Merry Christmas, Baby
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"Merry Christmas Baby" is an R&B Christmas standard credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. In 1947,
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers Johnny Moore's Three Blazers was a popular American vocal group in the 1940s and 1950s. The original members were: *Johnny Moore (John Dudley Moore, October 20, 1906, Austin, Texas – January 6, 1969, Los Angeles, California); * Charles ...
recorded the tune, featuring vocals and piano by Charles Brown. Subsequently, many performers have recorded renditions of the song, including
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
,
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
,
Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...
,
Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
,
B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...
,
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
,
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
, and
Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...
.


Background

Charles Brown tells the story of the song this way: And Johnny Moore did the deal with Lou Baxter and put his own name on it as well, apparently.
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers Johnny Moore's Three Blazers was a popular American vocal group in the 1940s and 1950s. The original members were: *Johnny Moore (John Dudley Moore, October 20, 1906, Austin, Texas – January 6, 1969, Los Angeles, California); * Charles ...
was one of the hottest blues attractions on the West Coast when their recording of "Merry Christmas Baby" reached number three on ''Billboard'''s R&B Juke Box chart during the Christmas season of 1947. Moore, a guitarist, was accompanied by Brown, bassist Eddie Williams and guitarist
Oscar Moore Oscar Frederic Moore (December 25, 1916 – October 8, 1981) was an American jazz guitarist with the Nat King Cole Trio. Career The son of a blacksmith, Moore was born in Austin, Texas, United States. The Moore family moved to Phoenix, Ariz ...
(Johnny's brother, then a member of the
King Cole Trio Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
). Brown went on to record many versions of the song throughout his career for various labels, including a popular version in 1956, originally released by
Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Philo Records Philo's releases included 78 RPM singles of ...
.


Renditions

Rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
musician
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
recorded a version of "Merry Christmas Baby". In 1958,
Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...
released it as a single from the album ''
St. Louis to Liverpool ''St. Louis to Liverpool'' is the seventh studio album by the American musician Chuck Berry. Released in 1964 by Chess Records, it peaked at number 124 on the US ''Billboard'' album chart, the first of Berry's studio albums to appear on the ch ...
'', which reached number 71 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. R&B duo
Ike and Tina Turner Ike or IKE may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ike (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Ike (surname), a list of people * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of ...
recorded a rendition that was released as a single on
Warner Bros Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
in 1964. In 1971, rock & roll musician
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
recorded a blues version for his album '' Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas'' as well as a single. It was recorded as an 8-minute version but was whittled down to 5:44 on the album. Rock musician
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording ...
have been known to cover the song throughout the years and their live version was featured on the 1987 ''
A Very Special Christmas ''A Very Special Christmas'' is the title of a series of Christmas music compilation albums that benefit the Special Olympics. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as Dave Matthews, U2, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi, ...
'' album.


References

{{authority control 1947 songs 1958 singles American Christmas songs Chuck Berry songs Bruce Springsteen songs Chess Records singles