Rocking Around the Chrismas Tree 1958 Classic by Brenda Lee has Sold Over 15 Million Copies
“Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree has been recorded by numerous other music artists since that time. The song’s 50th anniversary was in 2008, and Lee’s original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world, with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single. In 2019, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Recently, in November 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, and in December, the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Lee’s third number-one single and making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at age 78. Do you rock around the Christmas Tree?
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
“Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” was written by Johnny Marks, who had previously written “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Brenda Lee recorded the song when she was only thirteen years old. In a 2019 interview with “The Tennessean,” Lee recalled that she did not know why Marks wanted her specifically to sing it: “I was only 12 [sic], and I had not had a lot of success in records, but for some reason he heard me and wanted me to do it. And I did.”
“Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” is a rockabilly song. Interestingly, an instrumental version of the song appears as background music in the 1964 television special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, which exclusively featured music written by Marks. The song has been featured in other places as well. It was in the sequel to Frosty and in the movie “Home Alone.”
In 1991, Lee rerecorded the song and other standards for A Brenda Lee Christmas, which includes only the rerecording of “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” On November 3, 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, consisting of the 78-year-old Lee lip synching to the original recording of her 13-year-old voice at a party that includes Trisha Yearwood.
In October 2024, Universal Music Group released “Noche Buena y Navidad,” a Spanish adaptation of the song. Rewritten in Spanish and produced by producer/songwriter Auero Baqueiro, the goal was to make it sound like 13-year-old Lee was singing the song in Spanish. The new version uses a plug-in from AI music tech company SoundLabs.
The Brenda Lee recording is in the key of A-flat major. The song was re-released with the music video. Lee broke the record for the oldest person (78) to top the charts. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree also set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and its topping the Hot 100 (65 years), as well as the longest time between number-one singles by an artist: 63 years, one month, and two weeks.
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley was born on December 11, 1944. She is known professionally as Brenda Lee. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country, and Christmas music, she achieved her first Billboard hit at age 12 in 1957 and was given the nickname “Little Miss Dynamite.” Some of Lee’s most successful songs include “Sweet Nothin’s.” “I’m Sorry,” “I Want to Be Wanted,” “Speak to Me Pretty,” “All Alone Am I,” and “Losing You.” And, of course, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.”
She has sold over 100 million records globally. Lee is one of the most successful American singers of the 20th century. She was the second woman ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 (after Connie Francis) when her song “I’m Sorry” reached number one in 1960. Her U.S. success in the 1960s earned her recognition as Billboard’s Top Female Artist of the Decade and one of the four artists who charted the most singles, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Ray Charles. She has won a Grammy Award, four NARM Awards, three NME Awards, and five Edison Awards. In 2023, she was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest singers of all time.
Conclusion
“Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” is an upbeat Christmas song. The singer, Brenda Lee was only thirteen years old when she recorded the song. As a result, Lee is still living and working, having released a music video for the song in 2023.
