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Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (1963) is a rock song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records. The song was written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry (Phil Spector also is co-credited), with the intention of being sung by Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes. According to Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector was not able to put as much emotion into the song as needed. Instead, Love was brought into the studio to record the song, which became a big success over time and one of her signature tunes. Love's later song, "
All Alone on Christmas", which was used in the 1992 Christmas movie, Home Alone 2, referenced the song. Darlene Love performed the song annually on the final new episode before Christmas of
Late Night with David Letterman. During the 1963 recording sessions for "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", Spector thought the track was strong enough to warrant a non-seasonal version, and cut a version titled "
Johnny (Baby Please Come Home)" at the same time as "Christmas" (also performed by Darlene Love). This version was not released to the public until January 1977 as the B-side of Love's single "
Lord, if You're a Woman".