Brenda Lee is rockin’ around the Billboard Hot 100, landing in the No. 1 spot on the singles chart for the first time.
Lee’s hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is the third holiday song to ever reach the top spot on the all-genre chart.
“I’m happy for everybody here that’s worked so hard to make this happen because in today’s world, everything moves so fast and furious,” Lee told Billboard. “But I’m telling you this: My label has come to bat.”
The classic tune was first recorded in 1958, when Lee was just 13 years old.
The holiday crooner celebrated the hit's 65th anniversary with by with the song's first official music video. The video has garnered over 4 million views on Youtube and features guest performances from country music stars Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood.
“We had a ball making it,” Lee told Billboard. “We filmed it at the producer’s house, and nothing was choreographed, really. We just had fun. They were just precious to do that for me, and I think folks will love it.
The song was written by legendary Christmas songwriter Johnny Marks. Marks, who was famously Jewish, is known for also having written “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”
When it was first released, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" did not garner much commercial or radio success. It peaked at No. 14 in 1960, according to Billboard, before falling off the charts altogether for decades. It returned to the Hot 100 in 2014, reaching the No. 50 spot and has been slowly climbing every Christmas since.
Then in 2019, 2021 and 2022, the song reached No. 2 spot on the charts, trailing Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."
It gained special notoriety as a classic holiday song when it was featured in the 1990 film "Home Alone."
Lee, 78, has recently joined Tiktok and is sharing insight into her storied career with her fanbase, lovingly dubbed the “Brendanators.”
