It might seem odd that a Cole Porter tribute album would be one of my favorite gifts ever to appear under the Christmas tree, but 1990’s Red Hot + Blue was no ordinary release.

Red Hot + Blue was one of the first efforts organized by the music industry to specifically benefit AIDS research and relief. The 20-track disc featured contemporary artists covering classic Cole Porter songs, representing “an attempt to rediscover and reinterpret classic pop songs of the pre-Rock era,” according to the liner notes written by the project’s co-creator and producer, John Carlin:

“The music in this album revives Porter’s work, virtually for the first time in the Rock era, not only because it helps reinvigorate contemporary pop music, but because it contains a message we need to be reminded of in these difficult times. We cannot let AIDS serve as an excuse to reinstate unworkable and inflexible conservative morals. Instead, we must support everyone’s right to love and live on their own terms, upholding the responsibilities and the freedoms of the global society we all share.” 

Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop updated “Well Did You Evah,” sounding like they had a truly ‘swellegant’ time doing so. Annie Lennox turned in a touching performance of “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” And U2 offered an atmospheric “Night & Day,” featuring a haunted, pleading Bono. Just three highlights, not forgetting Sinead O’Connor’s sublime “You Do Something To Me” big-band throwback.

Videos were commissioned for 18 of the tracks, each lensed by big-name directors like Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Neil Jordan. The clips were featured in a Red Hot + Blue special that aired on ABC as part of a multimedia effort to bring attention to the devastating effects of AIDS, fight ignorance about the disease, and showcase effective ways to prevent its spread.

In addition to those previously mentioned, another Red Hot + Blue standout was Lisa Stansfield doing “Down In The Depths.” The video was directed by Phillippe Gautier, was behind the camera of her “All Around The World” clip:

Red Hot + Blue sold over 1 million copies, the impetus for an entire series of Red Hot + compilations. Beginning with 1992’s Red Hot + Dance (to which George Michael contributed three originals) through 2002’s Red Hot + Riot (a tribute to African musician Fela Kuti), fourteen additional releases have benefited the continuing work of the Red Hot Organization—a near-annual musical event. Some, like 1993’s No Alternative or 1996’s America Is Dying Slowly, it should be noted, had neither “red” nor “hot” in their titles.

On the occasion of World AIDS Day on December 1, the sixteenth entry in the Red Hot series was officially announced. Dark Was The Night will feature 32 songs from a veritable who’s who of indie artists: Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Cat Power, Feist, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Sufjan Steves, and on and on (well, for 26 more tracks, anyway). Produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National (with Red Hot founder John Carlin as executive producer), Dark Was The Night is scheduled for release on February 17.

Since you’ve got some time between now and then, reacquaint yourself with the album that started it all. A remastered Red Hot + Blue was issued in 2006 as a combo CD/DVD set, and is certainly a gift worth placing under the tree again this year.