The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection
The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection is Reba McEntire's twenty-fifth album, and second Christmas album, the follow-up to her 1987 album Merry Christmas to You. The album features mostly new, original holiday tunes with only a couple of traditional favorites. The children featured on "The Angels Sang" are actually the class of her son Shelby who was in the third grade at the time. The album peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard country chart and is currently certified Gold by the RIAA.It has sold 940,000 copies as of December 2013 in the US, and over 1 million copies worldwide.
| The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 21, 1999[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 34:51 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | David Malloy Reba McEntire | |||
| Reba McEntire chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
The album was followed by a CBS made-for-television movie also called The Secret of Giving. The film starred McEntire and aired on Thanksgiving night in 1999. It featured songs from the album as its soundtrack.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is My Prayer for You" | Tony Arata, Gary Scruggs | 3:40 |
| 2. | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | Tommie Connor | 3:44 |
| 3. | "One Child, One Day" | Gerry House, Layng Martine Jr. | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Mary, Did You Know?" | Buddy Greene, Mark Lowry | 3:21 |
| 5. | "Up on the Housetop" | Benjamin Hanby | 2:07 |
| 6. | "The Angels Sang" | Helen Darling, Peggy Newman | 3:45 |
| 7. | "Santa Claus Is Coming Back to Town" | Roxie Dean, Lonnie Melvin Tillis | 3:35 |
| 8. | "The Secret of Giving" | Rick Bowles, Sunny Russ | 3:55 |
| 9. | "This Christmas" | Bowles | 3:52 |
| 10. | "Til the Season Comes 'Round Again" | Randy Goodrum, John Barlow Jarvis | 3:34 |
Personnel
- Reba McEntire - lead vocals
- Eddie Bayers - drums
- Paul Leim - drums
- Richard "Spady" Brannan - bass guitar
- Glenn Worf - bass guitar, upright bass
- B. James Lowry - acoustic guitar
- Biff Watson - acoustic guitar
- Jeff King - electric guitar
- Brent Mason - electric guitar
- Jerry McPherson - electric guitar
- Jimmy Nichols - keyboards, background vocals
- Larry Franklin - fiddle
- Terry Crisp - steel guitar
- Paul Franklin - steel guitar
- Eric Darken - percussion
- Will Smith - autoharp
- Liana Manis - background vocals
- Joe Chemay - background vocals
Chart performance
Album
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums[2] | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard 200[2] | 85 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Holiday Albums[2] | 8 |
Charted songs
| Year | Single | US Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "I'll Be Home for Christmas"[3] | 68 |
| "Away in a Manger"[3] | 73 | |
| 2000 | "Secret of Giving"[3] | 58 |
| "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"[3] | 50 |
Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[4] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection at AllMusic
- "Reba McEntire | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- "Reba McEntire - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- "American album certifications – Reba Mc Entire – The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
