Stevie Nicks Said She Added a Lyric to the Bridge of Her 'Silent Night' Cover to Make It More Compas
Stevie Nicks recorded her cover of the Christmas classic “Silent Night” for a good cause. However, she put her spin on it. She once admitted that she added “more compassionate” lyrics.
Stevie Nicks recorded her version of ‘Silent Night’ in 1987
In 1987, Nicks recorded her cover of “Silent Night” for the charity album, A Very Special Christmas, which benefited the Special Olympics. The charity album was the brainchild of producer Jimmy Iovine.
Nicks wasn’t the only music icon who contributed music to the various artists album. Whitney Houston, Eurythmics, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Sting, U2, Madonna, The Pointer Sisters, The Pretenders, John Cougar Mellencamp, Run-D.M.C., Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, and Alison Moyet all added either original songs or versions of classic Christmas songs.
Nicks said she added ‘more compassionate’ lyrics to her version of ‘Silent Night’
When Nicks recorded her version of “Silent Night,” she enlisted help from Robbie Nevil and her long-time backup singer Sharon Celani for backup vocals.
“Silent Night” is a Christmas classic that many artists have covered, but Nicks’ version is one of the best. It features some of her best contralto vocals. It’s hard not to imagine curling up on a sofa in front of a fire by the Christmas tree and listening to the song.
However, Nicks made “Silent Night” her own by adding lyrics to the bridge. On Christmas Eve 2020, Nicks wrote on Twitter, “I am bringing out one of my favorite things I have ever done (ever) because I think the world might need it.
“It is my ‘Silent Night’ from 1987. I wrote the bridge in the middle of the song ~ and I really thought it made it more compassionate than it already was. Please enjoy it and think of me as I will be thinking of you on this unusual Christmas. It’s really just a love song. Sing with me~I will hear you… Love, Your Stevie Stevie Nicks.”
In 2000, Nicks performed “Silent Night” with her friend Tom Petty at the Very Special Christmas concert.
‘A Very Special Christmas’ has raised over $100 million
Stevie Nicks wouldn’t have recorded “Silent Night” without Iovine’s vision. However, according to Mental Floss, the charity album didn’t originate from something good.
The producer went home for Christmas in 1984 and spent the holiday by his ailing father’s bedside. Iovine’s father died that January, but he didn’t want to associate Christmas with his father’s death. So, he decided to make better Christmas memories. Two years later, he released A Very Special Christmas.
Over the decades, the compilation album has made more than $100 million for the Special Olympics, which Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded in 1968 so athletes with intellectual disabilities could participate in competitive sports. In 1988, the Special Olympics received a royalty check for $5 million.
Since the various record labels were reluctant to hand over their artists for the album, the only way Iovine could make the album was to remove money from the situation. None of the artists who appeared on the album got paid for their contribution. Recording a song was the least they could do to raise money for those who needed it.
A Very Special Christmas sold over four million copies through 2014 and spawned several sequel albums. It has become the biggest benefit recording in music history.
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