Little Saint Nick

"Little Saint Nick" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was released as a single on December 9, 1963. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it is a Christmas-themed hot rod song, in the vein of "Little Deuce Coupe", this time featuring Santa Claus and his sleigh.[1]

"Little Saint Nick"
Single by the Beach Boys
B-side"The Lord's Prayer"
ReleasedDecember 9, 1963
RecordedOctober 20, 1963
StudioWestern, Hollywood
Genre
Length2:00
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Be True to Your School"
(1963)		 "Little Saint Nick"
(1963)		 "Fun, Fun, Fun"
(1964)
Music video
"Little Saint Nick" on YouTube
Audio sample
  • file
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The single peaked at number 3 on Billboard magazine's special seasonal weekly Christmas Singles chart.[2] Its B-side was an a cappella version of "The Lord's Prayer".[3] In November 1964, an alternate mix of "Little Saint Nick" appeared as the opening track on The Beach Boys' Christmas Album.

Background

"Little Saint Nick" was recorded on October 20, 1963 at Western Studio in Hollywood.[4] The idea for the song was partly inspired by record producer Phil Spector's plans to record a Christmas album. Wilson recalled: "I wrote the lyrics to it while I was out on a date and then I rushed home to finish the music."[1] Some of its rhythm and structure derives from the group's "Little Deuce Coupe", also co-written by Wilson and released as a single six months earlier.[5] Love was not originally listed as the co-writer of "Little Saint Nick". His credit was awarded after a 1990s lawsuit.[1][6]

Variations

"Little Saint Nick" reappeared on The Beach Boys' Christmas Album in 1964, with the stereo pressings of the album containing a new mix that removes the overdubbed sleigh bells and tuned percussion. This was done so that it would fit better with the sound of the album's first side, which was recorded in a hurry with basic instrumentation.[6] Another version of the song, utilizing the melody and backing track later used for the All Summer Long song "Drive-In", was recorded during the album sessions in June 1964, but remained unreleased until a 1991 CD reissue.[5]

Charts
Chart (1963) Peak
position
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 69
US Holiday 100 (Billboard) 3
Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Holiday Airplay (Billboard) 14
Chart (2010) Peak
position
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 63
US Holiday Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 9
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[7] 25
Chart (2018–19) Peak
position
US Holiday Streaming Songs (Billboard) 23
US On-Demand Streaming Songs (Billboard) 44
Chart (2019–20) Peak
position
Billboard Global 200[8] 100
US Rolling Stone Top 100[9] 25
US Hot 100 Recurrents (Billboard) 4
US Holiday 100 (Billboard) 27
US Holiday Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 36
US Holiday Streaming Songs (Billboard) 24
US Streaming Songs (Billboard) 37
Chart (2020–21) Peak
position
Billboard Global 200[10] 53
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 39
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 47
US Rolling Stone Top 100[13] 27
US Hot 100 Recurrents (Billboard)[14] 13
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[15] 26
US Holiday Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[16] 29
US Holiday Streaming Songs (Billboard)[17] 27
US Streaming Songs (Billboard)[18] 32

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes
  1. Murphy, James B. (2015). Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963. McFarland. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-7864-7365-6.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 20. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  3. Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys. The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band: On Stage and in the Studio Backbeat Books, San Francisco, California, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-818-4 p. 45
  4. Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS63". Bellagio 10452. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  5. Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-4411-0748-0.
  6. Hickey, Andrew (2018-02-10). The Beach Boys On CD vol 1: The 1960s. Lulu.com. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4475-4233-9.
  7. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Holiday 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  8. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  9. "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  11. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  12. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  13. "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  14. "Hot 100 Recurrents (The week of December 12, 2020)". Billboard. December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  15. "Holiday 100 (The week of December 5, 2020)". Billboard. December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  16. "Holiday Digital Song Sales (The week of December 26, 2020)". Billboard. December 26, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  17. "Holiday Streaming Songs (The week of December 5, 2020)". Billboard. December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  18. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Streaming Songs)". Billboard. January 2, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  19. "British single certifications – Beach Boys – Little Saint Nick". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 8, 2021.


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