Christmas Song #16:

Stevie Wonder--What Christmas Means To Me



So I quickly jotted down a little schedule for this whole month back when I started writing about all these Christmas tunes. Which wasn't meant to ever be set in stone, but rather just give me a little direction in order to actually see this through its completion. So I didn't necessarily choose out a song for each day. For the entry a couple days ago I wrote down "something from Rudolph." For today's entry, I just wrote down "something for Motown." As of writing this, I still haven't really finalized on what I'm featuring from Motown.

I feel compelled to include something from Motown, because a) I have a huge set from the label of Christmas songs and sat through a bunch of Christmas wishes from random bands to separate the wheat from the chaff, and b) the Motown sound seems especially suited for Christmastime, as the "Sound of Young America" (you'd think) would service itself well to replicating the youthful exuberance that the holidays bring. And I mean... they had tons of absolutely fantastic hits. So it shouldn't be a problem to find just one Motown Christmas song that I love, right?

Well, I suppose it is.

I think the main problem is that my two favorite acts from the label (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and The Supremes) both had pretty lackluster results. And the Jackson 5--the Motown band you hear the most around this time--well, once you hear their rendition of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town for the 30291st time, Michael Jackson starts to sound really bratty. And there are a couple I might quite like (Stevie Wonder's Someday At Christmas and The Temptations' Silent Night), but they don't really sound much like Motown... not that that matters, but still.

So I guess that leaves what I've got up there for you, which sounds the most like Motown while also being pretty damn catchy. This was an original written for Stevie Wonder's Christmas album, and Stevie delivers his usual spirited performance. And his performance is the best compromise between delivering that "Sound of Young America" feel for a Christmas tune and... you know, not sounding like a brat.

I'm trying to listen to the lyrics, and they're a little stupid (I think he's trying to argue that Christmas means getting it on with your lady... which is a fairly limited viewpoint to take, but I suppose it works for many......... it might also be an "enjoy the little things" view. That's actually probably it, but it's also a little boring), but whatever. It's the music that should be getting you cheerful. And it's one of those original Christmas songs that you could imagine being a huge hit with the holiday elements removed... which is in contrast with most Christmas originals, which are usually tossed off... because their label demanded a Christmas album.