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Care to spend three minutes with the legendary Marni Nixon this holiday season? Three minutes and fourteen seconds to be precise--that is the length of Nixon's single-track My Christmas Card to You. Written by Madeline and Mitchell Stone, the apparent principals behind Emstone Music Publishing, the title song is a heartfelt valentine devoted to the loved ones we cannot have with us at Christmastime. All of us know the pain of separation at that special time of year, and Nixon warmly wishes "joy, happiness, and peace" to those so many miles away. Like many other seasonal releases, the song combines the celebration of love with the melancholy of loss, as when Nixon gently notes, "When I sit by the fire, I see the image of your face").

The CD itself is cleverly packaged as a "Christmas Card"; the disk has a cheery "Season's Greetings!", as well as a spot for specifying "To" and "From." Given the universal sentiment underlying My Christmas Card to You, this little gift might make a fine stocking stuffer for the right audience.

And speaking of audiences, let me clarify the identity of the amazing Marni Nixon. She is the talented "Voice of Hollywood," the skillful dubber who provided the singing for many film actresses in some of the most famous musicals of our time (for example, Marni Nixon was the singing voice of Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" in 1961, and sang for Deborah Kerr in "The King & I" in 1956). Nixon's flexible, crystal-clear soprano made her the perfect "stand in" for actresses whose own vocal abilities could not compete. Fortunately, Nixon eventually had the chance to appear as herself, playing the singing nun Sophia in "The Sound of Music". So, although vast audiences the world over are well familiar with Nixon's voice, many may not know the true identity behind the singing virtuosity.

Born in 1930, Marni Nixon turned 78 years young this year, and she retains considerable vigor and grace. The artist handles My Christmas Card to You with heartfelt emotion and unstoppable style. Looking for a snippet of Hollywood history reflected by a single-song "card" conveying "joy, happiness, and peace" to loved ones far away? Then My Christmas Card to You may be the Christmas card for you!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2008)

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From the liner notes:

Performed by Marni Nixon
The Voice that Transcends Generations

Words and Music by Madeline and Mitchell Stone


From the Website:

Emstone Music Publishing announces that a true movie legend, Miss Marni Nixon, has honored the world with her release of one of the great new holiday songs, "My Christmas Card to You" from the Emstone Music Publishing catalog.

In this season of love, as much for our men and women overseas as for the rest of us, Marni Nixon sings of joy, happiness, and PEACE.

A Brief Bio of Hollywood Legend Marni Nixon

When Natalie Wood was seen in the movie West Side Story, it wasn't she who was singing "Tonight" or "I Feel Pretty." Neither was it Audrey Hepburn who really sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" or "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" when she appeared in My Fair Lady. Deborah Kerr never sang "Getting to
Know You" in The King and I, or the title song of An Affair to Remember.

For all those actors, the voice that actually sang the songs was that of Marni Nixon. Marni even sang part of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" for Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. And she sang for herself when she appeared in The Sound of Music.

In addition, through the years Marni Nixon has starred in plays from Hollywood to Broadway. She's appeared on TV in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and many other shows, including her own children's TV show, Boomerang, for which she won four Emmy Awards as Best Actress.

Today, Marni Nixon is the voice that transcends generations, as she sings "My Christmas Card to You." Her version of this song will become a Christmas classic, not only because of its beautiful words and music, but also because of Marni's heartfelt delivery and her arrangement of it.

Marni Nixon

My Christmas Card to You

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Track List