As Nathan Arizona noted the other day, Karen Carpenter could make even a happy holiday song sound a little sad, so a song about missing her beau on Christmas Eve is right in her sweet spot. This song topped Billboard’s Christmas singles chart for three years in the early ’70s, and it was re-released this year on an album reworked and remixed by Richard Carpenter, “Christmas Once More.”
The lyrics to “Merry Christmas Darling” were written by Frank Pooler in the 1940s, when he was just out of high school and in the throes of young love. Twenty years later he was teaching music at Cal State Long Beach, where Richard and Karen Carpenter were his students. They were already playing locally and, looking for a Christmas song that wasn’t the same old holiday fare, asked Pooler if he had any suggestions.
Pooler told them about his youthful song, but admitted the music was weak. Richard took the lyrics and in 15 minutes came up with the melody we know today. That was in 1966; the Carpenters played the song in concert for several years before releasing it as a single for Christmas 1970, on the heels of their breakout hits “Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” It was No. 1 on Billboard’s Christmas singles chart for 1970, 1971 and 1973.
The Carpenters re-recorded the song for their 1978 Christmas album. Karen Carpenter preferred this version (both videos were posted by the same YouTuber, who used the same Christmas special footage for both) because, at 28, she thought she sounded more mature than she did as a 20-year-old. IMO it lacks the emotional sincerity of the original.
