# Did Springsteen originate "SAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN-ta Claus is Coming to Town?"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 26, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116 "2003-12-26T14:04:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116/1 "2003-12-26T14:04:26Z")

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I remembe when it was just sung “Santa Claus is coming to town.” When did the drawn out first syllable become the way to sing it?

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**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116/2 "2003-12-26T14:34:45Z")

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Yeah, he’s responsible for singing it that way. Some people just gotta pee on everything and make it their own. Whether they make it better by changing the way it’s always been done is a matter of debate, but that’s another thread in another forum!

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**Author:** ![Southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@Southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southpaw)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116/3 "2003-12-26T14:47:19Z")

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I thought **The Jackson 5** did it that way first.

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**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116/4 "2003-12-26T15:17:07Z")

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Oh, you may be right, **Southpaw**. I’ve never heard their version. Bruuuuuuuuuce was in his heyday then, and he’s the guy whose rendition of it in that style became famous. His is the version that all the rock stations play… but he may not be The Originator.

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**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116/5 "2003-12-26T16:23:06Z")

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Springsteen was actually doing a very faithful cover of the Phil Spectorized version of the song, as originally performed by the Crystals.

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**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-springsteen-originate-saaaaaaaaaannnnnnn-ta-claus-is-coming-to-town/221116/6 "2003-12-26T23:39:30Z")

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The original version is much better. Bing Crosby blows the Jackson 5 out of the water.