Christmas Duets

Christmas Duets
Compilation album by
Elvis Presley
ReleasedOctober 10, 2008[1]
RecordedSeptember 5–7, 1957, May 15–July 1971 (Elvis' vocals and some instrumentation from original recordings); 2008 (new backing tracks and vocals)
GenreCountry, pop, CCM, Christmas
Length38:56
LabelRCA
ProducerChuck Ainlay, Larry Hamby (as executive producer)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

Christmas Duets is a 2008 album released by RCA Records, consisting of archival Elvis Presley vocal recordings mixed with completely re-recorded instrumentation and new vocals by contemporary country and gospel singers.[3] Three tracks on the album do not have duet vocals: "The First Noel", "If I Get Home On Christmas Day", and "Winter Wonderland". However, the instrumental tracks for these songs were re-recorded by contemporary musicians, just like on all other songs. Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood duets have both charted on the Billboard country charts, with the former reaching the Top 40.

A second version of "Blue Christmas" was recorded with Martina McBride using mainly acoustic instrumentation in order to obtain a similar arrangement to the one used in the informal segments of Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Also, shots of McBride performing the song were digitally inserted into footage, taken from the original special, of Presley performing the same song, to use as a promotional music video for the album. The second version of "Blue Christmas" was never officially released outside the video.

On March 8, 2018, the album was awarded a Gold certification by the RIAA for selling in excess of 500,000 copies.

List of Songs

[edit]
  • Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on Liner Notes[4]
No.TitleDuet withLength
1."Blue Christmas"Martina McBride2:30
2."I'll Be Home for Christmas"Carrie Underwood3:36
3."Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)"LeAnn Rimes1:58
4."Santa Claus Is Back in Town"Wynonna Judd2:26
5."Silent Night"Sara Evans2:24
6."White Christmas"Amy Grant2:25
7."Merry Christmas Baby"Gretchen Wilson8:06
8."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town2:38
9."Silver Bells"Anne Murray2:27
10."O Come, All Ye Faithful"Olivia Newton-John2:52
11."The First Noel" (2008)—2:14
12."If I Get Home On Christmas Day" (2008)—2:55
13."Winter Wonderland" (2008)—2:25
Notes

Personnel

[edit]
Original vocals and instrumentation

Partial credits from Keith Flynn and Ernst Jorgensen's examination of session tapes and RCA and AFM paperwork.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

The Imperials
  • Terry Blackwood – backing vocals
  • Joe Moscheo – backing vocals
  • Jimmie Murray – backing vocals
  • Armond Morales – backing vocals
  • Greg Gordon – backing vocals
  • The Imperials – sampled background vocals (tracks 10-12)
Overdubbed

Unless otherwise indicated, overdub credits are obtained from the album's liner notes.[4]

  • Eddie Bayers – drums (tracks 1-8, 10-13)
  • Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar (tracks 1-2, 6)
  • Eric Darken – percussion (tracks 2, 5, 7-8)
  • Sara Evans - additional vocals (track 5)
  • Steve Gibson – guitar (electric on tracks 1-3, 5-6, acoustic on 8, additional on 4, 11-13)
  • Ginger Holliday – background vocals (tracks 7, 10-12)
  • David Hungate – bass guitar (tracks 3-5, 7-8, 10-13)
  • John Jarvis – piano (tracks 2, 4-6, 11-13), Hammond organ (7)
  • The Jordanaires – background vocals (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Karen Fairchild - additional vocals (track 8)
  • Kimberly Schlapman - additional vocals (track 8)
  • Michael Black - Jordanaires group member (track 13)
  • Louis Nunley - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Gordon Stoker - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Ray Walker - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Curtis Young - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9)
  • Millie Kirkham – background vocals (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13, sampled on 10-12)
  • Jim Long – electric guitar (track 3)
  • Gordon Mote – Hammond organ (tracks 1-6, 8, 11-13)
  • Anne Murray - additional vocals (track 9)
  • Nashville String Machine – strings (track 11)
  • Olivia Newton-John - additional vocals (track 10)
  • Palmetto State Quartet (Larry Strickland, Brian Beatty, Kerry Beatty, Jeremy Calloway) – background vocals (track 4)
  • LeAnn Rimes - additional vocals (track 3)
  • Temple Riser – background vocals (tracks 7, 10-12)
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano (tracks 1, 3, 8)
  • Gretchen Wilson - additional vocals (track 7)
  • Glenn Worf – bass guitar (tracks 1-2, 6)
  • Renée Martel - lead vocals on "On a Snowy Christmas Night" (Canadian release only)
Production
  • Steve Sholes - producer (original 1957 recordings) (uncredited)[5][6][7][8][9][10]
  • Thorne Nogar - engineer (original 1957 recordings) (uncredited)[5][6][7][8][9][10]
  • Felton Jarvis – producer (original 1971 recordings) (uncredited)[11][12]
  • Al Pachucki – engineer (original 1971 recordings) (uncredited)[11][12]
  • Mickey Crofford - engineer (original 1971 recordings) (uncredited)
  • Chuck Ainlay - record producer (All tracks), audio mixing (All tracks), recording engineer (1-2, 4, 6, 8, 11-13, instrumental on 3, 5, 7, 9-10)
  • Eric Bates - additional vocal recording engineer (track 5)
  • Jim Cooley - audio mixing assistant (All tracks), assistant recording engineer (1-6, 8-13, instruments on 7)
  • Carl Gorodetzky - string contractor (track 11)
  • Mike Griffith - production coordinator (All tracks)
  • Larry Hamby - record producer (All tracks)
  • Chris Henry - additional vocal recording engineer (track 10)
  • Ann Mincieli - additional vocal recording engineer (track 3)
  • Ryan Nelson - assistant recording engineer (additional vocals on track 7)
  • Bart Pursley - additional vocal recording engineer (track 7)
  • Bergen White – string arrangements (track 11)
  • Jeff Wolpert - additional vocal recording engineer (track 9)

Chart positions

[edit]

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Chart Positions
US Country US AC
2008 "Blue Christmas" (w/ Martina McBride) 36 22
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (w/ Carrie Underwood) 54 —

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Christmas Duets by Elvis Presley". iTunes. 10 October 2008.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ John Bush, "Review of Christmas Duets," allmusic.
  4. ^ a b Presley, Elvis. "Christmas Duets". RCA Nashville/Sony BMG. 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: January 12, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: January 13, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: January 19, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 5, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 6, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 7, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: May 15-16, 1971". KeithFlynn.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Flynn, Keith. "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: May 16-17, 1971". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  13. ^ The Imperials and Millie Kirkham. "May 24, 1971 Overdub Sessions". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710524ods.html
  14. ^ Spreen, Glen. "June 22, 1971: Tuesday Afternoon Overdub Sessions". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710622as_ods.html
  15. ^ Glen Spreen, Eddie Hinton & Farrell Morris. "July 26, 1971 Overdub Sessions". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710726ods.html
  16. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Elvis Presley – Christmas Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  23. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
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