A Christmas Album (Amy Grant album)

A Christmas Album is the fifth studio album and the first Christmas album by Christian music singer Amy Grant. The album was recorded in nine studios in mid-1983 and was released later that same year.

A Christmas Album
Studio album by
Amy Grant
ReleasedSeptember 27, 1983
RecordedJuly 3 – August 26, 1983
Studio
GenreChristian, Christmas
Length37:35
LabelMyrrh
ProducerBrown Bannister
Amy Grant chronology
Ageless Medley
(1983)		 A Christmas Album
(1983)		 Straight Ahead
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

It was issued on the heels of Grant's immensely successful 1982 LP Age to Age. Primarily for the audiences she attracted with Age to Age, A Christmas Album features well-known sacred and secular standards alongside original songs, and tracks from this album continue to receive airplay to this day during the holiday season on both secular and Christian radio stations. Although not as successful as Age to Age, A Christmas Album still peaked in the Top Ten of the Christian chart and spawned a Top 20 Christian radio single in "Emmanuel." The album would eventually be certified Gold in 1985, and Platinum in 1989.[2] A Christmas Album was listed at No. 40 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. In 2016, Grant re-recorded the song "Tennessee Christmas" as the opening track of her Christmas album of the same name. The song was released as a single from the album and charted at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart in December 2016.[3]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tennessee Christmas"Amy Grant, Gary Chapman4:33
2."Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"William H. Cummings, Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley2:53
3."Preiset Dem Konig! (Praise the King!)"Shane Keister1:39
4."Emmanuel"Michael W. Smith2:54
5."Little Town (new melody to O Little Town of Bethlehem)"Phillips Brooks (words), Chris Eaton (music)2:47
6."Christmas Hymn"Grant, Smith2:32
7."Love Has Come"Grant, Keister, Smith4:02
8."Sleigh Ride"Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish3:35
9."The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)"Mel Tormé, Robert Wells3:45
10."Heirlooms"Grant, Bannister, Bob Farrell3:42
11."A Mighty Fortress/Angels We Have Heard On High"Traditional5:00

Personnel
  • Amy Grant – lead vocals (1, 2, 4–11), background vocals (1)
  • Shane Keister – Fender Rhodes (1), Yamaha GS-1 (2, 3, 5, 8), Oberheim OB-8 (3, 4, 5, 8), Memorymoog (4), Minimoog (4), acoustic piano (7, 9, 10)
  • Michael W. Smith – acoustic piano (2, 5, 6), Yamaha GS-1 (4), Yamaha GS-2 (7, 8), vocoder (10)
  • Gary Chapman – acoustic guitar (1), pedal steel guitar (1), background vocals (1)
  • Jon Goin – electric guitar (1), acoustic guitar (2), guitar (4, 5, 7–10)
  • Dean Parks – acoustic guitar (1)
  • Mike Brignardello – bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 7–10)
  • Paul Leim – drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10), LinnDrum (4), Simmons drums (4), sleigh bells (5, 8), wood blocks (8)
  • Victor Feldman – shaker (1), percussion (2, 5, 6)
  • Lenny Castro – percussion (4)
  • Farrell Morris – percussion (7, 9), bell tree (8), glockenspiel (8), coconut shells (8)
  • Alan Moore – string arrangements (1, 2, 5–11), choir arrangements (2, 6, 11), horn arrangements (2, 5, 6, 11), woodwind arrangements (2, 6, 8, 10)
  • Gavyn Wright – concertmaster (1, 2, 5–11)
  • The Martyn Ford Orchestra – strings (1, 2, 5–11), horns (2), woodwinds (2, 8, 10)
  • The Nashville Contemporary Brass Quintet – horns (5, 6, 11)
  • Tom McAninch – horns (5, 6, 11)
  • Fred Bock – choir director (2, 6, 11)
  • Hollywood Presbyterian Choir – choir (2, 6, 11)
  • Bill Champlin – background vocals (4, 11)
  • Tamara Champlin – background vocals (4, 11)
  • Carmen Twillie – background vocals (4, 11)
  • Steve George – background vocals (5)
  • David Page – background vocals (5)
  • Richard Page – background vocals (5)
  • Debbie Hall – background vocals (8, 9)
  • Sandy Hall – background vocals (8, 9)
  • Edie Lehmann – background vocals (8, 9)

Production

  • Jim Baird – additional engineer
  • Brown Bannister – producer
  • Michael Blanton – cover art concept, executive producer
  • Mike Borum – family photography
  • Kevin Burns – assistant engineer
  • Gary Chapman – executive producer
  • Ken Corlew – additional engineer
  • Gene Eichelberger – additional engineer
  • Bill Farrell – cover photography, scenery
  • Steve Ford – assistant engineer
  • Daniel Garcia – assistant engineer
  • Amy Grant – liner notes
  • Dan Harrell – cover art concept, executive producer
  • Dennis Hill – art direction
  • Brent King – additional engineer
  • Jerry Mahler – assistant engineer
  • Rich Markowitz – assistant engineer
  • Jack Joseph Puig – engineer, mixing
  • Mike Ross – additional engineer
  • Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood, California
  • David Schober – assistant engineer

Chart positions

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1984 Top Contemporary Christian 9
1985 Top Holiday Albums 5
1991 Top Pop Catalog 5

Singles – CCM Magazine (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1984 "Emmanuel" Christian Radio–Adult Contemporary 20

Awards

GMA Dove Awards

Year Winner Category
1984 A Christmas Album Recorded Music Packaging of the Year

Pressings

A Christmas Album was the first Amy Grant album to be released in the Compact Disc format. The original CD issue had a manufacturing flaw that caused a small, but noticeable jump during the transition between tracks 3 and 4. The remastered version does not have this defect. The album was also released as a promotional only vinyl picture disc version in a die cut sleeve.

References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r132965
  2. "RIAA searchable certification database: Amy Grant". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. "Amy Grant Chart History". Billboard.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.