It is one of the most lauded soul Christmas albums ever, and now it has arrived on limited edition vinyl. This pressing marks the very first vinyl release of the blues titan’s 1994 Christmas album, Charles Brown’s Cool Christmas Blues. In addition to the wide release, Craft Recordings’ online store will offer an exclusive white and blue marble vinyl variant, limited to 350 copies worldwide. Lacquers were cut by George Horn and Anne-Marie Suenram at Fantasy Studios, while the vinyl was pressed at Noiseland Industries.
It is one of the most lauded soul Christmas albums ever, and now it has arrived on limited edition vinyl. This pressing marks the very first vinyl release of the blues titan’s 1994 Christmas album, Charles Brown’s Cool Christmas Blues. In addition to the wide release, Craft Recordings’ online store will offer an exclusive white and blue marble vinyl variant, limited to 350 copies worldwide. Lacquers were cut by George Horn and Anne-Marie Suenram at Fantasy Studios, while the vinyl was pressed at Noiseland Industries.
Nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 1995 GRAMMY® Awards, Charles Brown’s Cool Christmas Blues offers a warm, laid-back set of primarily original material—including Brown’s modern yuletide classics “Please Come Home for Christmas” and the U.S. Billboard R&B chart Top 10 hit “Merry Christmas Baby.” The artist also performs lesser-known gems like “Santa’s Blues” and “To Someone That I Love,” while he puts his own stellar twist on “Silent Night.”
Recorded in San Francisco, the session features Brown on vocals, piano and celeste, with Clifford Solomon on tenor saxophone, Dannon Caron on guitar, Ruth Davies on acoustic bass and Gaylord Birch on drums. BB King’s longtime sideman Bobby Forte also makes a special appearance on tenor saxophone, while the “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues” Johnny Otis jumps in on the vibes.
Brown also revisits two of his most famous songs, including “Merry Christmas Baby.” While the tune is credited to Lou Baxter and Brown’s bandmate, Johnny Moore, it has long been noted that Brown was instrumental in co-writing the classic track. Although the true story behind the composition has never been confirmed, it was Brown, unmistakably, who made the song a hit when he recorded it alongside Moore with the Three Blazers in 1947. Released in November, “Merry Christmas Baby” added a wink and a romantic twist to the standard holiday fare—and America loved it. That season, the song went to No.3 on the Billboard R&B Juke Box chart, while it would become a holiday cannon over the decades. It has since been covered by many of music’s greats, including Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt, John Legend and, perhaps most famously, Otis Redding.
The artist followed with “Please Come Home for Christmas” in 1960. The song, written and recorded by Brown, reentered the charts year-over-year—for nine seasons total—eventually hitting the top of Billboard’sChristmas Singles in 1972. Like its predecessor, the tune has become a holiday staple. It was notably covered by the Eagles in 1978 (their version hit the Top 20—a rare occurrence for a holiday track at that time) and by Bon Jovi in 1992. The song has also been popularly covered by the likes of Willie Nelson, Martina McBride and Kelly Clarkson, among many others.
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It is such a treat to have this absolute classic album on vinyl for the first time. This is the gift your soul and blues-loving friend or family member will love, or maybe it is just right for you. Enjoy!
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