Celebrate Me Home (song)

Last updated
"Celebrate Me Home"
Song by Kenny Loggins
from the album Celebrate Me Home
ReleasedApril 1977 (1977-04)
Genre Pop
Length4:41
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Kenny Loggins, Bob James
Producer(s) Phil Ramone, Bob James

"Celebrate Me Home" is a song written by Bob James and Kenny Loggins, and recorded by Loggins as the title track of his 1977 debut solo album Celebrate Me Home .

Contents

Release

Though not commercially released as a single, the promotional single reached No. 64 on the Record World Singles Chart. It evolved into one of Loggins' better-known songs, especially as it became a popular staple of radio stations' Christmas music playlists due to its opening line ("Home for the holidays"). It is included on Loggins' Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow and The Essential compilations, as well as his 1993 Outside: From the Redwoods live album. Its Christmastime presence is exemplified by its appearance on Best Buy's Sweet Tracks 2004 set.

Personnel

Other notable versions

The song was also sung by Jill Colucci for Disney Channel's 1990 Celebrate Me Home campaign, which is named after the song. The campaign was mostly featured during the channel's Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall Previews.

Ruben Studdard, winner of American Idol in its second season, recorded a cover of "Celebrate Me Home" to be used as the show's seventh season Top 12 exit song. [1] Produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Studdard's rendition omitted the song's first-line holiday mention, to give it a more general feel. [1] The Studdard recording was made available for iTunes download on March 12, 2008, [1] as Loggins' original recording also prospered from new downloads. [1]

The song was sampled for Common's "Celebrate" on his 2011 album The Dreamer/The Believer .

The cast of the ABC television series Nashville covered the song on their 2014 album Christmas with Nashville .

LeAnn Rimes covered the song on her 2015 album Today Is Christmas as a duet with Gavin DeGraw. The song was released as a promotional single and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. [2]

In 2016, Jennifer Nettles covered the song on her album To Celebrate Christmas .

In 2020, the Christian band CAIN, Elizabeth Chan, and Josh Groban released their own covers of the song.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LeAnn Rimes</span> American singer (born 1982)

Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at the age of 13 and has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Christian, and other musical genres. Rimes has placed more than 40 singles on international charts since 1996. She has sold more than 48 million records worldwide, with 20.8 million album sales in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard ranked her at number 17 in terms of sales success in the 1990–1999 decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Loggins</span> American singer and guitarist (born 1948)

Kenneth Clark Loggins is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His early soundtrack contributions date back to A Star Is Born in 1976, and he is known as the "King of the Movie Soundtrack". As a solo artist, Loggins experienced a string of soundtrack successes, including an Academy Award nomination for "Footloose" in 1985. Finally Home was released in 2013, shortly after Loggins formed the group Blue Sky Riders with Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman. He won a Daytime Emmy Award, two Grammy Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruben Studdard</span> American singer (born 1978)

Ruben Studdard is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar". In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings", "Sorry 2004", and "Change Me", but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain't Misbehavin', which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deana Carter</span> American country singer-songwriter (born 1966)

Deana Kay Carter is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?, which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States for sales of over 5 million. It was followed by 1998's Everything's Gonna Be Alright, 2003's I'm Just a Girl, 2005's The Story of My Life, and 2007's The Chain. Overall, Carter's albums have accounted for 14 singles, including three which reached Number One on the Billboard country charts: "Strawberry Wine", "We Danced Anyway", and "How Do I Get There".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael McDonald (musician)</span> American musician, singer, and keyboardist (born 1952)

Michael H. McDonald is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. Known for his distinctive, soulful voice, he was a backing vocalist for Steely Dan from 1975 to 1980 and the lead vocalist of the Doobie Brothers across various stints. McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", and "Takin' It to the Streets." McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Steely Dan, Toto, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.

<i>Some Hearts</i> 2005 studio album by Carrie Underwood

Some Hearts is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood, released on November 14, 2005, by Arista Nashville. The album contains the number one country singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Don't Forget to Remember Me", "Wasted", and "Before He Cheats". The album contains the Billboard Hot 100 number one single, "Inside Your Heaven", as a bonus track.

<i>Loggins and Messina</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Loggins and Messina

Loggins and Messina is the second album by singer-songwriters Loggins and Messina, released in 1972.

The studio albums in the American Idol compilation series are compilations of songs by American Idol contestants normally released every year towards the end of the season or after the season has ended. For the first five seasons, the albums consist of cover songs from all the finalists of the season, and is released as CDs before the last episode by RCA Records. After season 5, such compilations were released only sporadically. Compilations for individual contestants were released digitally starting season 6. No compilations were released in season 7.

<i>Blue</i> (LeAnn Rimes album) 1996 studio album by LeeAnn Rimes

Blue is the debut major-label album and third studio album by American country music artist LeAnn Rimes, released on July 9, 1996 in the United States, shortly before the singer’s fourteenth birthday, by Curb Records. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200, and number one on the Top Country Albums chart.

<i>Twisted Angel</i> 2002 studio album by LeAnn Rimes

Twisted Angel is the seventh studio album by American country pop artist LeAnn Rimes, released in the United States on October 1, 2002, by Curb Records. After a legal battle with the label and her father, she re-signed with the label. Rimes began recording of the album in 1999. It is her first album that her father, Wilbur C. Rimes, has no production or writing credits on. Unlike the country albums that made her famous, Twisted Angel is a pop album with influences of hip hop, techno, and rock; it was Rimes' attempt at a pop crossover album in the vein of Faith Hill's Cry (2002). Rimes co-produced the record with Desmond Child, Peter Amato, and Gregg Pagani. She described the album as an exploration of more adult sounds and themes. Rimes co-wrote four of the album's 13 tracks.

<i>Celebrate Me Home</i> 1977 studio album by Kenny Loggins

Celebrate Me Home is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. It was released on April 13, 1977, by Columbia Records. The album was Loggins' first since Loggins and Messina ended in 1976, represents a slight move away from the folk-rock leanings of his previous recordings towards a more polished, soft rock sound.

"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, that has been a hit for many artists in different genres in the years since. The best-known versions are by the Carpenters in 1971, Luther Vandross in 1983, and Sonic Youth in 1994.

"Top Gun Anthem" is an instrumental rock composition and the theme of the Top Gun media franchise, including the original 1986 film Top Gun and its 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Harold Faltermeyer wrote the music with Steve Stevens playing guitar and Faltermeyer on the keyboard on the recording. In the film, the full song is played in the film's ending scene.

Gary Burr is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, primarily in the country music genre. Many of the songs he has written have become Top-10 hits, the first of which was "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" released by Juice Newton in 1982. He became a member of the group Pure Prairie League, taking over after Vince Gill departed the group. Burr later moved to Nashville to focus on his songwriting career, though he has continued performing and is currently a member of the Blue Sky Riders. He has written and co-written songs for many country artists, and a few songs for Pop and Rock artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Brown (musician)</span> American songwriter

Darrell Brown is an American songwriter, arranger, manager and record producer who has collaborated with recording artists and contributed music to the film and television industries. Brown maintains residences in both Los Angeles, United States (US), and Nashville, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue (Bill Mack song)</span> 1958 single by Bill Mack

"Blue" is a song released in 1958 by Bill Mack, an American songwriter-country artist and country radio disc jockey. It has since been covered by several artists, in particular by country singer LeAnn Rimes, whose 1996 version became a hit. The song won Mack the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Country Song, a 1996 Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year, a 1997 Country Music Association Awards nomination for Song of the Year, a 1997 Country Radio Music Awards nomination for Song of the Year, and is included on the CMT list of the top 100 country songs of all time. Rimes' rendition won the 1996 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

<i>Christmas Spirit</i> (Richard Marx album) 2012 studio album by Richard Marx

Christmas Spirit is a Christmas seasonal release album by Richard Marx, released in October 2012. Five tracks on the album previously appeared on his 2011 release, The Christmas EP. Christmas Spirit reached No. 181 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 21 on the Billboard Top Christmas Albums chart.

<i>Today Is Christmas</i> 2015 studio album by LeAnn Rimes

Today Is Christmas is the fourteenth studio album and second Christmas album by American singer LeAnn Rimes. Released in 2015, it features holiday classics and two original songs co-written by Rimes. The album has sold 35,700 copies in the United States as of January 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Believe in Love (Kenny Loggins song)</span> 1977 single by Kenny Loggins

"I Believe in Love" is the debut solo single by American musician Kenny Loggins. It was written by Loggins with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The song was introduced by Barbra Streisand in the 1976 film A Star Is Born, and appears on its soundtrack album. It was released in November 1976 as the B-side to the album's first single, "Evergreen ".

<i>Its Christmas, Eve</i> 2018 soundtrack album by LeAnn Rimes

It's Christmas, Eve is a soundtrack album by American singer LeAnn Rimes. It was released on October 12, 2018, via EverLeRecords and Thirty Tigers. The project was the soundtrack Rimes recorded for the 2018 Christmas television film It's Christmas, Eve. A total of nine songs comprised the album, including several original compositions penned by Rimes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Donahue, Ann (2008-02-29). "Ruben Returns For 'Idol' Farewell Track". Billboard . Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  2. "LeAnn Rimes - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-27.