Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
Single by Brenda Lee
from the album Merry Christmas from Brenda Lee
B-side"Papa Noël"
ReleasedNovember 24, 1958 (US),
December 1962 (UK)[1]
RecordedOctober 19, 1958
StudioBradley Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre
Length2:02
LabelDecca 9-30776
Songwriter(s)Johnny Marks
Producer(s)Owen Bradley
Brenda Lee singles chronology
"Rock-a-Bye Baby Blues"
(1957)
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
(1958)
"I Want to Be Wanted (Per Tutta La Vita)"
(1960)
Music video
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" on YouTube

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single.[3][4] In 2019, Lee's recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5] In November 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, and in December 2023 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, later breaking the record once again one week later at the age of 79. The song 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.

  1. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke; Lazell, Barry (1989). Guinness Book of Rock Stars. Guinness Books. p. 293. ISBN 0-85112-872-6.
  2. ^ a b "The Christmas Spirit Is Alive With Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"". Country Rebel. December 2015. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "Brenda Lee lauds Shania Twain over 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' cover". Gossip Herald. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "The Brenda Lee Holiday Show: Rock around the Christmas tree with the Lady & the Legend". The Sault News. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)