album also qualifies, as well as everything released after 7.
