November 26, 2025 • 9 mins
The unauthorized use of one of the most famous characters in pop culture led to a future #1 Christmas Hit.
This is the story behind Snoopy's Christmas by the Royal Guardsmen.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The unauthorized use of one of the most famous characters
in pop culture led to a future number one Christmas hit.
I'm Drew Savage, and this is the story behind Snoopy's
Christmas by the Royal Guardsman. Behind the Christmas hits with
Drew Savage. To tell the story of Snoopy's Christmas, we
have to start with Snoopy himself and the World War
(00:21):
One flying ace. Snoopy first climbed on top of his
dog house and daydreamed about piloting a sop width camel
fighter plane.
In the Peanuts newspaper comic strip published October 10th, 1965.
Creator Charles Schultz loved World War One aviation. He read
all kinds of books and articles, anything he could find
(00:43):
about the dogfights, the fighter planes, and their pilots.
Snoopy's active imagination was already an established theme in the
Peanuts comics, so it was simply a case of Schultz
channeling his own personal interests through the lens of one
of his characters. It was the perfect gag. Snoopy, on
a deadly serious march to his doghouse wearing goggles and
(01:04):
a scarf, embarking on a mission to hunt down the
Red Baron at dawn.
In that first appearance, Linus sneaks up behind him, and
makes the sound of bullets flying from another plane's gun.
Ratta tat tat tat, ratta tat tat tat. Snoopy, completely startled,
falls off the doghouse and thinks to himself that maybe
(01:25):
he should get a job with a commercial airline instead.
Schultz struck gold, and he kept on mining it. There
were over 300 different comic strip appearances of Snoopy the
Flying Ace, between his debut in '65 and the end
of the series, 35 years later in 2000. Add in
the numerous TV appearances in the Peanuts specials, plush toys,
(01:48):
Christmas ornaments, and other merchandise, the Flying Ace is arguably
the most famous image associated with any of the Peanuts characters.
Which is why, even in the 60s, Schultz was protective
of it.
Enter the Royal Guardsmen, a teenage band based in Ocala, Florida.
They were originally known as the Posmen, but had just
(02:09):
changed their name to the Royal Guardsmen to capitalize on
the popularity of the British invasion, led, of course, by
the Beatles. The Royal Guardsmen were struggling to get attention.
Their first release, Baby Let's Wait.
Failed to make the national charts. Phil Gernhardt, a local
producer and promoter, had been advising the band and helping
them in their development. Phil was also a successful songwriter
(02:32):
of a number one hit for Maurice Williams and the
Zodiacs in 1960 called Stay, a song that became a
hit again in the 1980s after being used in the
movie Dirty Dancing.
Phil saw the comic strip featuring Snoopy and the Red Baron,
and remembered a novelty song his former creative partner, Dick Haller,
wrote about the historical figure. And yes, he was a
(02:53):
real person. Manfred von Richthofen was credited for 80 air
combat victories for the German Air Force in World War One.
His story has fascinated historians, including Schultz, for decades. The
Baron never married, and didn't have any known children at
the time of his death, when he was shot down
over France in 1818.
Dick Holler's song about the Baron was not a hit,
(03:15):
but Gernhardt suggested that he rewrite some of the lyrics
to feature Snoopy, now that the Flying Ace character was
so popular. Holler and Gernhardt worked on the song together,
and then Gernhardt took it to the Royal Guardsmen to record.
It was called Snoopy versus the Red Baron, and it
was a huge hit, eventually peaking at number 2 on
the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, but it
(03:38):
It was a bumpy road to get there because of
one simple problem. No one asked Charles Schultz if they
could use Snoopy in a song that sold millions. Schultz
was the copyright holder for his Peanuts characters, but a
company called United Features Syndicate held the rights to distribute
the comic strip and license the characters out for merchandise.
(03:58):
And it was UFS who would file a lawsuit against
Gernhardt and the guardsman for copyright infringement.
Now, remember, the royal guardsmen are still teenagers when all
of this is going on. No one believed they were
evil masterminds, they were just trying to make it in
the music business and followed the suggestion of a manager.
And management came back with another suggestion.
The song was a hit, but radio stations started to
(04:21):
back off from playing it because of the lawsuit. The
lyrics were rewritten to feature a new character named Squeaky,
who battled the Black Knight. Squeaky and the Black Knight
was quickly recorded and got some airplay in Canada. Squeaky
didn't have a long run though, as a settlement was
reached in the lawsuit. United Features Syndicate would receive the
(04:42):
publishing rights to the song and all the royalties from
its sale.
Gernhardt would later say that he and the Royal Guardsmen
didn't make any money from the song at all as
a result, but they did get the exposure as the
original recording returned to radio stations. Parlaying that exposure into
other hits for the Guardsmen was hard. In the months
following Snoopy versus the Red Baron, the Royal Guardsmen released
(05:05):
three other songs, The Return of the Red Baron, peaking
at number 15. Airplane Song, which reached number 49.
And Wednesday, which stalled out at number 97. You can
see the pattern here. Undeterred, Phil Gernhardt kept wanting to
try new things, and as the calendar started to head
towards Christmas time, had an idea. Novelty songs were huge
(05:27):
at Christmas. Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus is Coming to Town,
they're all novelty songs more than they are pop songs.
Since Snoopy was a star of A Charlie Brown Christmas
on TV just two years earlier, why not do.
Another novelty song with Snoopy at Christmas. Gernhardt once again
enlisted Dick Haller to help craft the new song, and
(05:49):
their idea was perfect. In keeping with the holiday spirit,
what if Snoopy and the Red Baron called a truce.
To set the holiday vibe from the beginning, they used
the first few lines from the German Christmas carol O Tannenbaum,
before moving into the song's main melody. Snoopy's Christmas was
recorded just in time for Christmas 1967, almost exactly one
(06:11):
year after.
Snoopy versus the Red Baron was released. This time there
were no legal hurdles to clear. United Features syndicate signed
off on the song in advance, and Charles Schultz himself
was said to be a big fan of the song.
He thought it perfectly captured the humor and charm of
his comic strip series. He wasn't alone. Snoopy's Christmas was
a huge hit, particularly in other countries. It went all
(06:35):
the way to number one in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
But strangely, not in the US. Snoopy's Christmas peaked at
number 39 in its home country that year. Its popularity
there has grown over time and is now considered a standard,
but it was not the instant hit the original Snoopy
song was.
(06:55):
The Royal Guardsmen continued to struggle to get airplay for
future releases. Something that must have frustrated the band, but
they recognized that Snoopy was key to getting the airplay.
In 1968, they recorded a third Snoopy song, Snoopy, for president,
to capitalize on the US presidential election that year. Spoiler alert,
(07:15):
in the lyrics, Snoopy gets a surprise endorsement from the
Red Baron.
It's a fun song, but in a game of diminishing returns,
Snoopy for president peaked at number 85. Almost 40 years later,
the Royal Guardsmen decided to revisit Snoopy one more time.
I cannot believe that this is a real thing, but
(07:37):
it is. In 2006, the guardsmen recorded Snoopy versus Osama,
as in Osama bin Laden.
There is no chart information on that one, but it's
on YouTube if you want to search it out.
I have a lot of respect for the Royal Guardsmen.
A bunch of young guys chasing dreams in the early 60s.
(07:58):
Novelty songs weren't the goal when they started, but they
brought them a taste of success they may not have
had otherwise. They're credited as being the first rock band
from Florida to sell 1 million records, and they got
opening gigs for bands like the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane,
and Tommy James and the Shondells.
Chris Nunley is one of the original members. In August 2024,
(08:19):
he told music magazine Goldmine that he and the other
guys still get together for lunch, and occasionally play shows
in Florida.
As for Snoopy, his flying ace persona lives on, making
appearances in the 2015 film, The Peanuts Movie, and is
the focal point of a traveling art exhibit called Snoopy
and the Red Baron, which, at the time of this recording,
(08:41):
most recently had a stint in Kansas City, running from
February to May 2025. No need to chase that commercial
pilot license, Snoopy, you've done just fine as a flying ace.
I'm Drew Savage. Thank you so much for listening. You
can find me on Instagram at Drew Savage on Air.
I'd love to interact with you there. And if Snoopy's
(09:01):
Christmas is one of your favorite Christmas songs and you
enjoyed this story, please leave a rating and a review,
and make sure you've subscribed to the podcast too. We
have a whole library of dozens of other episodes with
more on the way, sharing the stories behind the Christmas hits.
The unauthorized use of one of the most famous characters
in pop culture led to a future number one Christmas hit.
I'm Drew Savage, and this is the story behind Snoopy's
Christmas by the Royal Guardsman. Behind the Christmas hits with
Drew Savage. To tell the story of Snoopy's Christmas, we
have to start with Snoopy himself and the World War
(00:21):
One flying ace. Snoopy first climbed on top of his
dog house and daydreamed about piloting a sop width camel
fighter plane.
In the Peanuts newspaper comic strip published October 10th, 1965.
Creator Charles Schultz loved World War One aviation. He read
all kinds of books and articles, anything he could find
(00:43):
about the dogfights, the fighter planes, and their pilots.
Snoopy's active imagination was already an established theme in the
Peanuts comics, so it was simply a case of Schultz
channeling his own personal interests through the lens of one
of his characters. It was the perfect gag. Snoopy, on
a deadly serious march to his doghouse wearing goggles and
(01:04):
a scarf, embarking on a mission to hunt down the
Red Baron at dawn.
In that first appearance, Linus sneaks up behind him, and
makes the sound of bullets flying from another plane's gun.
Ratta tat tat tat, ratta tat tat tat. Snoopy, completely startled,
falls off the doghouse and thinks to himself that maybe
(01:25):
he should get a job with a commercial airline instead.
Schultz struck gold, and he kept on mining it. There
were over 300 different comic strip appearances of Snoopy the
Flying Ace, between his debut in '65 and the end
of the series, 35 years later in 2000. Add in
the numerous TV appearances in the Peanuts specials, plush toys,
(01:48):
Christmas ornaments, and other merchandise, the Flying Ace is arguably
the most famous image associated with any of the Peanuts characters.
Which is why, even in the 60s, Schultz was protective
of it.
Enter the Royal Guardsmen, a teenage band based in Ocala, Florida.
They were originally known as the Posmen, but had just
(02:09):
changed their name to the Royal Guardsmen to capitalize on
the popularity of the British invasion, led, of course, by
the Beatles. The Royal Guardsmen were struggling to get attention.
Their first release, Baby Let's Wait.
Failed to make the national charts. Phil Gernhardt, a local
producer and promoter, had been advising the band and helping
them in their development. Phil was also a successful songwriter
(02:32):
of a number one hit for Maurice Williams and the
Zodiacs in 1960 called Stay, a song that became a
hit again in the 1980s after being used in the
movie Dirty Dancing.
Phil saw the comic strip featuring Snoopy and the Red Baron,
and remembered a novelty song his former creative partner, Dick Haller,
wrote about the historical figure. And yes, he was a
(02:53):
real person. Manfred von Richthofen was credited for 80 air
combat victories for the German Air Force in World War One.
His story has fascinated historians, including Schultz, for decades. The
Baron never married, and didn't have any known children at
the time of his death, when he was shot down
over France in 1818.
Dick Holler's song about the Baron was not a hit,
(03:15):
but Gernhardt suggested that he rewrite some of the lyrics
to feature Snoopy, now that the Flying Ace character was
so popular. Holler and Gernhardt worked on the song together,
and then Gernhardt took it to the Royal Guardsmen to record.
It was called Snoopy versus the Red Baron, and it
was a huge hit, eventually peaking at number 2 on
the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, but it
(03:38):
It was a bumpy road to get there because of
one simple problem. No one asked Charles Schultz if they
could use Snoopy in a song that sold millions. Schultz
was the copyright holder for his Peanuts characters, but a
company called United Features Syndicate held the rights to distribute
the comic strip and license the characters out for merchandise.
(03:58):
And it was UFS who would file a lawsuit against
Gernhardt and the guardsman for copyright infringement.
Now, remember, the royal guardsmen are still teenagers when all
of this is going on. No one believed they were
evil masterminds, they were just trying to make it in
the music business and followed the suggestion of a manager.
And management came back with another suggestion.
The song was a hit, but radio stations started to
(04:21):
back off from playing it because of the lawsuit. The
lyrics were rewritten to feature a new character named Squeaky,
who battled the Black Knight. Squeaky and the Black Knight
was quickly recorded and got some airplay in Canada. Squeaky
didn't have a long run though, as a settlement was
reached in the lawsuit. United Features Syndicate would receive the
(04:42):
publishing rights to the song and all the royalties from
its sale.
Gernhardt would later say that he and the Royal Guardsmen
didn't make any money from the song at all as
a result, but they did get the exposure as the
original recording returned to radio stations. Parlaying that exposure into
other hits for the Guardsmen was hard. In the months
following Snoopy versus the Red Baron, the Royal Guardsmen released
(05:05):
three other songs, The Return of the Red Baron, peaking
at number 15. Airplane Song, which reached number 49.
And Wednesday, which stalled out at number 97. You can
see the pattern here. Undeterred, Phil Gernhardt kept wanting to
try new things, and as the calendar started to head
towards Christmas time, had an idea. Novelty songs were huge
(05:27):
at Christmas. Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus is Coming to Town,
they're all novelty songs more than they are pop songs.
Since Snoopy was a star of A Charlie Brown Christmas
on TV just two years earlier, why not do.
Another novelty song with Snoopy at Christmas. Gernhardt once again
enlisted Dick Haller to help craft the new song, and
(05:49):
their idea was perfect. In keeping with the holiday spirit,
what if Snoopy and the Red Baron called a truce.
To set the holiday vibe from the beginning, they used
the first few lines from the German Christmas carol O Tannenbaum,
before moving into the song's main melody. Snoopy's Christmas was
recorded just in time for Christmas 1967, almost exactly one
(06:11):
year after.
Snoopy versus the Red Baron was released. This time there
were no legal hurdles to clear. United Features syndicate signed
off on the song in advance, and Charles Schultz himself
was said to be a big fan of the song.
He thought it perfectly captured the humor and charm of
his comic strip series. He wasn't alone. Snoopy's Christmas was
a huge hit, particularly in other countries. It went all
(06:35):
the way to number one in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
But strangely, not in the US. Snoopy's Christmas peaked at
number 39 in its home country that year. Its popularity
there has grown over time and is now considered a standard,
but it was not the instant hit the original Snoopy
song was.
(06:55):
The Royal Guardsmen continued to struggle to get airplay for
future releases. Something that must have frustrated the band, but
they recognized that Snoopy was key to getting the airplay.
In 1968, they recorded a third Snoopy song, Snoopy, for president,
to capitalize on the US presidential election that year. Spoiler alert,
(07:15):
in the lyrics, Snoopy gets a surprise endorsement from the
Red Baron.
It's a fun song, but in a game of diminishing returns,
Snoopy for president peaked at number 85. Almost 40 years later,
the Royal Guardsmen decided to revisit Snoopy one more time.
I cannot believe that this is a real thing, but
(07:37):
it is. In 2006, the guardsmen recorded Snoopy versus Osama,
as in Osama bin Laden.
There is no chart information on that one, but it's
on YouTube if you want to search it out.
I have a lot of respect for the Royal Guardsmen.
A bunch of young guys chasing dreams in the early 60s.
(07:58):
Novelty songs weren't the goal when they started, but they
brought them a taste of success they may not have
had otherwise. They're credited as being the first rock band
from Florida to sell 1 million records, and they got
opening gigs for bands like the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane,
and Tommy James and the Shondells.
Chris Nunley is one of the original members. In August 2024,
(08:19):
he told music magazine Goldmine that he and the other
guys still get together for lunch, and occasionally play shows
in Florida.
As for Snoopy, his flying ace persona lives on, making
appearances in the 2015 film, The Peanuts Movie, and is
the focal point of a traveling art exhibit called Snoopy
and the Red Baron, which, at the time of this recording,
(08:41):
most recently had a stint in Kansas City, running from
February to May 2025. No need to chase that commercial
pilot license, Snoopy, you've done just fine as a flying ace.
I'm Drew Savage. Thank you so much for listening. You
can find me on Instagram at Drew Savage on Air.
I'd love to interact with you there. And if Snoopy's
(09:01):
Christmas is one of your favorite Christmas songs and you
enjoyed this story, please leave a rating and a review,
and make sure you've subscribed to the podcast too. We
have a whole library of dozens of other episodes with
more on the way, sharing the stories behind the Christmas hits.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com