Miracles: The Holiday Album

Miracles: The Holiday Album is the first holiday album and seventh studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on November 22, 1994, and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200, Contemporary Jazz Albums and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[3] It was the overall best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States for both 1994 and 1996.[4] It sold 2,987,000 copies in 1994 and 888,000 copies in 1996.[5]

Miracles: The Holiday Album
Studio album by Kenny G
Released	November 22, 1994
Recorded	1994
Genre	Smooth jazz, Christmas
Length	35:49
Label	Arista
Producer	Kenny G
Kenny G chronology
Breathless (1992) Miracles: The Holiday Album (1994) The Very Best of Kenny G (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[2]

According to Billboard magazine, Miracles: The Holiday Album is the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of the Nielsen SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present). As of November 2014, the album has sold a total of 7,310,000 copies in the U.S. according to SoundScan.[6]

Miracles: The Holiday Album was certified eight-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of eight million copies in the United States.[7]

Track listing (non-US edition)

1. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard/Dick Smith) – 3:03
2. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 3:02
3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane) – 3:58
4. "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé/Robert Wells) – 4:03
5. "Silent Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr) – 3:47
6. "Brahms's Lullaby" (Johannes Brahms) – 3:15
7. "Greensleeves (What Child Is This?) (Traditional)" – 3:29
8. "Miracles" (Kenny G/Walter Afanasieff) – 2:32
9. "Away in a Manger" (James R. Murray) – 2:39
10. "The Chanukah Song" (Kenny G/Walter Afanasieff) – 2:31
11. "Little Drummer Boy[8][9][10]" (Katherine K. Davis/Henry Onerati/Harry Simeone) – 4:05
12. "Silver Bells" (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans) - 4:00
13. "Spring Breeze" (Ling-Chiu Lee/Yu-Shian Deng) - 3:20

Track listing (US edition)

1. "Winter Wonderland" – 3:03
2. "White Christmas" – 3:02
3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – 3:58
4. "Silent Night" – 3:47
5. "Greensleeves" – 3:29
6. "Miracles" – 2:32
7. "Little Drummer Boy[8][9][10]" – 4:05
8. "The Chanukah Song" – 2:31
9. "Silver Bells" - 4:00
10. "Away in a Manger" – 2:39
11. "Brahms's Lullaby" – 3:15

Personnel

• Kenny G – arrangements, soprano saxophone (1, 2, 4-6, 8-11, 13), tenor saxophone (3, 12), alto saxophone (7)
• Walter Afanasieff – arrangements (1, 3-13), all other instruments (1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13), acoustic piano (2, 4, 6, 8, 10), keyboards (7), bass (7), drums (7), organ (12)
• Gary Cirimelli – digital programming, Synclavier programming
• Randy Waldman – acoustic piano (12)
• Dann Huff – guitar (12)
• Randy Jackson – bass (12)
• John Robinson – drums (12)
• Robert Damper – arrangements (2)
• William Ross – string arrangements and conductor (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10)

Production

• Producer – Kenny G
• Engineers – Steve Sheppard (tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 & 10); David Gleeson (tracks 4, 5 & 11); Dana Jon Chappelle (tracks 7, 12 & 13).
• Assistant Engineer on track 12 – Noel Hazel
• Mixed by Mick Guzauski (tracks 1-12) and Steve Sheppard (track 13).
• Recorded and Mixed at Studio G (Seattle, WA).
• Strings on tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 & 10 recorded at Humberto Gatica at Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, CA).
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• Art Direction and Design – Christopher Stern
• Photography – Timothy White

Chart positions

Chart (1994)	Peak position
The Billboard 200	1
US Contemporary Jazz Albums (Billboard)	1
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1

Singles

Information taken from this source.[11]

Year	Title	Chart Positions
		US Adult Contemporary
1995	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	26

Certifications and Sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[12]	Platinum	250,000^*
Japan (RIAJ)[13]	Gold	100,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[14]	Gold	7,500^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[15]	Gold	50,000^^
United States (RIAA)[16]	8× Platinum	8,000,000^^
Summaries
Asia Pacific	—	1,500,000[17]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1994 (U.S.)
• List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1994 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1995 (U.S.)

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Entertainment Weekly review
3. Charts & Awards at Allmusic
4. "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
5. Paul Grein (October 29, 2013). "Chart Watch Extra: What Will Be This Year's Top Christmas Album?". Chart Watch. Yahoo.
6. "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
7. "Kenny G Celebrates RIAA Certified Diamond, Multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold Albums and 75 Million Total Worldwide Sales". Vegas24Seven.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
8. Arista Records, Inc. "Miracles: The Holiday Album (back of album cover)". Img.discogs.com. Arista Records, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020. 11. Little Drummer Boy
9. "Miracles: The Holiday Album". Spotify.com. Spotify.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020. 7. Little Drummer Boy
10. "Miracles: The Holiday Album". Amazon.com. Amazon.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020. 7. Little Drummer Boy
11. Billboard Singles at Allmusic
12. "Brazilian album certifications – Kenny G – Miracles" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
13. "Japanese album certifications – Kenny G – Miracles" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 28 May 2019. Select 1997年1月 on the drop-down menu
14. "New Zealand album certifications – Kenny G – Miracles". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
15. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 938. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
16. "American album certifications – Kenny G – Miracles: The Holiday Album". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 May 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
17. McClure, Steve (14 September 2002). "Really Big in Japan". Billboard. p. 40. Retrieved 28 May 2019.