Brenda Lee's 1958 Christmas classic 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' continues to be a popular holiday anthem, even after 66 years. The song recently topped the Billboard music charts, making Lee, at 78, the oldest woman to achieve this feat. Its enduring appeal lies in its ability to sound both retro and timeless, with catchy melodies and a joyful spirit that resonates with listeners of all ages.
Her memories of recording Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree are a little hazy. She remembers the producer placing decorations around the studio and blasting the air conditioner on a warm Nashville day to create a holiday spirit. The musicians, she recalls, nailed it in a couple of takes. That's about it. After all, Brenda Lee was 13 years old at the time — and it was 66 years ago, in 1958. Somewhat implausibly, her celebration of a Christmas party hop is more popular today than ever before.
It's an unusual trajectory, even accounting for the fact that music listeners during the holiday season tend to embrace songs they've known for years. Rockin' eclipsed Mariah Carey's perennial favorite All I Want for Christmas is You last December to top the Billboard music chart and make Lee, at age 78, the oldest woman to achieve that feat. A week later, following a birthday, she beat her own mark. Lee has been lodged at No. 2 behind Carey on the Hot 100 chart the past three weeks. Another record: Sixty-five years represented the longest interval between a record being released and making it to No. 1. It is a good song, Lee told the Associated Press. It's a song that anybody can sing. You can join in, you can sing it, everyone is happy. I sure am glad that I have it. I never thought in my life that a Christmas song would be my legacy. But I'll take it. It's a phenomenon that music journalist Holly Gleason noticed recently while stopping for coffee in Florida. The song came over the loudspeaker and the room — parents, kids, hipsters — erupted in singing and laughter. It's kind of an ear worm on steroids, said Gleason, whose 2017 book Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives featured Lee, among others. The song manages the neat trick of sounding retro yet not dated. Sweet guitar licks snake around Lee's voice in the original recording. Boots Randolph's saxophone solo drives it hom
Brenda Lee Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree Christmas Music Holiday Hits Billboard Charts
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As a singer turns 80, the Christmas song she sang as a teen is a holiday stapleBrenda Lee's memories of recording “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree” are a little hazy now
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Still rockin': As a singer turns 80, the Christmas song she sang as a teen is a holiday stapleBrenda Lee's memories of recording “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree” are a little hazy now.
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Still rockin': As a singer turns 80, the Christmas song she sang as a teen is a holiday stapleBrenda Lee's memories of recording “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree” are a little hazy now.
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AMERICAN MASTERS: Brenda Lee: Rockin' AroundComing Soon! Monday, Dec.16, 2024 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream now with KPBS Passport + Encore Sunday, Dec. 22 at Noon on KPBS TV. Discover the story behind Brenda Lee and explore how her early fame and life of poverty shaped her music, including the classic “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.
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