''My Gift to You'' is the first and only Christmas album by American recording artist

Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven top 40 singles on the US R&B char ...

, released on November 11, 1988, by

Tabu Records Tabu Productions was an American record label founded by Clarence Avant in 1975. It focused on R&B and funk. History Avant founded the label after Sussex Records went out of business in June 1975. Tabu Record's flagship release, '' Stormin' ...

. On release, the album was received favorably by the majority of music critics. However, it was not very successful, peaking at No. 149 on the ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

'' and reached No. 54 on ''

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

''. The album only launched one charting single in the UK. "The Christmas Song"/"Thank You for a Good Year" which peaked at No. 30 on the '' UK Singles Chart''., p.360

Critical reception

In a retrospective review, Jason Ankeny of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that "''My Gift to You'' is plainly a product of its era, complete with thick synthesizers and programmed rhythms, and is best enjoyed by listeners still hoping

Santa Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...

brings them acid-washed jeans and Members Only jackets regardless of the year in question."

Track listing

Personnel

– arranger; vocal arrangement; vocals *

Jimmy Jam Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

– arranger; associate producer; choir arrangement;

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

; executive producer; horns; keyboard programming; keyboards;

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

;

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

; producer; rhythm; string arrangements * Terry Lewis – arranger; associate producer; bass; choir arrangement; executive producer;

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

; horns; percussion; rhythm; string arrangements;

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! To ...

– drum programming; drums; keyboards; producer *

Denzil Foster Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! To ...

– drum programming; keyboards *

Jellybean Johnson Garry George "Jellybean" Johnson (born November 19, 1956) is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, record producer and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Early life, family and education As a youth, Johnson relocated from Chi ...

– guitar; percussion * David Agent – guitar * Ira D. Conley – bass; bass (vocal) * Lee Blaskey – arranger; conductor; orchestra production * Michael L. Bowens – saxophone (tenor); tenor (vocal) * Robert Edwards – saxophone (tenor); tenor (vocal) * Terrence Frierson – saxophone (tenor); tenor (vocal) * Dorothy Cates – soprano (vocal) * Shirley Marie Graham – alto; alto (vocals) * Carrie M. Harrington – alto; alto (vocals) * Gary Hines – choir arrangement; director * Wendy Ingram – soprano; soprano (vocal) * Valerie Johnson – soprano; soprano (vocal) *

Lisa Keith Lisa Keith (born 1960), currently known as Lisa Bernard, is an American contemporary/ pop singer, probably best known for her work as a backing vocalist for other artists and lead vocalist on Herb Alpert's hit single from 1987, " Making Love in t ...

– arranger; vocal arrangement; backing vocals * Jennifer L. – alto (vocals) * Patricia Lacy – alto (vocals) * Renee McCall – soprano; soprano (vocal) * Otis Montgomery – saxophone (tenor); tenor (vocal) * Jayn Bell Porter – soprano; soprano (vocal) * Randy Ran – backing vocals * Charles Robinson – bass; bass (vocal) * Alecia Russell – alto * Aleeta D. Russell – alto (vocals) *

Sounds of Blackness Sounds of Blackness is a vocal music, vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B cha ...

– choir; chorus * Jennifer Whitlock – alto; alto (vocals) * David B. Young – bass; bass (vocal)

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:My Gift to You Alexander O'Neal albums 1988 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Tabu Records albums Albums produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Contemporary R&B Christmas albums