Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' joins Spotify's billion stream club
Unprecedented success for Brenda Lee's six-decade-old holiday classic "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" continues past topping Billboard's Hot 100 chart in Dec. 2023. Recent data also shows that by spending most of December at Number 1 on Spotify's Top 50 US chart, the song cracked 1 billion streams on the portal.
Thus, in Nashville in 2024, country music's past, present and future are so globally resonant that 78-year-old Brenda Lee and Dan and Shay -- an act a combined ten years her junior whose Justin Bieber duet "10,000 Hours" also recently passed the billion stream mark -- can share accomplishments highlighting how timeless the genre's creativity remains.
Via a press statement, Lee noted the following:
"What a year and holiday season it was for me personally and for "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree." I am so thankful that Spotify listeners propelled this holiday classic to 1 billion streams – that just blows my mind! It takes geniuses like the writer (Johnny Marks) and musicians to create a song with such longevity and I couldn't be more grateful people are still listening to "Rockin'."
Lee recorded multiple Christmas songs penned by songwriter Johnny Marks on the same day in 1956.
The record's producer and iconic Nashville creator, Owen Bradley, offered advice about the finished song's potential that no longer rings true.
"If this song hits it big, it will only be a hit for a few months," Lee recalled he said in a 2023 Tennessean feature.
Lee's season of accomplishment shattered many holiday song records previously held by Mariah Carey's almost three-decade-old "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which Lee beat out for the top spots on Billboard, Spotify and numerous other charts.
Lee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Carey sent flowers to her with congratulations for hitting the No. 1 slot.
Thank you for your sweet note, @MariahCarey! Wishing you the merriest Christmas, too! ?? -Brenda pic.twitter.com/Md0w7vQYpc
— Brenda Lee (@BrendaLeeMusic_) December 7, 2023
Key to the song's success is an EP and music video Lee paired with Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood to release, which marked the song's 65th anniversary.
The EP, "A Rockin' Christmas with Brenda Lee," featured "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," plus "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," "Jingle Bell Rock," "A Marshmallow World" and a dance remix of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Filous.
Lee also performed "Rockin'" at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's "All For The Hall" benefit on Dec. 5 and during a pre-recorded NBC special on Dec. 7.
"I cannot believe that 'Rockin" has hit No. 1 65 years after its release; this is just so special! Thank you to the team at UMG/UMe, who worked so hard to celebrate the song's anniversary this year," Lee stated.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' joins Spotify's billion stream club
