STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN SPREADS HOLIDAY CHEER WITH NEW CD, BOOK;
All I Really Want For Christmas CD To Release September 27th;
Tommy Nelson Shares Second Installment Of Shaoey & Dot Series With A Christmas Miracle
Nashville, TN (August 16, 2005) – Platinum-selling singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman is ready to spread the holiday cheer this season with his Christmas CD, All I Really Want For Christmas, releasing September 27th on Sparrow Records. In addition, bookshelves will be stocked this fall with Shaoey And Dot: A Christmas Miracle (Tommy Nelson Publishing), the second installment of the “Shaoey And Dot” picture book series penned by Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth.
With more than one million of his Christmas titles sold to date, Chapman’s All I Really Want For Christmas is his 15th studio project with Sparrow Records. This collection of 12 original and traditional holiday favorites includes new Chapman originals, such as “The Night Before Christmas,” “The Miracle of Christmas,” “All I Really Want,” as well a new version of the timeless hymn “Angels From The Realm of Glory.” Also included are Chapman’s renditions, previously recorded for his 2003 Hallmark release Christmas Is All In The Heart, of “Silver Bells,” “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” and “Home For Christmas.” Ed Cash produces the new songs while Brown Bannister produced the songs from Christmas Is All In The Heart. A full song listing is below.
Rounding out the holiday project are a couple of special appearances, one from country superstar Vince Gill sharing his voice on a new version of “Christmas Is All In The Heart.” Another special guest is Chapman’s first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope. Shaoey starts the CD off with her touching narration of “The Christmas Story” taken from the Book of Luke. She closes out the project, joined by her dad, singing her rendition of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” a special hidden track at the end of the CD. Shaohannah, now age 6, also appears with her dad on the CD cover.
All I Really Want For Christmas’ first single, the endearing “All I Really Want,” promises to be a song we’ll want to hear for years to come. The song focuses on a topic dear to Chapman’s heart – adoption. “All I Really Want” shares the story of a little boy’s one item wish list to Santa, asking not for toys at Christmastime but for a family. Chapman sings:
“All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in, a shoulder to cry on if I lose and shoulders to ride on if I win / There’s so much I could ask for but there’s just one thing I need / All I really want for Christmas is a family.”
To promote the single, Chapman will be filming a music video in Los Angeles at the end of the month. Brandon Dickerson of Merge Productions, based in San Francisco, will direct the video. Dickerson will also be filming him in another music video for Chapman’s song, “Remembering You,” the first radio single from Songs Inspired By The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
J. David Huffman, COO, Creative Trust, comments, “With All I Really Want for Christmas, Steven is giving what everybody wants for Christmas – a warm, emotive experience about all the joys of the holiday season for all ages.”
"Steven has once again delivered a pristine offering of songs for this new Christmas album,” says Peter York, President, EMI CMG Label Group. “He has captured the emotion, wonder and miracle of Christmas and invites the listener to enter in."
Chapman will do a nationwide tour this holiday season promoting All I Really Want For Christmas with friends MercyMe. Together they will appear in 21 markets beginning the day after Thanksgiving in Greenville, SC and ending December 20th in Indianapolis, IN.
Shaoey And Dot: A Christmas Miracle will be released by publisher Tommy Nelson this November, in time for National Adoption Awareness Month and the Christmas season. This story is a wonderful reminder of the miraculous love that makes every Christmas a special one while sharing with its readers the many joys of adoption.
“Shaoey and Dot are a charming duo in fun-to-read, rhyming stories with big, big messages,” said Vice President and Associate Publisher Dee Ann Grand. “Like the kid in all of us, Shaoey and Dot give and receive all the joy and fun of the giving season, but in the end, they learn the true, real miracle of Christmas.”
The Shaoey and Dot series, named after the Chapman’s first adopted daughter, Shaohannah (Shaoey) Hope, was launched with the Chapman’s first picture book, Bug Meets Bundle, in November 2004. Filled with delightfully whimsical illustrations from Mary Beth’s brother, Jim Chapman, the Shaoey and Dot picture book series truly is a family affair. Jim Chapman also illustrated A Christmas Miracle.
All I Really Want For Christmas Track Listing (not final order):
Narration of The Christmas Story
Angels from the Realms of Glory
All I Really Want
The Miracle Of Christmas
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Christmas is all in the Heart
Silver Bells
Go Tell It On The Mountain
Winter Wonderland
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
The Night Before Christmas