By Lisa Collins, senior music editor, GospelMusicChannel.com
It may be November, but for new album marketers, ’tis the season to get record buyers in the holiday spirit. With one look at the month’s new releases – including the 2009 crop of holiday fare – it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Due in part to declining sales, Christmas CDs have given way – over the last several years – to holiday compilations like Integrity Music’s Gotta Have Gospel! Christmas comprised of yuletide standards and classics performed by gospel’s biggest stars. Released October 20, it includes Donnie McClurkin’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Mary Mary’s “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” Fred Hammond’s “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” Yolanda Adams’ “Little Drummer Boy,” Donald Lawrence & the Tri-City Singers’ “Carol of the Bells,” and Martha Munizzi’s “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
Still, there’s no shortage of gospel artists looking to put their own creative spin on holiday classics with full Christmas CDs. All-time top sellers include Kirk Franklin & The Family Christmas which has sold nearly 600,000 units since its release on December 7, 1995, Christmas With Yolanda (305,000 units) and BeBe and CeCe’s First Christmas (more than 200,000 units). Highlights of this year’s crop of holiday releases include the following:
Trin-i-tee 5:7, Love, Peace, Joy at Christmas
October 27 marks the debut of the first-ever Christmas CD from gospel’s best-selling female trio, Trin-i-tee 5:7. From a jazzy version of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” to an R&B-flavored remake of Michael Jackson’s “Give Love on Christmas Day” and the more traditional “Silent Night,” Adrian Anderson, Chanelle Haynes and Angel Taylor look to strike the perfect balance between the traditional and contemporary treatment of holiday classics.
“It wasn’t easy,” admits Haynes. “So many people have done Christmas tunes and put their own stamps on the songs. The question becomes, ‘do we honor the originality or put a contemporary twist on it?’ I’m the one in the studio saying, ‘let’s honor the originality. Angel, on the other hand, is super contemporary, so we had to find a middle ground.
