Mannheim Steamroller bringing its Christmas concert to Wichita

Christmas albums obviously are big business each holiday season. More than 40 such albums have topped 2 million copies sold, and a successful seasonal release can continue to pile up sales for years after its initial release.

Not only have many artists enjoyed the fruits of releasing even just one holiday album, several acts have built a niche where they’re known for Christmas music, can tour every holiday season and have a tidy stream of income from annual sales of their holiday albums.

Chip Davis, founder of Mannheim Steamroller, has certainly been having many merry Christmas seasons since he decided to venture into Christmas music with the 1984 album “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas.”

Mannheim Steamroller is bringing its Christmas show back to Wichita for a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. at Century II. Its previous performance here was in 2014. Two Steamroller ensembles are touring the country this December.

Today, Mannheim Steamroller is primarily known for its presence at Christmas time, and its 10-plus holiday albums are approaching 30 million in combined copies sold.

But Davis said he didn’t expect even a fraction of that sort of success when he decided to make the “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas” album.

“I remember when I did the first Christmas album and everybody said, ‘That will never work. It will die on the vine and blah, blah blah,’ ” Davis said in a phone interview. “Then after 9 million units were sold (worldwide) in about two years, everybody was making a Christmas album. I think there was one year where there were 60 releases. It was crazy.”

Back in 1984, Christmas albums were something of an afterthought in the music industry. Classic holiday albums would get reissued and sold at bargain basement prices – $2.99 for a cassette. But making a new Christmas album was something of a black mark against an artist. It was the kind of project done by “has-been” artists or when a singer or musician had run out of ideas for new albums.

Davis and Mannheim Steamroller turned the perception of Christmas albums on its ear. According to Davis, “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas” was released at a price of $18.98 and was marketed as a high-end audiophile release. Davis has continued to find inspiration within holiday music for 32 years now. Last year, he released a holiday concert CD and DVD, “Mannheim Steamroller Live.”

The idea of a live release – the first Christmas concert recording from Mannheim Steamroller since 1997’s “Christmas Live” – originated with PBS.

“They wanted to do a one-hour special,” Davis said. “I said ‘Of course.’ ”

Davis is more than pleased with how the live project turned out.

“We got an awfully darn good-looking special, I can tell you that,” he said. “It really looks incredible, and I couldn’t be happier with it.”

The DVD and CD feature 18 tracks, including Christmas classics such as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Carol of the Bells” and the group’s signature version of “Deck the Halls,” plus originals such as “Chocolate Fudge” and “Catching Snowflakes on Your Tongue.”

As with past tours, Davis said this year’s Christmas show is all about evoking the spirit of the holidays and bringing families together.

“I try to create feelings of nostalgia and remembering times when the kids were little, those kinds of things, visual images,” he said.

The new show, Davis said, marks a step up in visual production and includes a twist in the song selection. It is including some New Age music from its series of “Fresh Aire” albums in the show.

Davis, 69, can no longer perform with either of the touring companies but continues to introduce Mannheim Steamroller at select concerts.

“Well, 20-some years ago, I was in a head-on car accident and went through the windshield and my neck got crushed,” Davis explained. “And about eight years ago, I had to have it operated on. I mean, I could barely pick up a drumstick. That whole surgery and the whole going through the windshield, it did some damage, and I’ve lost a fair amount of use of my right arm. So I don’t even attempt to play anymore. That’s why I’ve stuck to the role of just opening the shows.”

Davis said he missed performing with Mannheim Steamroller at first but has gotten used to his role. And the accident had a silver lining.

“When the accident happened and I had to replace myself on a tour, I’m like ‘Hey, if I can replace myself, I can replace the whole band. I can put a whole other band out there,’ ” he said. “So that’s how the second (touring) company came to be was because of the accident. So the accident on one hand knocked me out of the park, but on the other hand, it doubled my income. So that didn’t turn out to be all bad.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Mannheim Steamroller bringing its Christmas concert to Wichita."