Maps of Music

The Gift (1996)

Where the lyrics of The Gift take you, and where it was really made.

A holiday album by a country star, whose Wynonna Judd duet 'Mary, Did You Know?' reached No. 55 on Hot Country Songs in 1997.

Key places

Recording credit at Creative Recording, Berry Hill (1996)

Recording site Creative Recording — Recording credit points to Creative Recording in Berry Hill, Tennessee. The marker sits at the Berry Hill town center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Gift: twenty-seventh studio album by Kenny Rogers
• A holiday album by a country music singer
• Released in 1996 via Magnatone Records
• Features 'Mary, Did You Know?' with Wynonna Judd
• The duet version of 'Mary, Did You Know?' charted at No. 55 on Hot Country Songs in 1997
• Nine tracks on the track listing
• Longest track: 'The Chosen One Montage' at 15:43

Background

• 'The Chosen One Montage' strings together The Chosen One, Away in a Manger, O Holy Night, Silent Night, The First Noel, We Three Kings and Joy to the World
• Management credited to Ken Kragen
• Liner notes written by Kenny Rogers himself

Recording

• Brent Maher credited as producer and recording/mixing engineer on tracks 1 to 6 and 9
• Jim McKell credited as producer and recording engineer on tracks 1 to 6 and 9, mix assistant on the same tracks, and mixer on track 7
• Kevin Myers credited with recording on track 7
• Additional engineers: Frank Green, Mills Logan and Paul Skaife (assistant engineer as well)
• Digital editing: Don Cobb and Carlos Grier
• Mastering: Denny Purcell, with editing and mastering at Georgetown Masters in Nashville, Tennessee
• Nashville String Machine plays strings on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9
• Choir sings on tracks 2, 4, 5 and 8
• Guest vocals: Wynonna Judd on track 1, The Katinas on track 3, GLAD on track 7
• Bergen White handles orchestral and choral arrangements

Cover

• Art direction: Carden & Cherry, Inc.
• Photography: Matthew Barnes
• Photograph of Kenny Rogers: Don Mantooth

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kenneth Donald Ray Rogers was born on August 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas, and began his recording career in the late 1950s with the Houston group the Scholars.
• He was an American country singer-songwriter who moved from teenage rock and roll through psychedelic rock to become a country-pop crossover artist of the 1970s and 1980s.
• In 1967 he co-founded the First Edition with former New Christy Minstrels members, later renamed Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.

Members

• The First Edition's members included Mike Settle, Terry Williams, Thelma Camacho, and Kin Vassy.
• Rogers's backing band Bloodline has toured with him since 1976.

Career

• The First Edition scored hits including "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" before the group disbanded in 1976.
• As a solo artist he charted more than 60 top-40 singles, including the number-one hits "Lady" and "Islands in the Stream".
• He recorded duets with Dottie West, Dolly Parton, and Sheena Easton, and partnered with Lionel Richie as songwriter.
• His signature song "The Gambler" won a Grammy in 1980 and was selected for the National Recording Registry in 2018.
• He sold more than 100 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
• He retired from touring in 2017 and died on March 20, 2020, at age 81.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote that the album suffers from uneven material and the occasional indifferent performance
• Erlewine found enough good moments to make it worthwhile for hardcore Kenny fans
• Erlewine found there were not enough moments to interest less dedicated listeners
• This verdict is the critical reception cited for the album

Records

• Released in 1996 via Magnatone Records
• 'Mary, Did You Know?' featuring Wynonna Judd is the album's chart-linked track
• That version charted at No. 55 on Hot Country Songs in 1997, as a song chart entry rather than an album chart entry
• Holiday release: the twenty-seventh studio album by Kenny Rogers
• Nine tracks on the track listing, including a 15:43 montage

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Mary, Did You Know?' featuring Wynonna Judd charted at No. 55 on Hot Country Songs in 1997
• The Italian Wikipedia entry lists nine tracks, with 'The Chosen One Montage' running 15:43
• The montage contains seven carols and hymns, including Silent Night and O Holy Night
• The Katinas appear on 'Pretty Little Baby Child', and Wynonna Judd on 'Mary, Did You Know?'
• Management credited to Ken Kragen

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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