Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

1958

Brenda Lee

Believe it or not Brenda Lee was only 13 when she recorded 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' in 1958. Tiny and adorably cute, she had earned the nickname 'Little Miss Dynamite' after releasing the hit 'Dynamite' and when her label asked her to record a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks (Who also penned Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, BTW) she took it, added her own high-energy style to it (And that high energy confirmed the accuracy of her nickname) and made one of the biggest Christmas hits...ever...out of it. But it took a couple of years. Though it was released in both 1958 and '59, it didn't take off until her career really took off in 1960.

That was, I believe, the same year that The Billboard Hot 100 came into being, and Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree climbed to #14...it'd chart yearly for several years, making to # 3 on the Christmas Singles chart in 1965. The song's gotten huge airplay every Christmas season for pushing fifty years, and has become one of those songs that every radio station...no matter whet the genre...is going to play regularly over Christmas.

Unlike Jingle Bell Rock, Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree wasn't covered all that widely for a couple of decades (Brenda's fans like to say it was because other artists couldn't improve on perfection) but some pretty awesome covers of it have shown up over the last couple of decades, and Leanne Rimes cover gets almost as much airplay on some stations now as Brenda's original.

Also some newer artists have discovered 'Little Miss Dynamite's Christmas classic and are keeping it fresh and introducing it to a new generation. New young Pop stars love covering it because it's so high energy and fun, and their fans lover to hear 'em sing it for the same reason.. That'll keep it rolling on for generations to come.

Songs like this are timeless (Heck, Christmas is pretty timeless.) This one is another one that everyone knows and loves, and that you can not not sing to when you hear it. And something...foot, fingers on the steering wheel, something's gonna be moving to her perky, uber-energetic beat. In the 55 years since it's release, it's become a classic Christmas song that you will hear.

Brenda Lee had two daughters and three grand-kids, so the probability of Great grand-kids is pretty high. And one of those Grandkids...several generations removed, and a couple of dozen decades down the road...will hear Little Miss Dynamite's classic and say 'My Great (Times X) Grandma's the one that made that a hit.'

So Enjoy! Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by 'Little Miss Dynamite...Brenda Lee.

A few bonuses! Brenda again...but set to music by The Brown Family from Stafford, Va in their Christmas light show from a few years back.

While Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree's usually considered a song for female vocalists, a little band called 'Chicago' decided to show 'em that us guys could do it just as well. They added their signature sound to Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree and rocked slam out when they pretty much nailed it!

Leanne Rimes recorded and released a cover of Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree that approached the outskirts of the originals popularity. She did an awesomely beautiful job with it, and deservedly so, this version gets almost as much airplay as Brenda Lee's original. And yes...the video actually ends at 2:36.

Kelly Clarkson actually portrayed Brenda Lee on the hit TV show American Dreams in their Christmas episode a few Christmases back...in the show Brittany Snow starred as a dancer on the classic Dance show American Bandstand. Not only did Kelly nail the performance, she was a ringer for Brenda Lee.

Miley Cyrus also nailed the song when she performed (And I believe recorded and released) it during her 'Hannah Montana' years...but here she performs it as Miley Cyrus, and nails it. Gotta love that little country twang.

And The Orange Blimp will see your Miley/Hannah and raise you a Victoria... Last year Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice recorded it in a medley with Jingle Bell Rock at the National Tree Lighting Ceremony. I love that smooth transition from one song to the other...Vic, as her friends and fans call her, is all pro. She nailed it here, bigtime!

And finally, getting back to it's roots, kinda. Remember a group of little girls who called themselves Avery and The Calico Hearts on X-FActor? Won America's hearts for a few weeks? Here's that group's lead singer Avery Winter, performing Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree at The Cactus Theater in Lubbock Texas. Listen to the intro to the video, and you'll see what I mean about getting back to it's roots. They call Avery their own Little Miss Dynamite...you can see why here.

Interesting little fact...Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree was actually recorded in July in Nashville, Tennessee where summers are about as un-Christmas-like as you can get. Her producer, Owen Bradley, decorated a tree, brought it into the studio, then cranked the A/C slam out f the frame to drag the temp in the studio down as far as they could get it to put everyone in the Christmas spirit. Apparently, it worked (And Brenda, in a 2006 interview, said they had a blast recording it)