Bruce Honors Darlene Love With Platinum Album Award

Written By Mike Greenblatt

PHOTO: Darlene Love by Sachyn Mital

It happened November 30 when Darlene Love performed her annual “Love For The Holidays” show at Town Hall in New York City. Out came Bruce with a special mission:  to present the legendary singer with a platinum album for sales in excess of one million copies for the 1963 pioneering A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector which introduced her “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

History has shown that it was Darlene Love who sang lead on those hits by The Blossoms, The Crystals and other Spector-produced girl-groups. It was all Love. Bruce called her “my forever crush” and singled out “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” as “the absolute greatest Christmas rock’n’roll song of all-time,” adding “that song and Darlene have been a part of our holidays for 60 years.”

(Advertisement) Story continues below…

Darlene Love: "When we recorded it, we had no idea it would be a song that people would play for over 60 years. But it's a great song. It's something that had never been done before: a great Christmas song and a rock 'n roll song. I never get tired of singing it…because I only do it at Christmas time."

Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

Previous

Longtime Ocean City Blues-Rocker Walter Trout Has Another Trick Up His Sleeve
Next

Springsteen Archives Plan Symposium To Celebrate 60th Anniversary of The Beatles Coming to America