Slipping into Christmas

Leon Russell released a Christmas single at the height of his popularity in 1972. It’s called “Slipping Into Christmas,” and it’s probably more accurate to say it’s a blues love song with a seasonal theme: “Deck the halls with teardrops/Scrooge ain’t got a thing on me.” Leon recruited the late, great Freddie King for the guitar part. According to Memory Lane on Leon’s site, the song reached # 4 on the Billboard Christmas chart.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t been heard from much since. I’m not sure if Dave Marsh took note of the song in Merry Christmas, Baby: Holiday Music From Bing to Sting. I hope so.

The single has become a collector’s item — Amazon lists it as currently unavailable — and I don’t think the recording has made the transition to a digital format. Some kind soul has uploaded the song to YouTube. May I say “enjoy”?

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