David Letterman Reunites with Darlene Love and Paul Shaffer for a Christmas Tradition

There's one cherished holiday tradition I've really missed over the past nine years, and it's the one that ended when The Late Show with David Letterman went off the air in 2015. For a span of 28 years, from 1986 until 2014, Darlene Love appeared on the final Letterman show before Christmas 21 times to sing her classic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." Recorded in 1963 for the iconic album "A Christmas Gift For You from Phil Spector," it's my favorite Christmas song of all time. 

Well, it's not quite the same, but Letterman reunited briefly just the other day with Love, his former band leader, Paul Shaffer, and executive producer Barbara Gaines, to share their memories of this former holiday tradition:

Love first appeared with Letterman in December 1986, when his show was on at 12:30 a.m. on NBC following Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. She returned in 1994 after Letterman moved his show to CBS and appeared every year of its CBS run save for 2007, when a writers' strike preempted most original programming. I didn't watch much late night TV during those years, but I always tried to watch Letterman's final broadcast before Christmas to see Love perform.

There were two other traditional components to the last pre-Christmas show each year. First, Paul Shaffer regaled folks with his story of the appearance of William Conrad, the star of TV's Canon, on the Sonny and Cher Christmas show. Next, Jay Thomas was usually on hand to tell his famous Lone Ranger story. Sadly, Thomas died several years ago and therefore missed this week's reunion. Shaffer did tell his William Conrad story at this year's get-together.

For those others who loved this late night Late Show tradition, super fan Don Giller has created a lengthy tape featuring all of Darlene Love's appearances and other related material that's well worth watching.

 

Be sure to check out Giller's written description of the video on its YouTube posting page HERE. 

Thanks to Don Giller and to all who are responsible for this wonderful tradition and for this year's reunion!

Watch a Supercut of Darlene Love's Holiday Appearances on Letterman Over the Years

Read An Appreciation of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" on "Reason to Rock"

Have You Heard the One About Cher and William Conrad Singing Christmas Carols?

As I've repeatedly pointed out, last night's final pre-Christmas Late Show with David Letterman marked the end of two longstanding holiday traditions. Darlene Love has been on-hand to sing her 1963 classic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the past 28 years, while Jay Thomas has appeared nearly every year since 1998 to play the Quarterback Challenge and regale us with his famous "Lone Ranger Story," which Dave calls "the greatest talk show story ever told." With Letterman scheduled to retire next May, those traditions effectively ended with last night's show. But last night was also the swan song for another, less well-known tradition — Paul Shaffer's "Sonny and Cher (and Cannon)" Christmas story. Here's Paul on last night's Late Show describing what he remembers about the 1973 holiday episode of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour:


 

Well, now, this story intrigued me for two reasons — first, because I'm a fan of really bad 1970s television, and, second, because I like Cannon, the famous Quinn Martin detective show starring William Conrad.* (I know, I know. I'm being redundant.) If Conrad was on TV singing Christmas carols in the '70s, I want to see it. So, I went straight to YouTube where I quickly found the clip Shaffer described from a 41-year-old episode of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour:




All in all, I'd say that Shaffer's description was pretty much spot on. (Conrad saunters at about 1:10 to sing "The First Noel," and Cher, her hands in the famous muff, begins singing "Oh Holy Night" at around 2:50.) I'd never heard Shaffer's rendition before, and even if his telling of it is a genuine holiday tradition, it doesn't hold a candle to Thomas's and Love's longstanding regular appearances. In case you missed it, here's Darlene Love on last night's Late Show with David Letterman: 

And here's Letterman's entire last pre-Christmas broadcast from 12/19/14. The Jay Thomas bit begins at 16:32:

 

How did Thomas feel about ending his traditional pre-Christmas appearances?  "I am so friggin' glad this is over," he deadpanned. 

Not me.

_______________
*Brave adult readers who are interested in a different perspective on William Conrad than what we saw on Cannon can listen to his X-rated rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" HERE.

McEnroe Steps Into Jay Thomas' Shoes to Preserve a Late Show Holiday Tradition

When it comes to Christmas traditions, little things mean a lot. That's why I was so sorry to learn that Jay Thomas wouldn't be appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman this year for the program's final pre-Christmas broadcast. Letterman's final show before Christmas has become a special treat for many fans, largely because of the annual appearance of Darlene Love. For the past 28 years, she's closed the show with a rousing version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," a song she first recorded for the classic holiday album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, which was released 50 years ago last month. By those standards, Thomas is a relative newcomer to Letterman's pre-holiday festivities, but he's been part of the show since 1993, which surely establishes his contributions as traditional. Thomas is tasked with two jobs each year – participating in the annual Quarterback Challenge, and telling his hilariously funny Lone Ranger Story – and while neither seems to be inescapably seasonal, they've taken on all the trappings of mistletoe and Christmas stockings. Thus, the news that Thomas would be sidelined this year due to a recent surgery was akin to seeing Santa take off without Donner and Blitzen. It might work, but it just wouldn't be the same. Little did we know that last night's first guest, tennis star John McEnroe, had been specifically recruited to fill Thomas's shoes for the night. That's right, McEnroe not only assumed the Quarterback Challenge (albeit with tennis balls instead of a football), but he also took on the greater challenge of telling Thomas's Lone Ranger story:



If you ask me, McEnroe did an amazing job, and he sure made it seem like Christmas again. And things got even more festive toward the end of the show when it was time for the pièce de résistance …

Ladies and gentlemen, the incomparable Darlene Love:

Now it's really time for Christmas. Let the celebrations begin!

Don't Miss Darlene Love on Letterman TONIGHT!

Darlene Love singing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on The Late Show

Tonight's the night for one of my very favorite holiday traditions:  Darlene Love joins David Letterman, Paul Shaffer and the gang for the final pre-Christmas Late Show and a rousing rendition of my favorite holiday song, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." This will be Darlene's 28th pre-Christmas appearance on The Late Show, and somehow she seems to look and sound better with each passing year. Unfortunately, Letterman's other holiday tradition has been sidelined this year, and that's the annual appearance of Jay Thomas to compete with Dave in the annual Quarterback Challenge and tell the famous Lone Ranger story. Thomas recently had minor surgery and had to cancel this year's appearance. We hope he returns next year, but, in the meantime, here's a look at the outrageously funny Lone Ranger story he tells each year:




The Late Show with David Letterman, tonight at 11:35 pm on CBS TV.

Catch Darlene Love Tonight on the Late Show

Tonight's the night Darlene Love is scheduled to make her annual visit to CBS's Late Show with David Letterman to perform her holiday classic Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). Letterman first heard Love perform the song when she was appearing with band leader Paul Shaffer in a play called Leader of the Pack, and he liked it so much that he's invited Love to perform the song on his show (then NBC's Late Night) – not just once, but every year for the past 27 years! (Tonight will be her 26th live performance, as a writers' strike in 2007 required the airing of a rerun that year.) Darlene typically appears toward the end of the broadcast, but you'll want to catch the rest of the show, too, because Jay Thomas will also be on hand for his annual quarterback competition with the host and to tell one of funniest stories I've ever heard on broadcast TV. For those who want more, Darlene's back on stage tomorrow night for her annual holiday show in Newark, New Jersey, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Darlene Love's on Letterman this Friday!

One of my very favorite holiday traditions is the annual appearance of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love on the Late Show with David Letterman singing what is perhaps my very favorite holiday song of all time, "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)." This song was first released 48 years ago (can you believe it?) on what Rolling Stone has called "[h]ands down, the best holiday album in the history of pop music," A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. Letterman first saw Love perform the song in 1986 in a show called Leader of the Pack, in which his band leader, Paul Shaffer, was also performing. Letterman told Shaffer he loved the song and asked him to arrange for Love to sing it on their show during the holidays that year. That performance must have been terrific, because Love's been invited back to perform "Christmas" on the final pre-holiday broadcast every year since. (There was no Late Show in 2007 due to a writers' strike, but even then CBS replayed an earlier Love appearance.) Well, folks, this year's final pre-Christmas Late Show is this Friday, December 23, so make plans to watch or set your DVR! Also appearing on Friday will be Jay Thomas, who, in another Late Show holiday tradition, will join Dave in a unique football-throwing contest and recount his famous Lone Ranger story. To help get you in the proper spirit, here's a mash-up of clips from Love's various performances over the past 24 years: 

Many other artists have tried their hand at cover versions of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home," but none have been able to approach the indescribable magnificence of a Darlene Love performance. No, not even Bruce Springsteen, who was joined by an all-star cast in a noble attempt at one of his Asbury Park benefit shows in 2001 (below). 



As one particularly savvy YouTube commentator noted, "Nice try, but it comes off as souless. This belongs to Darlene Love and nobody else will ever get close." I expect Bruce himself would be the first to concede this point. Certainly, Bruce and E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt were among Love's biggest supporters when she was under consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. A number of years ago, Steve gave Love a holiday tune he authored, "All Alone on Christmas," which Love performed for the movie Home Alone 2:

There's a video out there somewhere of Love playing that one with the E Street Band and its Mighty Horns, but it's not currently available on YouTube. If you get a chance to see and hear it elsewhere, don't miss it! More on Springsteen and company tomorrow, when we look at Tracks 40 and 41 of my 2011 holiday CD.