‘A Very Special Christmas’: A Record Executive Dealt With His Sad Situation With Help From Stevie Nicks, U2, and Bruce Springsteen
Christmas can be the season of miracles, which makes the tragedies stand out even more. Longtime record industry insider Jimmy Iovine faced adversity during one Christmas season. He used his industry connections to record A Very Special Christmas, an album containing some of the most festive rock ‘n’ roll holiday songs of all time. And he did it all for a good cause.
The death of Jimmy Iovine’s dad inspired him to make ‘A Very Special Christmas’
Iovine came up as a recording engineer who worked with John Lennon and Elton John during one of his first jobs. His work kept him busy, but he always made it home to New York for Christmas.
However, his 1984 sojourn home for the holidays was somber. Iovine spent the holidays with his sick father, who died in January 1985, writes Mental Floss. The sad holiday season contrasted with Iovine’s memories of joyous celebrations.
Iovine, worried his father’s death would hang over his future holiday celebrations, decided to put a positive spin on things. He came up with the idea for what became A Very Special Christmas, and he used his industry connections to create an album that contains some holiday playlist staples.
Iovine convinced Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and other stars to contribute to ‘A Very Special Christmas’
Iovine worked quickly to make A Very Special Christmas a reality. He also put in the legwork to put the album together.
When Bruce Springsteen contacted the recording engineer to offer condolences, he got the Boss to contribute an unused B-side to the record (“Merry Christmas Baby”), per Mental Floss. Iovine flew to Scotland to record U2’s performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home”).
Iovine later convinced Run-D.M.C. (“Christmas in Hollis”) and John Mellencamp (“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”) to contribute. Stevie Nicks covered the holiday classic “Silent Night,” adding new lyrics to the bridge to make it more compassionate.
Getting that collection of star power in one place was a Christmas miracle, but in the end, it was worth it in more ways than one.
The album quickly went platinum and raised millions of dollars for Special Olympics
Collecting some of the biggest music stars of the 1980s for A Very Special Christmas wasn’t easy. Iovine had to promise not to make a profit from the album in order to record artists from competing record labels, writes Mental Floss.
His wife suggested the record benefit Special Olympics, the charity founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. That allowed two other stars to record songs for the album. John F. Kennedy Jr. roped in Madonna (“Santa Baby”), and Arnold Schwarzenegger, then married to Maria Shriver, asked Bon Jovi (“Back Door Santa”) to contribute.
Sting, Eurythmics, the Pretenders, the Pointer Sisters, and Whitney Houston also recorded songs for Iovine’s passion project.
The record was a smashing success. The Recording Industry Association of America certified it platinum in December 1987, a little over two months after its release. The Special Olympics received a $5 donation million in 1988 due to the album’s success. Iovine helped usher in album sequels in 1992 and 1997 that eventually helped raise more than $100 million for Special Olympics, per Mental Floss.
Jimmy Iovine’s sad situation — his father’s death around the holidays — had a silver lining with the success of A Very Special Christmas.
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