Christmas has a long and celebrated library of jingles to spread the holiday spirit. For years, the most famous of the upbeat pop carols has been “All I Want For Christmas” by Mariah Carey, but the Queen of Christmas recently bid congratulations to Brenda Lee, whose on holiday hit surpassed Carey’s on the charts.
Lee, today 78, was just 13 years old when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which released in the U.S. in 1958. The song has been the subject of several covers over the years, but it is Lee’s that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019. As for Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” it lived comfortably at the top of the Billboard Holiday 100 chart for some 58 consecutive weeks, never straying far from the top – until Lee’s classic unseated it. But Carey is far from resentful about this shakeup.
Mariah Carey sends congratulatory flowers to Brenda Lee
Billboard releases its music chart ranking each week and, this December, the previously-unthinkable happened. For the first time, Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s a remarkable milestone in Lee’s career on its own, but it also see’s Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” dethroned as the de facto Christmas pop song of the year.
RELATED: Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ Makes Her The Oldest Woman To Top The Billboard Hot 100
Carey has joined Lee in celebrating this moment. On Thursday, Carey sent Lee a bouquet of flowers along with a joyful note reading, “Dearest Ms. Brenda, Congratulations on your historic #1. Have a Merry Christmas. Love, Mariah.”
Several big moments in music
Thank you for your sweet note, @MariahCarey! Wishing you the merriest Christmas, too! 💕 -Brenda pic.twitter.com/Md0w7vQYpc
— Brenda Lee (@BrendaLeeMusic_) December 7, 2023
Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has been very busy rewriting expectations, breaking boundaries, and moving the finish line for music. Lee recently released an updated music video for the song featuring her lip singing. This rockin’ renaissance helped rocket the song to the top of the charts – with this victory, Lee became the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100. Before now, that distinction belonged to Cher who was 52 when “Believe” set the record.
This is also the longest time between a song’s original release and it making it to the top of the charts; it took 65 years for it to reach the top of the Hot 100. It’s also only the third time a holiday song has made it so high up. Another is, of course, Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
