Babyface

Released: October 27, 1998

Songwriter: Robert Wells Mel Tormé

Producer: Babyface Walter Afanasieff

[Verse]
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, yes
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright, yes
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight

[Bridge]
They know that Santa's on his way
He loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly

[Outro]
And so, I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to you

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (born April 10, 1959 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a Grammy Award-winning producer, singer, and songwriter responsible for a string of hits in the 1980s and 1990s. He has written and produced more than 20 number-one hits and won 11 Grammys—including three for Producer of the Year—for his work with Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, and Toni Braxton, as well as his own work as an artist.

Babyface got his nickname from funk legend Bootsy Collins after joining his backing band in the 1970s. He joined the group Manchild in the late ‘70s—a group that also included his frequent collaborator Daryl Simmons—before moving out West and working with the group The Deele in the early 1980s, forming a bond with his bandmate and future production partner L.A. Reid. After producing the hit “Two Occasions” for The Deele, L.A. & Babyface broke off and became one of the biggest superproducer duos in R&B, rivaling the hits of fellow superproducer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

L.A. & ‘Face had their hands in a string of #1 R&B hits in the late '80s and early '90s from artists such as Pebbles (“Girlfriend”), Karyn White (“Superwoman”), The Whispers (“Rock Steady”), Johnny Gill (“My, My, My”) and many more. They were also instrumental in the success of post-New Edition era Bobby Brown as they produced his #1 hits “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Every Little Step,” “On Our Own,” and “Humpin' Around.” They made history with Boyz II Men in 1992 as they wrote and produced “End of the Road,” which spent a record-breaking 14 consecutive weeks atop the pop chart.

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