Comedian Jimmy Fallon was sweating recording a cover of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You with Dolly Parton because a mix-up left him memorizing the lyrics for a completely different holiday tune.
The late-night talk show host was invited to work with the country music legend for her first festive album in 30 years, A Holly Dolly Christmas, but Fallon initially thought Parton wanted him to sing along to the novelty tune All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth – instead of the Carey classic.
“Dolly Parton’s people called me and they said, ‘Would you like to do a duet with Dolly Parton?'” he recalled on U.S. breakfast show Today. “I go, ‘Of course..!’
“They wanna do All I Want for Christmas. I go, ‘I got that! ‘All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth…'”
However, Fallon soon learned that wasn’t the tune Parton had in mind – and then panicked as he realized he would never be able to hit the high notes for the iconic 1994 holiday hit.
“Two weeks before we record it, I got the words; it’s All I want for Christmas Is You – the Mariah Carey song,” he shared.
“I go, ‘Oh no, we have a big problem. I can’t sing this! It’s Mariah Carey, no one can sing that song, it’s not even a duet!’
“They go, ‘Well, let’s try it, we think we can make it work.’ I was sweating in the (recording) booth… Veins were coming out of my head trying to hit notes…”
Despite his concerns, Fallon admits the finished product isn’t bad at all: “It’s crazy. They have a great producer, it turned out awesome.”
Fallon is still in disbelief at sharing the recording booth with Parton, and now he hints they are preparing to perform the tune live for the first time at the New York City Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony this December.
“We’re doing something for the Christmas Tree Lighting, me and Dolly,” he teased.
Fallon isn’t the only celebrity to join Parton for a song on A Holly Dolly Christmas – she also recruited Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, and goddaughter Miley Cyrus for the project.
