Let It Be Christmas is the eleventh studio album and the second Christmas album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. Unlike his first album of Christmas music (1993's Honky Tonk Christmas), this one is composed mainly of renditions of traditional Christmas music. The title track, one of two Christmas songs composed by Jackson, was a top 40 hit for Jackson on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Let It Be Christmas
Studio album (Christmas) by
ReleasedOctober 22, 2002
Genre
Length35:40
LabelArista Nashville
ProducerKeith Stegall
Alan Jackson chronology
Drive
(2002)
Let It Be Christmas
(2002)
Greatest Hits Volume II
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com(favorable) [1]
Allmusic [2]
Country Weekly(favorable) [3]
Entertainment WeeklyB− [4]
Rolling Stone(favorable) [5]

Track listing

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  1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 2:58
  2. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Dick Smith) – 2:18
  3. "O Come All Ye Faithful" (Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade) – 3:18
  4. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) – 2:42
  5. "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:52
  6. "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) – 3:47
  7. "Let It Be Christmas" (Alan Jackson) – 4:11
  8. "Jingle Bells" (J. S. Pierpont) – 2:50
  9. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 3:19
  10. "Silver Bells" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 3:36
  11. "Away in a Manger" (James Ramsey Murray, John Thomas McFarland) – 2:49

Personnel

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  • Eddie Bayers - drums
  • Bill Elliott - conductor, horn arrangements, string arrangements, vocal arrangements
  • Mark Fain - acoustic guitar
  • Erica Goodman - harp
  • Lloyd Green - pedal steel guitar
  • Karen Harper - background vocals
  • Alan Jackson - lead vocals
  • The Kid Connection - background vocals
  • Matthew McCauley - conductor, string arrangements
  • Brent Mason - electric guitar
  • Cassie Miller - background vocals
  • Bobbi Page - background vocals
  • Matt Rollings - piano
  • Bruce Watkins - acoustic guitar
  • Glenn Worf - bass guitar

Chart performance

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Let It Be Christmas peaked at No. 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the Top Country Albums chart. In January 2003, it was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Weekly charts

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Chart (2002) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[6] 27
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[7] 3
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[8] 6
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[9] 2

Year-end charts

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Chart (2002) Position
Canadian Country Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[10] 22
Chart (2003) Position
US Billboard 200[11] 178
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12] 23
Chart (2018) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[13] 92

Sales and certifications

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Region Provider Certification Sales/Shipments
United States RIAA Gold[14] 500,000+

References

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  1. ^ About.com review
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ Country Weekly review
  4. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  5. ^ Rolling Stone review
  6. ^ "Alan Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. ^ "Alan Jackson Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "Alan Jackson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alan Jackson Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  10. ^ "Top 100 country albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 4, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  11. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  13. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Gold & Platinum - February 12, 2010". RIAA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2010.