New Edition‘s 1985 holiday EP, Christmas All Over the World, is headed to vinyl for the first time this October.
Released in December 1985 when the group were still teenagers, Christmas All Over The World is New Edition’s only dedicated holiday EP. Alongside songs like “Happy Holidays To You” and “The Joy of Christmas,” the EP features The Jackson 5’s cover of “Give Love on Christmas Day.” (New Edition’s name, ironically, was originally conceived to position its five members as a “new edition” of the beloved family band.)
Upon its release, Christmas All Over The World peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard R&B charts. It also marked singer Bobby Brown’s final recording with the group before his 1985 departure to focus on a solo career.
Formed in 1978 in Boston by childhood friends Brown, Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, Corey Rackney, and Travis Pettus, New Edition grew into one of the most successful R&B groups of all time. After Pettus left the group and was replaced by Ronnie DeVoe, New Edition caught their first big break during a talent show at Boston’s Strand Theater. They didn’t clinch first place, but they left local impresario Maurice Starr so blown away he booked them a recording session the next day, which would become their 1983 debut album Candy Girl. The album’s title track hit No. 1 on both the American and UK singles charts.
The group would continue to tour together well into the 2000s, and released their album One Love in 2002. In 2012, New Edition was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Soul Train Music Awards; all six members of the group came together onstage to collect it.