Advent Calendar 2023

The great Dinah Washington wraps us all in a warm blanket with this 1959 Christmas single, which, surprisingly, wasn't even a minor hit at the time. Maybe audiences were confused by that superfluous exclamation mark after "Ole"? Soon afterwards, though, she was amply compensated by scoring three consecutive R&B number one hits, two of which were Brook Benton duets: Baby (You've Got What It Takes) and A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love). Sadly, Ms Washington's private life was quite turbulent and marred by an overindulgence in alcohol and drugs. She died in 1963, at age 39.

Listen to Ole! Santa.

Or listen on Spotify, where I've created a playlist for this year's Advent Calendar.

The Spotify playlist for all the previous Advent Calendars is here. Note: The playlist is incomplete, as some of my calendar selections are just too obscure for Spotify.