Jimmy Devon Boyd (January 9, 1939 – March 7, 2009) was an American singer, musician, and actor known for his 1952 recording of the song " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".

Early years

Jimmy Boyd was born in 1939

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

into a musical family, father Leslie Boyd and mother Winnie Boyd. His father, in turn, was from a family of 21 children of musician Bill Boyd. The family relocated to the San Fernando Valley of Southern California when Jimmy was a pre-schooler. Jimmy briefly sang with "Texas Jim Lewis and his Lonestar Cowboys". At an early age, he won a local talent show that led to television appearances, including ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', as well as '' The Frank Sinatra Show'' on CBS-TV.

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

Boyd recorded the song " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1952, when he was 13 years old. It became a hit, selling over two and a half million records in its first week's release and Boyd's name became known internationally. Boyd was presented with two

gold records Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

. Boyd's record went to number one on the charts again the following year at Christmas, and continues to sell as a Christmas song. Collective disc sales by 1966 amounted to over 11 million copies. Boyd owned horses, so Columbia presented him with a silver mounted saddle. Inscribed in the silver plate on the back of the saddle were the words, ''Presented by Columbia Records to Jimmy Boyd commemorating his 3,000,000 record of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"''. When first released, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston condemned the song for implying even a tenuous link between sex and the religious holiday, and radio stations in several markets banned it.