Everyday Is Christmas (song)

"Everyday Is Christmas" is a Christmas song by Jacky Cheung (Cantonese pinyin: Hok Yau) (Chinese: 张学友), written by Roxanne Seeman and Philipp Steinke. It was issued as a single from Cheung's Private Corner album released on January 29, 2010, by Universal Music.[1][2] The song was ranked by Nokia's Ovi.com download service as the tenth most downloaded Christmas song in 2010.[3]

"Everyday Is Christmas"
Single by Jacky Cheung
from the album Private Corner
ReleasedJanuary 29, 2010 (2010-01-29)
RecordedJune 2009 (2009-06)–August 2009 (2009-08)
iMusic Workshop(Ioi) Wong Chuk Hang, Southern District, Hong Kong,
Peter Mixman Studio Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GenreJazz, Big band, Swing, Canto-jazz, Christmas
Length4:55
LabelUniversal Music
Ioi Limited(production)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Andrew Tuason (杜自持)
Music video
"Everyday Is Christmas" on YouTube

"Everyday Is Christmas" was recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire on their Holiday album, released October 21, 2014 by Legacy Recordings, Sony Music.[4]

Recording

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Pre-production took place in Hong Kong with Andrew Tuason (杜自持) producing and coordinating with international songwriters. The rhythm section was recorded in Malaysia. Cheung's vocals were recorded in Hong Kong. The song was mixed by Gerry Brown in Los Angeles.

Lyrics and composition

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Roxanne Seeman and Philipp Steinke composed "Everyday Is Christmas" on guitar in Santa Monica. The demo was recorded with Philipp Steinke singing and playing keyboards at Seeman's studio and USC musicians overdubbing string bass, drums, and horns.[5]

Everyday is Christmas was the first of seven songs written by Seeman for Cheung's "Private Corner" canto-jazz album project. Cheung tried having the lyrics for "Everyday Is Christmas" adapted into Cantonese, but liked the meaning of the lyrics in English so much that he decided to record it in English. It is the only song on the "Private Corner" album that Cheung sings in English.[1]

Critical reception

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Nokia's music download service website Ovi.com announced that "Everyday is Christmas" was the tenth most downloaded Christmas song in 2010, joining classic hits such as Wham's "Last Christmas" and Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You". Cheung is the only Chinese language singer to make it into the Top Ten.[6][7]

Live performance

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Cheung performed "Everyday Is Christmas" at his Private Corner Mini-Concert at the Hong Kong Jockey Club on April 30, 2010. The "Private Corner" Mini-Concert DVD was released on July 23, 2010.[8][9]

Credits and personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]

  • Andy Peterson - bass
  • Andrew Tuason (杜自持) - producer, arranger, piano
  • Lewis Pragasam - drums
  • Steve Thornton - percussion
  • Charles Huntley - tenor saxophone
  • Miguel Inot - alto saxophone
  • Ben Pelletier - trombone
  • John Campo - trumpet
  • Paul Panichi - trumpet
  • Michael Stever - horn arrangement
  • Gerry "The Gov" Brown - mixing engineer
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Jamie Wilson – guitar

Earth, Wind & Fire version

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Earth, Wind & Fire released "Everyday Is Christmas" as part of their Holiday album in 2014.[11] The song was produced by Philip Bailey and Myron McKinley.[12] The Holiday album is a perennial release by Sony Music in their Classic Christmas Album series.[11] Savannah Evanoff for the Austin American-Statesman remarked “What a slinky, sexy Christmas love song!” [13]

Personnel

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  • Philip Bailey, executive producer, producer, vocals               
  • Myron McKinley, keyboards, piano, producer, synthesizer         
  • Jerry Hey, horn arrangements
  • Dave Pensado, mixing
  • Tommy Vicari, engineer, horn section

Nils Landgren version

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Nils Landgren, Swedish R&B funk and jazz trombone player, also known as The Man With The Red Horn or Mr. Redhorn, released "Everyday Is Christmas" as part of his "Christmas With My Friends V" album on October 28, 2016.[14][15][16] Following the release, Nils Landgren toured Germany for a month. The "Christmas With My Friends" collection achieved gold status during this time, selling 125,000 albums.[17][18]

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Recorded at Atlantis Studios, Stockholm Additional recording - Johan Norberg at Krubaston studio Mixed and mastered by Lasse Nilsson at Nilento studios, Kållered

References

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  1. ^ a b "《Private Corner》:歌神再出马 摇摆亦潇洒_娱乐_腾讯网". ent.qq.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2021-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "《Private Corner》:想唱就唱 十分响亮_娱乐_腾讯网". ent.qq.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2021-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Asia, Top 10 of (2018-11-19). "THE HEAVENLY KING RETURNS". Top 10 of Asia. Retrieved 2021-12-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Exclusive: Earth, Wind & Fire to Release First Holiday Album". Billboard.com.
  5. ^ Everyday Is Christmas by Philipp Steinke, 29 March 2018, retrieved 2021-03-15
  6. ^ "Top ten most downloaded Christmas songs". Classic Pop Icons.
  7. ^ "'Four Heavenly Kings' of Hong Kong – net worths, ranked". South China Morning Post. 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  8. ^ "News". blogspot.com. 2 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Jacky Cheung - Private Corner Mini Concert". AllMusic.
  10. ^ Private Corner (CD booklet). Hong Kong: Universal Music. 2010. 889 905-7.
  11. ^ a b Everyday Is Christmas - Earth, Wind & Fire | Song Info | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-04-23
  12. ^ "Exclusive: Earth, Wind & Fire to Release First Holiday Album". Billboard.
  13. ^ Now, Savannah Evanoff More Content. "25 of the least obnoxious holiday songs". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  14. ^ "Nils Landgren - Christmas with my Friends V album review: Yule jazz with a mellow tinge". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  15. ^ ap-reviews.com (2016-12-02). "REVIEW: 'Christmas With My Friends V' – Nils Landgren". ADRIAN PALLANT. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  16. ^ Pearson, Chris. "Jazz: Nils Landgren: Christmas With My Friends V". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  17. ^ "Home". nilslandgren.com.
  18. ^ "Christmas with My Friends V - CD - Christmas with My Friends V - Nils Landgren - Artists - ACT Music - in the spirit of jazz". Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
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