More than 200 artists have recorded "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" in the decades since the song's 1934 introduction, a roll call spanning from Bing Crosby to the Crystals to the Carpenters. But none have matched the sugar-high euphoria of the
Jackson 5, whose classic rendition perfectly captures the palpable anticipation of the holiday season.
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"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" didn't inspire much in the way of enthusiasm when composer J. Fred Coots and lyricist Haven Gillespie first pitched the tune to Coots' publisher, Leo Feist, who dismissed it as simply "a kids' song." When radio phenom Eddie Cantor approached Feist for seasonal material to perform during the 1934 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Feist suggested "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," and while Cantor too shrugged off the song over its perceived "childish" properties, the singer's wife Ida encouraged him to give it a shot. Within 24 hours of the Macy's radio broadcast, listeners snapped up more than 100,000 copies of the "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" sheet music, and by Christmas Day, sales eclipsed the half-million mark.
Banjoist Harry Reser and His Orchestra headlined the earliest known recorded version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," cut for Decca on Oct. 24, 1934; Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra covered the song a year later, and by the time Crosby and the Andrews Sisters charted with their 1947 rendition, it was firmly established as a holiday staple. The Four Seasons' 1962 recording climbed to number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the following year, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" was revived again by the Crystals for the landmark A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, inspiring Bruce Springsteen's iconic live version, recorded in December 1975 and released commercially in 1981.
The Jackson 5 - Gary, Ind.-born brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and, of course, Michael - recorded what would become their fourth Motown Records full-length, the Jackson 5 Christmas Album, during the summer of 1970. Michael was still just 11 years old, and the adolescent exuberance of his lead performance makes "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" come alive like no other version before or since. When you unwrap the song here in KORD, be sure to check out the older Jackson brothers' spirited backing vocals, as well as the frenzied overdriven guitar long buried below the record's surface.
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is even more remarkable when you consider that the Jackson family did not celebrate the Christmas holiday, in adherence with their Jehovah's Witness beliefs. If you want to understand how Michael Jackson ended up so profoundly damaged, start by considering the psychological toll it must have taken on this young man and his siblings to sing so joyously about a joy they had never themselves experienced.
Motown delivered the Jackson 5 Christmas Album on Oct. 15, 1970. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" was the group's fifth single for the label, and the first that did not reach number one on the Billboard pop chart, stalling at number 33. Michael Jackson never again made a holiday record, but he shared a heartfelt Christmas message via videotape in 1992, proclaiming "Today of all days, we focus on loving one another and giving. Let's do this, not just one day of the year, but for 365 days." 
