Countdown to Christmas: Ten Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Songs About Santa Claus (Part 2 of 2)

Continued from Part One…

5. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” – Bruce Springsteen (single, 1981)
“Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” is the oldest song on this list. First published in 1934, the tune was first popularized by singer Eddie Cantor. The song quickly became a standard, covered in performance and in recordings by more than 200 artists representing most every musical genre. In 1981, The Boss himself released his own version, recorded live onstage six years earlier at C.W. Post College on Long Island, New York. The track also appeared on In Harmony 2, an all-star compilation of children’s music.

4. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – John Mellencamp (from A Very Special Christmas, 1987)
Dating from the early 1950s, the romantic and easy listening “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” has been recorded countless times. Wacky bandleader Spike Jones was one of the first to cover it; his 1952 version was a Top Ten single. The Ronettes’ Phil Spector-produced recording was a highlight of their 1962 LP A Christmas Gift For You. Pop royalty the Jackson Five covered the song on their own Christmas album, released at the height of their popularity in 1970. Heartland rocker John Mellencamp waxed his own version for a late ‘80s all-star compilation benefiting the Special Olympics.

3. “Here Comes Santa Claus” – Los Straitjackets (from ‘Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets, 2002)
Nashville’s Los Straitjackets have carved out a unique corner of the rock world all their own, breathing new life into the surf-instrumental rock genre. Clad in Mexican luchador wrestling masks, the foursome write top-flight songs, but they also turn classics on their heads while remaining faithful to the musical values that made the songs special. A nod to their heroes the Ventures – who made a classic Christmas album of their own in 1965 – Los Straitjackets’ reading of “Here Comes Santa Claus” is full of sparkle, spirit and verve.

2. “The Man With All the Toys” – Husky Team (from Christmas in Memphis, 2003)
This classic first appeared on The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (see above), but 40 years later some of rock’s most inventive artists revived the tune. In the hands of Husky Team – a who’s-who assemblage led by Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken and producer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Amels – “The Man With All the Toys” and other classics are recast as inventive instrumentals that brilliantly reference classics from Memphis legends like Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MGs, the Box Tops and more.

1. “Santa Make Me Good” – The Grip Weeds with Mark Lindsay (from Under the Influence of Christmas, 2011)
Named after Private Gripweed, John Lennon’s character in the 1966 black comedy How I Won the War, New Jersey’s Grip Weeds have been making original music since 1988. Combining Who-like energy with the allure of classic psychedelia and the immediacy of power pop, the group has been turning out album after album of memorable, melodic rock. In 2011 they took a bit of a turn, making a holiday-themed album featuring special guest stars. “Santa Make Me Good” found the band working with Mark Lindsay, the legendary, powerful-voiced and ponytailed front man of Paul Revere and the Raiders.

Bonus: “Christmas With the Devil” – Spin̈al Tap (from Break Like the Wind, 1992)
Subjects of the groundbreaking 1984 “mockumentary,” the group featuring actor-musicians Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer wrote and performed their own music. Like the film itself, those songs were knowing parodies of countless rock tropes, especially ones – like bad taste, for example – associated with heavy metal. Six years after the film, the band returned with Break Like the Wind, an album showcasing this riotous inversion of holiday cheer and featuring jokey lyrics like “Silent night, violent night!” It was all in good fun, of course.