Christmas Records, Day 25: A Christmas Gift For You

Phil Spector/Various Artists - A Christmas Gift for You (Philles, released 1963)

In 1963, Phil Spector made this legendary Christmas album with his wife Ronnie Spector, of The Ronettes, singing on Frosty the Snowman and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Over 40 years later, Phil Spector was arraigned for murder around the same time Ronnie Spector was singing a song called Girl from the Ghetto, with the lyric: "I hope your hell is filled with magazines / and on every page is a picture of me". Clearly things had changed. But back then, Spector's aggression, neurosis and ego were merely fuel to some of the greatest pop records ever made. This record - re-released to greater commercial success in 1972 as Phil Spector's Christmas Album - overflows with tinselly joy and a thunderous glee that crushes all opposition like a runaway sleigh. Others have made better Christmas songs (Slade) and written more relevant lyrics (Spector collaborator Lennon), but nobody has bettered what is, effectively, the template for all Christmas music that followed in its wake, from Paul McCartney to Mariah Carey.

Listen to Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), by Darlene Love. This was released as a single on the same day as the A Christmas Gift for You album.



YouTube: Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)