Mannheim Steamroller
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Mannheim Steamroller is a "New Age" group founded by Chip Davis, and co-founded by Jackson Berkey, well-known for their modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 27 million albums in the U.S. alone.[1]
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[edit] History
Mannheim Steamroller actually began as an alias for record producer/composer Chip Davis. The name "Mannheim Steamroller" comes from an 18th-century German musical technique, Mannheim rocket or roller, an ascending arpeggio popularized by the Mannheim school of composition. Before the fame of Steamroller, Davis had been best known for creating the country music character "C. W. McCall" (of "Convoy" fame) for his friend Bill Fries. Even before Davis made McCall a star, he produced an unusual album of classical music performed entirely by Davis and musical collaborator Jackson Berkey, using electric bass and synthesizers. Since no major label would handle its distribution, Davis founded his own music label, American Gramaphone (a play on the classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), to release the album. The result, Fresh Aire, was released in 1975 under the pseudonym Mannheim Steamroller, in the hopes of the album being a best seller. Fresh Aire II was subsequently released in 1977 and Fresh Aire III was released in 1979.
In 1986, Mannheim Steamroller released music composed for a PBS special called Saving the Wildlife, which featured one track from Fresh Aire VI and twelve new tracks. In 1987, Davis collaborated with guitarist/composer Mason Williams for the album "Classical Gas". The music was composed entirely by Williams but produced and arranged by Davis. The album opens with a remake of Williams' 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas", which used the original arrangement.
But it was beginning in 1984 that Steamroller found its greatest fame. Davis released his first holiday album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, featuring modern contemporary interpretations of Yuletide favorites. This was followed by A Fresh Aire Christmas (1988) and Christmas in the Aire (1995). Steamroller had now become one of the most requested Christmas music artists of all time. By the end of 1997, they had released a live album of Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live. 2001 saw the release of their fourth all-new Christmas album, Christmas Extraordinaire. Christmas Celebration, a compilation of favorite tracks from the previous studio albums (with one new song), was released in 2004. Their newest studio album of Christmas music Christmas Song was released in late 2007 and features guest vocals by Johnny Mathis and Olivia Newton-John.
Steamroller had also developed a full-length theatrical motion picture based on their Christmas albums, but the plans fell through. Instead, the following year, they collaborated with Olivia Newton-John for yet another Christmas album, a mostly spoken-word recording scored with previously released material called The Christmas Angel: A Family Story. In 2003 they released a CD entitled Halloween.
In addition to their Fresh Aire and Christmas collections, Steamroller has released an album of Disney music (1999's Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse), one celebrating his American heritage (2003's American Spirit, which reunited Chip Davis with C.W. McCall and featured a remake of "Convoy"), and an album "Yellowstone" mixing prior Davis compositions and classical pieces by Ottorino Respighi.
The current lineup of the band is: Chip Davis (drums and percussion), Bobby Jenkins (Oboe), Jackson Berkey (keyboards), Almeda Berkey (keyboards), Roxanne Layton (percussion and woodwinds), Ron Cooley (guitar and bass), Arnie Roth (strings), and Chuck Pennington (orchestra conductor).
[edit] Discography
[edit] The Fresh Aire Series
- Fresh Aire (1975)
- Fresh Aire II (1977)
- Fresh Aire III (1979)
- Fresh Aire IV (1981)
- Fresh Aire V (1983)
- Fresh Aire VI (1986)
- Fresh Aire 7 (1991)
- Fresh Aire 8 (2000)
[edit] Christmas albums
| Year | Album | Peak Chart Positions | RIAA U.S. Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top New Age Albums | Top Holiday Albums | Billboard 200 Albums | |||
| 1984 | Mannheim Steamroller Christmas | 8 | 2 | 50 | 6x Platinum |
| 1988 | A Fresh Aire Christmas | 4 | 1 | 36 | 6x Platinum |
| 1995 | Christmas in the Aire | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4x Platinum |
| 1997 | Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live | 1 | 1 | 24 | Platinum |
| 1998 | The Christmas Angel: A Family Story | 1 | 2 | 25 | Platinum |
| 2001 | Christmas Extraordinaire | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3x Platinum |
| 2004 | Christmas Celebration | 1 | 1 | 19 | Platinum |
| 2007 | Christmas Song1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Platinum |
| 2008 | A Candle Light Christmas2 | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBA |
- 1 Currently active on the charts.
- 2 Releasing September 30, 2008.
[edit] Ambience albums
- Bird Song (2000)
- Summer Song (2001)
- Autumn Song (2003)
- Ocean Song (?)
- Night Song (?)
- Desert Song (?)
- The last three are mentioned in the liner notes for the existing Ambience CDs, but have not yet been released.
[edit] Other albums
- Saving the Wildlife (1986)
- Yellowstone: The Music of Nature (1989)
- Day Parts: Sunday Morning Coffee (1991)
- Day Parts: Dinner (1992)
- Day Parts: Party: Music that Cooks (1992)
- Day Parts: Romance (1992)
- Day Parts: Sunday Morning Coffee II (1993)
- To Russia with Love (1994)
- Day Parts: Party 2: Music that Cooks (1995)
- Huskers Musik(1996)[2]
- Day Parts: Romance II (1998)
- Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse (1999)
- 25 Year Celebration of Mannheim Steamroller (1999)
- Romantic Mellodies (2001)
- American Spirit (2003)
- Halloween (2003)
- Halloween: Monster Mix (2004)
- Halloween, Vol. 2: Creatures Collection (2006)
- Mannheim Steamroller Halloween: Sweet Tooth (2007) AG1034-2
