Brenda Lee’s classic Christmas song “‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” finally topped the Billboard music chart — 65 years after the song was recorded in 1958.
The 78-year-old singer has yet to react to the news that she just landed her first number one hit since 1960 with the rocking holiday song — as it danced its way the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for the week ending November 30, Billboard magazine reported.
Lee’s song, written by Johnny Marks and produced by Owen Bradley, first hit the Hot 100 (at No. 64) in the chart dated Dec. 12, 1960, the outlet noted.
Two weeks later, the festive song peaked at No. 14 and it finally moved up the chart in 2019 where it spent nine weeks at No. 2 from December 2019 to Dec. 2022. It then scored a huge win last week when it became the 1,161st No. 1 in the Hot 100’s archives.
Sixty-five years after Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” it has finally reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song, is a regular fixture on the chart this time of year, but until now it has always stalled out at No. 2. https://t.co/sTJI6idOhc
— Axios (@axios) December 4, 2023
The move also marks the first time Mariah Carey’s classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was beat out for the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this season, the New York Times noted. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” drew 34.9 million streams (up 69%, as it wins top Streaming Gainer honors on the Hot 100) while Carey’s holiday song scored 32.4 million streams, according to Luminate.
It was joined by other classic holiday favorites in the weekly chart such as Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
The song gives Lee her third number one song on the Hot 100 chart after she notched her first two 65 years earlier with “I’m Sorry” dated July 18, 1960, and “I Want To Be Wanted” on Oct. 24, 1960, Billboard magazine noted.
