A couple more for a soul Christmas

Otis Redding's rendition of "White Christmas," was released by Stax in October of 1968, ten months after Otis' death. It's an introspective, almost melancholy version of the Isaiah Berlin classic, and is the second song covered by both Bing Crosby and Otis. ("Try a Little Tenderness" being the first.) Both recordings show Otis' genius at turning a song into his own.

And that's what James Brown does with "Please Come Home for Christmas." The last thirty seconds of this recording is James Brown going completely James Brown. The track, co-written by the great Charles Brown and Gene Redd, appears on "James Brown's Funky Christmas," a 1995 collection of seasonal tracks released in 1966, 1968, and 1970.

We wish you a fine Christmas Eve!