On December 12th 1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were in a Holly Jolly mood when they took the stage at C.W. Post College in Brookville, New York.

At the end of the concert, they launched into “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” using the alternate melody first performed by the Crystals back in 1963. (for comparison, check the ink below!)

Bruce talked and laughed his way through it, and the group could barely keep it together. It was ragged and raw and a whole lot of fun—for crowd AND the band! for example: (Clarence Clemons really went to town” on the saxophone solo!)

Strangely, the song wasn’t officially released until 1982—on, believe it or not, a “Sesame Street” compilation album called “In Harmony II!”

At that point, it became a “Great Christmas Song of the ’80s—a song that has been a Christmas staple on radio stations like Greatest Hits 98.1 for the past 43 years!

The Crystals (1963):

–Mike Cook