A great deep soul tune from James! The track's a holiday number – and the sweet little baby boy is ol' JC himself – but with James singing the vocals, the whole thing sounds like some great southern soul number, with Christmas only a deep memory away. Nice and slow and soulful – with strings and piano backing up the vocals. (Funky 45's, Holiday Music) 7-inch, Vinyl record

Obscure Holiday work from James Brown – not the oft-compiled tracks from his late 60s years at King Records, but some later numbers that show that Brown could still turn out one heck of a Christmas tune! James' vocals are at their older best – still surprisingly powerful, and able to serve up a seasonal message with a lot more soul than just about anyone else we can think of – and even when the backings are a bit contemporary, the tunes take on a more classic soul feel once the Godfather comes into the mix! Titles include "God Gave Me This", "Reindeer On The Rooftop", "Funky Christmas", "Clean For Christmas", "Mom & Dad", "Not Just Another Holiday", and "Christmas Is For Everyone". CD

One of the few rare Christmas albums that James Brown recorded in the 60s – all really wonderful, really memorable records that go way past the usual Holiday fare! Sure, there's a few sentimental tracks that have the familiar spirit of the holiday, but there's also some funky moments too – and almost all the cuts are originals that are handled in the best early James Brown/King Records mode! Titles include the great instrumental "Signs of Christmas" – plus "This is My Lonely Christmas", "Sweet Little Baby Boy (parts 1 & 2)", "Merry Christmas I Love You", and "Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year" – one of the most heartfelt Christmas tunes of the 60s! CD

Excellent funky Christmas – essential for any soulful holiday celebration! Not everyone knows it, but James Brown cut a fair number of Christmas albums during the 60s – thre albums, and a bunch of singles to be exact! They're all super-rare, but this great collection brings together some of the best material from those years – and nearly all the tracks are originals, with a quality level that's just as great as James' non-Christmas recordings! No kidding, The Godfather put his heart and soul into these recordings – and the stuff on here's great if you dig his King albums and singles from the late 60s, you'll find plenty to love here too. Titles include "Let's Unite The Whole World At Christmas", "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay", "Hey America", "Soulful Christmas", "Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year (parts 1 & 2)", "Go Power At Christmas Time", and the perennial favorite "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto". 17 cuts in all – and a really great collection. CD

The last, and most obscure of James Brown's Christmas albums of the King years – and quite possibly the hippest too! Given that James is shouting "Hey America" in the title, he's clearly going for a righteous and semi-political tone on the set – singing Holiday tunes, but also slipping in a larger message from time to time. A few tracks seem familiar from other JB holiday sets, and titles include the funky "Hey America", the rollicking "Go Power At Christmas Time", and the cuts "Christmas Is Love", "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay", "My Rapp", "I'm Your Christmas Friend Don't Be Hungry", and "Merry Christmas Baby & A Very Happy New Year". CD

James Brown recorded a few different Christmas records back in the 60s – but this stunner may well be the best of the bunch – a killer record that not only fills the need for James Brown Holiday tunes, but which also more than lives up to his non-Christmas gems for King Records too! There's a nice mix of funk and soul throughout – and the album features the incredible hit "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto", plus the funky "Tit For Tat", the groovy "Christmas Is Coming", and the soulful "Let's Unite The Whole World at Christmas". Also features some stone-cold non-holiday cuts – like "In The Middle", "Say It Loud", and "Believers Shall Enjoy". Plus, James is standing on the front in a Santa suit – looking mighty funky! Back cover has a great set of photos – and the whole thing's Super Bad! CD

A wonderful Holiday set from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – easily one of the coolest albums you'll ever hope to spin in December! The group really recreate the vibe of a classic Christmas soul album – like records from James Brown or Stevie Wonder – and do an excellent job of moving between funky numbers, deeper soul, and some righteous message cuts that remind us that the Holidays aren't always happy for everyone on the planet. And these guys also don't just hang out at Christmas – and instead touch on other December holidays too – in a sweet mix of cuts that features Sharon in the lead on many numbers, plus some great instrumentals from the Dap-Kings too. Titles include "8 Days", "Ain't No Christmas In The Projects", "Big Bulbs", "Funky Little Drummer Boy", "World Of Love", "Got Rest Ye Merry Gents", "Silent Night", "Just Another Christmas Song", and "Please Come Home For Christmas". CD

A wonderful Holiday set from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – easily one of the coolest albums you'll ever hope to spin in December! The group really recreate the vibe of a classic Christmas soul album – like records from James Brown or Stevie Wonder – and do an excellent job of moving between funky numbers, deeper soul, and some righteous message cuts that remind us that the Holidays aren't always happy for everyone on the planet. And these guys also don't just hang out at Christmas – and instead touch on other December holidays too – in a sweet mix of cuts that features Sharon in the lead on many numbers, plus some great instrumentals from the Dap-Kings too. Titles include "8 Days", "Ain't No Christmas In The Projects", "Big Bulbs", "Funky Little Drummer Boy", "World Of Love", "Got Rest Ye Merry Gents", "Silent Night", "Just Another Christmas Song", and "Please Come Home For Christmas". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully groovy set of Christmas tracks – one done in a style very similar to the Get Easy Snow compilations – as you might guess from the title! The selection here is great – with a few perennial favorites, a few rare gems, and a great middle stretch of wonderful bits from some of the grooviest artists of the 60s and 70s – a great antidote to some of the too-played holiday music you might hear during the 12th month of the year! Titles include "Santa Claus Is Definitely Hear To Stay" by James Brown, "Close Your Mouth It's Christmas" by Free Design, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy McGriff, "Snow" by Claudine Longet, "Black Christmas" by The Emotions, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by The Temptations, "Christmas Gift" by Margie Joseph, "Winter Warm" by Bob Crewe Generation, "Snow Flakes" by The Ventures, "Winter Symphony" by The Beach Boys, "This Christmas" by Donny Hathaway, "Children Go Where I Send Thee" by Kenny Burrell, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" by Ray Anthony & His Bookends, "Swinging Christmas" by Helmut Zacharias, and "Jingo Jango" by Bert Kaempfert. CD

One of the coolest Christmas compilations you could ever hope to own – but you probably guessed that already, from the cover image that pays tribute to a classic set from James Brown! The JB image is certainly well placed – as most of the tracks here are deeply funky Holiday tunes – the kind of gritty seasonal ditties that were only ever issued as funky 45s back in the day – and most really only on a local level, too! Strut's really outdone themselves with this excellent collection – as it features a fair bit of Christmas rarities we've never heard before, but which are totally wonderful – all-new tunes, not common Christmas cover versions – played and performed with a hell of a soulful feel throughout. Knock that ol' Bing Crosby record off the turntable, and give this one plenty of spins this December – and dammit, the music's so great, you may well find yourself playing the collection well into the New Year too! Titles include "Boogaloo Santa Claus" by JD McDonald, "Angel's Christmas" by Wild Honey, "Black Christmas" by Harlem Children's Chorus, "Getting Down For Xmas" by Milly & Silly, "Soul Santa" by Funk Machine, "Funky Funky Christmas" by Electric Jungle, "Christmas Present Blues" by Jimmy Reed, "Santa's Got A Bag Of Soul" by Soul Saints Orchestra, "Christmas Morning (Sean Bonniwell edit)" by Zebra, "Let's Get It Together This Christmas" by Harvey Averne, "Auld Lang Syne" by Black On White Affair, and "The New Year" by Jimmy Jules & The Nuclear Soul System. CD

One of the first-ever Christmas albums in the world of soul and R&B, and a host of vintage Holiday tunes pulled from the 50s LA R&B scene – served up here as a complete album! The set features some of the first great secular soul tracks recorded for the season – tracks that set the scene for all the Motown, James Brown, and other soul music Christmas albums to come! Titles include Charles Brown's classic "Merry Christmas Baby", plus "Lonesome Christmas (parts 1 & 2)" by Lowell Fulsom, "Sleigh Ride" by Lloyd Glenn, "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" by Mable Scott, "Christmas Everyday" and "Christmas Dreams" by Johnny Moore's Blazers, "Love For Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Hop" by Jackson Trio, and "Christmas Blues" by Jimmy Witherspoon. CD