''You Just Gotta Love Christmas'' (2004) is the eighth and final solo album by former
Chicago member
Peter Cetera, and his only
Christmas album. This album featured some artwork by Cetera's youngest daughter Senna, and his oldest daughter Claire performs with him on "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland".
Alison Krauss performs with Cetera on "Deck the Halls". In a 2017 article, writer David White listed the album among his list of sixteen "essential classic rock Christmas albums."
Track listing
# "
Let It Snow" (
Sammy Cahn,
Jule Styne
Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...
) – 2:59
# "
Christmas Song
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
" (
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...
,
Robert Wells) – 3:36
# "
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (
J. Fred Coots,
Haven Gillespie) – 3:10
# "
Blue Christmas" (with Claire Cetera) (Billy Hayes, Jay Johnson) – 3:19
# "
Deck The Halls" (with
Alison Krauss) (traditional - Peter Cetera, Tony Harrell) – 3:10
# "
I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Buck Ram,
Walter Kent, Kim Gannon) – 2:40
# "You Just Gotta Love Christmas" (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:17
# "
Jingle Bells" (traditional - Cetera, Harrell) – 3:36
# "
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (traditional - Cetera, Harrell) – 3:01
# "
Winter Wonderland" (with Claire Cetera) (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2:57
# "Something that Santa Claus Left Behind" (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:56
# "Alone for the Holidays" (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:58
Personnel
*
Peter Cetera – lead and backing vocals, bass
* Tony Harrell – keyboards, programming
*
Tom Bukovac – guitars
*
Bruce Gaitsch – guitars
*
Kenny Greenberg – guitars
* B. James Lowry – guitars
* Jerry McPherson – guitars
*
Mike Brignardello – bass
* Craig Nelson – bass
*
Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass
*
Glenn Worf – bass
*
Greg Morrow – drums, additional programming
*
Eric Darken
Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer.
Biography
Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...
– percussion
* Jack Gavin –
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
s
* Kirk "JellyRoll" Johnson –
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
*
Jim Horn – saxophones, sax solos
* Chris Dunn – trombone
* Ben Strano – trombone, trumpet solos
* Steve Herrman – trumpet
*
John Mock
John Mock is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, and photographer with a particular interest in the topic of maritime history and culture.
Biography Early years
Mock is a native of Connecticut’s eastern shore. His f ...
–
pipes, buron,
penny whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...
*
Chris Carmichael – strings
* Claire Cetera – backing vocals on "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland"
*
Alison Krauss – backing vocals on "Deck The Halls"
Production
* Produced, Written and Arranged by Peter Cetera and Tony Harrell.
* Recorded and Mixed at The Hum Depot (Nashville, TN).
* Recording Engineer – Ben Strano
* Additional Engineering – Chuck Bracco and Scott Velasco
* Mixed by Joe Hardy
* Mastered by Mark Chevalier and Jim Demain at Yes Master (Nashville, TN).
* Package Art and Design – Vickey Hanson
* Inside Artwork – Senna Cetera
References
{{Authority control
Peter Cetera albums
2004 Christmas albums
Christmas albums by American artists
Rock Christmas albums