Santa claus is coming to town lyrics

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

Christmas song

For the television special, see Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (TV special).

"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Orchestra.[1] When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show in November it became a hit; within 24 hours, , copies of sheet music and more than 30, records were sold.[2][3] The version for Bluebird Records by George Hall and His Orchestra (vocal by Sonny Schuyler) was very popular in and reached the various charts of the day.[4] The song has been recorded by over artists including Mariah Carey, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, the Crystals, Neil Diamond, Fred Astaire, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Mitch Miller, Boxcar Willie, Bill Evans, Chris Isaak, the Temptations, The Pointer Sisters, Kylie Minogue, the Carpenters, Michael Bublé, Luis Miguel, Michael Bolton, the Jackson 5, Dolly Parton and Lady Gaga.[5]

History

Recordings

The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and His Orchestra on October 24, (Decca A)[6] featuring Tom Stacks on vocal, the version shown in the Variety charts of December The song was a sheet music hit, reaching number 1.

The song was also recorded for Victor Records (catalog No. A) on September 26, , by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with vocals by Cliff Weston and Edythe Wright.[7]

The song is a traditionalChristmasstandard and has been covered by numerous recording artists. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters reached the Billboard charts briefly in [8] with it.

s

In , the Four Seasons version charted at number 23 on Billboard.[9] In , producer Phil Spector included a version of the song on his rock album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector performed by the Crystals.[10] In , the Supremes' version charted at number 4 in Singapore.[11]

s to s

In , Rankin-Bass produced Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, an hour-long animated TV film based on the song, with Fred Astaire narrating the origin of Santa Claus.

The same year, the Jackson 5 included the song on their best-selling album Jackson 5 Christmas Album. The Jackson 5 version would chart 50 years later on the Billboard at # In , the Partridge Family included the song on A Partridge Family Christmas Card. An eccentric live recording by Joseph Spence has been described as "a performance for the ages" by music critic Peter Margasak.[12][13]The Carpenters released the song as a single in

A rock version by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band was recorded on December 12, , at C.

W. Post College in Brookville, New York, by Record Plant engineers Jimmy Iovine and Thom Panunzio.[14][15] This version borrows the chorus refrain from the recording by the Crystals.[16] It was first released as a track on the Sesame Street compilation album, In Harmony 2, as well as on a promotional, radio-only, 7-inch single (Columbia AE7 ).[17][18] Four years later, it was released as the B-side to "My Hometown", a single off the Born in the U.S.A. album.[19] Springsteen's rendition of the song has received radio airplay perennially at Christmastime for years; it appeared on Billboard magazine's Hot Singles Recurrents chart each year from to due to seasonal air play.

Live performances of the song often saw the band encouraging the audience to sing some of the lyrics with—or in place of—the band's vocalists (usually the line "you'd better be good for goodness sake", and occasionally the key line "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" as well). Sometimes, concert crowds would sing along with the entire song, and the band, who were known to encourage this behavior for the song, would do nothing to dissuade those audiences from doing so, instead welcoming the crowds' enthusiasm.

This version remains a Springsteen concert favorite during the months of November and December (often concluding the show), and the band is among the few that keep it in their roster of songs during the holidays.

In , an instrumental version was recorded by Snuff Garrett and his 50 Guitars.

Australian ABBA tribute act Björn Again released a version in which reached number 55 on the UK Singles Chart.[20] Other well-known versions of this song include Mariah Carey from the album Merry Christmas () and the Pointer Sisters version off the album A Very Special Christmas, also borrowing from the Crystals' arrangement.[21]Andy Williams performed the song on his album I Still Believe in Santa Claus, which was released on October 1, [22]

s to present

Luis Miguel recorded the song in Spanish as "Santa Claus Llegó a La Ciudad" for his Christmas album Navidades ().[23] His version of the song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart.[24]

The song has also been recorded in a cappella versions.

First by Straight No Chaser on their album Holiday Spirits, and later by Pentatonix on their album That's Christmas to Me.[25]

In October , EMI Music Publishing lost the rights to J. Fred Coot's stake in the song. EMI had earned the rights to the song via Leo Feist's publishing company in the s.[26]

In September , the family of Haven Gillespie sued Memory Lane Music Group for $,, asking for an 85% stake in "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town".[27]

Sebastián Yatra recorded a Spanish version for Christmas and released it as a single.[28] The song charted in Spain and on Billboard'sHot Latin Songs chart and was certified gold by the RIAA in the US.[29]

In November , YouTuberjschlatt released a cover of the song as the first single from his Christmas album, "A Very Christmas".[30]

Charts

The Supremes version

The Jackson 5 version

Michael Bublé version

Glee Cast version

Mariah Carey version

Various artists version

Bruce Springsteen version

Luis Miguel version

Sebastián Yatra version

Frank Sinatra version

Lady Gaga version

Certifications and sales

Frank Sinatra version

The Crystals version

The Jackson 5 version

Michael Bublé version

Bruce Springsteen version

Sebastián Yatra version

Mariah Carey version

Justin Bieber version

See also

References

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    Cartoon santa claus is coming to town characters Kluger , the narrator, and Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle. The movie tells the story of how Santa Claus, and several Claus-related Christmas traditions, came to be. It is based on the Christmas song of the same name , which was introduced by Eddie Cantor in When Special Delivery Kluger's mail truck breaks down, he decides to share some letters to Santa with a group of off-camera children, which in turn prompts him to tell the story of Santa Claus. The story begins in a gloomy small town called Sombertown, which is ruled by a mean, grouchy, nasty cold, cruel and heartless mayor named Burgermeister Meisterburger.

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    Santa claus is coming to town characters The film tells the story of how Santa Claus and several Claus-related Christmas traditions came to be. The special was created using Japanese stop-motion animation called "Animagic", in which all the characters are made of wood and plastic, and animated via stop-motion photography. The special was originally telecast December 13, , by ABC , [ 2 ] which continues to air the special every year, along with its sister network Freeform as of , commemorating the special's 50th anniversary , although, at times, both networks have edited the special to make room for commercials. Following a newsreel highlighting the excitement of children worldwide awaiting Santa Claus, a postman named Special Delivery "S. After Kluger's mail truck breaks down, he proceeds to tell the story of Santa in response to letters sent by children.

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    Voiced by Mickey Rooney , this version of Santa went on to appear in a few more Christmas specials and even two Easter specials produced by the company, and even a sequel produced by Warner Bros. Rooney reprised the role in all of his appearances except for Rudolph's Shiny New Year , where he was instead voiced by Paul Frees who had voiced the version of Santa seen in Frosty the Snowman. The special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town was the first special to feature this recurring Santa character, and as such, it is also the special that provides his backstory. He is born as a baby named simply "Claus" who is adopted by a family of elves called the Kringles and named Kris Kringle. The Kringles teach him about their art as renowned toymakers.

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