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)<--- add note --->
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

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

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
Overdubbed

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

Production

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. ^ "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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