You Just Gotta Love Christmas (2004) is the eighth solo album by music artist Peter Cetera, his seventh since leaving the group Chicago, his first Christmas album and his last studio album before his retirement in 2019. This album featured some artwork by Cetera's youngest daughter Senna, and his oldest daughter Claire performs with him on "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland". Alison Krauss performs with Cetera on "Deck the Halls". In a 2017 article, writer David White listed the album among his list of sixteen "essential classic rock Christmas albums."[2]

You Just Gotta Love Christmas
Studio album by Peter Cetera
Released	October 19, 2004
Recorded	Spring-Summer 2004
Genre	Rock, Christmas
Length	39:45
Label	Viastar
Producer	Peter Cetera, Tony Harrell
Peter Cetera chronology
Another Perfect World (2001) You Just Gotta Love Christmas (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Track listing

1. "Let It Snow" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:59
2. "Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:36
3. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) – 3:10
4. "Blue Christmas" (with Claire Cetera) (Billy Hays, Jay Johnson) – 3:19
5. "Deck The Halls" (with Alison Krauss) (traditional - Peter Cetera, Tony Harrell) – 3:10
6. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Buck Ram, Walter Kent, Kim Gannon) – 2:40
7. "You Just Gotta Love Christmas" (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:17
8. "Jingle Bells" (traditional - Cetera, Harrell) – 3:36
9. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (traditional - Cetera, Harrell) – 3:01
10. "Winter Wonderland" (with Claire Cetera) (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2:57
11. "Something that Santa Claus Left Behind" (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:56
12. "Alone for the Holidays" (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:58

Personnel

• Peter Cetera – lead and backing vocals, bass
• Tony Harrell – keyboards, programming
• Tom Bukovac – guitars
• Bruce Gaitsch – guitars
• Kenny Greenberg – guitars
• B. James Lowry – guitars
• Jerry McPherson – guitars
• Mike Brignardello – bass
• Craig Nelson – bass
• Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass
• Glenn Worf – bass
• Greg Morrow – drums, additional programming
• Eric Darken – percussion
• Jack Gavin – congas
• Kirk "JellyRoll" Johnson – harmonica
• Jim Horn – saxophones, sax solos
• Chris Dunn – trombone
• Ben Strano – trombone, trumpet solos
• Steve Herrman – trumpet
• John Mock – pipes, buron, penny whistle
• Chris Carmichael – strings
• Claire Cetera – backing vocals on "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland"
• Alison Krauss – backing vocals on "Deck The Halls"

Production

• Produced, Written and Arranged by Peter Cetera and Tony Harrell.
• Recorded and Mixed at The Hum Depot (Nashville, TN).
• Recording Engineer – Ben Strano
• Additional Engineering – Chuck Bracco and Scott Velasco
• Mixed by Joe Hardy
• Mastered by Mark Chevalier and Jim Demain at Yes Master (Nashville, TN).
• Package Art and Design – Vickey Hanson
• Inside Artwork – Senna Cetera

References