Five years before Mariah Carey turned "All I Want For Christmas is You" into an up-tempo anthem for the holiday season, Vince Vance & The Valiants, mostly a studio band, released the song on the pop & country charts. Vance (Andy Stone) and singer Lisa Layne were the only band members at the time, a throwback to the days of pre-fab bands dating back to the 50's & 60's.
Nearly 35 years after its initial release, the song is in the midst of litigation between Stone & Carey, with Stone refiling a lawsuit that was tossed out with prejudice last year, claiming that Mariah had "exploited" the song. The truth is, both versions have their own merits, and Stone, for whatever reason, feels slighted because he's not getting his flowers for writing what was a huge hit more so for Carey than himself. Carey's version gets more airplay every year because it's the version that gained the most airplay on radio and MTV/VH1. Face it, Vince Vance & the Valiants got the Rodney Dangerfield treatement. That is, no respect, though their version does get some radio airplay these days, too.
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