Brenda Lee has set a record. She is the oldest artist to score a new #1 single on the Hot 100 chart. The previous record holder was Louis Armstrong in 1964 at age 62 — just a few months before turning 63 – with the title song from the ‘Hello, Dolly!’ This makes only the third time a holiday song has hit #1. “The Chipmunk Song” did it in 1958 and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was released in 1994 and finally reached #1 in 2019.
Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” when she was only 13-years-old and while the song is a favourite every Christmas, it’s never made it to No. 1. It has always stalled out at No. 2.
Until 2023! 65 years after she recorded it, Brenda Lee finally gets her #1 song and we finally get a music video
In case you’re wondering why those grandkids are so incredibly tall – Brenda Lee is only 4’9″
And, yes, those are cameos by country stars Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood.
Brenda Lee breaks a few other records with this #1: the longest wait between a song’s release and reaching #1, and the longest time between having #1 hits; 63 years since 1960 “I’m Sorry” and “I Want To Be Wanted”
You can see the artist formally known as ‘Little Miss Dynamite’ performing her record-breaking Christmas classic on NBC’s Christmas at the Opry airing December 7th