A Very Special Christmas

One of the more iconic Christmas albums of the 1980s thanks to the famed cover art by Keith Haring and its goal for fundraising for the Special Olympics, 1987’s A Very Special Christmas serves as an often-intriguing snapshot aiming to capture both veterans and up-and-comers as a kind of state-of-the-field effort in (mostly) American pop/rock music. It’s a mixed bag for sure – sorry, Bon Jovi fans – but standouts abound, including Run-D.M.C.’s giddy throwdown “Christmas in Hollis,” the album’s sole original, and turns by Whitney Houston and Alison Moyet.