Someone Is Missing At Christmas
With the holidays fast approaching, millions of people throughout the world are preparing for another season filled with the spirit of sharing joy, peace and laughter with loved ones. But for those who have recently lost people in their lives—or who are separated from their family members and friends by emotional or physical miles or wars halfway around the world—November and December can be a time of great sadness when it hits home that this year, “Someone Is Missing At Christmas.”
A true holiday classic, “Someone Is Missing At Christmas” is an emotionally gripping song whose moving melody and touching lyrics offer empathy, hope and inspiration to anyone who is grieving the recent passing of someone close to them or who is separated from a person they love.
Written by Cleveland based songwriter John C. Chaffee, Jr. in 2003 upon the death of his just turned 62-year-old sister Lyn—a 21 year breast cancer survivor--from ovarian cancer, “Someone…,” featuring the warm and heartfelt vocals of singer Anne Cochran, has become a cherished modern holiday classic since its release to radio and retail in 2005.
Hitting the Top 15 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart in December 2005, the song, which was played on over 100 radio stations devoted to an All-Christmas format, spent three weeks alongside seasonal hits by Kenny G, Brian Wilson, Diana Krall, Michael McDonald and Carly Simon and other popular tracks by Michael Buble, Santana and Rob Thomas.
The week “Someone Is Missing At Christmas” peaked at #11, the top song on the chart was Jim Brickman’s “Beautiful.” Cochran, who has performed live with the popular romantic pianist for years and had an AC hit with him in 1998 called “After All These Years,” performed “Someone…” live throughout their Christmas tour. She also re-released her own Christmas album This Is The Season with the new track. The album was released to retail outlets throughout the country and is available online at Amazon.com.
In 2006, it received airplay on over 150 All-Christmas formatted radio stations throughout the country.
Chaffee made the song available for purchase on his website, www.patriciamusic.com, and it also appeared as one of three new cuts on the 15-song compilation Coming Home For Christmas on Sony Legacy. Other artists on the collection included Brickman, Michael Bolton, Amy Grant, Lonestar, Kenny Loggins, Olivia Newton-John and Michael W. Smith.
The song is also available for digital download on over 40 web sites, including Emusic, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Napster, Sony Connect, Liquid Digital Media and iTunes.
In honor of Chaffee’s late sister Lyn, a portion of the proceeds from “Someone Is Missing At Christmas” is earmarked for breast cancer and ovarian cancer organizations.
After Lyn had survived her breast cancer for so long, the Chaffees were stunned when she passed away just a month after receiving her diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and two days past her birthday.
The song came to Chaffee, who launched his nearly 40 year career in radio and TV (working his way up to President of the Cleveland based Malrite Communications) as a copywriter, in a reflective moment of inspiration.
“When we lose someone or are separated from someone close to us, there’s this tremendous burden of sadness no matter what time of year it is,” says Chaffee. “At Christmas, when families and friends usually gather for what should be a festive occasion, the hole is magnified. This song is meant to say it’s not wrong or a bad thing to be sad, but truly, when you think about it, your loved one is not gone if you always carry that person in your heart. That’s the hopeful twist that happens towards the end of the song, when Anne sings, ‘wait, someone is touching my heart.’ Then, truly, ‘Someone is With Me At Christmas.’”
Beyond widespread critical acclaim for the song, Chaffee has been touched over t