Guest post by Nathan Arizona
A perennially popular Christmas song was born when a crowd of parade-goers in 1946 shouted “here comes Santa Claus” as the Grand Marshal approached on horseback in cowboy regalia. They were clamoring for the nearby Santa impersonator, but Gene Autry, atop Champion, heard the shouting and knew what he needed to do. He wrote a song about it.
Autry always knew where the money was. He rode a successful career performing western songs on the radio to his status as the first of the movies’ “singing cowboys.” He became one of the richest people in the entertainment business. His lucrative recordings of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” contributed to the cause.
The event that inspired “Here Comes Santa Claus” was Hollywood’s annual Santa Claus Lane Parade, so that was the route his Santa would take when he brought ”the toys for boys and girls.” Or “Santy Claus,” as Gene sang it. He worked in a religious spin. “So hang your stockings and say your prayers” and Santa will arrive, at least for those who “follow the light.”
Soon after the song started pouring out of the radio Autry put it in one of his movies, “The Cowboy and the Indians.” He sang it on horseback as he and his crew rode down a dusty trail, kind of a lane, really. They were taking gifts to children at an Indian school.
The song’s movie career didn’t end there. It played over the chaotic scene at the end of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” when a swat team descends on the Griswold house to rescue Clark’s boss, who had been kidnaped by dimwit Cousin Eddie.
If you’d rather not hear the song for the millionth time you might want to play it for your dog anyway. According to a poll I dug up, “Here Comes Santa Claus” is the eighth best song to play for pets, who apparently find certain holiday songs soothing. Oddly, a song that drives many humans crazy, “Carol of the Bells,” tops the list.
On the other hand, If you want to upset your pets, play “Last Christmas” by Wham!
Your fern will also like “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Another poll says even house plants prefer calming Christmas music, and the version by Elvis Presley is No. 3 on that list. If you want your plants to shrivel up and die, play Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree.”
Here’s Gene singing “Here Comes Santa Claus” in “The Cowboy and the Indians.” It might be a little off-putting because of the scene’s patronizing tone. I’m sure Gene thought it showed how nice white folks could be. And calling them First Americans seems downright enlightened for the time. Yes, he’s riding next to a truck. Autry’s movies blithely plopped cowboy imagery into the moviegoers’ contemporary world.
The only similarity between Autry’s version and Dwight Yoakam’s is that they both wear cowboy hats. Dwight gives it a vaguely sinister and somewhat exotic flavor.
Here’s the scene from “Christmas Vacation.” That’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the snooty neighbor who gets her comeuppance.
