| This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 15, 1998 | |||
| Length | 49:43 | |||
| Label | Surefire | |||
| Teddy Pendergrass chronology | ||||
| ||||
This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love) is the fourteenth and final studio album by American singer Teddy Pendergrass. It was released by Surefire Records on September 15, 1998. Upon release, the album debuted at number 83 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. [1] In 2010, it peaked at number 43 on the Top Holiday Albums chart. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
AllMusic reviewer Marvin Jolly wrote that "Pendergrass' smoldering vocals make This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love) one of the most romantic seasonal records on the market." [3]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Joy to the World" | 5:02 | |
| 2. | "The Little Drummer Boy" |
| 4:07 |
| 3. | "Christmas and You" |
| 4:09 |
| 4. | "The Christmas Song" | 4:09 | |
| 5. | "Having a Christmas Party" | Reggie Calloway | 4:50 |
| 6. | "I Won't Have Christmas" |
| 3:16 |
| 7. | "We Three Kings" | John Henry Hopkins Jr. | 5:28 |
| 8. | "Oh Holy Night" | Traditional | 4:20 |
| 9. | "Happy Kwanzaa" | Calloway | 5:12 |
| 10. | "This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love)" | Dodd Stocker-Edwards | 2:47 |
| 11. | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" | 5:38 |
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [1] | 83 |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard) [2] | 48 |
Theodore DeReese Pendergrass was an American singer. Born in Philadelphia at Thomas Jefferson Hospital. Pendergrass was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group over monetary disputes in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing five consecutive platinum albums, a record at the time for an African-American R&B artist. Pendergrass's career was suspended after a March 1982 car crash that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. Pendergrass died from respiratory failure in January 2010.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Raised in Opelika, Alabama, he later relocated to New Jersey and he signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Snowflakes is the fourth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton. It was released on October 23, 2001, by Arista Records. Her first Christmas album, it is a follow-up to her 2000 studio album The Heat. Snowflakes consists of 11 tracks, featuring five R&B-led original songs co-penned with her former husband Keri Lewis and longtime collaborator Babyface, as well as several remixes and cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, one of which is a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy. Throughout the creation process, Braxton also collaborated with L.A. Reid, Poke & Tone, Daryl Simmons and her younger sister Tamar Braxton.
Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album, and the fourth studio album, by American singer-songwriter and producer Mariah Carey. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas tunes and original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling holiday ringtone in the United States.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 79 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It was certified six-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. Its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
My Life is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige, released on November 29, 1994, by Uptown Records. Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's battling with both drugs and alcohol, as well as being in an abusive relationship. Unlike her debut, What's the 411? (1992), Blige co-wrote fourteen of the album's tracks, making it her most introspective and personal album at the time. Similar to her debut album, My Life features vast production from Sean "Puffy" Combs for his newly founded label, Bad Boy Entertainment, which was at the time backed by Arista Records.
Still Ghetto is the second studio album by American R&B singer Jaheim. It was released by Divine Mill Records and Warner Bros. Records on November 5, 2002 in the United States. Released to favorable reviews, it debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 and number three on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with first-week sales of 111,000 copies, eventually reaching platinum for selling a million domestic copies.
Lil' Romeo is the self-titled debut studio album by American rapper, Lil' Romeo. It was released July 3, 2001 on No Limit Records, Soulja Music and Priority Records. The album has features production by Master P, Carlos Stephens and Sean "Barney" Thomas; the album also has guest appearances by Freequan, Silkk the Shocker, Lil' Zane, Allusion, Little D, 6 Piece and Afficial.
"Who Can I Run To" is a 1979 song written by Charles B. Simmons, Frank Alstin, Jr, Richard Roebuck and originally recorded by The Jones Girls. The song was the B-side to "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else". Billboard named the song #58 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.
Superhero is the sixth album by American singer Brian McKnight. It was first released by Motown Records on August 28, 2001 in the United States. McKnight recorded this album to showcase his many musical influences and give listeners a glimpse into the past year of his life. Superhero mixes McKnight's usual contemporary R&B style with a touch of rock and roll and rap music. McKnight worked with a variety of producers on the album, including Battlecat, Bill Meyers, Anthony Nance, Steve Thompson, and Lavel "City Spud" Webb. Featured guest vocalists were Justin Timberlake, Nate Dogg, Fred Hammond, and hip hop group St. Lunatics.
Self Explanatory is the debut studio album by American rapper I-20. It was released on October 5, 2004 via Disturbing tha Peace/Capitol Records. Production was handled by Salaam Remi, Groove Junkeys, The Heatmakerz, Craig Love, DJ Paul, Hot Runner, Joe Traxx, Juicy J, Lil' Jon, Red Spyda and Ski. It features guest appearances from Butch Cassidy, Ludacris, 2 Chainz, Bone Crusher, Chingy, Devin the Dude, Juvenile, Lil' Fate, Shawnna and Three 6 Mafia. The album peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200 and at #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States.
Nahum Thorton Grymes, better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actor. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. His debut album, Back of My Lac', was released in October 2007 and peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200. The album would also hit number 32 in the United Kingdom. Back of My Lac' has sold just over 700,000 copies worldwide.
"Wake Up Everybody" is an R&B song written by John Whitehead, Gene McFadden and Victor Carstarphen.
Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture The Wood is the soundtrack Rick Famuyiwa's 1999 film The Wood. It was released on July 13, 1999 through Jive Records and consisted of hip hop and R&B music. The album peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200, number 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and went Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on August 25, 1999.
A Little More Magic is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass. It was released by Elektra Records on September 14, 1993 in the United States. This was the third and last album Pendergrass recorded for Elektra, and was commercially the least successful of the three despite featuring songwriting and production credits from well-known names such as Barry White, Gerald Levert and Leon Huff as well as Reggie and Vincent Calloway.
You and I is the thirteenth studio album by American singer Teddy Pendergrass. It was released on April 15, 1997, on Wind-Up Records. Pendergrass, who had a hand in writing and producing all the tracks except for the interlude, the title track and "One in a Million You", which was a cover of the 1980 Larry Graham song of the same name, consulted Terry Coffey, Dennis Matkosky, Jon Nettlesbey, and Jim Salamone to work with him on You and I.
"Hold Me" is a ballad duet performed by American singers Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston from the former's eight studio album Love Language (1984). It was written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed, while the production was overseen by Masser who used one of his earlier arrangements that he had produced for "In Your Arms", a song recorded by singer Diana Ross for her 1982 album Silk Electric, on the duet. "Hold Me" was Houston's first ever single of her career and was later included in Houston's 1985 self-titled debut album.
"Happy People" is a song by American R&B recording artist R. Kelly. Like Kelly's previous single, "Step in the Name of Love", the song is about the stepping dance. It was released on September 14, 2004 as the lead single from the 2004 double-album, Happy People/U Saved Me. The song went to number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. In some territories, it was released as a double A-side with "U Saved Me"; this issue peaked at number six in the United Kingdom.
Miles Jaye Davis, known professionally as Miles Jaye, is an American R&B and jazz singer, jazz violinist, songwriter, and record producer. He had several hits on the US R&B chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the biggest of which was "Let's Start Love Over" in 1987. He was for a time the lead singer of Village People.
A Mary Christmas is the eleventh studio album and first Christmas album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was released on October 15, 2013, by Matriarch, Interscope and Verve Records. The album was primarily produced by David Foster, and features guest appearances from Barbra Streisand, Chris Botti, Jessie J, The Clark Sisters, and Marc Anthony.