Brenda Lee may have received the greatest gift of the holiday season: for the first time, her holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has gone No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written by Johnny Marks, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was originally recorded and released in 1958. It previously peaked at No. 2 in 2019, but was propelled to No. 1 in 2023 thanks in part to a newly released music video coinciding with the song’s 65th anniversary. Lee also joined TikTok.
In topping the charts with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” the 78-year-old Lee has made history as the oldest artist to ever achieve a No. 1 single.
Lee previously earned No. 1 singles for “I’m Sorry” in July 1960 and “I Want To Be Wanted” in October 1960. The nearly 65 years between those two singles and her latest chart-topper sets a record for the longest stretch in Billboard history. Accordingly, Lee also broke the record for the longest span of an artist topping the Hot 100.
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“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is only the third holiday song to go No. 1, following Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “The Chipmunk Song.”
Four other holiday songs also cracked the top 10 this week, including Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” Burl Ives’ “A Jolly Jolly Christmas,” and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
