Christmas music the holiday in some way. Many tunes adopted into the Christmas canon fall into the generic Winter classification, as they carry no Christmas connotation at all. Others were written to celebrate other holidays and gradually came to cover the Christmas season. Borrowing from the title of the Robert Burns standard "Auld Lang Syne," Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980) tells a Christmas Eve story and is now frequently played during the holiday season. Perry Como famously sang Franz Schubert's setting of "Ave Maria" in his televised Christmas special each year, including the song on "The Perry Como Christmas Album"
A Christmas Celebration of Hope and the track "Auld Lang Syne" earned King the award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. "A Christmas Celebration of Hope" contains 13 tracks totaling approximately 48 minutes in length. Produced by B.B. King himself and recorded in Lafayette, Louisiana at Dockside Recording Studios in June 2001. Some of the songs, including "Merry Christmas, Baby" have roots in blues or rhythm and blues. Nashville String Machine contribute strings to three tracks. King had originally recorded "Christmas Celebration" in 1960. The instrumental "Christmas Love" marks King's only original track on the album (credited as Riley King). The album's closing track, an instrumental