Christmas: The Gift
Encyclopedia
Christmas: The Gift is an album released in 1996 by country music artist Collin Raye
. It was Raye's first Christmas album. It is composed largely of cover songs, except for "It Could Happen Again", which was newly written and recorded for this album.
Collin Raye
Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray (born August 22, 1959 or 1960,Although multiple online sources all indicate Raye's date of birth as 1959, Raye's MySpace lists his date of birth as 1960. Furthermore, the 2004 Deseret News article cited in this article indicates the singer as...
. It was Raye's first Christmas album. It is composed largely of cover songs, except for "It Could Happen Again", which was newly written and recorded for this album.
Track listing
- "The Christmas SongThe Christmas Song"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" (Mel TorméMel TorméMelvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
, Robert WellsRobert Wells (songwriter)Robert Wells was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945...
) – 4:18 - "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Walter KentWalter KentWalter Kent was a Jewish American composer who wrote the music for songs including the Christmas standard "I'll Be Home for Christmas", and the wartime hit " The White Cliffs of Dover", co-written with fellow American Nat Burton. He died at the age of 82-External links:...
, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram) – 4:24 - "It Could Happen Again" (Tamara Hyler, Will Robinson, Bruce Burch) – 4:10
- spoken intro by Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
- spoken intro by Johnny Cash
- "The First NoelThe First NoëlThe First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
" (William SandysWilliam B. SandysWilliam B. Sandys , was an English solicitor, member of the Percy Society, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and remembered for his publication Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern , a collection of seasonal carols that Sandys had gathered and also apparently improvised...
, Traditional) – 4:29 - "Away in a MangerAway in a Manger"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...
" (Traditional) – 2:58 - "White ChristmasWhite ChristmasA white Christmas refers to the presence of snow on Christmas Day. This phenomenon is most common in the northern countries of the Northern Hemisphere...
" (Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) – 4:29 - "Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
" (Dick Smith, Felix Bernard) – 3:20- guest vocals by The Beach Boys
- "Angels We Have Heard on HighAngels We Have Heard on High"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
" (Traditional) – 2:51 - "The Little Drummer Boy" (Harry Simeone, Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati) – 3:19
- "Silent NightSilent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
" (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) – 3:21 - "The First Noel (Instrumental)" (William Sandys, traditional) – 4:30
- "O Holy NightO Holy Night"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
" (Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
, John Sullivan Dwight) – 5:03
Chart performance
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 23 |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 126 |
U.S. Billboard Top Holiday Albums | 20 |