Christmas Duets

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Christmas Duets
Elvis Presley Christmas Duets.jpg
Compilation album by
Elvis Presley
RecordedOctober 14, 2008[1]
GenreCountry, pop, CCM, holiday
LabelRCA
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic3.5/5 stars[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. The 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[]

  • 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 Roads 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[]

  • Elvis Presley – sampled lead vocals (All tracks)
  • 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)
  • Eddie Bayers – drums (tracks 1-8, 10-13)
  • Brian Beatty - Palmetto State group member (track 4)
  • Kerry Beatty - Palmetto State group member (track 4)
  • Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar (tracks 1-2, 6)
  • Michael Black - Jordanaires group member (track 13)
  • Jeremy Calloway - Palmetto State group member (track 4)
  • Jim Cooley - audio mixing assistant (All tracks), assistant recording engineer (1-6, 8-13, instruments on 7)
  • Eric Darken – percussion (tracks 2, 5, 7-8)
  • Steve Gibson – guitar (electric on tracks 1-3, 5-6, acoustic on 8, additional on 4, 11-13)
  • 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)
  • Ginger Holliday – background vocals (tracks 7, 10-12)
  • David Hungate – bass guitar (tracks 3-5, 7-8, 10-13)
  • The Imperials – background vocals (track 12, sampled on 10-11)[5]
  • John Jarvis – piano (tracks 2, 4-6, 11-13), Hammond organ (7)
  • The Jordanaires – background vocals (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Millie Kirkham – background vocals (tracks 7, 9, 11-13, sampled on 1-6, 8)[6][7][8]
  • Jim Long – electric guitar (track 3)
  • Ann Mincieli - additional vocal recording engineer (track 3)
  • Gordon Mote – Hammond organ (tracks 1-6, 8, 11-13)
  • Nashville String Machine – strings (track 11)
  • Ryan Nelson - assistant recording engineer (additional vocals on track 7)
  • Louis Nunley - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Palmetto State Quartet – background vocals (track 4)
  • Bart Pursley - additional vocal recording engineer (track 7)
  • Temple Riser – background vocals (tracks 7, 10-12)
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano (tracks 1, 3, 8)
  • Gordon Stoker - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Larry Strickland - Palmetto State group member (track 4)
  • Ray Walker - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
  • Bergen White – string arrangements (track 11)
  • Jeff Wolpert - additional vocal recording engineer (track 9)
  • Glenn Worf – bass guitar (tracks 1-2, 6)
  • Curtis Young - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9)

Chart positions[]

Singles[]

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[]

  1. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/christmas-duets/id294318633
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ John Bush, "Review of Christmas Duets," allmusic.
  4. ^ Presley, Elvis. "Christmas Duets". RCA Nashville/Sony BMG. 2008.
  5. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: May 16–17, 1971". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710516.html
  6. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 5, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570905.html
  7. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 6, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570906.html
  8. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 7, 1957". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570907.html
  9. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Elvis Presley – Christmas Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
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