Last night, the inimitable Darlene Love made her annual appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman to perform “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” a 25-year tradition that I came thisclose to witnessing in person. Alas, a distance of 2905 miles kept me from taking the last-minute invite. Maybe next year my Christmas dream will come true.

Love, looking resplendent in red, sounded better than ever, as did Paul Shaffer, the CBS Orchestra, and the rest of the musicians and backing singers convened on the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theatre to conjure up the Wall Of Sound magic from the 1963 original, famously produced by Phil Spector.

While that was amazing, Saturday means it’s time to dance. With today also being Christmas Eve, this dovetailing of occasions provides a special opportunity to spotlight an official remix of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

I’m not sure at what point Darlene Love re-sang her holiday classic or how Julian Marsh came to remix the track (first in 2004, according to his production history), or indeed, why Love is one of the few recognizable names on the otherwise low-budget Super Dance Christmas Party compilation series on which it now appears. But it’s a real dance remix of my all-time favorite Christmas song, sung by the original artist, and that’s enough for me. I hope you love it too. Hear here:

Purchase Darlene Love – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (Julian Marsh Mix) via iTunes, Amazon MP3.