Last year, music icon Brenda Lee was crowned the honorary Queen of Christmas when her 1958 classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” took the top spot on the Billboard chart — a place historically occupied each December by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Now, as the 2024 holiday season kicks into full swing, Lee appears poised to reclaim the honor yet again.
On Dec. 10, it was announced that the song has racked up more than 1 billion streams on Spotify, making it the only holiday song by a female country artist to do so. “I was dumbfounded when I heard,” Lee tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I can’t even think that high, much less say it!”
Lee was also honored by the Recording Industry Association of America for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” going platinum seven times over — meaning it’s sold upwards of 7 million copies. To date, it’s the second-highest certified Christmas title behind Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
The festive rivalry between the two pop divas is a friendly one. When “Rockin’” hit No. 1 last year, Carey sent Lee congratulatory flowers. “I thought that was very sweet,” says Lee. “That was so nice of her.”
Her song’s status as a 1 billion streamer isn’t the only milestone Lee has to celebrate this holiday season. On Dec. 11, she’ll enter her eighth decade. “I think the label is having a birthday party for me and I’m looking forward to that,” she says. “They say there’ll be some surprises. I can’t wait!”
Lee has spent most of her 80 years making music. While she scored her first Billboard hit at age 12, she was singing long before that. “I always somehow knew that’s what I was going to do, because I loved it so much,” she says. “I mean, I would have done it for nothing! I would have sang no matter what. But I never dreamed that my legacy would be a Christmas song.”
Harry Hammond/V&A Images/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
While “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” sold well throughout the ‘50s and early ‘60s, it wasn’t until 1990 that the song achieved its current standing as a cross-generational anthem. “Somebody called me one day and they said, ‘Brenda, have you seen that new movie?’ I said, ‘No, which one?’ And they said, ‘Home Alone. Your song is all over it.’ And that’s really when it started.”
Since then, the song’s reputation has continued to grow. In 2023, Lee premiered a new music video for the song featuring cameos by country stars Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood. This year, she unveiled a new seven-inch vinyl pressing (including a limited edition pink version available at Target) and in October she treated fans to a rendition sung in Spanish through the use of AI technology. Overseen by four-time Latin Grammy-winning producer Aureo Baqueiro, “Noche Buena y Navidad” utilizes the original music and background singers while replacing Lee’s original lead vocals with a newly translated Spanish language vocal, created using a cutting-edge AI model trained from Lee’s voice.
Despite the varying lyrics and visuals, Lee feels the heart of the song is the instrumental track recorded with the help of Nashville session giants like Hank Garland and Harold Bradley on guitar, Floyd Cramer on piano and Boots Randolph on saxophone. “It was almost like telepathy. We just knew what each one of us was supposed to do,” she says. “Some songs just have some magic to them, and I think that’s what ‘Rockin’’ has.”
Lee and her holiday hit will also be celebrated again on Dec. 16 at 10 p.m. E when American Masters – Brenda Lee: Rockin’ Around premieres on PBS. The documentary will explore Lee’s life and legacy, in addition to the roots of her classic song.
Like many of us, Lee can hardly believe that Christmastime is here again. “It seems to slip up on you before you know it!” she says with a laugh. In addition to hoping for some time to catch up on some books (“I’m a ferocious reader,” she says), she looks forward to catching up with loved ones, too.
“I’m kind of old fashioned,” Lee continues. “I like to have my family and all my friends come over. We celebrate and have a good time.” Everyone gathers around her “old fashioned” Christmas tree. “I always have a live, green tree. I like the smell of it. I have ornaments from the time my kids were little. We always put those on along with the new ones that we add every year.”
With both Christmas and her birthday here, Lee is entitled to a double dose of wishes. This year, she’s hoping for something that doesn’t come from a store. “I want people not to suffer and to have a good life,” she says. “Our world moves so fast and furious. I think it bypasses kindness. I just want our world to be better.”
Read the full article here
