Watch Dr. Lalah Hathaway reinvigorate her father’s “This Christmas” as a duet. Donny Hathaway’s iconic holiday song had an unreleased recording and Lalah’s voice blends with it as if they were together in real time. Her smoky resonance is a welcomed harmonious layer to Donny Hathaway’s upbeat soul celebration. Hathaway co-directed the video with Phil Beaudreau which is similar to Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable” duet with her late father Nat King Cole which was done years before she passed in 2015.

She spoke to Vibe this year about doing an entire album of posthumous duets with her father and she said that it was something she was working on for a future release. “This Christmas” is the first song to give an example of what father and daughter sound like together. She previously recorded “This Christmas” in 2017 as a Spotify exclusive and that was also the year of her last solo album Honestly. The singer went to Twitter to let everyone know that she, her sister Kenya, her sister’s two daughters and their mother are all on the duet recording of “This Christmas.” 

[youtube id=”VcMWUArO8ak”] Donny Hathaway wrote “This Christmas” with Nadine McKinnor hoping to create the ultimate Xmas song for African-Americans. “This Christmas” wasn’t received well after its initial release in 1970 but by the ’80s it was customary to hear it on Black radio around holiday time. Listeners knew when they heard the beaming horns intro it was time for the holiday.  The presence of the song each year on those radio stations, its re-release in 1991 and cover versions from Patti LaBelle and many others instituted classic status for “This Christmas.” Hathaway and McKinnor’s intention to capture the spirit of a soulful holiday achieved its goal of becoming the most popular Black Christmas song. Hathaway’s daughter Lalah recently covered “This Christmas” for a Spotify Singles recording session. When she was asked by Essence magazine whose version of the song did she like most she replied:

“Donny Hathaway’s is my favorite. I know it’s Christmas when I hear daddy’s version. I would like to hear more of [it].”

Tall Black Guy remixes Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” and renames the Sleigh Bell edit “For You This Christmas.” The fullness of the original version is gone and TBG makes Hathaway sound like he’s singing from a radio plugged into the afterlife. TBG just released his sophomore album, Let’s Take A Trip and launched his TBG Aliens membership which allows fans to have access to all of his music for an annual fee.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BDXVKiWD-MZ/?taken-by=lalahhathaway

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