Advent calendar: December 20—Kenny Burrell, “Mary’s Little Boy Chile”
Advent calendar: December 20—Kenny Burrell, “Mary’s Little Boy Chile”
Kenny Burrell, “Mary’s Little Boy Chile” (1966)
from Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas
Cadet LP-779
I knew only Harry Belafonte’s version until I came across Burrell’s light and Latin cover of this song. Based on these two versions, you’d think it was a Caribbean folk song, but it was actually written by Jester Hairston, an actor, songwriter, and choral director who had roles in a Tarzan movie, the Amos ’n’ Andy radio and television series, and Being John Malkovich (!), conducted choral groups in Hollywood, and wrote hundreds of spirituals.
buy it: Amazon | iTunes | eBay
