A Christmas Mystery Is Finally Unwrapped

I’m very thankful this weekend.

That’s not just because that’s what we’re required to say at the end of every November. It’s because a years-old mystery has finally been solved.

Over at Soul In Stereo studios, the end of the Thanksgiving holiday means the beginning of the Christmas season. And y’all know that leads to – a month of classic Christmas tunes.

We all know the classics: The Temptations’ “Silent Night,” Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” Keith Sweat’s “Be Your Santa Claus,” but for YEARS now I’ve been unable to recall the name of a certain soulful track.

I had very little clues in my search. Dropping random lines in Google didn’t work. Describing it to friends didn’t work. Shazam proved useless too. Even my own encyclopedic knowledge of music didn’t get me anywhere. Here’s the best I could up with: The track sounded like an early 90s cut and the guys’ voices reminded me of R&B group LeVert. But no such LeVert song existed.

But just a couple of days ago, my brother-in-law finally unwrapped the longtime Christmas mystery. I present to you the mysterious track that left me stumped for years:

“I Can Hardly Wait For Christmas,” by the O’Jays.

I feel like I found The Great Pumpkin. Wait, wrong holiday special.

The song was released in 1991 and O’Jays, of course, features Eddie Levert, patriarch of the LeVert clan. Good to know my infinite R&B knowledge wasn’t far off.

Make sure you add this one to your Christmas playlists. It’s a banger.

What will you be listening to this holiday season?