Stephanie Mills first came to fame as "the little girl with the big voice" as the star of the hit Broadway play, The Wiz, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book, The Wizard Of Oz. She had many R&B hits such as "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," "I Feel Good All Over," "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me," "Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" along with one certified million selling single, "Never Knew Love Like This Before." In addition, she also had five gold albums: Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', Sweet Sensation, Stephanie, If I Were Your Woman and Home.
Mills honed her rich vocals singing gospel music at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church as a small child. At age 9, she began appearing in the Broadway play Maggie Flynn. She was presented with first prize after winning "The Amateur Hour" talent contest six weeks straight at New York's famed Apollo Theater when she was nine. That success led to her being chosen as the opening act for The Isley Brothers, eventually becoming good friends with lead singer Ronald Isley. Many years later, Isley would manage and later marry singer/songwriter Angela Winbush, who co-wrote one of her number one R&B hits. Mills' début album, Movin' In The Right Direction was recorded for ABC Records in 1974. A year later, she won the role of Dorothy in The Wiz. Her rendition of the beautiful ballad "Home" was a showstopper, mesmerizing audiences nightly for a number of years. The original cast recording of The Wiz was produced by Jerry Wexler and issued by Atlantic Records in spring 1975. Curiously, when The Wiz was made into a full length feature film by Motown Records' film division and Universal Pictures, Diana Ross played the role of Dorothy instead of Mills. The film ended up being a major flop.
Singer Jermaine Jackson referred Mills to Motown head Berry Gordy, who signed her to the label. Her Motown debut was For the First Time, written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, being issued in October 1976. For the First Time is a sweet affair with Mills convincingly covering Bacharach/David standards, most of which were originally recorded by Dionne Warwick. In 1978, she signed to 20th Century Records and was teamed with the hit production duo of James Mtume — later leader of Mtume, who had a gold single with "Juicy Fruit" — and Reggie Lucas. Her first LP for the label, Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', went gold, going to number 12 R&B and number 22 pop on Billboard's charts in summer 1979 and spawned the singles, "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" and "You Can Get Over." Her next LP, Sweet Sensation (#3 R&B, #16 Pop, spring 1980) yielded "Sweet Sensation," "Never Knew Love Like This Before," and the radio-aired LP track, "Try My Love." Around this time, she briefly married former Soul Train dancer Jeffrey Daniels of the group Shalamar. Next came the LP titled Stephanie in spring 1981, which also was a huge hit, peaking at #3 R&B and #30 Pop. The album included notable songs such as "Two Hearts" — a midtempo duet with Teddy Pendergrass — "Night Games" and the radio-aired LP cut, "Don't Stop Doin' What Cha Do."
In 1981, Mills switched to Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Her LPs for the label included Tantalizingly Hot, Merciless and I've Got The Cure. During 1983, she had her own NBC-TV daytime talk show and reprised on role in a Broadway revival of The Wiz. She also signed with MCA Records, where she released her Stephanie Mills album.
The first single from the Stephanie Mills album was "Stand Back," in late 1985, which also included the passionate ballad "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love." "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love" was initially written by Rene Moore and Angela Winbush — best known as the hit singing duo Rene & Angela — as a gospel song and originally was recorded by Alton McClain and Destiny on their self-titled 1978 Polydor LP. The original version is available on Polygram's Power of Love: Best of Soul Essentials Ballads. Because of its massive radio play as an album track, Mills' version of "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love, — produced by Philly Soul keyboardist Ron Kersey — was reissued as an A side holding the #1 R&B spot for two weeks in spring 1986. Its follow-up, "Rising Desire" reached #11 R&B in summer 1986.
Her next LP's title cut was the Clay McMurray/Gloria Jones/Pam Sawyer song, "If I Were Your Woman," originally a 1971 #1 R&B, #9 Pop smash for Gladys Knight and the Pips. Philly-based producer Nick Martinelli gave Mills her second #1 R&B hit with "I Feel Good All Over," written by husband and wife songwriting duo, Gabriel Hardeman and Annette Hardeman. The song held the #1 R&B spot for three weeks in spring 1987. Originally submitted to Mills' fellow MCA labelmate Patti Labelle by the Hardemans, the track was included on Mills' LP If I Were Your Woman, issued June 1987 and peaked at #30 Pop in summer 1987. Paul Laurence produced and co-wrote with Timmy Allen the chugging '"(You're Putting) a Rush On Me" giving the singer her third #1 R&B hit in fall 1987. The single made it to #85 Pop and was followed by "Secret Lady," which landed at #7 R&B in late 1987. Her covers of "If I Were Your Woman" and "Where Is The Love" followed. All were included on her If I Were Your Woman album, which peaked at #1 R&B, #30 Pop in summer 1987. Following these hits, Mills contacted Ronald Isley about working with singer/songwriter/producer Angela Winbush who had hits as half of Rene and Angela and was forging a hit-filled career as a recording artist and producer for the group Body among others. The collaboration between Mills and Winbush resulted in another #1 R&B single, "Something In The Way You Make Me Feel," in summer 1989.
Having starred for five years in the smash Broadway show The Wiz and recorded the song "Home for the play's 1975 original cast soundtrack album, she wanted to record the song again as a posthumous tribute to the play's producer, Ken Harper, and the song's composer, Charlie Smalls. On her new version of "Home," Take 6 sung the background vocals. The song went to #1 R&B in late 1989 and was followed by "Comfort Of A Man" and "Real Love." The Home LP ended up peaking at #5 R&B, #82 Pop in summer 1989. She then recorded a charting single with J.T. Taylor titled "Heart To Heart" in late 1991. Her final MCA album, Something Real included the hit "All Day All Night" and "Never Do Wrong." Following this album, she recorded a gospel album, Personal Inspirations, for Interscope Records and recorded several tracks at Philadelphia International Records with Bunny Sigler among others in the late '90s.
After a hiatus from recording Mills returned with sixteenth album, "Born For This" in 2004. It includes the singles "Can't Let Him Go" and "Healing Time." Mills is currently working on her seventeenth album titled "Breathless." The lead single chosen is a song called, "Yesterday."
Jingle Baby
Stephanie Mills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Christmas is coming
That time this year
Have you written out your Christmas letters
Whatever you're wishing for
Whatever you need
I've got something here to make it better
I've got two strong arms to hold you tight
Lips to warm you on a cold, cold night
Rockin' and roll you 'til the morning light
With a heart full of Christmas cheer
And I'll be your jingle baby
Baby if you'll be my jingle boy
Look for me underneath your tree
And I'll be your favorite toy
Don't need to wind me up or shake me
Got no batteries up my sleeve
Once we kiss and I'll go like this
Right on to New Year's Eve
Turn up the music
Come and sit by the fire
We can make this moment last forever, yeah
Don't read no instructions, boy
To tell us what to do
We know how to put this love together
And I'll be your jingle baby
Baby if you'll be my jingle boy
Look for me underneath your tree
And I'll be your favorite toy
Don't need to wind me up or shake me
Got no batteries up my sleeve
Once we kiss and I'll go like this
Right on to New Year's Eve
And I'll be your jingle baby (jingle, jingle baby)
Baby if you'll be my jingle boy (be my jingle boy)
Look for me underneath your tree
And I'll be your favorite toy
Don't need to wind me up or shake me (wind me, shake me baby)
Got no batteries up my sleeve (nothing up my sleeve)
Once we kiss and I'll go like this
Right on to New Year's Eve
And I'll be your jingle baby (jingle, jingle baby)
Baby if you'll be my jingle boy (be my jingle boy)
Look for me underneath your tree
And I'll be your favorite toy
Don't need to wind me up or shake me (wind me, shake me baby)
The song "Jingle Baby" by Stephanie Mills is a fun and flirty Christmas-themed love song. The lyrics express a desire to spend the holiday season with a special someone and to make it a time of warmth, love, and sensual pleasures. The opening lines set the tone for the song, with the singer acknowledging that Christmas is coming and asking if the listener has prepared for it by writing Christmas letters and making wishes. The song then takes a playful turn, with the singer promising to be the listener's favorite toy, free of batteries and easy to please. The lyrics emphasize the physical side of the relationship, with mentions of strong arms, warm lips, and rockin' and rollin' until the morning light.
The chorus, with its repetition of the phrase "jingle baby," is catchy and fun, and it reinforces the idea of the singer and the listener as playful and romantic partners in crime. The second verse adds more details to the picture of the perfect Christmas scene, with references to music, fire, and the knowledge of how to put love together without instructions. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, with the singer inviting the listener once again to be her jingle boy and promising to be his favorite toy.
Overall, "Jingle Baby" is a catchy, seductive, and lighthearted take on the traditional Christmas love song. It mixes elements of holiday cheer with romantic attraction and physical intimacy, creating a unique and enjoyable mood that will surely put a smile on your face.
Line by Line Meaning
Christmas is coming
The holiday season is approaching
That time this year
It is that time of the year when Christmas is celebrated
Have you written out your Christmas letters
Have you written down your wishes for Christmas
Whatever you're wishing for
Whatever it is that you desire
Whatever you need
Whatever it is that you require
I've got something here to make it better
I have something that can make it all better
I've got two strong arms to hold you tight
I have strong arms that can hold you firmly
Lips to warm you on a cold, cold night
I have lips that can warm you on a chilly night
Rockin' and roll you 'til the morning light
I will keep you entertained till the crack of dawn
With a heart full of Christmas cheer
With a joyful, festive heart
And I'll be your jingle baby
I will be your source of excitement
Baby if you'll be my jingle boy
If you will be my partner in this excitement
Look for me underneath your tree
Search for me under your Christmas tree
And I'll be your favorite toy
I will become your favorite plaything
Don't need to wind me up or shake me
You do not need to prepare me in any way
Got no batteries up my sleeve
There are no hidden tricks or ways to power me up
Once we kiss and I'll go like this
After we kiss, I will be fully activated
Right on to New Year's Eve
All the way till New Year's Eve
Turn up the music
Increase the volume of the music
Come and sit by the fire
Come and sit close to the fire
We can make this moment last forever, yeah
We can sustain this feeling indefinitely
Don't read no instructions, boy
You do not need any instructions
To tell us what to do
To guide us on what to do
We know how to put this love together
We already know how to create love between us
And I'll be your jingle baby (jingle, jingle baby)
I will be your exciting partner
Baby if you'll be my jingle boy (be my jingle boy)
If you will be my partner in this excitement
Wind me, shake me baby
Activate me by either winding or shaking me
Nothing up my sleeve
I have no secret tricks or mechanisms to enhance me
Lyrics © KAREN SCHAUBEN PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATION
Written by: AMANDA MCBROOM, TOM SNOW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cindy Smith
I remember hearing this through the years but never knew who sang it. Love This Song!!!
Gregory D. Wilson
Love this song!!!
Steven Norman
Thank you thank you thank you..this has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time..
Elizabeth Ayala
One of my favorite Christmas song....Im ready for the festivities to begin.
Zizzy Black
Q_Q NOSTALGIA!! God, I love this song sooo much <33
Antoine M. Dillard, MFA
First heard this song working at KB Toys back in High School. Never knew who sang it until now. LOVE it!
AndyBrinkerhoff92
This song is almost too catchy... My Dad's had it on a CD he made in 1996-97, and I've heard multiple times every year since then.
Gregory Easton
I played this song every THANKSGIVING thru NEW YEARS DAY
Helen Hatcher
I first heard this song in 91, and lost the CD and never found it, I just thought about this song, I love this song, It's so sexy. This song put sexy in Christmas.
dwayne campbell
This is the hottest Christmas song I have ever heard. Even though it isn't Christmas all year around, I listen to it most every day.