Historical Playlist: Black Christmas

Elexus Jionde
Dec 7
2 min read

Updated: Dec 7

I love a good Christmas song! Keep reading for six facts you may not know and a playlist of Christmas Songs by Black Americans.

Nat King Cole's The Magic of Christmas (1960) was the bestselling Christmas album of the 1960s.
This didn't include the timeless The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You), which came out in 1945.
Sleigh Ride (1963) by The Ronettes is the most popular iteration of the song
It was the Motown group's second most popular song, and was released on A Christmas Gift For You by Phil Spector. The album dropped on the same day as John F. Kennedy's assassination-- November 22, 1963.
Mariah Carey's 1994 Christmas Album Was Unexpected
Wrote Melina Delkic, "In the early 1990s, when Carey’s star was on a rapid ascent, writing an original Christmas song at such a high point — and an early point — in one’s career was rare." On October 28, 1994, Mariah Carey released her 4th studio album, Merry Christmas. The album’s genre was unexpected, and it featured the smash mega-hit All I Want for Christmas Is You. It didn’t actually chart at number one until 2019, but every Christmas since 1994, the song has been a ubiquitous presence. It has earned Mariah Carey an estimated $80 million in royalties.
Donny Hathaway's This Christmas (1970) Didn't Touch The Billboard Hot 100 Chart Until 2020
According to fellow musician Ric Powell, "[Donny] knew what he wanted to do musically and the impact he wanted to make with this song. Up until then African-American music wasn't represented in Christmas. There was Nat King Cole and Charles Brown's "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Donny Hathaway died in 1979 by suicide but his legacy lives on!
Christmas in Hollis (1987) Sampled a Raunchy X-Mas Tune
Run-DMC made this rap Christmas song for the Special Olympics benefit album, A Very Special Christmas. It samples the awesome Back Door Santa (1968) by Clarence Carter.
Santa Baby (1953) by Eartha Kitt was slightly controversial
“Quite a number of people were upset because it was the first sexy Christmas record,” said songwriter Phil Springer to Billboard in 2018. No wonder Santa Baby is my favorite Christmas song! In the November 28, 1953 issue of the magazine, it was reported:

“A royal hassle nearly broke out this week involving the King and Queen of Greece, thrush Eartha Kitt and the new Christmas tune ‘Santa Baby’… Some of the politicos (at a Civic banquet Kitt performed at) felt the song was too adult for royalty and made their feelings known before newspapermen who happened to be in attendance.”