The True Story Behind ‘Merry Christmas, Darling’

In the biography Carpenters: The Musical Legacy, Richard Carpenter is quoted as saying of himself and his sister Karen: “We felt like we were born to perform Christmas music.”

“Merry Christmas, Darling” is proof of exactly that.

While Richard and Karen may have performed this holiday classic in 1970, they didn’t write it. Frank Pooler, choral director at California State University-Long Beach and close friend of the Carpenters, wrote it in 1944 as a present for his girlfriend. Unfortunately, their romance fizzled out before Pooler could give it to her.

Pooler put the song in the back of his mind for twenty years.

Then, in 1966, two of his students asked their favorite professor if he knew of any holiday songs they could perform.

The students just so happened to be Richard and Karen Carpenter.

Pooler told them about “Merry Christmas, Darling.” Richard used his gifts to breathe new life into the stale, old melody, and the song hit number one on Billboard’s Christmas singles chart in 1970.

But what happened to Pooler’s ex-girlfriend? Did she ever find out “Merry Christmas, Darling” was meant for her?

Years later, Pooler managed to hunt down his former sweetheart in Palm Springs, California, where she lived with her musician husband. After exchanging pleasantries, Pooler admitted that he wrote “Merry Christmas, Darling” for her.

“Now I have a treasure,” she responded.

We couldn’t agree more.

Get weekly tips on housing, retirement living, senior care, and more sent right to your inbox.