In a YouTube video, Darlene Love sings ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ for David Letterman with Paul Shaffer for the first time in nine years.
Darlene Love‘s annual television performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” was essentially orphaned after “Late Show With David Letterman” went off the air in 2015, putting an end to the 28-year streak that had the music legend singing her signature holiday song with Paul Shaffer‘s band on Letterman’s last original show before Christmas each December. But they all reunited — not over the air, but on YouTube — for a resumption of the tradition, nine years after the last time this particular caroling took place on CBS.
Love has sung the modern standard she originated on “The View,” but her song has not had a regular nighttime slot since 2014. She recently sang it on the Rockefeller Center prime-time special with Cher, who also asked Love to perform it with her on her recent Christmas album. But Love still has some feelings about never having been asked to do it by herself on that annual New York City-based special.
Asked by Letterman in the new 10-minute video if her appearance on the tree-lighting special was a first, Love said, “They wouldn’t hire me for that. Isn’t that crazy?,” noting that other guests had sung it in her stead.
“No, because that’s exactly what Cher said, but I’ll let you say that,” said Love.
