“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”: Darlene Love’s Timeless Holiday Classic and Its Enduring Legacy
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is a great pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 compilation album A Christmas Gift for You (later renamed A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector). The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector. At first, the song did not find commercial success, but in later years it has gone on to become a Christmas standard. Does the recent success of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” mean it will be successful in the future?
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” Summary
Darlene Love was given a demo of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” over the phone and decided to record the song. The song was released as a single in 1963 and in 1964. At first, the song was not a huge success, but it has since become a Christmas standard.
In 1963, Spector decided that the song was strong enough to warrant a non-seasonal version and wrote a version of the song titled “Johnny (Baby Please Come Home)”, which Love also performed. “Johnny (Baby Please Come Home)” was released in 1976 as the final track on the Spector compilation album “Rare Masters Vol. 2.”
In a little-known fact, Cher provided background vocals on the 1963 version, which, six decades later, came full circle when Love duetted on Cher’s 2023 version of the song. How songs performed on the charts is usually not interesting, but the chart performance for “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is interesting.
Despite not charting on its first release, the song has found commercial success in later years. The song charted on the Billboard Holiday 100 chart at number 99 on the week ending December 13, 2014, eventually reaching a peak position of number 7 seven years later. On the week ending December 29, 2018, the track entered the main Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time at number 50, and attained an all-time peak position of number 15 on the week ending December 31, 2022.
So, it is interesting that “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” has become more popular over time. It is fair to wonder if the song will continue to get more popular over time. In December 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs, noting that “nobody can match Love’s emotion and sheer vocal power.” The song has also been used in several movies, as well as being featured as an intro song for Westwood One’s broadcasts of National Football League Christmas Day games.
Who was Darlene Love?
Darlene Wright was born July 26, 1941. She is also known by the stage name Darlene Love, an American rhythm & Blues and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and also a solo recording artist. She is ranked among Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers. Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. She is featured in the Oscar-winning documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), for which she won a Grammy Award.
She began singing as a child with her local church choir. In 1962, she began recording with producer Phil Spector, who renamed her Darlene Love. She sang lead on “He’s a Rebel” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” which were credited to the Crystals. She was soon a highly sought-after vocalist and worked with many rock and soul musicians of the 1960s, including Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, and Sonny and Cher. She is also an actress. Love performed in many Broadway productions.
She was invited annually by David Letterman to sing the song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on his late-night television talk show just prior to the Christmas holidays. These performances started in 1986 on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman and continued on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman until 2014. Letterman called Love the “Christmas Queen.” In 2015, she started singing the song annually on The View.
Conclusion
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is unusual because the song has gotten more popular over time. The singer of the song, Darele Love, has made a career of the song. The song has been covered by U2, Mariah Carey, Cher, Death Cab for Cutie, and Michael Bublé, among others, which is an indicator of the success of a Christmas song.
