Chuck Berry – Run Rudolph Run

Nice little Christmas song by Chuck Berry… the father of Rock and Roll.  The song has a “Carol” vibe to it and that is never a bad thing.  It was one of the first rock and roll Christmas songs and it was released in 1958.

Berry based this song on “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. The song is credited to Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  Chuck puts his stamp on this song. 

The song is sometimes known as “Run Run Rudolph,” which is how it appears on some other covers. Other artists to record the song include Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Bon Jovi, and Keith Richards.

The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100 in 1958 and has re-charted many times through the years…it peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in January of 2020…and I’m sure it is charting now.

The song appeared in a lot of films including Home Alone, Diner, The Santa Clause 2, Cast Away, and Jingle All the Way.

I’m adding this per Randy about the royalities for the song.

Johnny Marks wrote the song Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer but NOT the story or the character. Robert L. May wrote the story and Marks wrote the story off of that. The song was released and only Berrys name was on it. Marks sued Chuck for infringing on his song by using the name Rudolph. Mind you Marks didn’t create the character or story he only wrote a song about it. Of course Marks had good lawyers and won the case and was awarded a ridiculous 100% of royalties and a change in song credits. 

Run Rudolph Run

Out of all the reindeers you know you’re the mastermind
Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain’t too far behind
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

Said Santa to a boy child what have you been longing for?
All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar
And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round

Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round

Said Santa to a girl child what would please you most to get?
A little baby doll that can cry, sleep, drink and wet
And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a Saber jet
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

31 thoughts on “Chuck Berry – Run Rudolph Run”

  4. Hey Max…I was checkin’ out Chuck Berry’s Wikipedia page (not always accurate & not advised to use in reporting or writing a school paper) & that song was one of his last hits before he went to prison. Ironically, I was watching ‘Baseball’ for the umpteenth time this time on ‘MLB Network’ & his song ‘I’m Talkin’ To You’ (a key tune used by the ‘British Invasion’ acts as a backdrop for a few early songs) came on at the beginning of the episode going into the 60’s & they had it timed perfectly in reference to the moment in his life & his going to jail getting out briefly on appeal & recording that song & not having it played on the radio because he was basically being boycotted. The song tanked when it was released the next February of ’61 & he lost his appeal in March & went back to prison for another 2 years. ‘Run, Run Rudolph’ I think was his last hit before those classic post prison tunes ‘No Particular Place To Go’ & ‘Nadine’ were hits in ’64. His story needs to be told in a Ken Burns documentary or movie. He was the father of ‘Rock & Roll’ as it stood through the 70’s.

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    1. He was “cancelled” before that word was used. Oh I agree…I would love Ken Burns to do a doc about him…Burns covers everything…I do love The Baseball one…I keep going back to it. I like watching the 20s, 40s, and 50s the most.

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      1. Ya’, those are the episodes that I like the most. We lived through the 70’s on so it didn’t have the same impact to me as the episodes from the beginning through the 50’s. Excellent point that he was one of the 1st to literally be cancelled before he went to prison. Whether he deserved it or not.

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      2. There are 5 I focus on…Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax, and Willie Mays….
        Yea Chuck got a raw deal out of that.

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  5. Can’t go wrong with Christmas berries can you? Chuck would get any house party started, wouldn’t he?

    (It’s funny / clever how he can make a basic, well known and loved riff sound festive for a few weeks of the year. Maybe it’s just the simple inclusion of a red nosed reindeer to the imagery, I don’t know … but it feels more than that. What I’m trying to say is, you couldn’t change the words of an REM song, for instance, to include Santa or Rudolph and make it sound Chrismassy, could you? ) 🙂

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    1. LOL….no that would be hard to imagine…but it’s fun trying to imagine Everybody Hurts as a Christmas song…maybe after Christmas paying all the bills.
      The song has some grit to it that other holiday songs don’t have.

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  6. interesting note on the royalties… I wouldn’t have thought of it but I guess it makes sense if good lawyers get involved. I once looked into writing a sort of ‘fan fiction’ for continuing on a canceled TV show. What I found was basically , it’s very risky if you plan to publish it (even online nowadays). Just as the shows themselves are copyrighted, main characters in them are as well. For example, let’s say ‘Friends’ (which wasn’t the one I was going to try and write)… write anything about the six friends , say Monica and Chandler, and you could well get sued by NBC or whoever holds the rights. You probably could get away with writing a story about a minor character like Gunther or the cop Phoebe lived with for one episode. Rudolph is very recognizable. Still, bit surprised it extends even to songs.

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      1. Oh ya, absolutely…more than half. He came up with the music, and lyrics. He just ‘stole’ the lead character. A mere ‘thAnk you for the great story’ whoever ( really came up with Rudolph) and a $100 or a bottle of Crown Royale should have sufficed

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      2. I don’t see how the hell he won that case…unless it was because Chuck was going to jail and they knew it…

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    1. Anything is better than the Eagle$…yea I’m not a fan of them at all….you are right…and guess who AC/DC’s biggest influence was? Chuck Berry…it fits

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