Merry Christmas Wherever You Are is the second Christmas album by George Strait. It was released by MCA Records. It has his versions of many classic Christmas songs, as well as the newly penned tracks "I Know What I Want for Christmas", "Old Time Christmas", "Noel Leon", "Santa's on His Way" and the title track.
| Merry Christmas Wherever You Are | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 21, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Studio | Ocean Way Nashville, Emerald Studio B and Sound Emporium (Nashville, TN). | |||
| Genre | Honky-tonk[1] | |||
| Length | 28:34 | |||
| Label | MCA Nashville | |||
| Producer | Tony Brown George Strait | |||
| George Strait chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [3] |
| Chicago Tribune | (mixed) [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [4] |
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Know What I Want for Christmas" | Charlie Black, Dana Hunt Black | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Old Time Christmas" | Aaron Barker, John Barlow Jarvis | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | 2:19 |
| 4. | "Jingle Bell Rock" | Joe Beal, Jim Boothe | 2:12 |
| 5. | "Merry Christmas (Wherever You Are)" | Jerry Laseter, Mack Vickery | 2:59 |
| 6. | "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" | Donald Gardner | 2:34 |
| 7. | "The Christmas Song" | Mel Tormé, Robert Wells | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Noel Leon" | Mike Geiger, Woody Mullis, Ricky Ray Rector | 2:53 |
| 9. | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | Johnny Marks | 2:54 |
| 10. | "Santa's on His Way" | David Anthony | 2:06 |
Personnel
edit- George Strait – lead vocals
- Jim Cox – keyboards, acoustic piano
- Steve Nathan – keyboards, acoustic piano, Hammond B3 organ
- Steve Gibson – acoustic guitars
- Dean Parks – electric guitars
- Paul Franklin – steel guitar
- Glenn Worf – bass
- Eddie Bayers – drums
- Eric Darken – percussion
- Larry Franklin – fiddle
- The Nashville String Machine – strings
- Russell Mauldin – string and group vocal arrangements, conductor
- Wes Hightower – backing vocals
- Liana Manis – backing vocals
Group vocals
- Lisa Cochran
- Travis Cottrell
- Tim Davis
- Stephanie Hall
- Jon Mark Ivey
- Marabeth Jordon
- Lisa Silver
- Dennis Wilson
Production
edit- Tony Brown – producer
- George Strait – producer
- Chuck Ainlay – recording, mixing
- Mark Rolston – second engineer
- Tim Waters – second engineer
- Greg Fogie – assistant engineer
- Justin Niebank – overdub recording
- Eric Conn – digital editing
- Carlos Grier – digital editing
- Denny Purcell – mastering
- Jonathan Russell – mastering assistant
- Georgetown Masters (Nashville, TN) – editing and mastering location
- Jessie Noble – project coordinator
- Team Design – art direction, design
- Slick Lawson – photography
- Virginia Team – photography
Chart positions
edit| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 78 |
References
edit- ^ a b Kot, Greg; Reich, Howard; von Rhein, John; Hurst, Jack; Royko, David (1999-12-12). "Holiday CDs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
- ^ Merry Christmas Wherever You Are at AllMusic
- ^ Gray, Christopher (1999-12-24). "Garth Brooks, The Magic of Christmas (sic) (Capitol); George Strait; Merry Christmas Wherever You Are (MCA)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ^ Willman, Chris (1999-12-10). "Christmas Music Roundup". Entertainment Weekly: 108. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved 2013-05-13.