It's the last Saturday shopping day of December so time for a Blagg GOFGOF (Get one free, Get one free) and what a treat this one is.
I grew up with the Andy Williams version of this song and always assumed it was a modern Carol of some sort; I was astonished to find out this year that it was actually written in October 1962 by husband and wife duo Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne as a cry for peace at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when there was a very real possibility that nobody would be celebrating any kind of Christmas ever again.
This new knowledge added an extra poignancy to a song I'd always kinda secretly liked so I wondered if there were any other versions out there being as I'm not a fan of the vocal histrionics of Whitney Houston (sorry!) and I stumbled upon this superb one by Gladys Knight. It actually gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it.
But could I leave it there? Could I 'eck as like.
A later search revealed the wonderfully named Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra from the also excellently monikered 'A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats from Santa's Bag'.
I know! Thank me later, right?
Here's Gladys:
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