Song: Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Original Artists: Harry Reser and His Orchestra/Eddie Cantor
This special Christmas number is getting on for being close to a century old. It was
recorded by Harry Reser and His Orchestra but first gained public recognition in late
1934 when American comedian Eddie Cantor sang a version on his radio show. It was
an overnight success and within a day it sold more the 30,000 records.
In the years since more than 200 artists have recorded the song. I love the Phil Spector-
inspired version by The Crystals. It featured on the 1963 “A Christmas Gift for You from
Phil Spector” album that contained other Christmas Classics recorded by acts such as
Darlene Love and The Ronettes. In 2003, the album was voted No 142 on Rolling
Stone’s 500 greatest albums. It’s worth adding to your Christmas playlist.
Others to record the track include: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond, Fred
Astaire, The Temptations, Mariah Carey, Kylie Minogue, Michael Bublé and Dolly
Parton. But the cover version I have chosen to single out is by The Boss himself –
Bruce Springsteen. His rendition hit the highest spot attained by any version in the UK
charts, reaching the Top 10 in 1985. You can afford to skip the first minute and 50
seconds of the video below without missing much.
