1983 Amy Grant – A Christmas Album

Amy Grant, Bill Champlin, Dean Parks, Lenny Castro, Mike Brignardello, Paul Leim, Richard Page, Shane Keister, Steve George, Victor Feldman

A Christmas Album is the fifth studio album and the first Christmas album by Christian music singer Amy Grant. The album was recorded in nine studios in mid-1983 and was released later that same year.

It was issued on the heels of Grant’s immensely successful 1982 LP Age to Age. Primarily for the audiences she attracted with Age to Age, A Christmas Album features well-known sacred and secular standards alongside original songs, and tracks from this album continue to receive airplay to this day during the holiday season on both secular and Christian radio stations. Although not as successful as Age to Age, A Christmas Album still peaked in the Top Ten of the Christian chart and spawned a Top 20 Christian radio single in “Emmanuel.” The album would eventually be certified Gold in 1985, and Platinum in 1989. A Christmas Album was listed at No. 40 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. In 2016, Grant re-recorded the song “Tennessee Christmas” as the opening track of her Christmas album of the same name. The song was released as a single from the album and charted at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart in December 2016

Tracks

1 Tennessee Christmas (Amy Grant; Gary Chapman) 04:34
2 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (William Cummings; Felix Mendelssohn; Charles Wesley) 02:55
3 Preiset Dem Konig! (Praise The King) (Shane Keister) 01:39
4 Emmanuel (Michael W Smith) 02:53
5 Little Town (Chris Eaton; Phillips Brooks) 02:47
6 Christmas Hymn (Amy Grant; Michael W Smith) 02:32
7 Love Has Come (Amy Grant; Shane Keister; Michael W Smith) 04:01
8 Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson; Mitchell Parish) 03:34
9 The Christmas Song (Mel Tormé; Robert Wells) 03:46
10 Heirlooms (Amy Grant; Brown Bannister) 03:44
11 A Mighty Fortress/ Angels We Have Heard On High (Traditional) 05:00

Biography

Amy Grant

Musicians

1 Tennessee Christmas

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Acoustic Guitar	Gary Chapman
Acoustic Guitar	Dean Parks
Pedal Steel Guitar	Gary Chapman
Fender Rhodes	Shane Keister
Shaker	Victor Feldman
Background Vocals	Gary Chapman
Vocals	Amy Grant

2 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Piano	Michael W Smith
Synthesizer	Shane Keister
Percussion	Victor Feldman
Vocals	Amy Grant

3 Preiset Dem Konig! (Praise The King)

Synthesizer

Shane Keister

4 Emmanuel

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Drums (Linn)	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Synthesizer	Michael W Smith
Moog	Shane Keister
Percussion	Lenny Castro
Background Vocals	Bill Champlin
Background Vocals	Tamara Champlin
Background Vocals	Carmen Twillie
Vocals	Amy Grant

5 Little Town

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Piano	Michael W Smith
Synthesizer	Shane Keister
Horn	Tom McAninch
Bells	Paul Leim
Percussion	Victor Feldman
Background Vocals	Richard Page
Background Vocals	Steve George
Background Vocals	David Page
Vocals	Amy Grant

6 Christmas Hymn

Piano	Michael W Smith
Horn	Tom McAninch
Percussion	Victor Feldman
Vocals	Amy Grant

7 Love Has Come

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Piano	Shane Keister
Synthesizer	Michael W Smith
Percussion	Farrell Morris
Background Vocals	Bill Champlin
Background Vocals	Tamara Champlin
Background Vocals	Carmen Twillie
Vocals	Amy Grant

8 Sleigh Ride

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Synthesizer	Michael W Smith
Synthesizer	Shane Keister
Bells	Paul Leim
Glockenspiel	Farrell Morris
Percussion	Farrell Morris
Background Vocals	Edie Lehmann
Background Vocals	Sandy Hall
Background Vocals	Debbie Hall
Vocals	Amy Grant

9 The Christmas Song

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Piano	Shane Keister
Percussion	Farrell Morris
Background Vocals	Edie Lehmann
Background Vocals	Sandy Hall
Background Vocals	Debbie Hall
Vocals	Amy Grant

10 Heirlooms

Bass	Mike Brignardello
Drums	Paul Leim
Guitar	Jon Goin
Piano	Shane Keister
Vocoder	Michael W Smith
Vocals	Amy Grant

11 A Mighty Fortress/ Angels We Have Heard On High

Horn	Tom McAninch
Vocals	Amy Grant

Other Musicians

Choir – Hollywood Presbyterian Choir (Tracks 2, 6, 11)
Strings – The Martyn Ford Orchestra (Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Horn – The Martyn Ford Orchestra (Tracks 2)
Horns – The Nashville Contemporary Brass Quintet (Tracks 5, 6, 11)
Woodwind – The Martyn Ford Orchestra (Tracks 2, 6, 10)

Liner Notes

Producer – Brown Bannister
Concertmaster – Gavyn Wright (Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Directed By – Fred Bock (Tracks 2, 6, 11)
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
Engineer (Assistant) – Jerry Mahler, Kevin Burns, Rich Markovitz, Steve Ford, Daniel Garcia, David Schober
Engineer (Additional) – Jim Baird, Brent King, Gene Eichelberger, Michael C Ross, Ken Corlew
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Mixed By – Jack Joseph Puig

Art Direction – Dennis Hill
Cover – Michael Blanton, Dan Harrell
Photography – Bill Farrell, Michael Borum

Mastered At The Mastering Lab
Recorded At Caribou Ranch, Nederland, CO
Recorded At Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN
Recorded At Oceanway Studios, Hollywood, CA
Recorded At Mama Jo’s Recording, North Hollywood, CA
Recorded At Bullet Recording, Nashville, TN
Recorded At Woodland Sound Studios, Nashville, TN
Recorded At Schnee’s Studio, North Hollywood, CA
Recorded At Air Studios, London
Recorded At CBS, London