I love this song and the story behind it makes it all the more special. The year was 1968 and James Brown had a successful career as an entertainer. Then an assassin kills the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Brown’s outlook changed. He became an activist.
Brown went on TV to quell riots in Boston and spoke up for those left behind. This song appears on his album Soulful Christmas and delivers a necessary message: don’t forget the kids who have nothing, the singer guiding Santa to what we called a ghetto:
Leave a toy for Johnny
Leave a doll for Mary
Leave something pretty for Donnie
And don’t forget about Gary
Santa Claus, uh, go straight to the ghetto
Santa Claus, go straight to the ghetto
Tell ’em James Brown sent you, huh!
Go straight to the ghetto
The song has Brown’s funk and soul and no Christmas song list should be without it.
In December 1968, James Brown dressed as Santa Claus and distributed 3,000 gift certificates for free Christmas dinners to kids in New York City.
#Songoftheday #spreadinghappiness #james brown #santa #christmassong
YouTube: https://youtu.be/cz48PR__uSo?si=41rN99rVVLI76ZCe
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3UgdvE5e7nmHFY6WccxPwC?si=cef06d00b3f44465