Brenda Lee has interrupted Mariah Carey’s regularly scheduled domination of the charts during the holiday season. Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” snagged the No. 1 spot on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, leaving Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” at No. 2. A adorably delighted Lee couldn’t believe it, thanked her”Brendanators,” and wiped away tears when UMG Nashville CEO Cindy Mabe delivered the news.
A message from Brenda Lee to her Brendanators
Watch the exact moment @UMGNashville CEO Cindy Mabe tells the holiday music icon that “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” reaches No. 1 on this week’s #Hot100, breaking multiple @billboardcharts records along the way.
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— billboard (@billboard) December 4, 2023
As per Billboard, Lee has waited a long time to hit No. 1 — in fact, it is “the longest wait from a song’s release [65 years]” to No. 1 in the chart’s history. The publication provided more mind-boggling context, as excerpted below:
“Lee is 78 years young; her new Hot 100 coronation will add to her birthday celebration December 11. She becomes the senior-most artist to top the chart, surpassing Louis Armstrong, who was 62 when ‘Hello, Dolly!’ led in 1964. Among women, Lee passes the likewise busy Cher, who was 52 when ‘Believe’ ruled the Hot 100.
In a bit of time-bending, while Lee is currently 78, again, the highest age for an artist atop the Hot 100, she was 13 when she recorded ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’; if the song had led when she was that age, she’d be the youngest woman to have reached No. 1.”
“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” was first released in 1958, and its previous Hot 100 peak was No. 14 in December 1960.
Lee also spoke with Billboard about this achievement and the origins of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.” Read the interview here.