In 2018, I released this novelty Christmas song that Dr. Demento played on his national, long-running comedy music show. It was also played by a couple of radio stations in Iowa—including one in which I performed the song live. And it aired on a few other internet comedy music shows around the country.
While it got a great reception in 2018, clearly "Santa Came Too Soon," is, appropriately, a song ahead of its time. We expect interest in this song to shoot up quickly with a massive load of new listeners and to keep delighting for many years to—uh—come.
Get the song
It's available on just about every major download and streaming service. Make it part of your library for less than a buck!
Download: Apple Music (iTunes Store), Amazon.
Stream: Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube Music.
If you use a different service, search for "Santa Came Too Soon." It's everywhere! It will practically play in your Christmas tinsel and your dental fillings!
About the song
There are songs and stories about the troubles arising from Santa Claus arriving too late for Christmas or having to cancel Christmas altogether (“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Year Without a Santa Claus,” “Christmas Don’t Be Late”) but few or none that tell of the problems associated with Santa arriving too early. This song attempts to address that shortcoming.
I wrote this song in the days leading up to Christmas 2017. While I made a video (elsewhere on this page) about a week before Christmas, it was too late to spread the word widely. I did the more formal recording for download in October for actual release in mid-November.
As a writer and former newspaper reporter, I’m new to this. This is the first time I’ve released a song. I grew up listening to The Dr. Demento Show and many years ago, back when I was in high school, a group of friends and I submitted songs to him on cassette tapes—but they never aired on his show. For old time’s sake, I sent him a copy of “Santa Came Too Soon,” hoping he might play it during the Christmas season. He surprised and flabbergasted me by playing it on his show almost instantly after he got it. (Here’s a link to the show playlist, which also included songs by Bob Dylan, Tom Lehrer, John Prine and Weird Al Yankovic!)
On the show, Dr. Demento called the song “a masterful double entendre.” Coming from him that really means something! He’s hosted the nation’s most-prominent funny music show for nearly half a century and so has seen thousands of pairs of double entendres (if you know what I mean).
Santa Came Too Soon Q&A
Here is far more information about the song than you'll ever require in the form of an artist question-and-answer at this link.
Santa Came Too Soon Press & Plays
Included at this link is a recording of a live radio performance of the song, plus radio stations and shows that played the song during the 2018 holiday season. Also included is some of the media attention the song attracted.