1968- "Christmas Lullaby"

[Final re-edit March 17th, 2012]

.....Five years after releasing the first Motown Christmas album, The Miracles were in a slightly different position. Warren 'Pete' Moore's military service was no longer an issue, obviously, but Claudette only worked with the group in the studio and even then inconsistently. Reportedly she had feared that the rigors of touring had caused multiple miscarriages and not only endangered the possibilities of her and Smokey having a family but endangered her life as well. When they eventually had two children and Smokey left the group in 1972 she retired from recording entirely. There were no other changes in personnel as of 1968 (Bobby Rogers, Ron White and guitarist Marv Tarplin were still the rest of the group), the name of the group had officially changed to Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. That reflected Robinson's higher profile as a songwriter and producer, as well as Vice President of the label. While The Miracles were still a good selling group one could argue that Robinson's name had lately been appearing on more and bigger hits by other artists than his own group's. Also, although they had perfected their chosen style of performance it was a style that in the late 1960's was becoming passé. Fortunately that wouldn't hurt them when recording Christmas carols.

.....On October 11th, 1968 Warren Moore and Terry Johnson produced a recording session for a traditional Christmas carol and an original of their own. Terry Johnson had been Isaiah Johnson of the 1950's doo-wop group The Flamingos from about 1956 to 1963 and joined Motown as a staff writer from 1964 to 1974, when he left to form his own label. At some point, Johnson and Moore collaborated with Beatrice Verdi to compose the song below. Verdi was also an industry veteran probably best known for co-writing a number of songs for Dusty Springfield but whose roots also go back to doo-wop. Her sister performed as Virginia Verga in The Carmelettes, a group that has become the subject of the theatrical memoir "Girl/Group: A Daughter's Tale" by Susan Murphy. Murphy's mother Angela had been a member and Beatrice worked as their manager, although I haven't seen the play and don't know how much, if any, of a role she has in the stage version. More relevant to Motown's history is that she would later co-write the Jackson 5's hit "I'LL BE THERE".

• 03:56 "CHRISTMAS LULLABY" (Warren Moore, Terry Johnson, Beatrice Verdi)
• 03:08 "GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN" (Traditional; see below)
• performed by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
• original source: VALP MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MOTOWN Motown MS681 (US) 12/06/68
• reissued as: VALP CHRISTMAS GIFT RAP Motown MS725 (US) 11/70

.....The song "CHRISTMAS LULLABY" is exactly what its title says, a beautiful song sung to children on Christmas Eve without the cloying unction of "BEDTIME FOR TOYS" or "CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS SONG". Unfortunately that also makes it a poor candidate for an A-side, which may have been in the back or Moore and Robinson's minds when the session was scheduled. Both of these songs (along with the only original number from their 1963 album, "CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY") became The Miracles' contribution to the label's first Various Artists Christmas album two months later, but they were not necessarily recorded with that purpose in mind. The album contains three songs apiece from four acts, the others being The Temptations (whose first Christmas session would be the week following this one) and The Supremes and Stevie Wonder, both of whose contributions were album tracks not used on their previously issued singles. If there had been no plans for a new single from the Miracles, all three of their songs could have come from their 1963 album. The Temptations would record only standards, whereas all of Motown's prior Christmas singles had original A-sides. The expectation would be that The Miracles would be picked for the single, especially in light of the fact that the commercial release of the "CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY" single had been foolishly scrapped five years earlier. That all looks reasonable on paper, but The Temptations' selections had an obvious broader appeal and got the nod for single format.

.....The recording here of "GOD REST YOU MERRY GENTLEMEN" is the first released by a Motown artist and has an arrangement by Wade Marcus that recalls Coltrane's take on "MY FAVORITE THINGS" and some additional production by Smokey Robinson. The title omits the contentious comma altogether. For those unaware of this point, the real title is "GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN" but it is more frequently printed erroneously as "GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLEMEN" which changes the meaning from "may the Lord leave you land owners in a happy state" to "all you happy guys should go to sleep", which has nothing to do with the lyrics. The song has been adapted several times from the poem by John Bell, written in the 1700's. The Miracles' version most closely resembles the first and third verses (of seven) of the version collected and published by William Sandys in 1833. The original tune, almost unrecognizable in its jazz form here, was unattributed but published by E. F. Rimbault in 1846. It ends with an additional half verse I didn't recognize, but will now look for as I plow through the rest of my collection.

.....After the 1968 compilation was reissued in 1970, the original song rarely turned up on collections, although the carol was included on The Miracles' second Christmas album and remained in print that way. These are the appearances I found:

• LP THE SEASON FOR MIRACLES Tamla TS307 (US) 11/23/70 - incl. "GOD REST..."
• VA2LP A MOTOWN CHRISTMAS Motown M795V2 (US) 09/25/73 - incl. "GOD REST..."
• VALP IT'S CHRISTMAS IN MOTOWN Music For Pleasure SPR90010 (UK) c.1973 - incl. "CHRISTMAS LULLABY"
• VALP WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS Natural Resources NR4011T1 (US) 10/78 - incl. "GOD REST..."
• LP THE SEASON FOR MIRACLES Motown 5253ML (US) 07/82 - reissue of the 1970 LP
• VA2LP A MOTOWN CHRISTMAS Motown 5256ML (US) 07/82 - reissue of the 1973 VA2LP
• CD THE SEASON FOR MIRACLES Motown 3746352532 (US) 08/01/92 - reissue of the 1970 LP
• VACD 20 CHRISTMAS CLASSICS Motown/Universal 731453-01092-5 (?) c.1993 - possibly British, this uses the cover art of the 1978 VALP but contains both songs
• VACD CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY Motown Master Series 37463-6326-2 (Germany) 10/19/93 - incl. "CHRISTMAS LULLABY"
• VACD MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MOTOWN MCA Special Products 737463-85002-5 (US) 11/24/93 - incl. "GOD REST..." [almost identical to 1978 VALP]
• CD OUR VERY BEST CHRISTMAS Uptown/Universal 6012153-356-20 (US) 10/12/99 - incl. "CHRISTMAS LULLABY"
• CD 20TH CENTURY MASTERS/THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION: THE BEST OF SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES Motown/Universal 6024986-031-78 (US) 09/23/03 - incl. "CHRISTMAS LULLABY" [this is identical to OUR VERY BEST CHRISTMAS with new packaging]
• VA2CD THE ULTIMATE MOTOWN CHRISTMAS COLLECTION Motown/Universal B0013383-02 (US) 10/13/09 - incl. "GOD REST..."

.....Perhaps next year for the 50th anniversary there will be a package combining the 1963 and 1970 albums as well as "CHRISTMAS LULLABY" and promotional record greetings. All of that comes to less than 70 minutes, leaving room for an outtake or two if there are any.