“That section of the song, the ending of the song, to me is sort of like the clincher. If you didn't like the song at first, you should like it by that time.” »read more
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This was written in 1932 by Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots. They had trouble convincing anyone to produce it because it was seen as a kids song, which would have been very hard to sell.
When Eddie Cantor sang this on his radio show in 1934, it became an instant hit. Coots was a writer for Cantor's show. Cantor was going to pass on the song but was convinced by his wife, Ida, to give it a try.
One of the most successful Christmas carols of all time, it was outsold only by "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "White Christmas."
The most popular recordings of this are those by Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters and by Perry Como - both versions have sold millions of copies.
A Rankin-Bass animated TV special was produced in 1970 and loosely based on this song. Narrated by Fred Astaire (who also sings the title song) and starring Mickey Rooney as the voice of Kris Kringle, it depicts the story of Santa Claus and how he came to be.
One of the more popular versions of this is by Bruce Springsteen. He also does a version called "Santa Claus Is Fooling Around," which is about how Santa will steal your lady if you're not careful.
More Christmas songs
Comments:
didn't know about the Cantor history of this song!TY!
- steve dotstar, los angeles, CA
On Phil Spector's Christmas cd "A Christmas gift for you from Phil Spector" there is a version from The Crystals of this song. This cd can be considered the best pop Christmas cd and you can hear Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" that makes this song so very good.
- Teresa, Mechelen, Belgium
Bob Rivers is the man! Check out his Hendrix and Beatles impersonations of Christmas tunes.
- RobB, Williamstown, NJ 08094, NJ
Actually, Bruce Springsteen does a straightforward version of the song. (lyrics-wise, that is) "Santa Claus is foolin' around", a parody of Springsteen's version, was done by Bob Rivers, who made a career of song parodies.
- Eddie, Acton, ME