Little Saint Nick

Album: The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1963)
Charted: 43 25
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Songfacts®:

  • Cars were a common theme in early Beach Boys songs, notably "Little Deuce Coupe," which was the template for this song that envisions Santa's sleigh as a Nordic Hot Rod: candy apple red with a 4-speed stick. Brian Wilson wrote the song with Mike Love.
  • For The Beach Boys' Christmas Album, the first side was original Christmas songs written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, and the other side contained traditional favorites like "Frosty The Snowman" and "White Christmas." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • The "Run run, reindeer" line was copped from Chuck Berry's song "Run Rudolph Run," where Berry sings, "Run run, Rudolph." By making the reindeer generic, The Beach Boys avoided copyright issues - Berry had to turn over royalties to his song to the creator the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer story.
  • Apparently, Brian Wilson had music on his mind even when he was out on dates. In the book Becoming The Beach Boys, 1961-1963, he's quoted as saying this about "Little Saint Nick":

    "I wrote the lyrics to it while I was out on a date and then I rushed home to finish the music."
  • Hanson recorded "Little Saint Nick" for their 1997 Christmas album Snowed In. Others to cover it include John Denver, Rosie Flores and Captain & Tennille.
  • The song entered the Hot 100 Top 40 for the first time on the chart dated December 31, 2022. It gave The Beach Boys their 35th Top 40 hit and first since "Kokomo" topped the listing in 1988.
  • "Little Saint Nick" shows up in these TV shows:

    True Detective ("Night Country, Part 2" - 2024)
    Ted Lasso ("Carol Of The Bells" - 2021)
    The Office ("Christmas Wishes" - 2011)
  • The song was used in a popular 2005 Coke commercial featuring a moment of Christmas cheer between animated polar bears and penguins.

Comments: 4

  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaChuck got lots of royality rights from other artists (Beatles included) for stuff he wrote and others borrowed. It's a fun Christmas tune.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 23rd 1964, the Beach Boys performed "Little Saint Nick" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'...
    It was track one of side one on the quintet's seventh studio album, 'The Beach Boys Christmas Album', and the album reached #6 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
    And at the time they had the #1 album on the Top 200 Albums chart, 'The Beach Boys Concert', plus they also had other three albums on the chart, "All Summer Long' {at #30}, 'Surfer Girl' {at #102}, and 'Surfin' U.S.A.' {at #143, and it was in its first week on the chart}...
    R.I.P. Dennis Wilson {1944-1983}, Carl Wilson {1946-1998}, and Jimmy O'Neil {Shindig's host, 1940-2013}.
  • Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, CaI used to wig out on the ending vocal where the dimish chord is OOO OOO OOO OOO
    Just loved that so much!
  • Dave from Cullman, AlI liked the original, but my favorite version of this is the Muppets' arrangement, on their album with John Denver. Animal: "RUN RUN REIN-DEER!"
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