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There are no dates for the performances on this 1989 compilation, but I'm guessing they are all from the late 60s and early 70s. Little Johnny Taylor does "Please Come Home for Christmas," Rance Allen Group takes on "White Christmas," The Temprees do "The Christmas Song" and Albert King tries "Christmas Comes but Once a Year." There are some originals, too. Isaac Hayes (Chef!) does his Hot Buttered Soul routine on "The Mistletoe and Me" and "Winter Snow," Rufus Thomas comes up with an answer record to Eartha Kitt, "I'll Be Your Santa, Baby," and Albert King and Mack Rice each do versions of Rice's great "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'." And the Staple Singers' "Who Took the Merry out of Christmas" is here too; it also appears on the album Bummed Out Christmas. Almost as good as Soul Christmas. Update: Reissued for 2007 as Christmas in Soulsville with three additional songs, "That Makes Christmas Baby" by Rufus Thomas, "Merry Christmas Baby" by Otis Redding, and Booker T & the MGs' "Winter Wonderland."

Part of Rhino's 50th anniversary commemorative reissue series on the Genius, this actually is not among his seminal Atlantic sides but is a latter-day compilation, roughly 1985, originally done for Columbia Records. As such, it's probably a bit too mellow compared with other recordings mentioned on this site; there's more mainstream jazz and soft blues to this than rock or rhythm 'n blues. Still, this is Ray Charles we're talking about; you cocktail music fans out there, this is the kind of music you ought to be listening to. The bonus cut of "Baby It's Cold Outside" is a duet with Betty Carter from a 1962 ABC single, but it fits right in with the later sides. Update: Another Christmas CD, Ray Charles Celebrates a Gospel Christmas With the Voices of Jubilation, is the soundtrack to a Christmas special released on DVD in 2003. Needless to say, it's more in the gospel line, and Ray throws in his highly touted version of "America the Beautiful" too. Ray's non-Atlantic works appear to be available through Concord Music Group now, including this album.

A lot of folks out there believe Al Green can do no wrong as a singer and musician, and while the pipes are here in this 1983 outing, the results are lackluster. Sharp listeners can pick out Al's original Memphis sound, but they have to wade through late 70s disco arrangements to do so in most cases here -- and that sound was already out of style by the time Al made this album. This album's only about 27 minutes long, too, but it's just as well. Considering that Al still turns in his trademark vocal performances here, it's a shame the production and arrangements aren't up to snuff. For serious Al fans only.

This was the flip side of the song "I Would Die 4 U," from the "Purple Rain" soundtrack, and if you didn't know it was Prince, you still would be hard pressed to guess anybody else. It's one of The Artist's power ballad/melodramas, and while it's not as good as its A-side, it's still a worthy effort for the Christmas season. Given Prince's prolific tendencies, it's kind of amazing he hasn't done another Christmas song since this 1984 effort. Still available on Prince's B-sides compilation CD.

The R&B teen hearthrobs put out this Christmas EP in 1985, and despite its shortness, it still turns up for sale at your favorite record store, possibly since former member Bobby Brown still turns up in the tabloids. Only six songs, you still have to give them credit for not including any obvious choices; in fact, it looks like five of the six tunes were written especially for this project, one by group members Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. The opener, "Give Love on Christmas Day," is a Jackson 5ive tune by their house songwriters The Corporation. "All I Want for Christmas (Is My Girl)" is the tune that best references the group's hit sound. The rest have that 80s R&B-pop sheen to them, but the whole CD wears surprisingly well; acts that followed into the Christmas market 10 or 15 years later haven't actually improved on what these guys did way back then. Trivia: Michael Sembello -- remember "Maniac" from the "Flashdance" soundtrack? -- gets a co-producer credit on a couple of songs. This collection has been reissued as one of Universal's "20th Century Collections," adding Johnny Gill's solo version of "Give Love on Christmas Day."

This holiday EP from 1987 has been excerpted on a number of compilations over time, mainly the title tune and "Slick Nick (You Devil You)." The title tune is a clattery rave-up of the kind that Fishbone made famous on their regular albums, playing off the classic Jimmy Stewart movie, while "Slick Nick" is an organ-led ballad castigating the jolly elf for his carousing ways. The uptempo "Just Call Me Scrooge" tells Ebenezer's story in a danceable way. Rounding out the EP is "Iration," a swaying reggae prayer that is not necessarily holiday-related. Nice stuff, and pretty hard to find -- my copy is a Japanese import. A double-disc odds 'n sods collection has all four songs from this EP on it.