Watch Darlene Love continue "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" tradition on Fallon

Bringing back Paul Schaffer and Steven Van Zandt's band, Love performed on The Tonight Show for the second consecutive year.

By Drew Gillis  |  December 19, 2025 | 11:31am
Image courtesy of NBC
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Watch Darlene Love continue

Darlene Love has performed her song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on TV nearly every year out of the past 40. First released in 1963 as part of A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, the track is among the most beloved Christmas songs of the modern era, thanks in no small part to these performances. Love generally performed on David Letterman’s The Late Show until its ending in 2015, and then shuffled over to The View for a while. Now, it’s looking like The Tonight Show might be the new residence for the performance, with Love taking her talents to Jimmy Fallon’s show for the second year in a row. 

As with last year, Love was accompanied by Steven Van Zandt’s band, Little Steven and the Disciples Of Soul, and Paul Schaffer on the keys, who was a regular collaborator from the Letterman days. “I’m so honored and excited to have been asked back for a second year to perform my #1 holiday classic, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, alongside my dear friends Steven Van Zandt, Paul Shaffer, and the Disciples of Soul,” Love wrote on Facebook ahead of the show’s airing. “A heartfelt thank you to Jimmy Fallon and the incredible production crew and team at Fallon for always rolling out the red carpet—I love you all.” 

Check out Love’s 2025 performance below. 

 
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