Wednesday, December 12, 2012

25 Day of Holiday Music: Day 12


"Oh, you better watch out, you better not cry..."


Last week, on Day 4, I shared a little about Christmas Eve as it was observed in my childhood home. So, if you read that post, you know that we waited until that evening to put up the tree and that Christmas music would be playing. We did not have much in the way of a Christmas music collection -- I can recall only two albums (yes, they were "LP records") in the house -- but the local radio played an abundance of holiday themed tunes. And, for my money, it wasn't Christmas until I heard the song featured today: Bruce Springsteen's rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

"Santa Clause is Coming to Town" was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie and it is a long-lived classic, but it is only 78 years old. According to Wikipedia, the earliest recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was also sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" has been covered numerous times, and it was the basis for the 1970 Rankin-Bass produced animated TV special of the same name. But just about the most famous version, right up there with the original, of course, is the one by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (which includes that wonderful banter between Springsteen and saxophonist Clarence Clemons who also delivers a killer solo).




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