Among the many confounding stories in the storied history of Stax Records, few prove more curious than the tale of Linda Lyndell 

For much of this tale is still a mystery. We know that Lyndell recorded two singles for the Stax subsidiary Volt, “Bring Your Love Back to Me” early in 1968 and “What a Man” later that same year. Both singles were produced by David Crawford, who went on to produce sessions with Sam & Dave, B. B. King, Esther Phillips, Wilson Pickett, and The Mighty Clouds of Joy. “What a Man” was released as a single in June ‘68 and peaked at #50 in the R&B charts. Afterwards, Lyndell stopped performing. Several sources blame racial intolerance against a white vocalist who chose to sing what many considered “black music” for her quiet retirement.

And this might seem to be that. Except that in 1993, two dominant R&B female vocal groups - En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa - convened a joint “What a Man” summit cover version that blew up the singles charts (#3 R&B and Pop). You didn’t need to recognize the original to know that these ladies were bumpin’ out one bad tune. Even so, the original was prominent; this update used hip-hop sampling to incorporate Lydell’s original chorus.

Linda Lyndell’s tale does seem to have eventually found its happy ending. The chart success of this update renewed interest in the original song and singer, and under somewhat more modern social circumstances Lyndell eventually began to perform again. She accepted an invitation to perform at the 2003 grand opening of The Stax Museum of American Soul Music. There she delivered what is generally considered the debut performance of the song that eventually made her famous.

I’ve got to admit to smiling long and out loud when I began researching Rufus Thomas’ Christmas throwdown “I’ll Be Your Santa Claus” and read this in the booklet accompanying The Complete Stax-Volt Singles Volume 3: “The song was co-written by Thomas and an exotic dancing friend of his, the latter using the pseudonym Oriell Roberts.” Who else but Rufus Thomas would work with a stripper to write a tune for the holiday that celebrates the Christ child’s birth? That’s our Rufus. That sounds just like him.

Musically, “I’ll Be Your Santa Claus” sounds just like Rufus too. It overflows with “borrowed” references on the subject, most quite familiar: The “Deck the Halls” horn chart that busts this baby open, the piano break’s twinkling wink to the melody of “Jingle Bells,” even Rufus’ opening lines pilfered from “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Every hook bounces up and down on a mothership of a front and center bassline that throbs as virulently as a teenager’s hormonal urges, serving up funky punctuation against Rufus’ staccato rhyming and riffing that sounds interested in unwrapping more than presents and stuffing more than stockings, if you know what he means: “I’ll slide down your chimney and bring ya lots of joy / What I got for you, momma, it ain’t just a toy…”

The Stax holiday tune “Winter Snow” was written by Isaac Hayes. Hayes recorded his own version to appear on the label’s holiday compilations It’s Christmas and It’s Christmas Time Again (it appeared again later on the Hayes career retrospective Wonderful).

But Booker T. & the MGs also recorded “Winter Snow” for release as a holiday single. This MGs’ version may be the most mournful Christmas / winter single you’ll ever hear – a blues that’s cold deep down to its bitter soul, blues that bring no tidings of comfort or joy.

Not only did Hayes write this profoundly dark melody, it sounds like he joined in the MGs’ recording as well. Their instrumental arrangement features an acoustic piano solo that nurses and broods its wounds, full of deep whole chords and dramatic pauses, as stark as barren trees silhouetted against a grey and frozen December nightscape. This sounds like Hayes playing some of his most sad and angry piano ever, and bridges the arrangement between Booker’s gospel-ly solo on organ and Cropper’s blues-y solo on guitar.

You can still wrap yourself in this chilly “Winter Snow” on The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles Volume I.

Carla Thomas released two holiday singles in 1968 that played out her persona as the original Stax sweetie-pie.

Though many other popular versions have been uptempo, Thomas renders “All I Want for Christmas Is You” as a slow burning, yearning ballad. It’s built around a beautiful lullaby of a piano melody, enrobed in strings and dramatic emotionally charged pauses, a ballad of grownup longing if not heartbreak.

“Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas” sounds as girlishly charming as Thomas’ breakout hit “Gee Whiz,” but otherwise does not reference its structure, melody or lyrics. This tight, three minute bounce about a teen Christmas party has more in common with the classic sound of “50’s girl pop” - Little Eva of “Locomotion” fame in particular - than with the earthy funk of most Stax records. There’s something about lines like these that make you feel like you’re back in junior high, or at dances in the gym or snack shop:

“My best friend’s having a party and everybody’s going/ I know it’s going to be a lot of fun - oh, by the way, it’s snowing…”

Thomas co-composed “Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas” with Stax stalwart Steve Cropper and Vincent Trauth, who is better remembered for his bright blue arrangements of Elvis Presley songs for a 1970 Stax tribute album sent from one “King” to another: Blues for Elvis: Albert King Does the King’s Things.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas” originally appeared on the 1968 anthology Soul Christmas and are also available on Volume I of The Complete Stax-Volt Singles.