30 Days Out (From Christmas): Phil Spector

Day 28 – Before he became a murder defendant and a tabloid joke, Phil Spector was one of the best record producers ever.   In his heyday (1960-65) he produced 25 Top 40 hits, including “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by the Righteous Brothers – listed by BMI as the 20th century’s most-played song on the radio.  His stable of artists included the Ronettes, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, the Crystals, Ike & Tina Turner, the Righteous Brothers and the great Darlene Love.

In 1963 Spector gathered some of these artists to create A Christmas Gift For You, an album of holiday songs with his patented “Wall of Sound” production style.  It is, quite simply, the greatest rock and roll Christmas album of all time.  The Crystals’ atomic-powered “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” (the blueprint for later versions by Bruce Springsteen and many others) and Darlene Love’s amazing “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” are towering classics that only slightly stand above the rest of this great music.

We’re only going to post a few selections from A Christmas Gift For You – if you do not own this masterpiece, do yourself a favor and give it to yourself for Christmas.

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” by the Crystals

MP3: “Frosty The Snowman” by the Ronettes

MP3: “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans

MP3: “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love

MP3: “Silent Night” by Phil Spector and His Artists

BONUS: We’ve also included a version of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Ronnie Spector and Darlene Love, from 1992’s A Very Special Christmas 2.

MP3: “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Ronnie Spector and Darlene Love