Her memories of recording B次元官网网址淩ockinB次元官网网址� Around the Christmas TreeB次元官网网址� are a little hazy. She remembers the producer placing decorations around the studio and blasting the air conditioner on a warm Nashville day to create a holiday spirit. The musicians, she recalls, nailed it in a couple of takes.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 about it. After all, Brenda Lee was 13 years old at the time B次元官网网址� and it was 66 years ago, in 1958.
Somewhat implausibly, her celebration of a B次元官网网址淐hristmas party hopB次元官网网址� is more popular today than ever before. ItB次元官网网址檚 an unusual trajectory, even accounting for the fact that music listeners during the holiday season tend to embrace songs theyB次元官网网址檝e known for years.
B次元官网网址淩ockinB次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� eclipsed Mariah CareyB次元官网网址檚 perennial favorite last December to top the Billboard music chart and make Lee, at age 78, the oldest woman to achieve that feat. A week later, following a birthday, she beat her own mark. Kendrick Lamar likely stands in her way of doing it again this year.
Another record: Sixty-five years represented the longest interval between a record being released and making it to No. 1.
B次元官网网址淚t is a good song,B次元官网网址� Lee told The Associated Press. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a song that anybody can sing. You can join in, you can sing it, everyone is happy. I sure am glad that I have it. I never thought in my life that a Christmas song would be my legacy. But IB次元官网网址檒l take it.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址楢n ear worm on steroidsB次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 a phenomenon that music journalist Holly Gleason noticed recently while stopping for coffee in Nashville, near the neighborhood where Lee lives. The song came over the loudspeaker and the room B次元官网网址� parents, kids, hipsters B次元官网网址� erupted in singing and laughter. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 kind of an ear worm on steroids,B次元官网网址� said Gleason, whose 2017 book B次元官网网址淲oman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our LivesB次元官网网址� featured Lee, among others.
The song manages the neat trick of sounding retro yet not dated. Sweet guitar licks snake around LeeB次元官网网址檚 voice in the original recording. Boots RandolphB次元官网网址檚 saxophone solo drives it home. The party flies by quickly, the song over in two minutes, six seconds.
Composer Johnny Marks already had some seasonal hits to his credit, including B次元官网网址淩udolph, the Red-Nosed ReindeerB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淎 Holly Jolly Christmas.B次元官网网址� He specifically sought out Lee for his new song in 1958 and itB次元官网网址檚 easy to see why: Who better to convey its innocence and spirit than a 13-year-old girl at the forefront of the Baby Boom? Rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� roll was in its infancy then, too.
In the song, Lee sings about B次元官网网址渕istletoe hung where you can see, every couple tries to stop.B次元官网网址�
In real life, she hadnB次元官网网址檛 experienced her first kiss. B次元官网网址淟ord, no,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淣ot to say I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to. I wasnB次元官网网址檛 even allowed to date until I was 16.B次元官网网址�
What is the B次元官网网址榥ew old-fashioned way,B次元官网网址� anyway?
The song hits plenty of holiday reference points B次元官网网址� pumpkin pie, caroling, boughs of holly. You can overlook the part of the chorus that doesnB次元官网网址檛 make much sense: what is the B次元官网网址渘ew old-fashioned way,B次元官网网址� exactly?
The simplicity of B次元官网网址淩ockinB次元官网网址� Around the Christmas TreeB次元官网网址� is a big part of its appeal, said Nathaniel Sloan, a musicologist at the University of Southern California and co-host of the B次元官网网址淪witched on PopB次元官网网址� podcast. Like many successful holiday songs, it evokes nostalgia for a happier, more peaceful time B次元官网网址� even if thatB次元官网网址檚 more imagination than reality, he said.
The style is more rockabilly than traditional rock or country, and Sloan believes that has much to do with why it continues to sound fresh.
B次元官网网址淭he thing that has always stunned me about the song is that youB次元官网网址檙e listening to a 13-year-oldB次元官网网址檚 performance, and it doesnB次元官网网址檛 sound that way to me,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a depth to the vocal, even a weathered quality, that I canB次元官网网址檛 believe she was so young. ItB次元官网网址檚 pitch-perfect.B次元官网网址�
For all of its success, the song was barely noticed upon its release in 1958. Not until two years later, when LeeB次元官网网址檚 profile was higher through hits like B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 Sorry,B次元官网网址� did it make the music charts. Its biggest boost came 40 years after that, when B次元官网网址淩ockinB次元官网网址� Around the Christmas TreeB次元官网网址� was featured in the hit movie B次元官网网址淗ome Alone.B次元官网网址� The movie itself has become a holiday staple, giving more exposure to the song each year.
Her record company continues to push the song, recording a video in 2023 that included guest appearances by Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood. This year it has released B次元官网网址淣oche Buena Y Navidad,B次元官网网址� a Spanish-language version using artificial intelligence to create a vocal derived from LeeB次元官网网址檚 voice.
The record company is throwing Lee a birthday party
Universal Music is holding a party for her in Nashville to celebrate her 80th birthday on Wednesday. B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 just a force and a character,B次元官网网址� said Cindy Mabe, the companyB次元官网网址檚 chairwoman and CEO. B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 full of spunk in the same way that 13-year-old girl was.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淩ockinB次元官网网址� Around the Christmas TreeB次元官网网址� made the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019. It has been streamed more than 2.5 billion times globally and certified seven times Platinum, meaning at least seven million copies sold. Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Meghan Trainor, Kacey Musgraves and the duo of Darlene Love & Ronnie Spector are among the artists whoB次元官网网址檝e covered it.
Lee has sung it countless times over the years, most recently at a charity event last year. It made her concert setlist even in the heat of summer. How much money the song has earned is murky; the record company wouldnB次元官网网址檛 talk about it. The bulk of its income would likely go to MarksB次元官网网址� estate.
B次元官网网址淚t has never been a money thing for me,B次元官网网址� Lee said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a love thing. The money is great, yes, and IB次元官网网址檓 grateful. But I would be singing it on the corner for pennies because thatB次元官网网址檚 what I love to do.B次元官网网址�
