Merry Christmas Darling has a history that began well before Richard and Karen were the Carpenters. Frank Pooler, Richard and Karen's choral director at California State University, Long Beach, wrote these lyrics back in 1944, and in 1966, he asked Richard to create the melody. Karen even sang it for Richard when he did a few holiday gigs around that time. Then, The Carpenters released it as a single in November 1970, but it didn't make it on to their Christmas album until 1978, with newly-recorded vocals by Karen
Karen's performance of this song is perfection. She brings warmth, romance, nostalgia, and a pure gentleness, and captures the deep longing of missing a significant other during the holidays. Karen's voice is magic, and although there have been many other artists who have covered this song over the past 40 plus years, her version will always be the best for my ears!
For me, this song is one of the top romantic Christmas songs. Even though I'm currently single, I always perform it as if I have a "Darling" to sing to, as it creates a stirring of hope and love that all is not lost in the relationship department. The melody is beautiful too so I always enjoy singing this song! I wanted to make sure I emulated some of my favorite vocal inflections from Karen, such as the gentle ache in her voice when she sings "desire."
To my friends who are either missing someone special or are in the single boat like me, I'm sending hugs your way!
And if you're feeling nostalgic, you can watch Karen's performance of Merry Christmas Darling, starting at the 14:50 mark from their second Christmas TV special, The Carpenters:
Shine on!