Donny Hathaway's 1970 Song - "This Christmas" (videos, information, & lyrics

Rhino, Nov. 14, 2018

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision -December 12, 2023

This pancocojams post showcases the holiday song "This Christmas" which was composed in 1970 by African Americans Nadine McKinnor and Donny Hathaway.

This post features the original sound file of  "This Christmas" by Donny Hathaway and an animated video of that song.

In addition, this post showcases a video of this song by Chris Brown.

Information about this song is included in this post along with the song's lyrics.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Nadine McKinnor and Donny Hathaway for composing "This Christmas". Thanks to Donny Hathaway for his musical legacy. RIP.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Donny Hathaway - This Christmas (Official Music Video)

RHINO, December 4, 2020

4,462,322 views • Premiered Dec 4, 2020

You're watching the official music video for Donny Hathaway - "This Christmas" drawn by famed cartoonist Lonnie Milsap. “This Christmas (Duet)” by Donny Hathaway with Lalah Hathaway

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: This Christmas - Chris Brown

Chris Brown, Sept. 27, 2010

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "THIS CHRISTMAS"
Excerpt #1: 
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Christmas_(Donny_Hathaway_song) 
"This Christmas" is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained renewed interest when it was included in 1991 on Atco Records' revised edition of their 1968 Soul Christmas compilation album[1] and has since become a modern Christmas standard, with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers reporting that it was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time.[2]

Phil Upchurch said the song was "absolutely the premiere holiday song written by an African American". It was written by Hathaway and Nadine McKinnor

"This Christmas" was released as a single in 1970, where it saw little success,[5] charting only once on any of Billboard magazine's weekly published music charts. It made Billboard's special Christmas Singles chart on the week of December 23, 1972, peaking at No. 11.[6] In 1991, Atco Records released a revised edition of their 1968 compilation album Soul Christmas that included "This Christmas".

[...]

A cover of the song by Chris Brown, recorded for the 2007 film of the same name, peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7][8] Covers by Seal and by American band, Train each went to No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in 2015 and 2016, respectively.[9][10]"...

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Excerpt #2
From http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/12/06/ranking_the_best_versions_of_donny_hathaway_s_this_christmas.html "I Spent 48 Hours Listening to Nothing but Covers of Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.” Here’s What I Found." By Lawrence Ware, Dec. 6 2017 
"In 1970, just months after releasing his debut album, Everything Is Everything, soul singer Donny Hathaway set his sights on creating something that up to that point hadn’t truly existed: an official Christmas anthem for black America. He found that song when he was connected with songwriter and fellow Chicagoan Nadine McKinnor, who had written the lyrics to what would eventually become “This Christmas” a few years prior. Hathaway orchestrated the arrangement and production, and a holiday classic was born. Their song has become …a staple in the black community…

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LYRICS- THIS CHRISTMAS

(Nadine McKinnor and Donny Hathaway)

[Verse 1]
Hang all the mistletoe
I'm gonna get to know you better
This Christmas
And as we trim the tree
How much fun it's gonna be together
This Christmas

[Chorus]
Fireside is blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me

[Verse 2]
Presents and cards are here
My world is filled with cheer and you
This Christmas
And as I look around
Your eyes outshine the town they do
This Christmas

[Chorus]
Fireside is blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me, yeah

[Post-Chorus]
Shake a hand, shake a hand now

[Verse 3]
Emm, fireside is blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me, yeah

[Outro]
Merry Christmas
Shake a hand, shake a hand now
Wish your brother merry christmas
All over the land, yeah
Merry Christmas
Merry, merry Christmas
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Merry, merry, merry, merry

Emm, em

Source: https://genius.com/Donny-hathaway-this-christmas-lyrics

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