Please Come Home For Christmas

Album: Legacy (1978)
Charted: 30 18
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Songfacts®:

  • The blues singer Charles Brown co-wrote "Please Come Home For Christmas" and released the original version in 1960. His version went to #76 and came back around every year as a holiday chestnut, but the Eagles delivered it to an even wider audience with their 1978 cover, which went to #18. These are the only charting versions of the song, but Pat Benatar, Willie Nelson, Jon Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey and Darius Rucker have all released popular covers.
  • Stationed in Southern California and known for their intricate songwriting, the Eagles weren't likely to put out a jolly Christmas song with sleigh bells and mistletoe, but "Please Come Home For Christmas" has a depth and melancholy that suits them. It's a blue Christmas song, with the singer heartbroken amid all the holiday cheer. If only his ex would come back home for Christmas, he'd be happy once again.
  • Don Henley sings lead on this one. It was his idea to cover the song - he listened to it growing up and loved it.
  • The Eagles released "Please Come Home For Christmas" as a single with "Funky New Year" as the B-side. It's the only Christmas song the group released.
  • The Eagles released the blockbuster album Hotel California in 1976 but took their sweet time making their next one, The Long Run. When it got to be 1978 and the album still wasn't ready, their record company pushed them to get it done. The band bought some time by putting out "Please Come Home For Christmas," which didn't take too much effort because they didn't have to write a new song. Just about anything the Eagles issued at this time would have been a hit, so it was no surprise when the song charted. The Long Run finally appeared in 1979.
  • "Please Come Home For Christmas" was the first Eagles release with Timothy B. Schmit, who replaced Randy Meisner as their bass player in 1977. Schmit also contributed vocals for the group, often singing backup and getting the lead on "I Can't Tell You Why."
  • It was rare at the time for a Christmas song to chart as high as #18. Before the Eagles' version of "Please Come Home For Christmas," you have to go back to 1963 to find a holiday song in the Top 20 ("Pretty Paper" by Roy Orbison). The next song to do it was "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid in 1984.

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