Why Nat King Cole and Donny Hathaway Dominate Christmas Playlists

and welcome back to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ Sir Daniel.

And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government as Johnnie Ray Kornegay the third and Sir Daniel time flies. We are back in the holiday season, the holiday spirit, sir.

Absolutely. It's that time of year. Go ahead and double fist that hot cup of cocoa that you have right now. And just cozy on up to another episode of Queue Points podcast because Jay Ray after years, and I do mean years, like especially for me after years of experiencing the holidays and You know, all the stuff that comes along with it. Does Christmas music still give you, you know, the warm fuzzies? And does it, you know, make you feel holly and jolly still?

So the short answer to your question is yes, but I feel like I need to explain for because I was too cool for school for like a long time, I would say things like, I'm not really into holiday music, right? That was a lie. think what think what soured me to holiday music is as a person who

Talk about it.

In November, actually it was, so back then it was like November, like you could time it, one, all of a sudden the dang Beatles started playing

had a chokehold specifically on the black community since they dropped, um, last century, cause it's been, it's been a whole nother century since these songs dropped, but they've been recycled. They've been covered. They've been, you know, fizzed up for new generations. The originals still hold, hold a magic over us the years. And I'm talking about, of course, the Christmas song by Nat King Cole and this Christmas by Donnie Hathaway.

Hmm. That is a really interesting question. So what's interesting about the Christmas song? First and foremost, it was written by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. Um, but of course, made famous by Nat King Cole. Um, and I think that song has a chokehold on our community because one, it was,

give me that. Yeah.

Give me more of that, please. And also, it's well sung, and it's a beautiful song. And they did their big one on that. So that's, for the Christmas song, I think it's that. For this Christmas, I think this Christmas is just like a quintessentially black Christmas song.

Mm hmm.

And I think that's why it has a chokehold on the black community. And it's also a groove. I mean, who can't did it, it did it, did it, did it. It's got all the stuff that black folks want in that song. Yeah. I think that's why those two songs have a chokehold. What are you, what is your theory? What is your

So I'm gonna hold my theory just a little bit because You um, you brought up a couple things regarding both songs, but preparing for this episode, Jay Ray, you and I discovered some things regarding these records

Not at all. So a couple of quick history notes for the Christmas song. So the Christmas song was, um, first recorded, which might surprise people. It was first recorded in 1946 by the Nat King Cole Trio. It was written in 45, recorded in 1946 by the Nat King Cole Trio. And actually, the Christmas song has Four distinct recordings. So the first recording happened at WMCA Studios in 1946, as we mentioned.

Yeah.

fourth, recording of the song, which was actually recorded in 1961. In the studio at Capitol Studios. And that is the one that we're most familiar with. It's Nat King Cole. It wasn't even the Nat King Cole trio then. It was just Nat King Cole, the band, the, the, the orchestra, et cetera. Interesting tidbit about the Christmas song is there actually are four different recordings of that song that all kind of have their own feel. We are the most familiar with the last, so that's that on that one.

Right.

She's working in, um, as the story goes, she was working in the post office

Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Nat King Cole in her head.

So through line. Yes.

through line. So she's in there thinking about Nat King Cole and she's humming along this Christmas, da, da, da, Nat King Cole. We're doing a whole thing, trying to get herself through the day. And here comes the opportunity. And that's 1967, by the they wrote the song initially,

I think that's very important.

That is really important, right? So this is, what, six years after the most famous version of Nat King Cole's song. So that's still a contemporary song by the time they record this Christmas. Donny Hathaway's, uh, uh, to this song is that Donny Hathaway wanted a quintessentially black Christmas song, right? And, um, by 1970, they record this song And Sir Daniel, we learned this. We were both surprised by this. this Christmas was not a hit when it dropped. Like, this

paid it

y'all paid this Christmas dust. This Christmas did not become a hit song until after Mr. Hathaway's death. This Christmas was just like, It languished for years before becoming a hit.

And the thing about that with very popular songs, um, that sometimes really great songs essence, sometimes they don't automatically become a commercial success.

Mm

They're like crock pots. And I think a lot of producers and musicians back then wrote songs

Mm hmm.

for the crock pot generation. Meaning that they were, they were allowed, yeah, those songs were allowed to simmer, to stew, to, to, to, to double up on the flavor and really get ingrained. And then they have this longevity that goes on for years, so much so that in doing research for this, um, topic, I discovered that there are like 80 covers and counting. Of the Donny Hathaway classic this Christmas, 80 covers and counting.

makes

industry is all about collecting dollars. And sometimes if it ain't broke, fix it. do, you know, don't recreate, you don't have to recreate the wheel, just do what works and give the people what they want. So we come to the end of, um, as we get ready to wrap up on this episode, I kind of want to go back to what I was asking you in regards to why these songs have such a chokehold on us, specifically in the black community. you hit the nail on the head.

Silence.

this Christmas reflect two distinct eras in black America's history.

Yes.

of the things that affected black Americans deeply in the Jim Crow era, the post civil war era, the, you know, right up until the civil rights movement, there's this, like you said earlier, this need to feel Um, like you're entitled to the American dream and whatever that looks like. Well, back then it looked like class. It looked like pearls. It looked like, you know, a starched suit and, you know, mom with her pin curls and 2. 5, 2. 5 kids and a dog.

what did that mean?

Well, I think back then you were encouraged, like it was, they were encouraged for population reasons to have 2. 5. It's like two in a possible. I don't know what that meant either. And the dog, don't forget the dog. You gotta have that.

the dog. You have to have a dog. Right.

And so, so yes, that's why we get this picture of, and Nat King Cole fit the bill, you know, he was a, a beautiful, Dark skinned black man, but he had that clonk was on point. It was slanted to the side and he had a part, you know, he was, you know, the suit and tie just very classy set, you know, something that we as black Americans could aspire to and white America felt comfortable around, which is really the biggest deal is that they felt comfortable with that representation of black.

Yeah,

to say something. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm.

So I know that I've mentioned this in past holiday episodes, but it bears repeating. Um, for me, the Christmas song represents like the, the start of the holidays because my father, he had that old tattered Nat King Cole album with all the Christmas, like it would be like the cover was falling apart. Cause he had had it since the night, this is 1961, right?

That's wild that you say that, because from what I understand, a lot of, a lot of us don't include the Christmas song on their list of like favorite Christmas Black Christmas holiday music, I think, and this is where

Yes.

dream is starting to feel like, wait a minute, is that real? Or is it a fantasy? You know, I'm, I'm here trying to pursue it, but I don't know if I'm actually going to have it, but. it comes to Christmastime, can create this moment of togetherness, of longing togetherness, and longing for a feeling of warmth and soul through this song, and we are forever grateful for Donnie and Mr. McKinnon for putting pen to paper and creating this holiday classic for us. Black America to enjoy,

Yeah.

um, the diaspora, you know, like I said, you can't have a song that's been covered over 80 times and not have different flavors of it.

Sir Daniel, I got a question then. Let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's talk about it. I'mma just share my, my perspective. I actually think this Christmas is so good that people don't need to cover it. I feel like this Christmas as I get why people cover the, the, the Christmas song because it's a standard. Like, it's a standard at

Yes.

In the culture, right? It has an arrangement, you know, where the notes land, you know, what the structure is. Whereas this Christmas is a groove it could be a lot of things, but I think the original is actually so perfect that we should just leave it there. are your thoughts on people covering this Christmas? Cause I don't like none of the covers. I heard a cover of this Christmas that I like.

You know, I forget who said this, but it's like a running joke. At least you tried. It's very much. At least you tried. We get it. Um, that's the thing about covers and we're going to talk about covers in the upcoming episodes soon. So make sure you stay tuned to Queue Points and subscribe. So when that episode drops, you'll get to chime in on that as well.

Uh,

But

Uh,

the feeling around covers is.

Uh,

one of those things that nobody really asks for, but I believe just artists

Uh,

have this feeling in themselves, like

Uh, Uh, Uh,

that I need to take on.

Uh,

somebody else's music. Some might cover a classic

Uh,

and it's also, again, it also is business. industry realizes. that covers Christmas albums, generate, um, money every single year. McThank you, Mariah Carey. They, you know, we really,

out November 1st.

you know, she started out already, so she's ready to go. And so I think that's just something that the industry is crew has created for another carrot. For artists to, to chase after. a lot of times they don't even really want to participate in it. They just do it because it's something that they're told that they have to do contractually. So a lot of times this not even there, they're not even wanting to do it. So, you know, I can take or leave a lot of covers.

Yeah, absolutely. Y'all, thank you so much for tuning in as we wax poetic about, uh, the Christmas song and this Christmas. you all so much. If you can hear us, if you can see us, please subscribe. Tell a friend about the show. Friends, family, colleagues, if you enjoy Queue Points, chances are they will enjoy Queue Points as well. the question. And Which song is your favorite? Do you like the Christmas song? Do you like this Christmas? Is there another Christmas classic that you really enjoy?

That's right. And what do I say at the end of every episode in this life? You have a choice. You can either pick up the needle or you can let the record play. My name is DJ Sir Daniel,

My name is Jay Ray, y'all.

and this has been Queue Points podcast, dropping

Peace, y'all.