The album was released on October 12, 1987, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine for A&M Records.

[4] The cover artwork was designed by Keith Haring.

On January 16, 1998, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of four million copies in the United States.

[5] As of November 2014, A Very Special Christmas is the 19th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present), having sold 2,520,000 copies according to SoundScan.

[6] According to the liner notes:[7] Musicians Technical personnel