Christmas Duets

{{Infobox album

| name = Christmas Duets

| type = compilation

| cover = Elvis Presley Christmas Duets.jpg

| border = yes

| alt =

| released = October 10, 2008{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/christmas-duets/294318633|title = Christmas Duets by Elvis Presley| website=iTunes |date = 10 October 2008}}

| recorded = September 5–7, 1957, May 15–July 1971 (Elvis' vocals and some instrumentation from original recordings); 2008 (new backing tracks and vocals)

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Country, pop, CCM, Christmas

| length = 38:56

| label = RCA

| producer = Chuck Ainlay, Larry Hamby (as executive producer)

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

{{Album ratings

|rev1 = Allmusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1426743|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]

}}

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.John Bush, "[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1426743|pure_url=yes}} Review of Christmas Duets]," allmusic. 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

Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on Liner NotesPresley, Elvis. "Christmas Duets". RCA Nashville/Sony BMG. 2008.

{{Track listing |extra_column=Duet with |title1= Blue Christmas |extra1=Martina McBride |length1=2:30 |title2= I'll Be Home for Christmas |extra2=Carrie Underwood |length2=3:36 |title3= Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) |extra3=LeAnn Rimes |length3=1:58 |title4= Santa Claus Is Back in Town |extra4=Wynonna Judd |length4=2:26 |title5= Silent Night |extra5=Sara Evans |length5=2:24 |title6= White Christmas |extra6=Amy Grant |length6=2:25 |title7= Merry Christmas Baby |extra7=Gretchen Wilson |length7=8:06 |title8= O Little Town of Bethlehem |extra8=Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town |length8=2:38 |title9= Silver Bells |extra9=Anne Murray |length9=2:27 |title10= O Come, All Ye Faithful |extra10=Olivia Newton-John |length10=2:52 |title11=The First Noel |note11=2008 |extra11=— |length11=2:14 |title12=If I Get Home On Christmas Day |note12=2008 |extra12=—|length12=2:55 |title13=Winter Wonderland |note13=2008 |extra13=—|length13=2:25}}

;Notes

Tracks 1-6 & 8: Originally recorded on September 5–7, 1957 for Elvis' Christmas Album
Tracks 7 & 9-13: Originally recorded on May 15–16, 1971 for Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas
The Canadian edition of the album has a duet of "On A Snowy Christmas Night", performed with Renée Martel at track 11 right before the bonus tracks as the rest of the album is in order.

== Personnel ==

;Original vocals and instrumentation

Partial credits from Keith Flynn and Ernst Jorgensen's examination of session tapes and RCA and AFM paperwork.{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: January 12, 1957 |url=http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570112.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 5, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: January 13, 1957 |url=http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570113.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 5, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: January 19, 1957 |url=http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570119.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 5, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 5, 1957 |url=http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570905.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 5, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 6, 1957 |url=http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570906.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 5, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: September 7, 1957 |url=http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570907.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 5, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: May 15-16, 1971 |url=https://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710515.html |website=KeithFlynn.com |access-date=January 4, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Keith |title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions: May 16-17, 1971 |url=https://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710516.html |website=Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages |access-date=January 4, 2024}}

Elvis Presley – lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
Millie Kirkham – backing vocalsThe Imperials and Millie Kirkham. "May 24, 1971 Overdub Sessions". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710524ods.html
The Jordanaires (Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Hoyt Hawkins, Hugh Jarrett) - backing vocals
Scotty Moore - lead guitar
James Burton - lead guitar
Chip Young – rhythm guitar
Norbert Putnam – bass
Bill Black - bass
Dudley Brooks - piano
David Briggs – piano
D.J. Fontana - drums
Kenneth Buttrey – drums
Jerry Carrigan – drums
Charlie McCoy – harmonica, organ, percussion
Charlie Hodge – acoustic rhythm guitar (uncertain)
Gene Estes – marimba (uncertain)Spreen, Glen. "June 22, 1971: Tuesday Afternoon Overdub Sessions". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710622as_ods.html
Eddie Hinton – lead guitar on "Merry Christmas Baby" (uncertain)Glen Spreen, Eddie Hinton & Farrell Morris. "July 26, 1971 Overdub Sessions". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages. http://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710726ods.html
Larrie Londin – additional drums, additional percussion
Farrell Morris – bells, additional percussion
Tommy Shepard – trombone (uncertain)

;The Imperials

Terry Blackwood – backing vocals
Joe Moscheo – backing vocals
Jimmie Murray – backing vocals
Armond Morales – backing vocals
Greg Gordon – backing vocals
The Imperials – sampled background vocals (tracks 10-12)

;Overdubbed

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

Eddie Bayers – drums (tracks 1-8, 10-13)
Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar (tracks 1-2, 6)
Eric Darken – percussion (tracks 2, 5, 7-8)
Sara Evans - additional vocals (track 5)
Steve Gibson – guitar (electric on tracks 1-3, 5-6, acoustic on 8, additional on 4, 11-13)
Ginger Holliday – background vocals (tracks 7, 10-12)
David Hungate – bass guitar (tracks 3-5, 7-8, 10-13)
John Jarvis – piano (tracks 2, 4-6, 11-13), Hammond organ (7)
The Jordanaires – background vocals (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
Karen Fairchild - additional vocals (track 8)
Kimberly Schlapman - additional vocals (track 8)
Michael Black - Jordanaires group member (track 13)
Louis Nunley - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
Gordon Stoker - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
Ray Walker - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13)
Curtis Young - Jordanaires group member (tracks 1-6, 8-9)
Millie Kirkham – background vocals (tracks 1-6, 8-9, 13, sampled on 10-12)
Jim Long – electric guitar (track 3)
Gordon Mote – Hammond organ (tracks 1-6, 8, 11-13)
Anne Murray - additional vocals (track 9)
Nashville String Machine – strings (track 11)
Olivia Newton-John - additional vocals (track 10)
Palmetto State Quartet (Larry Strickland, Brian Beatty, Kerry Beatty, Jeremy Calloway) – background vocals (track 4)
LeAnn Rimes - additional vocals (track 3)
Temple Riser – background vocals (tracks 7, 10-12)
Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano (tracks 1, 3, 8)
Gretchen Wilson - additional vocals (track 7)
Glenn Worf – bass guitar (tracks 1-2, 6)
Renée Martel - lead vocals on "On a Snowy Christmas Night" (Canadian release only)

;Production

Steve Sholes - producer (original 1957 recordings) (uncredited)
Thorne Nogar - engineer (original 1957 recordings) (uncredited)
Felton Jarvis – producer (original 1971 recordings) (uncredited)
Al Pachucki – engineer (original 1971 recordings) (uncredited)
Mickey Crofford - engineer (original 1971 recordings) (uncredited)
Chuck Ainlay - record producer (All tracks), audio mixing (All tracks), recording engineer (1-2, 4, 6, 8, 11-13, instrumental on 3, 5, 7, 9-10)
Eric Bates - additional vocal recording engineer (track 5)
Jim Cooley - audio mixing assistant (All tracks), assistant recording engineer (1-6, 8-13, instruments on 7)
Carl Gorodetzky - string contractor (track 11)
Mike Griffith - production coordinator (All tracks)
Larry Hamby - record producer (All tracks)
Chris Henry - additional vocal recording engineer (track 10)
Ann Mincieli - additional vocal recording engineer (track 3)
Ryan Nelson - assistant recording engineer (additional vocals on track 7)
Bart Pursley - additional vocal recording engineer (track 7)
Bergen White – string arrangements (track 11)
Jeff Wolpert - additional vocal recording engineer (track 9)

Chart positions

= Weekly charts =

scope="col"\| Chart (2008) ! scope="col"\| Peak position
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
{{album chart\|Australia\|20\|artist=Elvis Presley\|album=Christmas Duets\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 23, 2020}}
{{album chart\|BillboardCanada\|6\|artist=Elvis Presley\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 23, 2020}}
{{album chart\|Billboard200\|17\|artist=Elvis Presley\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 23, 2020}}
{{album chart\|BillboardCountry\|3\|artist=Elvis Presley\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 23, 2020}}

= Year-end charts =

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col"\| Chart (2008) ! scope="col"\| Position
scope="row"\| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite web\|url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/2008/albums-chart\|title=ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2008\|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association\|access-date=March 17, 2021}} \| 94

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (2008)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite web|url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/2008/albums-chart|title=ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2008|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association|access-date=March 17, 2021}}

| 94

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (2009)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/top-canadian-albums|title=Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 23, 2020}}

| 33

scope="row"| US Billboard 200{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 23, 2020}}

| 110

scope="row"| US Top Country Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/top-country-albums|title=Top Country Albums – Year-End 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 23, 2020}}

| 22

= Singles =

class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"\| Year !rowspan="2"\| Single !colspan="2"\| Chart Positions
width="45"\| US Country !width="45"\| US AC
rowspan="2"\|2008 \| "Blue Christmas" (w/ Martina McBride) \|align="center"\|36 \|align="center"\|22
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (w/ Carrie Underwood) \|align="center"\|54 \|align="center"\|—

class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2"| Year

!rowspan="2"| Single

!colspan="2"| Chart Positions

width="45"| US Country

!width="45"| US AC

rowspan="2"|2008

| "Blue Christmas" (w/ Martina McBride)

|align="center"|36

|align="center"|22

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (w/ Carrie Underwood)

|align="center"|54