Lalah Hathaway Uses Modern Technology To Create Christmas Duet with Her Dad
Grammy®-winning singer Lalah Hathaway recently premiered a new video for the duet with her late father, Donny Hathaway, of his holiday classic “This Christmas.” According to The Root, Lalah made her first television performance of the duet this week on Sherri. The soulful video, in which she performs the track with an animated version of her father, can be viewed below.
The new duet of “This Christmas” weaves together stunning new vocals recorded with instrumentation by Lalah, with previously unheard vocals from an unreleased demo Donny made of the song in 1970. In the video, Donny plays acoustic piano instead of the familiar electric heard in the original. Lalah sits in with her father as they trade verses and harmonize flawlessly.
Donny Hathaway & Lalah Hathaway – This Christmas (Duet) [Official Music Video]
“This has been the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done. Truly, a dream come true,” Lalah Hathaway said of the new track. ”I can only hope to bring as much joy to people as my dad has for the next 50 years and beyond!”
“This Christmas” is the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time that continues to be heard everywhere each holiday season. More than 50 years after it debuted, “This Christmas” has been recorded by a diverse group of artists that includes Destiny’s Child, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Lady A, and more recently Pentatonix, Pink Sweat$, and Jess Glynne, just to name a few.
About Lalah Hathaway
The daughter of Donny Hathaway, the late soul legend, Lalah Hathaway has forged her own way in music, using a lovely contralto to pursue various styles that mix R&B, jazz, and pop. She’s also a pianist who won three Grammys in three years: best R&B performance for “Something” with Snarky Puppy in 2014; best traditional R&B performance for “Jesus Children” with Robert Glasper in 2015; and best traditional R&B performance for “Little Ghetto Boy” in 2016.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1968, Hathaway started on her musical path in high school. She recorded her eponymous first album, featuring the hit single “Heaven Only Knows,” while a student at Berklee in 1990. Her classic vocal style is often compared to that of her father. “Like my father, I want to leave a legacy of sound that makes people really feel something, whether it be happiness, sadness, grief, or heartache,” she said.
In 2015, Hathaway recorded a show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, where her father had recorded decades earlier, and released it as the album Lalah Hathaway Live. She also has used social media to release music, including songs from her 2011 album, Where It All Begins, and to find collaborators for projects. In addition to all of this, Hathaway produces, writes songs, and collaborates with artists such as Mary J. Blige, Marcus Miller, and Esperanza Spalding. She has been active in the fight against breast cancer, noting that black women have especially high incidence rates.