Brenda Lee, the Honorary ‘Queen of Christmas,’ Breaks Records While Reflecting on Career

Singer Brenda Lee (R) and her assistant Retta Kelm after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville on Feb. 4, 2023. Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times

Singer Brenda Lee is celebrating another major milestone, while looking back on her decades-long career, as her holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hits 1 billion streams.

In an interview with The Associated Press published on Dec. 11, the 80-year-old remembers the making of the 1958 hit, which over the years has gotten even more popular.

“It is a good song,” Lee said.

“It’s a song that anybody can sing. You can join in, you can sing it, everyone is happy. I sure am glad that I have it. I never thought in my life that a Christmas song would be my legacy. But I'll take it.”

At just 13 years old, Lee hit the studio on a warm Nashville day, recalling at the time that producers were helping in any way they could to get into the Christmas spirit, even setting up decorations.

The effort was deemed successful, as she notes the musicians—Hank Garland and Harold Bradley on guitar, Floyd Cramer on piano, and Boots Randolph on saxophone—nailed the song in just a couple of takes.

Last year, Lee dethroned singer Mariah Carey for the top spot on the December Billboard Hot 100 chart, who held the position with her single “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

The feat cemented Lee as the oldest musician to achieve the top spot, with 2024 proving no different in her accomplishment.

On Dec. 10, the honorary “Queen of Christmas” broke 1 billion streams on Spotify and is the only holiday song by a female country artist to do so.

Lee told People magazine she was left “dumbfounded” when she heard the news, quipping she “can’t even think that high, much less say it!”

Born in 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia, Lee was raised in a musical environment and, at a young age, rose to stardom when she released her first major hit, “I’m Sorry” in the late 1950s, also reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the years, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” quickly became a holiday staple, but it wasn’t until 1990, when the song was featured in the film “Home Alone,” that its popularity grew, spreading Christmas cheer in homes near and far.

In 2019, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and had nearly 7 million copies sold globally as certified Platinum.

Lee herself was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002 and honored with a star on the Nashville Walk of Fame.

PBS is set to delve deeper into Lee’s life, legacy, and the roots of her hit song in a new documentary “American Masters—Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around,” which premieres on Dec. 16 on the network.

When asked how she plans on spending the Christmas holiday, which coincides with her birthday month, Lee said celebrating and having a good time is what she looks forward to the most.

“I’m kind of old fashioned, I like to have my family and all my friends come over,” she said.

“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.”