The song was first available on a 7-inch single that year (A&M Records 1236), and was later re-issued in 1974 (A&M 1648) and again in 1977 (A&M 1991). The single went to number one on Billboard's Christmas singles chart in 1970 (and did so again in 1971 and 1973) and peaked at number 41 on Cashbox.[2]
Richard Carpenter himself calls the original recording one of his sister's very best.[citation needed]
In 1978, the Carpenters issued their Christmas Portrait album, which contained a new version of "Merry Christmas Darling". The original 1970 mix continued to be used for all single releases, however. The major difference between the 1970 and 1978 versions is a newly recorded vocal by Karen Carpenter on the latter, which was done at her request.[3]
In 2018, a version of "Merry Christmas Darling" featuring Karen Carpenter's vocals with new instrumentation appeared on the album The Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, produced by Richard Carpenter.
History
The lyrics were written in 1946 by 20-year-old Frank Pooler, which, according to him, were about a love interest he had at the time. 20 years later in 1966, when he was choral director at California State University, Long Beach, two of his aspiring music students, Karen and Richard Carpenter, who were beginning to have success as a local band, asked him (their favorite professor) if he had any ideas for holiday songs. According to Pooler, they had become tired of the standard holiday songs they were singing. Pooler gave them the lyrics of the song he had written from years before, and told them he did not think much of the original melody. According to Pooler, Richard wrote a new tune for the lyrics—the tune currently used—in 15 minutes. Four years later, in 1970, the Carpenters first recorded and released it as a single.[4]
Elvis Presley almost recorded his own version in the early 1970s, but struggled learning the bridge, as he could not read music, and gave up.[4]
In 1999, Amy Grant recorded a version for her third Christmas album, A Christmas to Remember. It was a hidden track, uncredited on the artwork and available only on copies purchased at Target.
In 2013, Briana Cash recorded a version for her first Christmas album, All Around Me, It's Christmas with two original Christmas songs later covered by Broadway star, Christine Dwyer. All Around Me, It's Christmas available in retail stores, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Tower Records, Kmart, Walmart, and streaming on all platforms worldwide.
In 2020, for the 50th anniversary of the song, Canadian singer Lennon Stella covered "Merry Christmas Darling" for Amazon Music's Originals playlist.[5]
In December 2020, musical theater star Liz Callaway recorded a cover of "Merry Christmas Darling" for her album Comfort and Joy (An Acoustic Christmas).
Rachel Pinto from The Pintos [1] (the family of musicians from Australia) released a version of "Merry Christmas Darling" on the 26th of November 2021. Rachel Pinto [2] did the main and backing vocals, Arrangement, Instrumentation, mixing and mastering, all at her recording studio "Digital Dawn Studios", in Melbourne Australia.
In 2022, Tori Holub recorded a cover of “Merry Christmas, Darling” for release on various music streaming services and on YouTube. It is reminiscent of the Carpenters version. Holub has done covers of other Carpenters songs, as well as other songs of that period and original songs.
In 2023, Lizzy McAlpine released a cover of “Merry Christmas, Darling” on SoundCloud.
^Whitburn, Joel. The Comparison Book (2015), p. 80
^Garrett, Thad (19 December 2017). "The American Christmas Songbook: "Merry Christmas, Darling" (1970)". Lib.cua.edu. 620 Michigan Ave., N.E. Washington, DC 20064: The Catholic University of America. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019. In 1978, at Karen's request, the vocals were re-recorded for the release of Christmas Portrait, their first Christmas album.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ abErickson, Randy (23 December 2005). "Pooler's song dashed off for a girl became a Christmas standard". Lacrossetribune.com. La Crosse Tribune. Archived from the original(Online Newspaper) on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019. In the summer of 1944... [Pooler wrote] a Christmas song for [his then-love interest]. [...] Pooler went ahead and had the song published by a little-known publishing house, and he still has a scratchy 78-rpm recording by a now-forgotten singer of his original version of 'Merry Christmas, Darling.' He didn't think much about the song until more than 20 years later, when he was choral director at California State University-Long Beach. It was 1966 and a couple of students of his, Richard and Karen Carpenter, were playing gigs around town. They were sick of the standard holiday fare, so Richard asked Pooler, their favorite professor, if he had any ideas. Pooler remembered that song he had written many years before and mentioned it, but added he didn't think much of the melody anymore. Richard said he'd take a crack at writing a new tune, and about 15 minutes later he was done. [...] 'Merry Christmas, Darling' almost was recorded in the early 1970s by Elvis Presley, Pooler said. Presley couldn't read music, so [after having problems learning the bridge of the song]... threw in the towel.
