this is, quite simply my favourite christmas song ever.
throughout the way too short (can someone out there make a 10 minute edit of this as opposed to extending some supposedly ironic 80s tv commercial jam) 2 minutes 11 seconds of perfection the velvet smoothness of lou rawls who is clearly at the top of his game are matched brilliantly by producer david axelrod , and the results are a superb combination of soulful 60s grooves and happy seasonal joy.
the song was originally released back in 1967 on the album, merry christmas ho! ho! ho! and then for those of us who have tried to play catch up in recent years, included on a compilation that put the album together alongside a few extra tracks that lou recorded later in his career for blue note that came out a couple of years ago, merry christmas, baby.
while the world falls apart in global chaos (nature and manmade) and overbearing cynicism, just rejoice in a song that oozes upbeat happiness and festive emotion.