Christmas (Stephanie Mills album) explained

Christmas
Type:	studio
Artist:	Stephanie Mills
Cover:	Christmas (Stephanie Mills album).jpg
Released:	October 29, 1991
Recorded:	Skip Saylor Recording and Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA); Entourage Studios (North Hollywood, CA); The Enterprise Studio and Encore Studios (Burbank, CA); Tarpan Studios (San Rafael, CA); Jay-Howard Studios and Reflections Studios (Charlotte, NC); The Bennett House (Franklin, TN); Quad Studios (Nashville, TN).
Length:	44:41
Label:	MCA
Prev Title:	Home
Prev Year:	1989
Next Title:	Something Real
Next Year:	1992

Christmas is a studio album by American recording artist Stephanie Mills, released in October 1991 on MCA Records.^[1] The album is a Christmas album, the first by Mills that showcases her soulful renditions of classic Christmas carols such as "White Christmas", "Silent Night", "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer", and soul singer Donny Hathaway's, "This Christmas".

Track listing

1. "This Christmas" (Donny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor) - 4:53
2. "It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas (Without You)" (Michael Price, Richard Scher) - 4:14
3. "We Can Move Mountains" (Randy Kerber, Marybeth Derry) - 4:21
4. "Merry Christmas" (Stephanie Mills, Narada Michael Walden) - 4:02
5. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks) - 4:36
6. "Silent Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr) - 5:18
7. "Christmas with You" (Terry Lupton, Brian Potter) - 4:59
8. "Love Is to Listen" (BeBe Winans) - 4:24
9. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) - 4:10
10. "Jingle Baby" (Amanda McBroom, Tom Snow) - 4:09

Notes

• Track 5 contains sample from "Sex Machine" by James Brown and excerpts from "Expression" written by C. James.^[2]

Personnel

• Stephanie Mills – vocals
• Donald Lawrence – keyboards (1, 5), bass (1, 5), arrangements (1, 5, 9), vocal arrangements (3, 7)
• Kevin Bond – acoustic piano solo (1), acoustic piano (2), keyboards (2)
• Richard Scher – synthesizers (2), drum programming (2), arrangements (2)
• Steve Barri – additional keyboards (2, 7, 10)
• Tony Peluso – additional keyboards (2, 7, 10), arrangements (10)
• Randy Kerber – keyboards (3, 10), arrangements (3), additional keyboards (7)
• Louis Biancaniello – keyboards (4), programming (4), orchestral arrangements (4)
• Frank Martin – acoustic piano (4)
• John Andrew Schreiner – synthesizers (7), drum programming (7), arrangements (7)
• Cedric Caldwell – keyboards (8), arrangements (8)
• Robbie Buchanan – acoustic piano solo (8)
• Dean Parks – guitars (3, 7, 10), arrangements (10)
• Tom Hemby – guitars (8)
• Neil Stubenhaus – bass (3, 10)
• Joel Smith – bass (6)
• Victor Caldwell – bass (8), drum programming (8)
• John Robinson – drums (3, 10)
• Rodney Barber – drum programming (5), first rap (5)
• Clarence "Flip" Kirby – drums (6)
• Dave Koz – alto saxophone (2), soprano saxophone (6)
• Paul McCandless – oboe (4)
• Joel Peskin – saxophone (10)
• Paul Riser – string arrangements (1, 6)
• Sephra Herman – string contractor (1, 6)
• Narada Michael Walden – arrangements (4)
• Elbernita Clark Terrell – arrangements (6)
• The Company – backing vocals (1-3, 5-7, 9): Reginald Adams, Winston Bagley, Rodney Barber, Jerry Friday, Donald Lawrence, Richard Odom and Terry Phillips
• Kitty Beethoven, Nikita Germaine, Sandy Griffith, Skyler Jett and Claytoven Richardson – backing vocals (4)
• Terry Phillips – second rap (5)
• Margaret Bell, Sherrie Kibble, Angie Winans, Debra Winans, BeBe Winans and CeCe Winans – backing vocals (8)
• BeBe Winans – BGV arrangements (8)
• The Jinglettes – backing vocals (10): Liz Constantine, Bobbi Page and Terry Wood

Production

• Stephanie Mills – executive producer, producer (1-3, 5-7, 10)
• Donald Lawrence – producer (1-3, 5-7, 9)
• Steve Barri – producer (2, 3, 7, 10)
• Tony Peluso – producer (2, 3, 7, 10), recording (2, 3, 7, 10), mixing (2, 3, 7, 10)
• Richard Scher – co-producer (2)
• Narada Michael Walden – producer (4)
• Louis Biancaniello – associate producer (4)
• Rodney Barber – producer (5)
• David Floyd – recording (1, 5)
• Taavi Môte – recording (1, 5, 6, 9), mixing (1, 5)
• David Frazer – recording (4), mixing (4)
• Keith Blake – recording (7)
• Michael McCartney – recording (8)
• Elliott Peters – recording (8)
• Billy Whittington – recording (8)
• Mark Williams – recording (9)
• Mick Guzauski – mixing (6, 9)
• Ronnie Brookshire – mixing (8)
• G. Aaron Miller – recording assistant (1, 5, 7, 9)
• Fred Kelly – recording assistant (7, 10)
• Brett Perry – assistant engineer (8)
• Roy Snowdon – assistant engineer (8)
• Carry Summers – assistant engineer (8)
• Tracey Schroeder – recording assistant (9)
• Marc Reyburn – additional recording (4)
• Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California)
• Left Bank Management – project coordinator
• Mark Sullivan – production coordinator (1-3, 5-7, 9, 10)
• Janice Lee, Kelly McRae, Cynthia Shiloh and Kevin Walden – production coordination (4)
• Louis Upkins Jr. – production assistant (8)
• Larry Brooks at Kosh Brooks Design – art direction, design
• Todd Gray – photography

External links

• Stephanie Mills-Christmas - amazon.com

Notes and References

1. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stephanie-mills-mn0000021334/discography Stephanie Mills Album discography
2. https://www.discogs.com/Stephanie-Mills-Christmas/release/6739784 Stephanie Mills - Christmas (CD, Album)