• Writer: Marvin Brodie and Johnny Marks
• Producer: Keith Richards
• Recorded: Fall 1978
• Released: December 1978
• Players:
  Keith Richards — vocals, guitar, bass
  Ian Stewart — piano
  Mick Driscoll — drums
• This version of the popular holiday song, which was originally made famous in the rock-and-roll era by Chuck Berry, was one of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards‘s very first solo recordings.
• Richards first issued it as a single in the fall of 1978, backed with a cover of Jimmy Cliff‘s “The Harder They Come.” He reissued it in 1979 and was planning to do it every December, but he never got around to realizing that plan.
• The cover of the original single featured a photo of Richards drinking what appears to be wine from a bottle.
• Despite rumors that other members of the Rolling Stones took part in the track, Richards has always claimed he was assisted only by longtime Stones tour manager and pianist Ian Stewart and Canadian drummer Mick Driscoll.
• The song — which is also known as “Run Run Rudolph” — has been recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dave Edmunds, Bryan Adams, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra, among others.

FAST FORWARD:

• Richards released his first full-scale solo album, Talk Is Cheap, in 1988. He has released two other solo albums, including a live disc.
• The Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
• The most recent album from the Stones is A Bigger Bang, which was released over a year ago to coincide with the start of their world tour.
• Keith Richards is planning to publish an autobiography in 2009.

“Run Rudolph Run,” which was out of print for over two decades, has been reissued this year via the iTunes online music store, paired with an unreleased 2003 cover of Toots and the Maytals’ “Pressure Drop.”