Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie and was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and more than 400,000 copies sold by Christmas.
The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934 featuring Tom Stacks on vocal, the version shown in the Variety charts of December 1934. The song was a sheet music hit, reaching #1. The song was also recorded on September 26, 1935, by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra.

The song is a traditional standard at Christmas time, and has been covered by numerous recording artists.  Many contemporary artists have recorded and performed various versions of the song, including a famous rock and roll version by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. The song was almost exclusively played when the band was on tour in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and during these performances, late E Street Band member Clarence Clemons would perform the role of Santa, filling in with many ho ho ho’s and often wearing a Christmas hat.

By Pat Boone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmI6DmdnP8s

By Jackson 5

Lyrics

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town