What Was the Original Motown Christmas?

NEW ORLEANS - JULY 5: Singer Smokey Robinson performs at the 2003 Essence Festival at the 2003 Essence Festival July 5, 2003 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The performances were taped to air on the UPN Network on September 12, 2003 — Chris Graythen/Getty Images

What To Know

The original “A Motown Christmas” was a 1973 double LP featuring 24 holiday tracks by Motown legends like the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and Smokey Robinson, compiled from recordings made in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The album has been reissued multiple times, including a 1992 CD release and a 1999 edition with a Marvin Gaye bonus track, and remains a nostalgic favorite that captures Motown’s classic era.
The upcoming NBC special A Motown Christmas, airing December 9, 2025, will introduce the Motown holiday tradition to new audiences with performances by both Motown icons and contemporary artists.

The new NBC special A Motown Christmas airing on December 9, 2025, at 9pm EST, is designed to introduce a new generation to Motown classics — but even some older fans might not realize that the show is originally inspired by a 1973 double LP simply titled A Motown Christmas. For anyone who grew up with Jackson 5 or Stevie Wonder, this album might bring back a lot of memories. It also carries a piece of history in every track, since the compilation was built from seasonal singles and album cuts recorded by Motown artists throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

What was A Motown Christmas?

The album first arrived on September 25, 1973, and it was packed with twenty-four songs spread across four sides. Fans got everything from the Jackson 5’s “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” to Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me” and the Temptations’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The Supremes delivered elegant versions of “My Favorite Things” and “White Christmas,” while Smokey Robinson added his flair to “Deck the Halls” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Some tracks had appeared earlier on the 1968 compilation Merry Christmas from Motown, but this was the first time Motown turned them into a full holiday album.

It is one of those albums that never really disappeared. Motown reissued the collection several times, including a 1992 CD release that kept all twenty-four original tracks on one disc, and another in 1999 that added a Marvin Gaye bonus track titled “I Want to Come Home for Christmas.” A follow-up album, A Motown Christmas, Volume 2, arrived in 2001 and continued the tradition with other performers. Still, the original LP remains the nostalgic favorite, mostly because it captures Motown’s classic era just as listeners remember it.

That legacy is a big part of why NBC is bringing Motown back into the spotlight on Tuesday. Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey are hosting the new A Motown Christmas special, which features performances by The Temptations, Gladys Knight, Ashanti, Jamie Foxx, JoJo, Pentatonix, Jordin Sparks, MGK and Martha and the Vandellas. It is a mix of Motown legends and artists who were raised on the sound. Will you be watching it and singing along?