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Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

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Not to be confused with Please Come Home for Christmas.
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
Single by Darlene Love
from the album A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records
B-side"Harry And Milt Meet Hal B."
ReleasedDecember 1963 (1963-12)
StudioGold Star
Genre
Length2:49
LabelPhilles
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Phil Spector

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 compilation album A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (later renamed A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector). The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector.

Upon release, the song did not find commercial success but in later years, it has gone on to become a Christmas standard. It charted for the first time on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2018 and has since peaked at number 15. It has also been listed on the Billboard Holiday 100 chart, peaking at number seven. The song has been covered by U2, Mariah Carey, Cher, Death Cab for Cutie, and Michael Bublé, among others.

Background and release

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Love was given a demo of the song over the phone and went on to record the song.[1] The song was released as a single in 1963[2] and in 1964 (Philles X-125).[3] Upon release, the song was not a huge success but it has gone on to become a Christmas standard.[4]

In 1963, Spector decided that the song was strong enough to warrant a non-seasonal version and wrote a version titled "Johnny (Baby Please Come Home)", which Love also performed.[4] This version was released to the public in 1976 as the final track on the Spector compilation album, Rare Masters Vol. 2.[4]

Cher performed background vocals on the 1963 version, which six decades later came full circle when Love duetted on Cher's 2023 version of the song.[5]

Chart performance

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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,[6] reaching a peak position of number 7 seven years later (on the week ending December 4, 2021).[7] On the week ending December 29, 2018, the track entered the main Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time at number 50,[8] and attained an all-time peak position of number 15 on the week ending December 31, 2022 (following its fourth chart re-entry).[9] On the official UK Singles Chart, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" made its first appearance on the week of January 5, 2017 at number 74. The song re-entered the same chart one year later at number 77, and again on the week of December 20, 2018 at number 80, eventually reaching its all-time peak position of number 22 two weeks later. It has re-entered the UK Singles Chart each December since.[10]

Live performances

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Darlene Love performed the song on Late Night with David Letterman (NBC) in 1986. She then sang it annually for 20 years (1994–2014) on the episode before Christmas on Late Show with David Letterman (CBS), 21 times in all. The exception was in 2007 when Love was unable to perform due to the Writers' Strike and a repeat of her 2006 performance was shown instead.[11] She performed the song with Paul Shaffer and the show's house band (The World's Most Dangerous Band at NBC, the CBS Orchestra at CBS).[12] She gave a surprise performance of the song in a video uploaded to Letterman's YouTube channel in December 2023.

Love also performed the song on December 24, 2013, in front of traders at the New York Stock Exchange as the market closed for the day.

Beginning in 2015, the tradition of Love's annual performance of the song moved to The View (ABC, 2015–present), where it has continued during its last edition before Christmas in the years since,[13] only skipping out the 2021 edition due to being exposed to a positive COVID-19 case resulting in a quarantine; a compilation of her previous performances was shown instead.[14]

Legacy

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In December 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs, noting that "nobody can match Love's emotion and sheer vocal power."[15] The song has also been used in several movies.[16]

Cover versions

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American singer Mariah Carey covered the song in 1994. Love has praised Carey's version.

The song has become a Christmas standard and has since been covered multiple times by prominent artists. Love has noted that her two favourite covers of the song are Mariah Carey and U2's for their originality and vocal harmonies respectively.[17]

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Darlene Love version

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Certifications for "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[92]
Digital sales since 2011 		Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[93] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Mariah Carey version

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Certifications for "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Mariah Carey
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[94] Gold 35,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[95] Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[96] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[97] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Michael Bublé version

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Certifications for "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Michael Bublé
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[98] Gold 35,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[99] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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