I Am Santa Claus
Encyclopedia
I Am Santa Claus is the second Christmas album
by Bob Rivers
& Twisted Radio. It was released in November 1993
by Atlantic Records
(WEA 82548), five years after Twisted Christmas
, and four years before More Twisted Christmas
.
wrote "Irving Berlin, it's not" while the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
called the album "this year's hip offering".
at #180 before peaking at #106.
Christmas Album
Christmas Album may refer to:* Christmas Album , a 1968 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass* Christmas Album Christmas Album may refer to:* Christmas Album (Herb Alpert album), a 1968 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass* Christmas Album Christmas Album may refer to:* Christmas Album (Herb...
by Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers is a well-known American rock and roll radio on air personality in the Pacific Northwest as well as a prolific producer of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies....
& Twisted Radio. It was released in November 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
(WEA 82548), five years after Twisted Christmas
Twisted Christmas
Twisted Christmas is a humorous Christmas album recorded by Bob Rivers and his Comedy Corp. It is the first in a line of Christmas-themed parody albums from Rivers, with later entries including I Am Santa Claus, More Twisted Christmas, Chipmunks Roasting On an Open Fire, and White Trash...
, and four years before More Twisted Christmas
More Twisted Christmas
More Twisted Christmas is the third Christmas album by Bob Rivers. It was released in 1997, four years after I Am Santa Claus, and three years before Chipmunks Roasting On an Open Fire...
.
Track listing
- "There's Another Santa Claus" - 2:01
- (parody of "Here Comes Santa ClausHere Comes Santa Claus"Here Comes Santa Claus " is a Christmas song written by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman.Autry got the idea for the song after riding his horse in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade in Los Angeles, during which crowds of spectators chanted, "Here comes Santa Claus". This inspired him to write a song...
," performed by a Gene AutryGene AutryOrvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
impersonator)
- (parody of "Here Comes Santa Claus
- "Walkin' 'Round In Women's Underwear" - 1:55
- (parody of "Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
" about crossdressing)
- (parody of "Winter Wonderland
- "I Am Santa Claus" - 3:22
- (sung to tune of "Iron ManIron Man (song)"Iron Man" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their second studio album Paranoid released in 1970. It was later included on their initial greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll , as well as all subsequent greatest hits compilations.-Writing and...
" by Black SabbathBlack SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, except the last ten notes on the prominent guitar riff are replaced with five notes from Jingle Bells.)
- (sung to tune of "Iron Man
- "Manger 6" - 0:44
- (parody of Motel 6Motel 6Motel 6 is a major chain of budget motels with more than 1,000 locations in the United States and Canada, and is the largest owned and operated hotel chain in North America. It is owned and operated by Accor Hotels.-History:...
ads)
- (parody of Motel 6
- "O Little Town of BethlehemO Little Town of Bethlehem"O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks , an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his...
" - 2:09- (sung to the tune of "The House of the Rising SunThe House of the Rising Sun"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
")
- (sung to the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun
- "I Came Upon a RoadkillRoadkillRoadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by motor vehicles. In the United States of America, removal and disposal of animals struck by motor vehicles is usually the responsibility of the state's state trooper association or department of transportation.-History:During the...
Deer" - 3:01- (parody of "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear")
- "Teddy the Red-Nosed Senator" - 1:25
- (parody of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...
"; about US Senator Ted KennedyTed KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
)
- (parody of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- "Grahbe Yahbalz" - 1:08
- (parody of "Deck the Halls;" the name is pseudo-Yiddish for censorship purposes, song describes a gesture frequently used by Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
)
- (parody of "Deck the Halls;" the name is pseudo-Yiddish for censorship purposes, song describes a gesture frequently used by Michael Jackson
- "A Letter to Santa" - 2:41
- (parody of The GodfatherThe GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
)
- (parody of The Godfather
- "JingleJingle Bells"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
Hells Bells" - 2:38- (uses a riffRIFFThe Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
of "Highway To HellHighway to HellHighway to Hell can refer to:*Highway to Hell , 1979 album by AC/DC**"Highway to Hell" , the title track from the album*Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell*Highway to Hell , a 1992 film starring Chad Lowe and Kristy Swanson...
"; sung to the tune of "My Favorite ThingsMy Favorite Things (song)"My Favorite Things" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.-The Sound of Music version:The song was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.In the musical, the lyrics to the song are a...
", performed in the style of Bon ScottBon ScottRonald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980...
-era AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
)
- (uses a riff
- "The Kids" - 2:18
- "The Magical Kingdom of Claus" - 5:53
- (parody of The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
)
- (parody of The Wizard of Oz
- "The 'What's It To Ya' Chorus - 2:37
- (parody of HandelHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's "MessiahMessiah (Handel)Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
," specifically "The Hallelujah Chorus")
- (parody of Handel
- "Didn't I Get This Last Year" - 3:22
- (parody of "Do You Hear What I Hear" About repeatedly getting unpleaseant gifts, if not the same ones, each year. )
- "The Under the Tree World of Jacques Cousteau" - 3:02
- "O Christmas Tree" - 2:33
- Performed by chainsawChainsawA chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
s.
- Performed by chainsaw
Critical reaction
J.D. Considine wrote in the Baltimore Sun that "Rivers' idea of `funny' generally seems the work of a guy who's read too many issues of Mad magazine, but there are some good bits here." Helen Bryant of The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
wrote "Irving Berlin, it's not" while the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
called the album "this year's hip offering".
Popular reaction
By late December 2003, the album had already sold more than 100,000 copies. I Am Santa Claus entered the Billboard Top Albums chartBillboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #180 before peaking at #106.