12 Soulful Nights of Christmas

12 Soulful Nights of Christmas
Compilation album by Various artists
Released	December 3, 1996 (1996-12-03)
Genre	R&B
Length	60:55
Label	So So Def Columbia

12 Soulful Nights of Christmas is a compilation of Christmas songs released on December 3, 1996, through So So Def Recordings.^[1][2] In 1998, the album was reissued with two new songs.^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A[4]

The Orlando Weekly found the album "uneven", but highlighted Tamia's and Jagged Edge's renditions.^[5] In his review of the 1998 re-release, Marc Weingarten from Entertainment Weekly wrote that "why is the too-reverent yuletide offering 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas of slow jams from various R&B stars as stale as day-old fruitcake?" adding that "perhaps Dupri should’ve provided some nasty beats".^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Time of Year" (Kenny Lattimore)	Kenny Lattimore James Poyser Vikter Duplaix	Kenny Lattimore James Poyser Vikter Duplaix	4:47
2.	"Christmas Without You" (Xscape)	Brian McKnight	Brian McKnight	4:07
3.	"In Love at Christmas" (K-Ci & JoJo)	Rory Bennett JoJo Hailey K-Ci Hailey	JoJo Rory Bennett	3:57
4.	"Little Drummer Girl" (Alicia Keys)	Katherine Kennicott Davis Henry Onorati Harry Simeone	Rodney Jerkins	4:32
5.	"Someday at Christmas" (Voices of Soul^[a])	Ron Miller Bryan Wells	Gordon Williams Kenneth Crouch (add.)	4:42
6.	"Christmas Only Once a Year" (Chaka Khan)	Howard McCrary Jeremy Lubbock Robert Palmer Chaka Khan Melissa Vardey	Tony McAnany	3:56
7.	"A Christmas Lullabye" (Faith Evans)	Seth Swirsky	Jermaine Dupri Samuel J. Sapp III	2:10
8.	"Because of His Love" (Brian McKnight)	Brian McKnight Brandon Barnes	Brian McKnight	4:05
9.	"The Christmas Song" (Tamia)	Robert Wells Mel Tormé	Sapp III Timothy L. Shider	5:06
10.	"Christmas Without My Girl" (Gerald Levert)	Gerald Levert Edwin Nicholas	Gerald Levert Edwin "Tony" Nicholas	4:29
11.	"Not Really Christmas" (Trina Broussard)	Israel Embry Seth Swirsky Trey Lorenz Trina Broussard	Israel Embry Trina Broussard (voc.)	4:54
12.	"My Younger Days" (Trey Lorenz)	Jermaine Dupri Manuel Seal Freddie Hubbard	Jermaine Dupri Manuel Seal (co.)	4:33
13.	"Every Day Should Be Christmas" (NeeNa Lee)	Tim Thomas Jonathan Curry	Tim Thomas Jonathan Curry (co.)	4:08
14.	"This Christmas" (Jagged Edge)	Carl Breeding Darcy Aldridge Brian Casey Brandon Casey Kyle Norman Richard Wingo	Track Team Flash Technology (co.)	5:07

Notes

• ^{^[a]} Performed by Destiny's Child, Cassie, Alicia Keys, Jo Jo Robinson, Kimberly Scott, Blaque, Trina Broussard, Trina & Tamara, and Jagged Edge.
• "My Younger Days" contains a portion of "Red Clay", written by Freddie Hubbard, and performed by Jack Wilkins.

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Rhapsody Online Music Store
3. MTV News Staff (1998-10-26). "Jermaine Dupri Reissues Expanded, "Soulful" Christmas Album". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
4. Bernard, James (1996-12-06). "Music Review: '12 Soulful Nights of Christmas (Part 1)'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
5. "Review - Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas". The Orlando Weekly. 1998-12-16. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
6. Weingarten, Marc (1998-12-04). "Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-04-20.