1. The Glen Campbell Good Time Hour (21 December 21 1969)
“Jingle Bells (The One Horse Open Sleigh)” and “Silent Night”
2. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (December 20, 1972)
“Jingle Bells”
- Cher opens with “A Gift of Song” dressed in a maroon hat and coat with a big matching hand muff. This is a Mason Williams song from around the late 1960s, early 1970s.
- The all sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” (unknown authorship, from Latin, 1600s)
- William Conrad sings “The First Noel”
- The Earl Brown Singers sing “Deck the Halls”
- Cher sings “O Holy Night” which becomes a Christmas tradition to hear every year. (Adolphe Adam, 1847)
- Everyone, including Sonny in a maroon, sings “Joy to the World” (Issac Watts, 1719) and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (traditional English carol)
- Cher closes again with “A Gift of Song.”
“One Tin Soldier/It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
You can now watch the 1972 show on Amazon Prime.
3. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (December 19, 1973)
“Jingle Bells”
Revised (?) Big Medley:
- Cher opens with “A Gift of Song” dressed in a maroon hat and coat with a big matching hand muff. This is a Mason Williams song from around the late 1960s, early 1970s.
- The all sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” (unknown authorship, from Latin, 1600s)
- William Conrad sings “The First Noel”
- The Earl Brown Singers sing “Deck the Halls”
- Cher sings “O Holy Night” which becomes a Christmas tradition to hear every year. (Adolphe Adam, 1847)
- Everyone, including Sonny in a maroon, sings “Joy to the World” (Issac Watts, 1719) and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (traditional English carol)
- Cher closes again with “A Gift of Song.”
The 1973 show on Amazon Prime.
4. Cher (December 21, 1975)
“White Christmas/We Need a Little Christmas” Medley
“Caroling, Caroling” and “Star Carol” (Video, 20:17)
Big medley of Big-Band-era Christmas songs (Video, 33:15)
- “I Love the Winter Weather” (Benny Goodman, 1941) – The Hudson Brothers
- “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” (from the film On the Avenue, 1937) – Redd Foxx and The Hudson Brothers
- “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (Vaughn Monroe, 1945) – Redd Foxx and The Hudson Brothers
- “Santa Baby” (Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra, 1953) – Cher and The Lennon Sisters and then Chastity taping as Shirley Temple
- “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, 1935) – Cher and The Lennon Sisters
- “Mele Kalikimaka” – (Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, 1950) – The Hudson Brothers
- “Christmas Island” (The Andrews Sisters, 1950) – The Lennon Sisters
- “Christmas in Trinidad” (?) – Cher, The Lennon Sisters, The Hudson Brothers
Cher Scholar’s episode review.
5. The Sonny & Cher Show (December 12, 1976)
- “Wonderful Wintry Time of Year” – Christmas Rock and Roll (possibly a song original to the show)
- “White Christmas” – Bernadette Peters (Bing Crosby, 1942 from the movie Holiday Inn)
- “Frosty the Snowman” – Cher and Captain Kangaroo (cover of Gene Autry, 1950)
- “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” – Bernadette Peters, Cher and Elijah Blue Allman. Cher sings to Elijah and he cries. (Harry Reser and His Band, 1934)
- “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – Chastity with Sonny (Jimmy Boyd, 1952)
- “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – Sonny with Chastity (Gene Autry, 1949)
- Shields & Yarnell play Christmas soldiers. He salutes her; she punches him. 🙁
- “Winter Wonderland” – Sonny & Cher and Chastity (Guy Lombardo, 1946)
- “Here Comes Santa Claus” – everyone (Gene Autry, 1947)
- “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Reprise – everyone
Watch the show on Amazon Prime.
7. There’s a Christmas party scene in Mermaids.
8. Cher appeared on the A Rosie Christmas album (1999)
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” with Rosie O’Donnell”
9. Cher Christmas album
- DJ Play a Christmas Song with Kelly Clarkson
- DJ Play a Christmas Song with Giovanni Zarrella
Official Release (20 October 2023)
- DJ Play a Christmas Song
- What Christmas Means to Me (with Stevie Wonder)
- Run Rudolph Run
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)(with Darlene Love)
- Angels in the Snow
- Home (with Michael Bublé)
- Drop Top Sleigh Ride (with Tyga)
- Please Come Home for Christmas
- I Like Christmas
- Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without You
- Santa Baby
- Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart (with Cyndi Lauper)
- This Will Be Our Year
Formats and Extras
There were various covers including the “canonical” silver CHER, the Amazon iceberg cover and the pink version sold from Cher.com. There was also a red vinyl LP version and a cassette tape sold from the In Conversation at the Odeon event.
Target also had a series of covers with Cher in Red, Blue and Light Blue. And the In Conversation at the Odeon event also sold a “magazine” that was really just an extended guide to the album. Inside, Cher talked about being on Pee Wee’s Christmas Special and telling him Christmas was her favorite holiday.
The album guide also solved the mystery about why Slant Magazine called the song “Drop Top Sligh Ride” “trap-adjacent.” The guide confirms the song contains an “Atlanta bass club beat straight out of the ’90s.”
The album guide also contains an extended Christmas message from Cher:
Save Christmas in Harmony Hills (8 December 2023 – 5 January 2024) by WMG and Gamefam
TV Performances:
- Strictly Come Dancing (British) (16 December 2023)
- The Kelly Clarkson Show (15 December 2023) – Christmas Album and Mama Mia 3, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Snub, Kelly Loves DJ Play a Christmas Song
- Cher Meets Ryan (British) (9 December 2023)
- iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2023 at Madison Square Garden (8 December 2023, aired on ABC 21 December 2023) – “Believe” and “DJ Play a Christmas Song“
- The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (7 December 2023) – Point Pleasant Police Department with Cher
- In Conversation event at the Odeon Leicester Square in London (1 December 2023)
- The Graham Norton Show (British) (1 December 2023) – “DJ Play a Christmas Song”
(Tom Hanks tells a great story about working for Cher) - Chicken Shop Date (British) (1 December 2023)
- Royal Variety Show (British) (30 November 2023)
- Christmas at Graceland (29 November 2023)
- Christmas at Rockefeller Center (29 November 2023) – “DJ Play a Christmas Song” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)“
- The Today Show (28 December 2023)
- Wetten Dass (Germany) (25 November 2023)
- The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (23 November 2023)