''Chicago 25: The Christmas Album'' is the nineteenth studio album by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

band

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, their twenty-fifth overall, released in 1998 on the band's Chicago Records label. It is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

songs. The album was re-issued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

in 2003 as ''What's It Gonna Be, Santa?'' with six additional, newly recorded tracks. Produced by

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

, the original album – featuring Chicago's interpretations of well-known Christmas classics plus one original tune (co-penned by Lee Loughnane) – was very well received upon its release in August 1998, peaking at #47 in the US and going gold during a stay of 7 weeks on the charts. After Chicago entered into a long-term partnership with

in 2002, that label re-issued ''Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album'' that same year. It was further decided to record six additional Christmas songs – with '' Hot Streets'' and '' Chicago 13'' producer

Phil Ramone Philip Rabinowitz (January 5, 1934March 30, 2013), better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, and co-founder of A & R recording studio. Its success led to expansion ...

– and re-issue the whole package in 2003 under a new design, title and sequencing, entitled ''What's It Gonna Be, Santa?'', deleting its predecessor in the process. Guitarist Keith Howland sang his first lead vocal on the track, "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas". This later release reached #102 in the US during a stay of 5 weeks on the charts.

Track listings

''Chicago 25: The Christmas Album''

''What's It Gonna Be, Santa?''

(New additions in ''italic'')

Personnel

Chicago

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago (band), Chicago from 1 ...

–

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 14–17, 20), backing vocals (1–3, 6–14, 16, 18, 20), arrangements (1, 4, 7, 14, 17), BGV arrangements (1, 2, 6–14, 16, 20), lead vocals (4, 7, 10, 11, 14), synth keyboards (4), synth vibes (6), acoustic guitar (7), brass arrangements (7, 14), acoustic piano (10), electric piano (14, 17), computer programming (14, 17), all vocals (17), guitars (17), synth bass (17), vocal arrangements (17) *

Keith Howland Keith Howland (born August 14, 1964) is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago from 1995 to 2021. Biography Howland started playing the guitar at the age of seven, and he played in a number of ban ...

– guitars (1–3, 5–8, 10–12, 14–16, 20), lead vocals (3), backing vocals (3), arrangements (3, 11), BGV arrangements (3), keyboards (11) *

Tris Imboden Gregory Tristan "Tris" Imboden (born July 27, 1951) is an American rock and jazz drummer. As a performer, he has been in studio sessions and on tour with some of the most notable and highest-selling musicians of all time. He was the drummer fo ...

– drums (1–8, 10–12, 14–18, 20), arrangements (3) *

Robert Lamm Robert William Lamm (born October 13, 1944) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for his songwriting, vocals, and keyboard melodies, most significantly on the band's debut studio album, ''Chic ...

– lead vocals (1, 6, 8, 15, 20), acoustic piano (1–3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12), arrangements (1, 6, 8, 15, 20), brass arrangements (1, 8, 15),

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

(5), electric piano (6, 15, 16), backing vocals (3),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(10) *

Lee Loughnane Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/wo ...

– trumpet (1–5, 7, 8, 10–13, 16–18, 20),

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

(1, 6, 13–15, 18), lead vocals (2, 7, 12), arrangements (2, 7, 12, 16, 18), backing vocals (3, 18),

muted trumpet A mute is a device attached to a musical instrument which changes the instrument's tone quality (timbre) or lowers its volume. Mutes are commonly used on string and brass instruments, especially the trumpet and trombone, and are occasionally us ...

(14), brass arrangements (17, 18),

piccolo trumpet The piccolo trumpet is the smallest member of the trumpet family, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B picco ...

(18), BGV arrangements (18) *

James Pankow James Carter Pankow (born August 20, 1947) is an American trombone player, songwriter, and brass instrument arranger who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for his brass arrangements, and for being one-third of Chi ...

– trombone (1–8, 10–18, 20), brass arrangements (2–6, 8, 10–18, 20), synth keyboards (4), flute arrangements (9), arrangements (10, 13, 16, 19), vocal arrangements (19) *

Walter Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/woodwind section alongside Lee Loughnane and James Pankow. Para ...

– tenor saxophone (1–6, 8, 10–18, 20),

alto flute The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is chara ...

(1, 9), alto saxophone (6, 7, 13, 14, 16),

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(6, 7, 13, 14, 16), C flute (9) *

Jason Scheff Jason Randolph Scheff (born April 16, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, and songwriter who was a frontman for the American rock band Chicago (band), Chicago from 1985 to 2016. Replacing former lead vocalist Peter Cetera, Scheff was the longe ...

– bass (1–3, 5, 7–9, 12, 16), backing vocals (1–3, 6–14, 16, 18, 20), lead vocals (4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16),

electric upright bass The electric upright bass (EUB) is an instrument that can perform the musical function of a double bass. It requires only a minimal or 'skeleton' body to produce sound because it uses a pickup and electronic amplifier and loudspeaker. Therefore, ...

(4, 6, 15, 18, 20), keyboards (9), computer programming (9), arrangements (9), BGV arrangements (9, 10, 13),

fretless bass A fretless bass is an electric bass guitar whose neck lacks frets and thus is smooth like traditional string instruments, and like the neck of an acoustic double bass. While the fretless bass is played in all styles of music, it is most common in ...

(11, 14), electric bass (17)

Additional musicians

– organ (4, 10, 18),

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

(4, 6, 18), keyboards (13), synth bells (18), acoustic piano (19) * George Black – computer programming (9, 13, 18, 19) * John Durill – synth keyboard (18), additional arrangements (19) *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1958 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and th ...

– guitars (4, 11), acoustic guitars (9, 19) *

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– percussion (4, 6, 8, 9, 16, 20) * Larry Klimas – baritone saxophone (3, 10) * Nick Lane – additional arrangements (1) * Carmen Twillie – backing vocals (6, 11, 20) Adult choir on "The Little Drummer Boy" * Carmen Twillie – choir director * Alex Brown,

Tamara Champlin Tamara Champlin (née Matoesian) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career as a session singer in Houston, Houston, Texas, later moving to Los Angeles. She has performed with and written for singers such as Elton John, Leon Russell ...

Alvin Chea Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music, gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood University, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received seve ...

, Gia Ciambotti, H.K. Dorsey, Gary Falcone, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Bobbie Page,

Oren Waters Oren Waters is an American vocalist best known for his work with the backup singing group The Waters, his siblings: Luther, Maxine and Julia. As an ensemble, Waters has been a part of 260 gold and over 100 platinum albums with artists including ...

, Maxine Waters and Mona Lisa Young – choir Children's choir on "Child's Prayer" and "One Little Candle" * Ryan Kelly – children's choir conductor * Amity Addrisi, Michael Amezcua, Alex Bittan, Ryan Bittan, Clark Gable, Kayley Gable, Kate Lamm, Sean Lamm, Dylan Loughnane, River Loughnane, Sarah Pankow, Brittany Scott and Jade Thacker – lead vocals

Production

Chicago XXV * Produced by Roy Bittan * Engineered and Mixed by Ed Thacker * Assisted by Posie Muliadi and Eric Ferguson * Recorded at

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as C ...

(Hollywood, CA);

Rumbo Recorders Rumbo Recorders was a recording studio in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille, the husband and wife team widely known as Captain & Tennille, began building the studio at 20215 ...

(Canoga Park, CA); Gold Mine Studio (Woodland Hills, CA). * Mixed at A&M Studios * Production Coordinator – Valerie Pack * Art Direction and Design –

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

"What's It Gonna Be, Santa?" * Produced by Phil Ramone * Engineered and Mixed by Ed Thacker at Glenwood Place Recording Studios (Burbank, CA). * Additional Production – Chicago and David McLees * Sound Supervision – Lee Loughnane and Jeff Magid * Remastered by David Donnelly at DNA Mastering (Studio City, CA). * Product Manager – Mike Engstrom * Discographical Annotation – Gary Peterson * Editorial Supervision – Cory Fry * Project Assistants – Jimmy Edwards and Tim Scanlin * Art Direction – Hugh Brown and Linda Cobb * Front Cover Photo – Corbis Images * Additional Photography – Getty Images

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago 25 Chicago (band) albums Albums produced by Phil Ramone Albums produced by Roy Bittan 1998 Christmas albums 2003 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Rock Christmas albums Rhino Entertainment Christmas albums