The Sweetest Gift (Trisha Yearwood album)

The Sweetest Gift is the fourth studio album (and first Christmas album) by country singer Trisha Yearwood.

The Sweetest Gift
Studio album by Trisha Yearwood
Released	September 13, 1994
Recorded	1994
Studio	Sound Emporium (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Christmas
Length	32:32
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Garth Fundis
Trisha Yearwood chronology
The Song Remembers When: A Live Concert Performance (1993) The Sweetest Gift (1994) Thinkin' About You (1995)
Alternative cover
2000 re-release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(favorable)[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]

Composition and release

Yearwood sings a mixture of familiar traditional and popular material, along with more recent compositions such as "It Wasn't His Child" and "There's a New Kid in Town".

Two of its tracks managed to achieve positions near the lower end of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. "It Wasn't His Child" peaked at #60, and "Reindeer Boogie" at #63. The album rose to the #17 position in the Country Albums chart. A re-release of the album in 2000 has a different album cover, a promotional photograph taken during the Real Live Woman promotional period.

Reception

The album was a given a positive review by Allmusic, receiving 4 out of 5 stars.^[1]

Track listing

1. "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (Bob MacGimsey) – 2:42
2. "Reindeer Boogie" (Charlie Faircloth, Hank Snow, Cordia Volkmar) – 2:38
3. "Take a Walk Through Bethlehem" (Ashley Cleveland, John Barlow Jarvis, Wally Wilson) – 3:49
4. "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 3:00
5. "It Wasn't His Child" (Skip Ewing) – 3:54
6. "Away in a Manger" (traditional) – 2:39
7. "The Sweetest Gift" (James Coats) – 3:02
8. "There's a New Kid in Town" (Don Cook, Curly Putman, Keith Whitley) – 4:27
9. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:26
10. "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:58

Personnel

Musicians

• Trisha Yearwood – lead vocals, harmony vocals (2, 5, 6, 7)
• Steve Nathan – keyboards (1), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5–10)
• Matt Rollings – acoustic piano (1)
• Becky Priest – acoustic piano (4)
• Billy Joe Walker Jr. – acoustic guitar (2, 3, 5–10)
• Bobby All – acoustic guitar (4)
• Biff Watson – acoustic guitar (7)
• Dann Huff – electric guitar (2)
• Brent Mason – electric guitar (3, 5–10)
• Johnny Garcia – electric guitar (4)
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), dobro (7)
• Stuart Duncan – mandolin (7), fiddle (7)
• Dave Pomeroy – bass (2, 3, 5–10)
• Jay Hager – bass (4)
• Eddie Bayers – drums (2, 3, 5–10)
• Rick McClure – drums (4)
• Sam Bacco – percussion (3, 5, 9)
• Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica (1, 10)
• Aubrey Haynie – fiddle (2)
• Heather Risser – fiddle (4)
• John Hobbs – string arrangements (5, 6, 8)
• Ashley Cleveland – harmony vocals (3)
• Garth Fundis – harmony vocals (5)
• Beth Yearwood Bernard – harmony vocals (7)

The Nashville String Machine

• Bob Mason – cello
• Jim Grosjean – viola
• Lee Larrison – viola
• Kristin Wilkinson – viola
• David Davidson – violin
• Connie Ellisor – violin
• Carl Gorodetzky – violin
• Pamela Sixfin – violin
• Alan Umstead – violin
• Mary Kathryn Vanosdale – violin

Production

• Garth Fundis – producer, mixing
• Gary Laney – recording
• Dave Sinko – recording, mixing
• Carlos Grier – digital editing
• Denny Purcell – mastering
• Georgetown Masters (Nashville, Tennessee) – mastering location
• Scott Paschall – production assistant
• Katherine DeVault – art direction, design
• Jim "Señor" McGuire – photography

2000 Reissue

• Randee St. Nicholas – photography
• Virginia Team – art direction
• Jerry Joyner – design
• Debra Wingo – hair stylist

Charts

Album

Chart (1994)	Peak position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[4]	17
US Billboard 200[5]	105
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[6]	17

Singles

Title	Date	Chart	Peak position
"It Wasn't His Child"	January 6, 1995	US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7]	60
"Reindeer Boogie"	January 8, 1999	US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8]	63

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.