Reprinted with permission from the Frazier History Museum (fraziermuseum.org)
“If you don’t wash behind your ears, Haven, Santa Claus will know. You better be good.”
This childhood memory of his mother’s warning floated to the surface of Haven Gillespie’s memories as he rode the New York subway in the fall of 1934 looking for inspiration for a children’s Christmas song.
Haven had left for New York following the funeral of his beloved brother, Irwin, to take a new batch of songs to his publisher. Upon Haven’s arrival, Edgar Bittner, the manager at music publisher Leo Feist Inc. in New York’s famous Tin Pan Alley, asked Haven to write a children’s song for Christmas. Still in the midst of grief, Haven reluctantly agreed and left with his friend and collaborator, J. Fred Coots.
Haven and Coots boarded a subway train on Eighth Avenue and went to opposite ends of the car to wait for inspiration to strike. As the subway traveled through the city, Haven let his grief take him on a journey through memories of his childhood in Covington.
Born Feb. 6, 1888, Haven was one of nine children born to William and Anna Gillespie. The family was hit hard by poverty and lived in the basement of a house on Third Street between Washington Street and Madison Avenue in the Northern Kentucky city.
When he was 14 years old, Haven made his way to America’s printing hub, Chicago, to work as a “printer’s devil,” cleaning the printing presses and running errands for $1.50 per day. Over the next five years, Haven worked his way up the ladder—and along the way, he was exposed to new words and the complexities of the English language.
Although he had no formal musical training, Haven discovered he had a talent for writing lyrics. While Haven never completely gave up his work as a printer because he “had ink in his blood,” his songwriting picked up steam. Throughout the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s, he produced a number of hits, including “Drifting and Dreaming,” “Breezin’ Along with the Breeze” and “You’re in Kentucky Sure as You’re Born.” Haven often found himself writing lyrics while taking a ride on public transportation.
Grief can be a funny thing. It’s often in moments of quiet solitude that memories can surface, bringing inspiration from unexpected places. Haven’s memory of his mother’s Christmas warning was exactly what he needed at the moment.
By the time the train reached 49th Street, Haven had written the lyrics to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” on the back of an envelope he had pulled from his pocket. Despite Bittner’s excitement over the song, reception to it was mostly lukewarm when Leo Feist Inc. tried to find someone to play it. Coots called in a favor to his friend, comedian and radio host Eddie Cantor.
After making its debut on Cantor’s 1934 Thanksgiving show, “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” became an “overnight” success.
Throughout his career, Haven wrote more than 1,000 songs, but none came close to the success of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” a song he didn’t want to write. The song has been covered by Frank Sinatra, the Jackson Five, Mariah Carey, Pentatonix, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Buble and countless others.
As we navigate the holiday season, remember to take joy in the little moments.
And be good, because Santa Claus is comin’ to town!