We are getting close to Christmas. I hope everyone is ready…and most, if not all, of your shopping is done. There have been many versions of this song but this one is the one I listen to the most. The dynamics in this version are great.
This Dec 31st, 1980 performance of Merry Christmas Baby was recorded at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, during The River Tour. The song was played in its E Street Band arrangement. It was released in November 1986 as the B-side to WAR. This was the lead single from the Live/1975-85 box set.
Although Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley covered “Merry Christmas Baby” before Bruce did, it sounds like he based his version on Otis Redding’s 1968 version.
Lou Baxter wrote this song but it was called “Merry Christmas Blues” and Charles Brown took it home to work it out. He rewrote it with the new title. Baxter wanted Charles Brown to record it the way Charles rewrote it and it became a big hit with Brown singing with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers.
Then the music business struck again…The company promised Charles he would have a co-writer credit but of course, it didn’t happen and Johnny Moore had his name listed on the song instead. Charles never got paid royalties for the song. It was originally released in 1947 and peaked at #3 in the Charts.
Moore died, largely unknown, in the 1960s. Brown, meanwhile, became renowned as a pioneer of the laid-back, piano-driven style of West Coast blues and was recognized as an early influence on Ray Charles; he had a renaissance in the 1990s, touring with Bonnie Raitt.
Charles Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 but died before the induction.
It was also on a complication album A Very Special Christmas of various artists released in 1987.
Merry Christmas Baby
Bring it down, band!
Now, I just came here tonight to say…
I just wanna say…
I just wanna say…
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
Come on, merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
I feel just like I’m living, living in paradise
Now listen
Now you see, I feel real good tonight
And I got music on the radio
And I feel real good tonight
And I got music on the radio
And the boys in the band are playing pretty good!
Now, I feel just like I wanna kiss you
Underneath my mistletoe
But now listen
Santa came down chimney, half past three
With lots of nice little presents for my baby and me
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
And I feel like I’m living, just living in paradise
Come on boys!
Well now, Santa came down chimney, half past three
With lots of nice little presents for my baby and me
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
I feel like I’m living, I’m living in paradise
And I just came down to say
Merry Christmas baby
I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby
I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby
I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby
And happy New Year, too!
Oh yeah!
Play it boys, go!
Merry Christmas
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-happy New Year
Ohhhh!
Oh yeah!
Merry Christmas baby!
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Bruce does a great job on this, I didn’t know about that Brown\Moore story. Very interesting.
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Ditto. No royalties suck.
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Bruce knows how to do Christmas.
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A Christmas classic!
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I always love the original by Charles Brown. The opening sounds like celesta, not piano (I think he changes to piano 52 seconds in); which reminds me of Memphis Slim, who played blues on celesta as well as piano. Never heard the Springsteen version before – a totally different sound and almost a different song.
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One of those Yule songs that comes on that still grabs me both the Bruce and Otis versions. Again , cool for posting the original, love that version.
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Like many of the artists we like…with this one Bruce introduced me to this one….and Otis’s version…like a long chain.
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The Otis version is very cool. Bruce and him on one of those Xmas tv specials would have been cool
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Those two together…would be pure energy.
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“Energy” and celebration for the fun of it.
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This is a crisp, classy performance by Bruuuuuce. I don’t think I’d heard it before, but I like it. I like it ALOTTT. Good Chrissy selection Max.
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Glad you like it Matt…the dynamics are great….the way he busts in.
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It’s a very typical Bruce sound, but great quality. As you mentioned the dynamics. The first video I couldn’t see, but the second audio was cool.
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first time I’ve heard that one this year…even his more-played ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ seems almost unheard this year. A fine Christmas tune (both of them actually). Music scams regarding writing credits seem as old as radio and phonographs themselves unfortunately, regarding Mr Brown
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I’m going to do some new ones next year if I can… I did a new one today but I want more. You know you are right…I haven’t heard this either this year or the other one. I haven’t been out as much though.
Yea…people get ripped off left and right on those.
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Charles comes up in a post I have coming up in 2 days, too. He had a hand in a couple of quality Christmas songs
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Oh cool…I’ll look forward to it! I did mine today on “gravy day” in Australia.
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It’s funny – I’m not really a Bruce Springsteen fan at all – but this and ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ are both right up there in probably my Top 5 ‘conventional’ Christmas tunes. 🙂
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Great rendition – love the soulful vibe! It’s also one of the modern Christmas songs I feel haven’t been played over and over and over again.
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I put this one on the holiday song playlist (posting tomorrow.)
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That’s a good xmas album, one in my collection and some goodies that never get radio play in the UK, much better than some of the xmas overplayed streaming playlisters that clog up the charts every year
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I agree…I really like this one as well…I dont’ hear it too much while I’m out either .
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