Your classic Christmas song of the day, for this the eighth of twelve days of classic Christmas songs, is “Santa Baby,” made famous by Eartha Kitt. The tremendously sexy Ms. Kitt purrs her way through what might be the most materialistic Christmas song of some very materialistic Christmas songs. Eartha is all about the Christmas presents, baby, and she’s very explicit about what Santa needs to do to be able to trim her Christmas tree.
The innuendo flows thicker than eggnog in this one, and I just love it. It’s somehow understated, at least in the arrangement, and you cannot beat Ms. Kitt’s sensual delivery. I particularly like the lyrics and the slightly off-kilter rhyme scheme, where the phrases always seem to have a little extra waiting at the end., as in the following example:
Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing
A ring
I don’t mean on the phone
“Santa Baby” was written by Joan Javits, Tony Springer, and lyricist Philip Springer, who said he came up with the words in just ten minutes. He supposedly told his music publishers, “Gentlemen, this is not really the kind of music that I like to write. I hope it’s OK. It’s the best I could do.”
Springer’s best was certainly good enough; “Santa Baby” became a classic, albeit a somewhat controversial one. When the record was first released in 1953, several radio stations in the south refused to play it, because of its implied raunchiness and probably because Eartha Kitt was black. Despite—or perhaps because of—those protests, “Santa Baby” was the best-selling Christmas song of 1953, according to Billboard’s charts. So there, prudes!
As with most classic Christmas songs, “Santa Baby” has been covered by a multitude of different performers, from Madonna and Kylie Minogue to Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat. None, however, match the pure sensuality of Ms. Kitt’s original. Eartha’s silky smooth, Catwoman-like sensuality was a perfect match for lyrics that encourage old Saint Nick to come and trim her Christmas tree and “hurry down the chimney tonight.” Talk about your double entendres!
