1962- "The Christmas Song" (Marvin Gaye)

.....This was a live recording from the Apollo Theater, New York, NY on December 16, 1962. Obviously that would be too late to release for that year's holiday sales, but neither the Miracles' sessions in August or the Kim Weston song recorded in October led to any releases that year either, so I'm not certain if there were clear plans for this recording when it was captured. Because of conflicting liner notes from different sources the post that I put together last year was confused and probably confusing. What is certain is that the song was originally recorded by Nat 'King' Cole and written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells. As a cover it should not be given any priority on this blog but I'm including it as a part of Motown's history with Christmas music as a whole. As for the conflicting liner notes, I should just list all the sources I've been able to find.

.....First, the original appearance in 4CD THE MARVIN GAYE COLLECTION Motown MOTD4-6311 (US) 09/19/90

• Live from the Apollo 1963, previously unreleased
• Mixed from the original masters by Roger Nichols
• Producer: William Stevenson; Compilation Producer: George Soloman
• Mastered by John Matousek at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA

.....That first appearance lists the running time at 2:22, but other appearances range from 2:35 to 2:38. It first appeared in an all-Christmas context in VACD CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY Motown Master Series 37463-6326-2 (Germany) 10/19/93

• Produced by Smokey Robinson
• First issued on the album THE MARVIN GAYE COLLECTION Motown 6311, 09/19/90
• Recorded live at the Apollo Theater, 1963
• Compilation produced by Cary E. Mansfield
• Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch at Digiprep, Los Angeles, CA

.....I don't own a copy of VACD A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM MOTOWN VOLUME 2 Spectrum 544 684-2 (UK) 10/05/01, although I've learned that both this CD and Volume 1 (released simultaneously) contain 18 tracks. While Spectrum is generally a budget label dealing in repackagings of licensed recordings, that seems to be more generous than you'd find on a loss-leader. They could have song-writing and even producing credits but it's unlikely that there would be revealing or elaborate liner notes and certainly not investigations into the recording's history. Leave a comment if you've found otherwise.

.....The next appearance changes the recording dates, but doesn't name a producer. At this point there's one vote for Mickey, one for Smokey, one absentee and this makes one abstention. From VACD A MOTOWN CHRISTMAS VOLUME 2 Motown/Universal 440 016 364-2 (US) 11/06/01 :

• Recorded on stage at the Apollo Theater, New York, NY, probably December 16, 1962
• First issued with a different mix on the box set THE MARVIN GAYE COLLECTION Motown 6311, Sept 1990
• Compilation produced by Harry Weinger
• Digitally remastered from original sources by Kevin Reeves at Universal Mastering Studios-East
• Mixed by Kevin Reeves

.....The difference between the 1993 mix and the 2001 mix is mostly that the crowd noises at the beginning are more distinct. Actually in both mixes Gaye's voice comes through remarkably clearly for a decades old live recording. It sounds as though he's accompanied by piano and flute and the subtleties of the fluttering of the flute are easier to hear in the 2001 mix. I'd considered the possibility that the song had been recorded twice but the instrumental arrangements and Gaye's address to the crowd are identical. I'm convinced that they're the same recording, and more importantly so is Keith Hughes. Hughes has had access to Motown's paperwork during the course of doing research for the liner notes of some of Motown's higher end boxed sets and has compiled the website Don't Forget The Motor City. The entry there for this song notes that the appearance on the 1990 box is in stereo but the 1993 and 2001 mixes are in mono. It also places the date at December 31 (?), 1962 and confirms that William Stevenson produced it. Stevenson also produced the live album LP RECORDED LIVE: MARVIN GAYE ON STAGE Tamla TM242 (US) 09/09/63, recorded August 4th. The New Year's Eve date is the same one given for tracks from the various artists' album LP MOTORTOWN REVUE VOL. 1 RECORDED LIVE! AT THE APOLLO Motown M609 (US) 04/23/63. That album includes other Marvin Gaye songs, but they were all produced by Berry Gordy. After the live Gaye album (recorded at Graystone Ballroom in August 1963) there was another live Motortown Revue album recorded November 17, 1963 and produced by Mickey Stevenson but it was recorded at the Fox Theater, Detroit. If anyone has inside information that can get the date, location and producer to line up, please leave the information and your source in the comments below. Thanks.