The Making of a Contemporary Christmas Classic Song: “”Your Love is All I Want for Christmas” by Jo Bonanno and the Godsons of Soul   By Calvin Schwartz   December 2, 2014

I’ve been ‘into’ Christmas and holiday music for a long time. Somehow when I listen, it magic carpets me back to my youth, growing up  in Newark,  going to Bamberger’s with my mom for holiday shopping and being caught up in the frenetic holiday spirit. It always snowed up to my knees in December and there was an endless line to see Santa. Even when I was small and a few years old, my mother told me the Santa line was too long even though the US population was only 157 million.  Bing Crosby sang ‘White Christmas’ and Gene Autry, a cowboy favorite of mine, did ‘Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.’ For me it is a precious time of year with its wondrous music, meaning and imagery.

Over the years, I’ve ordered Time Life Treasury of Christmas Music and listen over the four weeks starting the Friday after Thanksgiving. There’s nothing quite as moving as Pavarotti singing ‘Adeste Fideles.’ Now in the digital age, we have Sirius radio channel 17 called Holly playing holiday music 24/7 and same thing for 106.7. My auditory senses are replete in the car and at home. But I’ve also been on a bit of a personal quest these last few years to find contemporary holiday music to  latch onto and treasure, often asking myself why is it always music from the 1800’s or 1900’s that is classic. So when I hear a contemporary holiday song that moves and emotes me, I add it to my Holiday listening.

Jo Bonanno on stage with electric energy

When I heard ‘Jo Bonanno and the Godsons of Soul’ sing “Your Love is All I want for Christmas,” it was instant like and attraction and now I listen often  (the CD). I say to myself, the song is “our time,” reflecting energies and lyrics we can identify with in 2014. I asked Jo Bonanno if we could talk about the origin of the song especially since both Jo and I come from Newark; a building block of commonality. So we talked with a bowl of peanut M &M’s and a huge untouched apple pie separating us.

For years people  asked Jo why he doesn’t release a Christmas song. He never had time to do it. “So I sat down last October. I said we’re going to do a Christmas song. They thought I was crazy to do a Christmas song. You can’t do this in such a short time.” Jo insisted they can do it. “So I sat down and started thinking of all the angles, different feels. I always liked the Phil Spector sound; the bells, orchestration and the arrangements. These songs always made me feel warm inside.”

Jo thought about a concept and what everybody wants. ,”When I look at myself, I feel like I’m very blessed. Basically I’ve had everything I wanted and I can’t think of myself. I have to think outside the box. What does everybody in this world really like? Everybody wants and needs love. Then I picked up a guitar and strummed a bunch of chords; just back and forth and it came to me little by little. Your love is all I want for Christmas.”

He talked about his having all the essentials needed  but something everyone could use is love. “The world needs love. So I got the guys together; the whole band and sat down with Dennis, the musical director. We went over the song and got the guys in the studio and told them to listen. Rob Libret was the engineer who co-produced. I said we needed some women vocals.”  Jo knows a lot of women voices. “I said Jody Joseph (Bon Jovi) who backs up. Being its Christmas and family, I had my son Jared back-up and realized my daughter Ava Grace could also do it.”

Last year they performed the song at Count Basie Theater at the Darlene Love show with Gary US Bonds’ band. They got air play on CBS FM and 90.5 and internet radio; to me all the basic ingredients of that trip down the yellow brick road of becoming a classic Christmas song. I like to think I was there at the beginning of a classic. It’s a great song for the holidays.  I’ve listened countless times already. I’m down for its soulful molecular (energy) journey. Happy Holidays.

Calvin Schwartz

CD Baby:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jobonannothegodsonsofsou

I Tunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/your-love-is-all-i-want-for/id744488680