This is the great, great Clarence Carter's excellent Christmas tune, which also probably has the best title for a Christmas song of all time: "Back Door Santa." I could never figure out why Carter isn't regularly mentioned in the same breath as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, as his deep-fried Southern soul—sorry to use such a clichéd phrase, but it applies here—is certainly their equal. "Slip Away"? "Patches"? And this: "Back Door Santa," which also features the single greatest "Ho ho ho" ever committed to record.

And if that horn break in "Back Door Santa" sounds familiar, it's because Run-DMC sampled it for their (also classic) "Christmas in Hollis." (And fun fact! Run sports a Portland Trail Blazers jacket in the video.)

End Hits: The best ho's, and more.