Name: A Christmas Celebration Of Hope
Brand: MCA (USA)
SKU: 8895
Availability: OutOfStock

A Christmas Celebration Of Hope

Rating

Album: A Christmas Celebration Of Hope
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Please Come Home For Christmas	More Info...	4:54
2)	Lonesome Christmas	More Info...	3:05
3)	Back Door Santa	More Info...	3:27
4)	Christmas In Heaven	More Info...	4:50
5)	I'll Be Home For Christmas	More Info...	3:47
6)	To Someone That I Love	More Info...	5:01
7)	Christmas Celebration	More Info...	3:39
8)	Merry Christmas Baby	More Info...	3:56
9)	Christmas Love	More Info...	2:57
10)	Blue Decorations	More Info...	3:27
11)	Christmas Comes But Once A Year	More Info...	4:16
12)	Bringing In A Brand New Year	More Info...	2:42
13)	Auld Lang Syne	More Info...	2:22

Album: A Christmas Celebration Of Hope
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Please Come Home For Christmas	More Info...	4:54
2)	Lonesome Christmas	More Info...	3:05
3)	Back Door Santa	More Info...	3:27
4)	Christmas In Heaven	More Info...	4:50
5)	I'll Be Home For Christmas	More Info...	3:47
6)	To Someone That I Love	More Info...	5:01
7)	Christmas Celebration	More Info...	3:39
8)	Merry Christmas Baby	More Info...	3:56
9)	Christmas Love	More Info...	2:57
10)	Blue Decorations	More Info...	3:27
11)	Christmas Comes But Once A Year	More Info...	4:16
12)	Bringing In A Brand New Year	More Info...	2:42
13)	Auld Lang Syne	More Info...	2:22

Performer Notes

Personnel includes: B.B. King (vocals, arranger, guitar); Leon Warren (guitar); Melvin Jackson (saxophone); Stanley Abernathy, James Bolden (trumpet); James Sells Toney (keyboards); Michael Doster (bass); Calep Emphrey Jr. (drums).
Recorded at Dockside, Maurice, Louisiana; Sound On Sound, Unique Studios, New York, New York.
A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION OF HOPE won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
"Auld Lang Syne" won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Personnel: Leon Warren (guitar); Melvin Jackson (saxophone); Stanley Abernathy, James Bolden (trumpet); James Toney (keyboards); Calep Emphrey (drums); Tony Coleman (tambourine).
Audio Mixers: John Holbrook; Josiah Gluck.
Recording information: Dockside Studios, Maurice, LA; Sound On Sound Studios; Unique Studios, NY.
Photographer: Kevin Westenberg.
Arranger: B.B. King.
After nearly five decades of making music, B.B. King ducked into the studio with his touring band to come up with his very first holiday album, A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION OF HOPE. Despite bringing in The Nashville String Machine, co-producer King used them in a way that enhanced his rich singing on lush versions of Billy Ward's "Christmas In Heaven" and a pair of Charles Brown perennials--"Please Come Home For Christmas" and "Merry Christmas Baby." Other artists getting the royal treatment are Clarence Carter (a funky "Back Door Santa") and Amos Milburn (the brass-soaked "Christmas Comes But Once A Year"). The only originals the King Of The Blues trots out are his resurrected 1960 shuffle "Christmas Celebration" and the more recent slow blues instrumental "Christmas Love."
King even squeezes in a tribute to the New Year with a rollicking take on Brown's "Bringing In A Brand New Year" and an equally swinging instrumental interpretation of "Auld Lang Syne." In true holiday spirit, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION OF HOPE will fund innovative research and compassionate patient care programs at the California-based City of Hope, a world-renowned comprehensive cancer center.