A Very Special Christmas

It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as Dave Matthews, U2, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi, Madonna, The Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, Whitney Houston, Run–D.M.C., Jason Mraz, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The idea of the record benefiting the Special Olympics was suggested by Iovine's wife Vicki, as she was a volunteer for the organization.

Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the founders of A&M Records, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project.

All of the albums use the same cover art: a simplistic line drawing of a person holding a baby (an abstract representation of Mary holding baby Jesus) by Keith Haring in his usual style.

In 1995, the jazz-oriented Jazz to the World was released by Blue Note Records.