“Here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane!” That’s a line from a holiday classic written in 1947 by the original singing cowboy, Gene Autry. The inspiration for the song came from Autry’s ride in the 1946 Hollywood Christmas Parade. Autry was a superstar of film, TV and radio, and he was riding his flashy sorrel horse just ahead of Santa in the annual parade. Above the clip-clop of Champion’s hooves he could hear the children who lined the street exclaiming, “Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus!” Soon after, Autry and co-writer Oakley Haldeman collaborated on the song, and created an instant hit.