Late to the Party:

Seeing as we’re all human, there are occasionally going to be bands and albums that we just flat out miss…at least for a while. Welcome to what I call, “Late to the Party.”

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Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra. Barbara Streisand. The Carpenters. These are the artists we can thank for some of the most classic Christmas albums. These are the albums our parents would dust off each November and throw on the record player. They’re the ones that, when they pop up on iTunes, take us back to our childhood, running around the house in footie pjs counting the days till the Big Man comes. Surprisingly though, there is one iconic name missing from this list of classics. Where the hell is Ray Charles?!

Sure, The Spirit of Christmas didn’t come out until the mid-80’s, but that’s no reason for it to not be a classic. In fact, I would argue it deserves a spot right up there with the rest. First of all, it’s Ray f-ing Charles we’re talking about here. You know it’s going to be good. Second, he doesn’t just dial it in, half-assing the same old tired tunes you would expect. Yeah, there’s some traditional ones like “Drummer Boy,” “Rudolph” and “Winter Wonderland,” but there’s also the much lesser-knowns like “This Time of the Year,” “That Spirit of Christmas,” “All I Want for Christmas,” and “Christmas in My Heart.” And regardless of if their popularity, every track has that great Ray Charles flair that seems to span generations. Take “What Child Is This?” for example. It starts true to its “Greensleeves” roots, but just a minute and a half in, he double-times the tempo and turns it into a big band, swing tune, almost entirely abandoning the main theme.

The album features all of your favorite Ray Charles elements: the dirty, raspy voice; the Fender Rhodes he made so popular (remember The Blues Brothers?); the jazz meets gospel meets blues style only he could perfect; and let’s not forget the ladies. The Spirit of Christmas takes holiday tunes to a whole new level. And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks this way. Remember the scene in Christmas Vacation where Clark is locked in the attic watching old family movies? Yup, that’s “That Spirit of Christmas” playing. His version of “Winter Wonderland” also appeared in When Harry Met Sally and Elf. So, it has gotten some recognition, but it deserves some more.

If you are a fan of holiday music and need a change of pace, or even if you’re not but like Ray, give this one a spin this year. If you don’t like either holiday music or Ray, well, I’m not sure there’s much hope for you. But before we go, can we talk about the album art for a second? Is he really driving that sleigh?

Watch footage from the 2003 concert, Ray Charles Celebrates A Gospel Christmas, recorded just a year before his passing: