Give Love at Christmas is a Christmas album by the Temptations, released on August 14, 1980 via Gordy Records. The group's second holiday release following 1970's The Temptations Christmas Card, it features each Temptation leading on various popular Christmas carols and original Christmas songs. The album includes versions of The Jackson 5's "Give Love on Christmas Day", "The Little Drummer Boy", "This Christmas", and "Silent Night", alongside originals written or co-written by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. and Motown star and vice-president Smokey Robinson.
| Give Love at Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album (Christmas) by | ||||
| Released | August 14, 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 34:11 | |||
| Label | Gordy G8-998M1 | |||
| Producer |
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| The Temptations chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [2] |
The Temptations' 1980 recording of "Silent Night" (punctuated by bass singer Melvin Franklin's sign-off of "Merry Christmas, from the Temptations!") became an enduring staple of rhythm and blues radio during the holiday season.[3] In addition to "Silent Night", "The Christmas Song" and "Little Drummer Boy" also was previously recorded on their previous Christmas album The Temptations Christmas Card.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Leads | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Give Love on Christmas Day" (Berry Gordy Jr., Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards) | Glenn Leonard | 3:36 |
| 2. | "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) | Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin | 5:08 |
| 3. | "Love Comes With Christmas" (Alice Johnson, Marv Johnson) | Street | 3:45 |
| 4. | "The Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) | All | 4:08 |
| 5. | "This Christmas" (Donny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor) | Edwards | 4:26 |
| 6. | "Everything for Christmas" (Gordy, Teddy Randazzo) | Street | 4:12 |
| 7. | "Christmas Everyday" (Smokey Robinson) | Franklin | 2:56 |
| 8. | "Silent Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr) | Edwards, Leonard, Franklin | 6:00 |
- Note: Some pressings incorrectly list The Christmas Song on the label as being 5:36. This is incorrect.
Personnel
edit- Dennis Edwards: tenor/baritone vocals
- Glenn Leonard: first tenor/falsetto vocals
- Richard Street: tenor/baritone vocals
- Melvin Franklin: bass vocals
- Otis Williams: second tenor/baritone vocals
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Lytle, Craig. Give Love at Christmas at AllMusic
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 697.
- ^ Tucker, Neely (December 24, 2004). "A Motown 'Silent Night' That Echoes Down the Years". The Washington Post.