Jingle Bell Jawn #4: 'Merry Christmas' -- The Supremes

Welcome to entry #4 of my Jingle Bell Jawns series of entries on albums in my Christmas music collection. Yesterday, I posted a long entry on the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. Had I realized that today is the centennial of Charles Schultz’ birthday, I would have saved Charlie Brown Christmas for today.

I had rolled my Mystical Dice of Random Holiday Music Experiences to come up with today’s album, but before I got around to giving much thought to that particular album, I found myself binge-listening to some records by the Supremes. I got so caught up in my love of the Supremes that I decided I’d stray from my dice-chosen Christmas album and devote today’s Jingle Bell Jawns entry to the Supremes’ 1965 album, Merry Christmas, instead.

Like both me and the Charlie Brown album, Merry Christmas is a product of 1965. However, this Supremes’ record has never been a regular part of my Christmas musical menu. My mom’s Christmas record collection didn’t include any of the Motown holiday records. In fact, the way Christmas records can go in and out of print over the years, I can’t help but wonder if the Supremes’ Merry Christmas was even readily available when I was a kid in the 1970s.

In any event, I love the Supremes. When I listen to their classic singles, I’m convinced that the Supremes are my favorite Motown group. But then I listen to the Temptations and think the same thing. And then I listen to Smokey and the Miracles and think the same thing.

No matter which group is ultimately my favorite, everything that is great about Motown – stellar vocals, jaw-dropping instrumentation, pristine production, amazing songwriting – all coalesces in nearly any Supremes’ hit you care to name.

Of course, this means that I approached Merry Christmas with many expectations, most of which it doesn’t quite meet. I wanted Merry Christmas to sound like an exciting stack of Hitsville USA 45 rpm singles that happen to be about Christmastime.

Unfortunately for me, Merry Christmas wasn’t necessarily produced to sound like a collection of Motown radio hits. But three or four listens in, I’ve gotten more comfortable with is going on here and I’m finding it enjoyable. As a complete album, it still might not be in heavy rotation around here after today, but I’ll be happy to hear several of these individual tracks when they pop up on Christmas playlists.

Jingle Bell Jawn #4: Merry Christmas – The Supremes (1965, Motown)

How Did I Acquire This Album? I picked this one up at one of the local record stores, sometime in the last 10 years.

Does This Album Include a Version of “Jingle Bells”? No.

What’s The Story on This Album? Merry Christmas was the seventh studio album by the Supremes. It was released in late 1965, the same year that saw the release of The Supremes Sing Country, Western & Pop, We Remember Sam Cooke, More Hits by The Supremes, and The Supremes at the Copa. The Supremes were super-hot, and super-eclectic, in 1965.

What Does This Album Mean to Me? On a personal-experience level, the Supremes’ Merry Christmasalbum doesn’t mean that much today. Given that today is the first time I’ve ever given it any kind of close listen, that shouldn’t be surprising.

Highlights: “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” is given the classic Motown production/sound treatment here.

Lowlights: “Children’s Christmas Song” might be a bit too cute for some listeners, and of course, some people only want to hear “My Favorite Things” when Coltrane is blowing it into another dimension.

Oddities: It’s not necessarily an oddity but “My Christmas Tree” is a Jimmy Webb tune. It’s no “Wichita Lineman” but it’s fine. Webb would go on to produce a now-obscure post-Diana Supremes album.

How Do I Rate This Album, in Strictly Musical Terms, on a Scale of 1 to 5 Jingle Bells? 4 out of 5 jingle bells. From the sweeping strings of “White Christmas” the classic Motown singles feel of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” Merry Christmas covers quite a bit of musical ground.

How Do I Rate This Album, in Personal Emotional Resonance (P.E.R), on a Scale of 1 to 5 Partridges in a Pear Tree?Aside from knowing the Supremes’ “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” from a Rhino Records Christmas compilation, I had never heard any of the songs from this album until I bought it several years ago. Even since then,Merry Christmashas never spent much time on my turntable, so its P.E.R. score for me is probably about a 1.

Having said that, the Supremes were among the absolute most popular singing groups when Merry Christmas was released in 1965, so I have to imagine that the album’s P.E.R. score would be off-the-chart for Motown fans throughout the rest of the ‘60s and beyond.