Sony Music EntertainmentWith the holiday season about to kick into full gear, a new animated video for Darlene Love‘s soulful yuletide classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” premiered today on her official YouTube channel.
The clip follows a young Black girl as she walks home through a snowy neighborhood, accompanied by a happy snowman. Along the way, she stops to admire a Christmas tree and runs into her dog, who is singing along with a pair of carolers. The girl and her dog arrive home, where they’re lovingly greeted by her parents. As the video nears its end, the girl opens up one of her presents to find a snow globe with the smiling snowman inside.
The clip also features a message from Love paying tribute to her late sister, Edna Wright Perry, who sang backing vocals on the track. Perry, who died in September at age 76, also was the lead singer of the group the Honey Cone.
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” originally appeared on producer Phil Spector‘s lauded 1963 holiday album A Christmas Gift for You, which featured various yuletide-themed tunes recorded by several acts on Spector’s Philles label. The song was co-written by Phil, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry.
While it wasn’t a chart hit, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” has become a perennial holiday favorite and has been covered by a variety of artists, including Cher, U2, Joey Ramone, Jon Bon Jovi and Mariah Carey. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked it #1 on its list of “The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs.”
Meanwhile, Love is scheduled to perform at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which airs Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon on NBC and Telemundo. Darlene will sing “A Marshmallow World,” another tune from the A Christmas Gift for You album.
By Matt Friedlander
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