On this Christmas Eve EVE, it’s a perfect time for some Leon Russell trivia…

Record producer Phil Spector spent several sessions recording a collection of songs with his Wrecking Crew for a Christmas album called A Christmas Gift for You. One of the greatest moments during those sessions was when “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” was recorded by Darlene Love.

Leon Russell was one of three piano players and Darlene said that Leon got into the song so much “he played a like a man possessed; it was almost like a concerto. He played himself right off the bench and onto the floor and kept playing.” It’s undeniably Leon; he was about twenty-one years old at the time.

At the same recording session, Cher did some background vocals and Sonny Bono was on percussion!

Enjoy these holiday songs from the one and only Master of Space and Time, Leon Russell. For you Grateful Dead fans (not me), this was recorded with Jerry Garcia at the Armadillo World Headquarters November 1972.

Leon Russell’s music is now owned by George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records. Here’s “The First Noel” from Leon Russell Hymns Of Christmas:

Christmas Songs by Leon Russell