by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)
Welcome to the vacation season, Good Black Information household! We hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving – and are counting down the 25 days of Christmas now that it’s December.
In what’s grow to be a vacation custom, we’ve up to date our now huge Black Christmas music Spotify playlist with a complete heap of recent songs. The month of November was spent looking out far and huge throughout the web for brand spanking new releases, previous classics now on Spotify, and different tunes and artists we missed in earlier years.
So right here it’s – a refreshed and revived “Final Soul of the Season – The Black Christmas Soundtrack – Expanded Version 2023”.
We’ve now obtained over 700 songs throughout 40+ hours (and we’ll add extra if some essential tunes get launched within the subsequent few weeks) – with the objective to be probably the most definitive Black Christmas playlists round.
Should you’re nonetheless subscribed to the listing from a earlier 12 months, we’re right here to let you recognize it’s now up to date and larger/higher than ever.
Should you’ve not subscribed, test it out if you are wrapping presents, baking cookies, adorning your tree, or simply sitting cozily in entrance of a pleasant roaring fireplace, with soccer on mute within the subsequent room.
As a reminder, we got down to make a mainstream Christmas radio station that you need to use within the background all season lengthy. However within the GBN custom, the main target is on Black artists (plus occasional duet companions and somewhat Robin Thicke).
Whereas different vacation radio focuses on Brenda Lee and Bing Crosby, we’ve obtained Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. Once they play Michael Buble, we play John Legend, or Hamilton star Leslie Odom.
After all, we’ve obtained The Jackson 5, Donny Hathaway, the unique Eartha Kitt model of “Santa Child,” Stevie Surprise, and two totally different renditions of The Temptations doing “Silent Evening.” And similar to everybody else, Mariah Carey!
We’ve sequenced the listing rigorously – so that you simply don’t overload on the identical songs, tempos or artists too incessantly. You possibly can simply let it play – or hit shuffle. Or you’ll be able to even use it as a base of songs to edit down into your personal private listing of favorites.
Along with soul and pop, there’s some jazz, some gospel, some blues, some a capella, and even disco, reggae and Black nation within the combine. Hopefully you discover all of the classics you want, and a few model new surprises you didn’t know you needed.
This 12 months’s large new Christmas releases embrace albums from Brandy (at present starring within the new Netflix hit Finest. Christmas. Ever!), jazz star Gregory Porter, and scorching new soul star October London.
Ace producer Adam Blackstone has assembled an album with buddies that embrace Keke Palmer and Boyz II Males. And on the normal aspect, Grammy-winning Finest New Artist Samara Pleasure has issued an EP, and the legendary Johnny Mathis has issued new tracks as properly. We’ve obtained a pair songs from all of those.
Simply launched this previous weekend was the vigorous new Amazon film Sweet Cane Lane, the place Eddie Murphy reunites with director Reggie Hudlin for the primary time since Boomerang over 30 years in the past. From that film, we’ve added two tracks: “Miracle” from Raphael Saadiq with vocals by British dance vocalist Kelli-Leigh; and “A Timeless Christmas” from former Disney baby star turned Grammy-nominated grownup singer Coco Jones.
Followers of traditional ‘90s soul will admire new songs from “Don’t You Neglect It” singer Glenn Lewis, Brit soulstress Gabrielle (of “Desires” fame) and from LaTocha, previously of Xscape, however now recording for Motown Gospel. Additionally bringing a gospel message in a pair of candy latest vacation songs is Debbie Winans, the youngest of Mother & Pop Winans’ 10 youngsters. You might bear in mind her from the Angie & Debbie duo within the early ‘90s.
And there’s new Patti Labelle too. In soccer loopy Philadelphia, Patti’s hometown, she joined The Philly Specials (comprised of a number of singing members of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles) in a charity duet remake of “This Christmas.”
Different acquainted names becoming a member of the playlist embrace Jordin Sparks, Jason DeRulo, Syleena Johnson, Actual Housewives’ Kandi (we had beforehand missed her “So Prepared for Christmas” monitor from a decade in the past), Keb Mo, Amber Riley (main the “Glee” forged), Carl Thomas, Shaggy, jazz diva Nnenna Freelon, and gospel’s Le’Andria Johnson, in addition to The McCrary Sisters (joined by Shirley Caesar). Among the many newer era of hitmakers with latest tracks for our listing are Giveon, actress/singer Kiana Ledé, latest gospel star Jon Reddick, and younger reggae hitmaker Chris Martin.
Additionally becoming a member of the listing is the stunning 2019 ballad “First Christmas (That I Cherished You)” from the Netflix film Let It Snow, sung by actor Shameik Moore (of the Spiderverse animated motion pictures). “Spend Christmas with You” additionally comes from an actor/singer – Texas’ Main Finley, identified by the moniker MAJOR. and co-starred in Fox’s Star in addition to appeared as Curtis Mayfield within the Aretha Franklin season of the cable TV sequence Genius.
We’ve additionally obtained a pair new songs from Alicia Keys. Her Santa Child album was launched for buy final 12 months, however just one music had made its method to Spotify. Now the entire album is on the market for streaming. And, digging by means of the (Spotify) crates, we’ve added some traditional oldies from Ike & Tina Turner, Etta James, Jackie Wilson, Lowell Fulson, Carla Thomas, The 5 Keys and Sugar Chile Robinson.
Yearly, the combo of tunes on Spotify modifications, as a result of licensing points. Typically we lose songs already on the listing, however on the similar time acquire songs made freshly obtainable to streaming. This 12 months, we needed to half with a pair tunes from Freddie Jackson’s vacation album – sadly not obtainable on Spotify.
However – for the primary time streaming is Teddy Pendergrass’ Christmas album (his closing one), repped right here by his upbeat “Pleasure to the World.” And making their return to streaming are a pair of early Luther Vandross vacation tracks (“At Christmas Time” & “Could Christmas Carry You Happiness”) each recorded within the mid-70s throughout his time in a bunch merely named Luther.
Lastly, probably the most pleasant components of in search of out new songs for the playlist is discovering new artists to supply, a few of them actually contemporary faces, whereas others have maybe been working efficiently in Europe.
We had been excited to run throughout a number of 2nd era artists to take a look at, together with Bobby McFerrin’s daughter, Madison McFerrin. Madison has releases on Spotify relationship again to 2016, however the boppy “Alone on Christmas” is her first holiday-themed launch. The very profitable European hitmaker Mabel is the daughter of ‘90s star Neneh Cherry – and brings us the 2021 ballad “Loneliest Time of 12 months.” And the members of soul quartet WanMor (with the model new single “This Vacation”) are actually the 4 sons of Boyz II Males’s Wanya Morris.
In the meantime, alt-soul singer Kadjha Bonet is half-sister to actress Lisa Bonet – and brings a mild simplicity to final 12 months’s ‘California Vacation’ EP, which encompasses a pretty model of the occasionally lined Michael Jackson traditional “Little Christmas Tree.”
A number of of our different singers might already be acquainted to followers of TV singing competitors exhibits. Chris Blue (an progressive model of “We 3 Kingz!”), Anthony Evans (“The place Are You Christmas”) and Kyla Jade (highly effective “On a regular basis Will Be Like a Vacation”) come from The Voice. Tia Kofi (the beautiful ballad “Lonely This Christmas” and the upbeat Britney Spears cowl “My Solely Want”) comes from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. British-born/now American Alex Boye made his mark on America’s Bought Expertise protecting Taylor Swift, however presents right here an African-inspired “Little Drummer Boy.”
After which there’s 15-year-old Sara James from 2022’s season of “America’s Bought Expertise.” James, a latest finalist, is just not truly American, however slightly a younger Black lady conquering the music charts in her native Poland, the place she has efficiently recorded within the Polish language. On our playlist, the bouncy pop music “Pretty Christmas” is definitely a translated model of one in every of her Polish hits.
Elsewhere from abroad, Pleasure Denalane hails from Germany, The Mamas come from Sweden, sister group Shiikane are Nigerians raised within the UK, and Teni is a profitable Nigerian star. Olivia Dean, a brand new star from the UK, already has over 3M Spotify followers (that’s greater than Patti Labelle + Teddy Pendergrass mixed!). She took “The Christmas Tune” again onto the charts within the UK two years in the past. The listing additionally options a number of new songs from British alt-soul feminine vocalist Ala.ni, whose followers to this point hail from throughout Europe.
Amongst different new artists, most distinguished on the listing is the already Grammy-nominated a capella quartet King’s Return, from whom our playlist has a number of songs, together with a model of the fantastically haunting British Christmas favourite, “Strolling within the Air.” Additionally within the a capella fashion, an outfit known as The Soul of Santa options LA jazz vocalist Paula Sanders in its tackle “Skating” from A Charlie Brown Christmas fame.
We’re additionally introducing two new promising gospel-oriented household teams from the mid-Atlantic area. Trilogy is comprised of two sisters and a brother from the DC space who’ve simply launched an EP final month entitled Christmas Uncovered. And The Group Fireplace are 5 younger males comprised of two units of brothers from New Jersey with a contemporary new EP known as The Reward.
And from elsewhere across the US, neo-soul feminine vocalists are taking our listing by storm, together with Chicago’s Nola Adé, together with her rendition of “Deck the Halls,” Seattle’s Choklate, together with her mood-setting “Tis the Season,” and Los Angeles’ Child Rose together with her 2021 unique “To: You.”
That’s a complete bunch of nice new vacation music to take a look at together with all of your favorites. So, warmth up the new chocolate, fireplace up the fireside, trim the tree and benefit from the playlist. As The Whispers would say, “Completely happy Holidays to You!”
