I Wish I Was Santa Claus is the fifty-sixth studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard. It was released on October 26, 2004 on the Smith Music Group label.

I Wish I Was Santa Claus
Studio album by Merle Haggard
Released	October 26, 2004
Genre	Country, Christmas
Length	30:55
Label	Smith Music Group
Producer	Merle Haggard, Lou Bradley
Merle Haggard chronology
Haggard Like Never Before (2003) I Wish I Was Santa Claus (2004) Unforgettable (2004)

Reception

The AllMusic review states "It sounds pretty much as you'd expect, especially given the cover art, but this collision of Bakersfield country music and traditional Christmas material has a certain charm..."[1]

Track listing

1. "El Niño" (Moore, Willie Nelson) – 2:36
2. "I Wish I Were Santa Claus" (Raymond McDonald) – 2:33
3. "Christmas in Cabo San Lucas" (Colosio, Dyer, Joss, Williams) – 3:15
4. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 3:18
5. "Jingle Bells" (James Lord Pierpont) – 2:16
6. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (John Frederick Coots, Haven Gillespie) – 2:15
7. "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes, Jay Johnson) – 2:46
8. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Kent Gannon, James Gannon, Buck Ram) – 2:58
9. "Santa Claus & Popcorn" (Haggard) – 2:06
10. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks) – 2:34
11. "Silver Bells" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 3:37
12. "If We Make It Through December" (Haggard) – 2:41

Personnel

• Merle Haggard – vocals, guitar
• Don Markham – horn, trumpet, background vocals
• April Anderson – background vocals
• Theresa Lane Haggard – background vocals
• Johnnie Barber – drums
• Doug Colosio – piano, background vocals
• Scott Joss – fiddle, guitar, background vocals
• Abe Manuel Jr. – guitar
• Joe Manuel – guitar
• Randy Mason – guitar
• Norman Stevens – guitar, background vocals
• Kevin Williams – bass, background vocals

References