20 essential R&B Christmas songs

In 1993, Boyz II Men released their holiday album Christmas Interpretation, which included traditional Christmas tracks and several original songs. The group teamed up with fellow R&B crooner Brian McKnight on the single “Let It Snow.” On the track, the two describe how the holidays may bring cold weather, but as long as couples have each other, that’s all the holiday they could ask for. As McKnight sings in the second verse, “Oh, come over here and help me trim the tree / I wanna wrap you up, baby / Then you'll see you're the only present I need.”

In 1967, Stevie Wonder released his holiday album Someday At Christmas, which featured several traditional Christmas songs. However, Wonder’s eponymous single was an original holiday track that had more of a political message in it. As Wonder sings in the first verse, “Someday at Christmas, there'll be no wars / When we have learned what Christmas is for / When we have found what life's really worth / There'll be peace on earth.”

Donny Hathaway’s 1970 track “This Christmas” is easily one of the most popular and recognizable soulful holiday songs. On the track, Hathaway highlights how spending holidays with loved ones is always a special time. Throughout the years, the song has been covered by several artists including The Whispers, Christina Aguilera, Destiny’s Child, and Chris Brown. 

There’s no doubt that Mariah Carey is widely known as the Queen of Christmas, but for her to get that title, it started with her hit 1994 single “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” On the track, Carey makes it clear that she doesn’t care about Christmas lights or snowy weather. The only holiday gift she wants is to be able to spend Christmas with the one that she loves. 

“Silent Night” is one of the most popular holiday songs, and soul group The Temptations released one of the best covers of it. With their smooth harmonies and soulful mellows, The Temptations’ “Silent Night” is a good listen. 

In 1995, Luther Vandross released his holiday album This Is Christmas which featured several original songs and a few covers. One of the traditional songs he covered was the 1943 track “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” On the track, Vandross details how people should spend time with loved ones. As he sings “Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Let your heart be light / From now on our troubles will be out of sight.”

One of the most popular holiday songs came in 1945 from jazz legend Nat King Cole. In “The Christmas Song,” Cole describes the nuances of celebrating the holidays. As he sings in the first verse, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose / Yuletide carols being sung by a choir and folks dressed up like eskimos / Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright.”

In 1970, The Jackson 5 released their holiday project Jackson 5 Christmas Album, which mostly featured covers of traditional Christmas songs. In their hit song “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” they describe how Saint Nick has one night to deliver toys to children. As they sing on the track, “He's making a list / And checking it twice / Gonna find out who's naughty and nice / Santa Claus is comin' to town.”

Earth Kitt famously sings about a different kind of take of getting gifts from Saint Nick on her 1953 track “Santa Baby.” On the track, Kitt describes that she wants Santa to bring her some toys like convertibles, yachts, and jewelry. As she sings in the second verse, “Santa baby, a '54 convertible too / Light blue / I'll wait up for you dear / Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.”

In 1993, LaFace Records released a holiday album A LaFace Christmas,  which featured songs from the label’s artists such as Usher, Outkast, and Toni Braxton. One of the album’s most popular songs  “Sleigh Ride” is performed by girl group TLC. On the track, TLC details how they want to spend a cozy holiday night with someone they love. 

On Destiny’s Child's holiday album 8 Days of Christmas, they made sure to gift fans with some covers of traditional songs and a couple of original tracks. The lead single was “8 Days of Christmas,” which uses some elements of the traditional carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” while highlighting the gifts that their partners got them. As Beyoncé says on the track, “On the 2nd day of Christmas my baby gave to me / The keys to a CLK Mercedes / On the 1st day of Christmas my baby gave to me / Quality T-I-M-E.”

Although “White Christmas” was originally sung by Bing Crosby, it’s one of those tracks that has been covered numerous times by several artists. One of which is Otis Redding, and the production of his cover brought more of a soul and blues vibe to it. On the track, he details the type of holiday he wants, “I'm, I'm dreaming, dreaming of a white, white Christmas / Just like the ones that I used to know / Honey, it's where the treetops, treetops glisten / Little bitty, little bitty, little bitty children, they'll try to listen.”

In 2003, Ashanti released her holiday album Ashanti’s Christmas, which was filled with traditional holiday carols and a couple of originals. On the track “Christmas Time Again,” Ashanti details the little nuances that make the holidays so special. As she sings in the second verse, “The house is filled with cheer / 'Cause we're all here, trying to guess what things we got this year / The kids can't wait to see / If Santa left a shiny box underneath the Christmas tree.”

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is one of those Bing Crosby holiday tracks that has been covered numerous times. In 2005, Anita Baker added her version to her holiday album Christmas Fantasy. Unlike Crosby’s version, Baker brings more soulful and jazz elements to it that her fans would love. 

In 2007, Chris Brown starred alongside Idris Elba and Loretta Devine in the holiday film This Christmas. Named after the Donny Hathaway song, it was only right that Brown made his own version of it for the film’s soundtrack. Brown’s version peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a platinum-selling success. 

People may be familiar with “My Favorite Things” with the Julie Andrews version from the musical The Sound of Music. However, girl group The Supremes recorded their version which was featured on their holiday album Merry Christmas. On the track, the group details some items that they are fond of, possibly to make sure these are the type of holiday gifts they expect to receive. As they sing on the track, “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens / Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens / Brown paper packages tied up with strings / These are a few of my favorite things.”

In 2001, Toni Braxton released her 11-track holiday album Snowflakes, which featured a few originals and covers of traditional carols. One of which is “Christmas Time Is Here” in which Braxton gives the track more of a jazz lounge vibe as she sings about what the holiday brings. 

For the most part, Brian McKnight stuck to the traditional songs on his holiday album I’ll Be Home for Christmas. He sang his version of Bing Crosby’s 1950 “Silver Bells, however he brought more soulful and gospel elements to the track. In the song, he describes how the air is simply different during holidays. As he sings, “City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style / In the air there's a feeling of Christmas / Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile / And on every street corner you'll hear / Silver bells, silver bells.”

In Marvin Gaye’s 1972 track “I Want To Come Home For Christmas,” he tells the story of a military man who misses his life with his family at home, especially during the holidays. As he sings on the track, “I'd give anything to see / A little Christmas tree / And to hear, hear the laughter / Of children playing in the snow / To kiss my baby, under the mistletoe.”

"What Christmas Means To Me" is one of the more popular traditional holiday tunes, but one of the most recognizable versions came from Stevie Wonder. On the track, he details the things that matter to him during the holidays.