In a sweet, new YouTube video, David Letterman has reunited Darlene Love and his former house band leader Paul Shaffer for the first time in nine years to resume a longtime holiday tradition that capped off the Christmas episodes of Letterman’s late night talk shows for 28 years.
“I hate all novelty holiday songs,” Letterman says in the new video posted on his Letterman YouTube channel. “I hate them. The only one I love is ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).'”
Together again for the first time since the final Christmas episode of Letterman’s Late Show in 2014, Love, Letterman, Shaffer and Late Show executive producer Barbara Gaines chat about the annual performances that resurrected Love’s solo career and became a beloved holiday TV tradition.
The 1963 song, written Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector and recorded by Love for the compilation album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, faded from public memory until Love, at Shaffer’s request, appeared on the 1986 episode of NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman to sing the song. One year later, the song was covered by (then) arguably the biggest band in the world, U2, for the charity compilation, A Very Special Christmas.
Below is the 2023 version that Letterman revived and I also included the video of Darlene singing it on Letterman's TV show as well. Watch and enjoy!
Photo: Cindy Ord / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images