“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hit #1 – 65 years after it was released

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree Brenda Lee

Writer(s): Johnny Marks (see lyrics here) Released: November 24, 1958 First Charted: December 11, 1958 Peak: 11 BB, 11 ST, 16 AC, 62 CW, 4 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.8 UK, 25.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 76.4 video, 945.48 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Brenda Lee was only 12 years old when she first charted with “One Step at a Time,” which peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. The next year, she released “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” but it didn’t catch on until 1960 when she topped the charts with I’m Sorry” and “I Want to Be Wanted.” Then the song peaked at #14. However, it became a perennial Christmas classic, selling ore than 25 million copies worldwide by 2008. WK When Billboard changed its charting policies in 2014, the song started annually re-charting, reaching #2 during the 2019 holiday season. For the next three years, the song would reach the runner-up position behind Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” racking up a total of nine weeks at #2. In 2023, the song accomplished its most remarkable feat of all – 65 years after its first release, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending December 9, setting the record for the longest time between a song’s release and hitting #1. WK She also set the record for the longest period between #1 singles (63 years). WK At 78 years old, she was also the oldest artist to ever top the Hot 100. WK It’s only the third Christmas song to top the Hot 100 after 1958’s “The Chipmunk Song” by David Seville & the Chipmunks and Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas.” SF The rockabilly song about “a yuletide dance party” SF was written by Johnny Marks, who was no stranger to Christmas classics, having previously penned “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” He specifically wanted Lee to sing it, although she said she had no idea why. WK He told Lee he was inspired by seeing pine trees swaying in the wind on a beach in New York. SF She recorded the song in July with famed producer Owen Bradley. She said, “He had the studio all freezing cold with the air conditioning and he had a Christmas tree all set up to kind of get in the mood.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Brenda Lee SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 12/6/2023.

50 years ago: Gene Autry charted with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Gene Autry with the Pinafores

Writer(s): Johnny Marks (see lyrics here) First Charted: December 3, 1949 Peak: 11 US, 6 GA, 12 HP, 43 HR, 24 AC, 11 CW, 16 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, -- UK, 18.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 19.69 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The inescapable Christmas classic about Rudolph and his once-mocked red nose saving the day started life as a story Robert L. May conceived to help his daughter cope with her mother’s terminal cancer. The character took the form of a reindeer after May visited the Lincoln Park Zoo and saw how cute the animal was. He had been tasked by Sewill Avery, the owner of the Montgomery Wards in Chicago, to develop a marketing idea to attract customers. May wrote up the story and company artist Denver Gillen illustrated it. At Christmas, children received a booklet at the store when they visited Santa. More than 2.5 million were given away in 1939. In 1946, 3.5 million copies were printed. LW In 1949, May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks (who’d previously written songs like the Ink Spots’ “Address Unknown”), turned the story into a song. It was repeatedly rejected until Gene Autry agreed to record it because his wife liked it. LW He’d launched his career in the 1920s as a cowboy in Hollywood westerns, but had also became well known as “The Singing Cowboy” for his country hits in the 1930s and ‘40s with songs like “That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine.” The song was launched with a “vigorous multi-media promotion” SS which included a Max Fleischer animated short. By the end of the holiday season, the song had sold 1.3 million copies in the U.S. plus another 400,000 of the plastic “kid-disc” version. SS In the pre-rock era, the song is second only to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” in terms of sales. PM With no official sales tallies, the song has been reported to have sold as many as 60 million copies by 1970, AMP a figure which would actually eclipse “White Christmas.” It may be that the number reflects all versions of the song. Certainly it has been recorded multiple times – Bing Crosby and Spike Jones both had hits with it in 1950. PM The Chipmunks had a #21 hit with it in 1960 and the Melodeers, Paul Anka, and The Temptations have also charted with the song. HT Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Gene Autry DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Johnny Marks AMP AmericanMusicPreservation.com (2009). Pine Tree Productions. “Top Christmas Hit Songs” LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 92. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 762. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 40 and 631. HT Joel Whitburn (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955-2008 (12th edition). Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 1232. Last updated 11/23/2022.