David Phelps - It Must Be Christmas (2018)

David Phelps is a singer, songwriter, and keyboardist known in the Christian music sphere as a popular solo artist and as a tenor for the Gaither Vocal Band (1998-2005, 2009-2017). Raised in Tomball, Texas in metropolitan Houston by parents in the fields of finance and education, his sisters, Sherri Proctor and Kari Lee, both spent time as professional musicians, sometimes alongside their brother. Phelps attended Baylor University, where he earned a music degree in vocal performance in 1992. He self-released his first album, Journey to Grace, two years later.

Replacing Jonathan Pierce, the singer would make his debut as tenor for the popular Gaither Vocal Band with 1998's Still the Greatest Story Ever Told. During his time with the group, he continued to release solo work, including the Christmas album Joy, Joy in 2000 and an eponymous LP in 2001, both with Spring Hill Music. He then signed with Word Entertainment, which issued Revelation and Life Is a Church in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Both LPs landed in the Top 15 of the Billboard Christian Albums chart. Phelps then temporarily parted ways with Gaither Vocal Band for a few years, during which he released the live albums Legacy of Love (2006) and No More Night (2007), and the Christmas records One Wintry Night: A David Phelps Christmas (2007) and O Holy Night: A Live Christmas Celebration (2008). He also put out 2008's The Voice, another Top 15 hit, before rejoining the singing group in 2009. After signing with Gaither Music Group/Spring House, he released another seasonal album, 2010's Christmas with David Phelps, then 2012's Classic saw him covering tunes by Puccini and Beethoven as well as Irving Berlin and Rodgers & Hammerstein. It became a Christian and classical Top Ten album. O Holy Night: Christmas Favorites arrived in 2014, and a year later Freedom returned him to the Top Ten. Subtitled "A Journey of Faith Through Hymns," Hymnal followed in the spring of 2017, around the time Phelps gave notice that he'd again be leaving Gaither Vocal Band. ~ Marcy Donelson

Tracklist:

01. It Must Be Christmas
02. Go Tell It On The Mountain
03. Tennessee Christmas
04. Christmas Rush
05. Catching Santa
06. In The Bleak Midwinter
07. Anthem Of The Lord
08. Angels We Have Heard On High
09. What The World Needs Now
10. Sleigh Ride
11. Fall On Your Knees [feat. Charlotte Ritchie]
12. The Little Drummer Boy
13. We Are The Reason
14. Feliz Navidad