skip to content
home > albums > s > this page

Support www.hipchristmas.com! Amazon Shop at Amazon, Apple Music, and more...

On This PageOn This Page

It's Christmas Time (Stax Records)Stax Records' It's Christmas Time Again (1982) is the neglected younger sister of the belle of the ball - Atlantic's Soul Christmas (1968). There's no arguing with the pure brilliance of the latter album, but Stax's entry in the soul sweepstakes has much to offer rhythm & blues enthusiasts, including grittier music and a more worldly view of the holiday season. Stax, of course, was part of the Atlantic family during the fertile 60's, and some of their artists (William Bell, Carla Thomas, Booker T. & The MG's) contributed mightily to Soul Christmas. When the two labels acrimoniously parted ways in 1968, Atlantic kept Stax's invaluable masters thanks to ill-advised business deals signed by Stax president Jim Stewart. Stax picked themselves up and continued as best they could, scoring numerous hits with artists then coming into their own - Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, and the Emotions, among others. Plus, several established stars remained from the label's heyday - notably, Albert King and Rufus Thomas. These are the same artists who form the core of It's Christmas Time Again.

But despite their initial success, Stax Records eventually ran out of hits and money and was shuttered in 1976. Their rich catalog (from '68 to '75, at least) landed at Fantasy Records, with It's Christmas Time Again emerging a few years later. This frequently brilliant LP compiled nearly all of the Christmas songs released by the label during their post-Atlantic phase, and Fantasy added two more tracks when they reissued the record on CD in 1989.

Like most black pop of the period, the songs on It's Christmas Time Again struggle with a marked duality. While some songs (Albert King's "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" and Rufus Thomas' "I'll Be Your Santa Baby") set high water marks as horny Christmas classics, others (the Staples' "Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas?" and the Emotions' "Black Christmas") address spiritual and cultural problems. Isaac Hayes, meanwhile, is (as usual) absorbed with his own bad self ("The Mistletoe And Me").

Christmas In SoulsvilleBut, this era was also the dawn of the "slow jam," and if I have any substantial criticism of It's Christmas Time Again, it's that some tracks slow things down too much - mainly holiday standards reinterpreted as soul ballads, such as the Rance Allen Group's "White Christmas" or the Temprees' title track, which is actually just a version of Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song." Nevertheless, It's Christmas Time Again is a top-notch album and an interesting postscript to the fascinating Stax story.

Rewriting History For The Better

In 2004, Fantasy merged with Concord Records (and later Telarc) to form the Concord Music Group. This led to a wholesale refurbishing of their catalog, producing such gems as Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2007. Later that year, the label issued a rejiggered version of It's Christmas Time Again as Christmas In Soulsville (initially sold exclusively through Best Buy).

As mentioned above, the Stax masters distributed through Atlantic stayed with Atlantic when the two labels parted ways. However, Stax retained the rights to any unreleased masters, which made releases like Otis Redding's Remember Me (1992) possible, even though all his official records had been released through Atlantic subsidiary Atco. This also made it possible for Christmas In Soulsville to include alternate takes of Otis' "Merry Christmas Baby" and Booker T. & The MG's "Winter Wonderland" - both recorded (but not released) during Stax's Atlantic-distributed heyday. Even better, the label tacks on Rufus & Carla Thomas' "That Makes Christmas Day," the long-lost, reverent b-side of Rufus' ribald "I'll Be Your Santa Baby."

It's Christmas Time (Stax Records)The whole package is crisply remastered and, all together, these upgrades make Christmas In Soulsville a necessary purchase for Stax acolytes - even for those who already own It's Christmas Time Again. My only complaint is that Concord missed a golden opportunity to compile the complete Stax holiday catalog. By my count, Stax produced just 18 seasonal songs - not counting those controlled by Atlantic Records - and one of those is a country song. The remaining 17 tracks would have easily fit on a CD or, obviously, a digital album - though probably not a vinyl LP. At 15 tracks, Christmas In Soulsville comes close - but no cigar.

This is even more the case with the next iteration, Stax Christmas, released in 2023 by Craft Recordings, Concord's new reissue label. The music remains fine, of course, but at a mere 12 tracks (and scant annotation), it's another missed opportunity. Nevertheless, the music remains fine, and we get three new rarities. The first is a longer, alternate mix of the alternate take of Otis Redding's "Merry Christmas Baby" first released on Christmas In Soulsville - nice, but no big deal. The second is nicer: the first-ever stereo mix of the single edit of Albert King's "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" (though the liner notes don't actually say so). The third rarity, however, is really big news: a previously unreleased version of "Blue Christmas" by Carla Thomas, probably recorded during the Stax heyday with the crack Memphis team that backed her up on the 1966 single "All I Want For Christmas Is You" (the liner notes do not specify). Plus, Craft includes a funky ode called "Season's Greetings" recorded by the long-forgotten Cix Bits in 1973. Previously, this song had only been available on the massive boxed set, The Complete Stax-Volt Singles Vol. 3 (1994).

At any rate, the bottom line remains: If you love soul music, or you love Christmas music - and especially if you love both - the holiday catalog of Stax Records is must-hear, must-own stuff.

A Tale of Two Taylors

Finally, a quick note about Little Johnny Taylor, who contributes an unexceptional but serviceable cover of Charles Brown's "Please Come Home For Christmas" to It's Christmas Time Again and Christmas In Soulsville. He recorded it for Galaxy Records in 1965, and Fantasy (later Concord) appears to have included it simply because they owned the catalogs of both Stax and Galaxy.

Little Johnny Taylor was best known for his 1963 hit "Part Time Love." Crucially, he is not the same person as Johnnie Taylor, who recorded for Stax for many years and whose biggest hits include "Who's Makin' Love" and "Cheaper To Keep Her." For what it's worth, "Big" Johnnie never recorded a Christmas song during his four-decade career, though he recorded a lot of gospel music. [top of page]

Albums Albums

SongsEssential Songs

  • Black Christmas (Emotions, 1970)
  • Blue Christmas (Carla Thomas, circa 1966)
  • Christmas Comes But Once A Year (Albert King, circa 1974)
  • I'll Be Your Santa Baby (Rufus Thomas, 1973) Top 100 Song
  • Merry Christmas Baby (take 1) (Otis Redding, 1967) Top 100 Song
  • The Mistletoe And Me (Isaac Hayes, 1969)
  • Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin' (Albert King, 1974) Top 100 Song
  • Season's Greetings (Cix Bits, 1973)
  • That Makes Christmas Day (Rufus & Carla Thomas, 1973)
  • What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas? (Emotions, 1973)
  • Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas? (Staple Singers, 1970) Top 100 Song
  • Winter Wonderland (take 2) (Booker T. & The MG's, 1966)

Further ListeningFurther Listening

[top of page]