This Christmas is a Song by American Musician Donny Hathaway Released in 1970
This Christmas is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained new popularity when it was included in 1991 on Atco Records’ revised edition of their 1968 Soul Christmas compilation album and has since become a modern Christmas standard. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers reported that This Christmas was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time. Do you believe This Christmas is the best Christmas song of all time?
A History of The Song
The song was recorded in Chicago in the fall of 1970. Donny Hathaway was “very upbeat during the session.” Perhaps he was overcome with the Christmas spirit. He was also reported to know what he wanted to do musically and the impact he wanted to make with this song.
On writing the song with Donny Hathaway, who died in 1979 at the age of 33, Nadine McKinnor said she felt “blessed to have written Donny a song that celebrates the possibilities, the expectations, and the anticipation of Christmas and the good fun and happy loving times”, and that the creation of the song “was a God plan. God was in this plan. And Donny Hathaway was a genius.”
The song was released as a single in 1970. It saw little success initially, as it was listed just once on any of Billboard magazine’s weekly published music charts in the 1970s. But in recent years, the song has made it onto a number of Billboard’s weekly music charts several times.
This Christmas made its first appearance on the main Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in late December 2020. Hathaway’s song has also appeared on these other Billboard music charts: Global 200, Global 200 excluding the United States, the Holiday 100, Holiday Digital Song Sales, Holiday Streaming Songs, LyricFind Global, LyricFind United States, Rhythm and Blues Digital Song Sales, Rhythm and Blues Streaming Songs, Rhythm and Blues/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, Rhythm and Blues/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs, Radio Songs, and Streaming Songs.
Career of Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway was born on October 1, 1945, and died at the early age of 33 on January 13, 1979. He was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as a “soul legend.” His most popular songs include “The Ghetto”, “This Christmas”, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”, and “Little Ghetto Boy.” Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of “A Song for You”, “For All We Know”, “Jealous Guy”, and “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”, along with “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You,” two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack.
Because he died young, it is appropriate to write a little about his condition. He suffered from mental illness and was hospitalized as early as 1973. In 1979, when he was recording a new album, he killed himself. On January 13, he began behaving irrationally. According to those with whom he was recording. He left the studio and went home. Hours later, Hathaway was found dead on the pavement below the window of his 15th-floor room in New York City’s Essex House hotel at 160 Central Park South. It was reported that he had jumped from his balcony.
Conclusion
There are many who believe the song This Christmas by Donny Hathaway is the top Christmas song of all time. Most people can sing the song by heart. The song will be played over and over again on the radio during the Christmas season. There is no question that the song This Christmas is a Christmas season staple. This song was an unlikely hit. It is fair to wonder if recording artists who record Christmas songs know whether those songs will be big hits.
