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=                   Santa Claus Is Coming to Town                    =
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                             Introduction                             
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"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. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show in
November 1934 it became a hit; within 24 hours, 500,000 copies of
sheet music and more than 30,000 records were sold. The version for
Bluebird Records by George Hall and His Orchestra (vocal by Sonny
Schuyler) was very popular in 1934 and reached the various charts of
the day. The song has been recorded by over 200 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, the Carpenters, Michael Bublé, Luis Miguel, Michael Bolton,
jschlatt, and the Jackson 5.


 Recordings 
============
The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry
Reser and His Orchestra on October 24, 1934 (Decca 264A) featuring Tom
Stacks on vocal, the version shown in the Variety charts of December
1934. The song was a sheet music hit, reaching number 1. The song was
also recorded for Victor Records (catalog No. 25145A) on September 26,
1935, by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with vocals by Cliff Weston
and Edythe Wright.

The song is a traditional Christmas standard and has been covered by
numerous recording artists. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
reached the 'Billboard' charts briefly in 1947 with it.


 1960s 
=======
In 1962, the Four Seasons version charted at number 23 on 'Billboard'.
In 1963, 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. In 1965, the Supremes' version charted at number 4 in
Singapore.


 1970s to 1990s 
================
In 1970, 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' 100 at #33. In 1971, the Partridge Family included the
song on 'A Partridge Family Christmas Card'. An eccentric 1972 live
recording by Joseph Spence has been described as "a performance for
the ages" by music critic Peter Margasak. The Carpenters released the
song as a single in 1974.

A rock version by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band was
recorded on December 12, 1975, at C. W. Post College in Brookville,
New York, by Record Plant engineers Jimmy Iovine and Thom Panunzio.
This version borrows the chorus refrain from the 1963 recording by the
Crystals. It was first released as a track on the 1981 'Sesame Street'
compilation album, 'In Harmony 2', as well as on a 1981 promotional,
radio-only, 7-inch single (Columbia AE7 1332). Four years later, it
was released as the B-side to "My Hometown", a single off the 'Born in
the U.S.A.' album. 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
2002 to 2009 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.

Australian ABBA tribute act Björn Again released a version in 1992
which reached number 55 on the UK Singles Chart. Other well-known
versions of this song include Mariah Carey from the album 'Merry
Christmas' (1994) and the Pointer Sisters version off the album 'A
Very Special Christmas', also borrowing from the Crystals'
arrangement. Andy Williams performed the song on his album 'I Still
Believe in Santa Claus', which was released on October 1, 1990.


 2000s to present 
==================
Luis Miguel recorded the song in Spanish as "Santa Claus Llegó a La
Ciudad" for his Christmas album 'Navidades' (2006). His version of the
song peaked at number 26 on the 'Billboard' Latin Pop Songs chart.

The song has also been recorded in a cappella versions. First by
Straight No Chaser on their 2008 album 'Holiday Spirits', and later by
Pentatonix on their 2014 album 'That's Christmas to Me'.

In October 2015, 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 1980s.

In September 2017, the family of Haven Gillespie sued Memory Lane
Music Group for $700,000, asking for an 85% stake in "Santa Claus Is
Comin' to Town".

Sebastián Yatra recorded a Spanish version for Christmas 2019 and
released it as a single. The song charted in Spain and on 'Billboard'
Hot Latin Songs chart and was certified gold by the RIAA in the US.

In November 2024, YouTuber jschlatt released a cover of the song as
the first single from his upcoming Christmas album.


 The Supremes version 
======================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by the Supremes
Chart (1966)	Peak position
Malaysia ('Billboard')	|2
Singapore ('Billboard')	|1
Chart (2011)	Peak position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	|167


 The Jackson 5 version 
=======================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" by the Jackson 5
Chart (2011-2024)	 Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	27
Global 200 ('Billboard')	37
Greece International Digital Singles (IFPI)	76


Lithuania (AGATA)	49

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	27




US 'Billboard' Hot 100	30
US Holiday 100 ('Billboard')	24


 Michael Bublé version 
=======================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" by Michael Bublé
Chart (2011-2023)	 Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	67

Croatia (HRT)	90


France (SNEP)	98

Greece (IFPI)	93


Italy (FIMI)	11
Latvia (LAIPA)	30








US Holiday 100 ('Billboard')	35


 Glee Cast version 
===================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by the 'Glee'
cast	 Chart (2011-2012)	 Peak position
US Holiday Digital Songs ('Billboard')	29


 Mariah Carey version 
======================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Mariah Carey
Chart (2010-2023)	Peak position

Netherlands (Single Tip)	1

South Korea (Circle)	142
US Holiday 100 ('Billboard')	45


 Various artists version 
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Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by various
artists	 Chart (2019)	 Peak position
US 'Rolling Stone' Top 100	72


 Bruce Springsteen version 
===========================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Bruce
Springsteen	 Chart (2007-2024)	 Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	65



Global 200 ('Billboard')	71


Lithuania (AGATA)	99


 Luis Miguel version 
=====================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Luis Miguel
Chart (2007)	 Peak position


 Sebastián Yatra version 
=========================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Sebastián
Yatra	 Chart (2020-2022)	 Peak position


 Frank Sinatra version 
=======================
Chart performance for "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Frank Sinatra
Chart (2022-2024)	 Peak position



Italy (FIMI)	14
Netherlands (Single Tip)	5
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)	35


                               See also                               
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* List of Christmas carols


                            External links                            
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*  (original lyrics)
*


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=========
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Is_Coming_to_Town