Bethlehem (Brian McKnight album)

Last updated
Bethlehem
Brianmcknight-bethlehem.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 20, 1998
Genre R&B, christmas
Length41:27
Label Motown
Producer
  • Bruce Carbone (exec.)
  • Herb Trawick (exec.)
  • Brian McKnight
  • Bill Meyers
  • Wanya Morris
Brian McKnight chronology
Anytime
(1997)
Bethlehem
(1998)
Back at One
(1999)

Bethlehem is the fourth studio album by American singer Brian McKnight, his first with Motown Records, released on October 20, 1998. The album is his first Christmas album. Bethlehem consists of eleven tracks, featuring original songs and cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, several of which are duets featuring recording artists such as Boyz II Men, Michael Sembello, Tim Miner, and Maria Cole as well McKnight's brother Claude and his sons.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Gina Boldman from AllMusic called Bethlehem a "joyful, romantic holiday album [...] Overall, Bethlehem is a diverse collection of traditional and modern-day Christmas songs with something for everyone celebrating the season." [1]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Hail Mary" (featuring The McKnight Family Choir) Brian McKnight 2:10
2."Bethlehem Tonight" (featuring Michael Sembello)McKnight3:32
3."Let It Snow '98" (featuring Boyz II Men)
4:24
4."Silent Night (Interlude)" (Mrs. Nat King Cole)
  • McKnight
  • Bruce Carbone
1:15
5."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
  • McKnight
  • Bill Meyers
3:59
6."It's All About Love" (featuring Brian McKnight Jr. and Niko)McKnight5:15
7."Christmas Time Is Here"McKnight3:27
8."The First Noel" (featuring Claude McKnight and Tim Miner)McKnight3:36
9."Home for the Holidays"McKnight3:18
10."Don't Let Me Go"McKnight4:14
11."Christmas Eve with You" (featuring Dave Koz and Julie McKnight)McKnight6:20

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Bethlehem. [3]

Charts

Chart (1998)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [4] 95
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [5] 33

Related Research Articles

<i>Anytime</i> (Brian McKnight album) 1997 studio album by Brian McKnight

Anytime is the third studio album by American singer Brian McKnight. It was released by Mercury Records on September 23, 1997 in the United States. Following his moderately successful second album I Remember You (1995), McKnight consulted a wider range of collaborators to work with him on the album, including producers Sean Combs, Keith Thomas, Poke & Tone and songwriters Diane Warren, and Peter Black. While McKnight would provide most of the material by himself, Anytime deviated from the urban adult contemporary sound of his older work, with the former acts taking his music further into the hip hop soul genre.

<i>Unforgettable... with Love</i> 1991 studio album by Natalie Cole

Unforgettable... with Love, also known as simply Unforgettable, is the thirteenth studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on June 11, 1991, the album includes covers of standards previously performed by her father, Nat King Cole. It was also her debut for Elektra Records, after being given her release from EMI Records.

<i>Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles, Vol. 1</i> 2003 compilation album by Ella Fitzgerald

Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles, Vol. 1 is a 2003 compilation album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. The album contains all the singles Fitzgerald recorded for Verve Records label between 1956 and 1965.

<i>Good Times</i> (Kool & the Gang album) 1972 studio album by Kool & the Gang

Good Times is the third studio album, and fifth album of new material released by the funk band Kool & the Gang. The album was released in November 1972, but did not make the Billboard R&B album chart until March 1973; peaking at number 34 during a 6 week run.

<i>Elton John and Tim Rices Aida</i> 1999 soundtrack album by Various Artists

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida is a 1999 concept album that contains songs from, but predates the main production of, the 2000 musical Aida.

<i>Passages</i> (Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass album) 1990 studio album by Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass

Passages is a collaborative chamber music studio album co-composed by Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, released in 1990 through Private Music. Consisting of arrangements by each of the composers around themes written by the other, the album's content is a hybrid of Hindustani classical music and Glass' distinct American minimal contemporary classical style. The album reached a peak position of number three on Billboard's Top World Music Albums chart.

<i>Cool Yule</i> 2006 studio album by Bette Midler

Cool Yule is a first holiday album by American singer Bette Midler. It was released on October 10, 2006, through Columbia Records. The album features many standard Christmas tunes as well as a reworking edition of her Grammy-winning hit "From a Distance". In 2008, Cool Yule was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category.

<i>Christmas Vol. II</i> 1996 album by the American band, Alabama

Christmas Vol. II is the second Christmas album of country music band Alabama. It was released on September 17, 1996.

<i>ClassiKhan</i> 2004 studio album by Chaka Khan

ClassiKhan is the tenth studio album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra, Produced and arranged by Eve Nelson and released in 2004 on the at the time still independent label Sanctuary Records in the U.K., on Earthsong/AgU Music Group in the U.S. and in 2005 also in Japan on JVC Victor.

<i>Breath of Heaven: A Christmas Collection</i> 1998 studio album by Vince Gill

Breath of Heaven: A Christmas Collection is the second Christmas album from American country music artist Vince Gill. It was released in 1998 on MCA Nashville. The album was recorded with the Patrick Williams Orchestra.

<i>Time Again</i> (David Sanborn album) 2003 studio album by David Sanborn

Timeagain is an album by jazz saxophonist David Sanborn that was released by Verve in 2003.

<i>Dedicated to the One I Love</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Linda Ronstadt

Dedicated to the One I Love is an album of rock classics reinterpreted as children's lullabies by American singer, songwriter and producer Linda Ronstadt.

<i>Shaken Not Stirred</i> (David Benoit album) 1994 studio album by David Benoit

Shaken Not Stirred is an album by American pianist David Benoit released in 1994, recorded for the GRP label. The album reached #14 on Billboard's Jazz chart.

<i>The Sound of Music: Music from the NBC Television Event</i> 2013 soundtrack album by Various artists

The Sound of Music: Music from the NBC Television Event, also known as The Sound of Music: 2013 NBC Television Cast, or sometimes simply The Sound of Music, is a soundtrack album for The Sound of Music Live! released by Sony Masterworks on December 3, 2013. Released in CD and digital download formats, the album includes studio recordings instead of live tracks; the live performance was broadcast two days after the album release. A bonus compilation of nine instrumental tracks from the score was available exclusively through Walmart outlets. The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Billboard Soundtracks.

<i>Holiday for Swing</i> 2014 studio album by Seth MacFarlane

Holiday for Swing is the second studio album and first Christmas album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane, released by Republic Records on September 30, 2014. It is available on CD, vinyl and as a digital download. The album is a collection of Christmas songs and contains collaborations with artists including Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles. It also features Frank Sinatra's bassist Chuck Berghofer as well as a 65-piece orchestra. The album is the follow-up to MacFarlane's Grammy-nominated 2011 debut album Music Is Better Than Words. Like Music Is Better Than Words, Holiday for Swing was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely.

<i>No One Ever Tells You</i> 2015 studio album by Seth MacFarlane

No One Ever Tells You is the third studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane. The album was released on September 30, 2015 through Republic Records. The album features Frank Sinatra's bassist Chuck Berghofer as well as a 65-piece orchestra. The album is the follow-up to MacFarlane's 2014 Christmas album Holiday for Swing. Like his two previous albums, No One Ever Tells You was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely. The album earned MacFarlane a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas Eve (Gwen Stefani song)</span> 2017 song by Gwen Stefani

"Christmas Eve" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). The song was written by Stefani, Justin Tranter, and busbee, with the latter of the three handling production alongside Eric Valentine. It was the first song conceived for the album, and "originated from a run Stefani took in rural Oklahoma. Details about the song first emerged in August 2017, when its title appeared as a registered work on two global music databases. The song a slow-burning Christmas ballad with lyrics that reference the holiday season.

<i>Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls</i> 1983 studio album by Sister Sledge

Bet Cha Say That to All The Girls is the seventh studio album by American R&B and pop girl group Sister Sledge. It was released in 1983 on the Cotillion Records label. Singles from the album included "B.Y.O.B ", "Gotta Get Back to Love", "Thank You for the Party". The album peaked at number 169 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 35 on the Top R&B Albums chart in 1983.

<i>Let Me Know You</i> 1982 studio album by Stanley Clarke

Let Me Know You is the eighth studio album by American bassist and record producer Stanley Clarke. It was released on April 13, 1982 through Epic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California. The album features contributions from various musicians, including Darlene Love, David Lasley and Marcy Levy on backing vocals, Denzil "Broadway" Miller, Greg Phillinganes and Todd Cochran on keyboards, Michael Sembello and Carlos Santana on guitars, Paulinho da Costa on percussion, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Rick Shlosser, Steve Ferrone, Gordon Peeke and Roger Linn on drums.

<i>Guardian of the Light</i> 1983 studio album by George Duke

Guardian of the Light is the seventeenth studio album by American keyboardist and record producer George Duke. It was released in 1983 through Epic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in Los Angeles at The Complex, Le Gonks West and Ocean Way Recording. Duke used a variety of keyboard instruments, such as Rhodes electric piano, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Korg Polysix, ARP Odyssey, Clavitar Solo, Minimoog, melodeon, melodica, and also Sennheiser and Roland vocoders, and LinnDrum machine. The album features contributions from various musicians, including vocalists Jeffrey Osborne and Lynn Davis, guitarists Michael Sembello and Charles Fearing, bassists Louis Johnson and Byron Miller, drummers John Robinson and Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, percussionist Paulinho da Costa, trumpeters Gary Grant and Jerry Hey, trombonist Lew McCreary, conductor George Del Barrio with a musical ensemble of string instrument players.

References

  1. 1 2 Boldman, Gina. Bethlehem at AllMusic
  2. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. The Rolling Stone Album Guide . ISBN   9780743201698 . Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  3. Bethlehem (liner notes). Brian McKnight. Mercury Records. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. "Brian McKnight Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. "Brian McKnight Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.